Persistent variation in spatial behavior affects the structure and function of interaction networks

Authored by Noa Pinter-Wollman

Date Published: 2015

Sponsors: United States National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

The function of a network is affected by its structure. For example, the presence of highly interactive individuals, or hubs, influences the extent and rate of information spread across a network. In a network of interactions, the duration over which individual variation in interactions persists may affect how the network operates. Individuals may persist in their behavior over time and across situations, often referred to as personality. Colonies of social insects are an example of a biological system in which the structure of the coordinated networks of interacting workers may greatly influence information flow within the colony, and therefore its collective behavior. Here I investigate the effects of persistence in walking patterns on interaction networks using computer simulations that are parameterized using observed behavior of harvester ants. I examine how the duration of persistence in spatial behavior influences network structure. Furthermore, I explore how spatial features of the environment affect the relationship between persistent behavior and network structure. I show that as persistence increases, the skewness of the weighted degree distribution of the interaction network increases. However, this relationship holds only when ants are confined in a space with boundaries, but not when physical barriers are absent. These findings suggest that the influence of animal personalities on network structure and function depends on the environment in which the animals reside

Tags

Social networks Dynamics architecture transmission Harvester ants Task decisions Colonies Construction Organization Expression