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Division of labour promotes the spread of information in colony emigrations by the ant Temnothorax rugatulus

View ORCID ProfileGabriele Valentini, View ORCID ProfileNaoki Masuda, View ORCID ProfileZachary Shaffer, View ORCID ProfileJake R. Hanson, Takao Sasaki, View ORCID ProfileSara Imari Walker, View ORCID ProfileTheodore P. Pavlic, View ORCID ProfileStephen C. Pratt
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/791996
Gabriele Valentini
1Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, AZ 85827
2Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287
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  • ORCID record for Gabriele Valentini
Naoki Masuda
3University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Department of Mathematics, Buffalo, NY 14260
4University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering Program, Buffalo, NY 14260
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Zachary Shaffer
2Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287
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  • ORCID record for Zachary Shaffer
Jake R. Hanson
1Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, AZ 85827
6Arizona State University, Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Tempe, AZ 85287
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Takao Sasaki
5University of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology, Athens, GA 30602
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Sara Imari Walker
1Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, AZ 85827
6Arizona State University, Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Tempe, AZ 85287
7Arizona State University, ASU–SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Tempe, AZ 85287
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  • ORCID record for Sara Imari Walker
Theodore P. Pavlic
2Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287
8Arizona State University, School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, Tempe, AZ 85287
9Arizona State University, School of Sustainability, Tempe, AZ 85287
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Stephen C. Pratt
2Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287
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  • ORCID record for Stephen C. Pratt
  • For correspondence: stephen.pratt@asu.edu
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Abstract

The fitness of group-living animals often depends on how well members share information needed for collective decision-making. Theoretical studies have shown that collective choices can emerge in a homogeneous group of individuals following identical rules, but real animals show much evidence for heterogeneity in the degree and nature of their contribution to group decisions. In social insects, for example, the transmission and processing of information is influenced by a well-organized division of labour. Studies that accurately quantify how this behavioural heterogeneity affects the spread of information among group members are still lacking. In this paper, we look at nest choices during colony emigrations of the ant Temnothorax rugatulus and quantify the degree of behavioural heterogeneity of workers. Using methods from both machine learning and network analysis, we identify and characterize four behavioural castes of workers – primary, secondary, passive, and wandering – covering distinct roles in the spread of information during each emigration. This detailed characterization of the contribution of each worker can improve models of collective decision-making in this species and promises a deeper understanding of behavioural variation at the colony level.

Footnotes

  • https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.10363292

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Posted December 17, 2019.
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Division of labour promotes the spread of information in colony emigrations by the ant Temnothorax rugatulus
Gabriele Valentini, Naoki Masuda, Zachary Shaffer, Jake R. Hanson, Takao Sasaki, Sara Imari Walker, Theodore P. Pavlic, Stephen C. Pratt
bioRxiv 791996; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/791996
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Division of labour promotes the spread of information in colony emigrations by the ant Temnothorax rugatulus
Gabriele Valentini, Naoki Masuda, Zachary Shaffer, Jake R. Hanson, Takao Sasaki, Sara Imari Walker, Theodore P. Pavlic, Stephen C. Pratt
bioRxiv 791996; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/791996

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