Social interactions, information use, and the evolution of collective migration
Authored by Iain D Couzin, Vishwesha Guttal
Date Published: 2010
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1006874107
Sponsors:
United States National Science Foundation (NSF)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Migration of organisms (or cells) is typically an adaptive response to
spatiotemporal variation in resources that requires individuals to
detect and respond to long-range and noisy environmental gradients. Many
organisms, from wildebeest to bacteria, migrate en masse in a process
that can involve a vast number of individuals. Despite the ubiquity of
collective migration, and the key function it plays in the ecology of
many species, it is still unclear what role social interactions play in
the evolution of migratory strategies. Here, we explore the evolution of
migratory behavior using an individual-based spatially explicit model
that incorporates the costs and benefits of obtaining directional cues
from the environment and evolvable social interactions among migrating
individuals. We demonstrate that collective migratory strategies evolve
under a wide range of ecological scenarios, even when social encounters
are rare. Although collective migration appears to be a shared
navigational process, populations typically consist of small proportions
of individuals actively acquiring directional information from their
environment, whereas the majorities use a socially facilitated movement
behavior. Because many migratory species face severe threat through
anthropogenic influences, we also explore the microevolutionary response
of migratory strategies to environmental pressures. We predict a gradual
decline of migration due to increasing habitat destruction and argue
that much greater restoration is required to recover lost behaviors
(i.e., a strong hysteresis effect). Our results provide insights into
both the proximate and ultimate factors that underlie evolved migratory
behavior in nature.
Tags
behavior
Decision-Making
Model
insects
Animal groups
Organization
Navigation
Long-distance migration
Flocks