Modelling collective decision-making: Insights into collective anti-predator behaviors from an agent-based approach
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2023-04-10
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Final Accepted Manuscript
Author
Watzek, JuliaHauber, Mark E.
Jack, Katharine M.
Murrell, Julie R.
Tecot, Stacey R.
Brosnan, Sarah F.
Affiliation
School of Anthropology, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2021-12Keywords
Agent-based modelAnimal cognition
Collective behavior
Group decision-making
Mobbing behavior
Predator defense
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
Elsevier BVCitation
Watzek, J., Hauber, M. E., Jack, K. M., Murrell, J. R., Tecot, S. R., & Brosnan, S. F. (2021). Modelling collective decision-making: Insights into collective anti-predator behaviors from an agent-based approach. Behavioural Processes.Journal
Behavioural ProcessesRights
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Collective decision-making is a widespread phenomenon across organisms. Studying how animal societies make group decisions to the mutual benefit of group members, while avoiding exploitation by cheaters, can provide unique insights into the underlying cognitive mechanisms. As a step toward dissecting the proximate mechanisms that underpin collective decision-making across animals, we developed an agent-based model of antipredatory alarm signaling and mobbing during predator-prey encounters. Such collective behaviors occur in response to physical threats in many distantly related species with vastly different cognitive abilities, making it a broadly important model behavior. We systematically assessed under which quantitative contexts potential prey benefit from three basic strategies: predator detection, signaling about the predator (e.g., alarm calling), and retreating from vs. approaching the predator. Collective signaling increased survival rates over individual predator detection in several scenarios. Signaling sometimes led to fewer prey detecting the predator but this effect disappeared when prey animals that had seen the predator both signaled and approached it, as in mobbing. Critically, our results highlight that collective decision-making in response to a threat can emerge from simple rules without needing a central leader or needing to be under conscious control.Note
18 month embargo; available online 10 October 2021ISSN
0376-6357Version
Final accepted manuscriptSponsors
Georgia State Universityae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104530