Functional heterogeneity: relationship between group performance and individual behavioural differences

Functional heterogeneity: relationship between group performance and individual behavioural differences by Prof. Isaac Planas-Sitjà from Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Isaac-Planas)

Zoom Link:
https://oist.zoom.us/j/95993904953?pwd=MEZpZk1uVGxJQUxGZnpyOEoxbVVKUT09
Meeting ID: 959 9390 4953
Passcode: 782775

Abstruct:

Animals face daily decisions, such as where to forage or nest, which can be critical for their fitness. In social animals, these decisions are complicated by a potential conflict of interests among group members, which nonetheless must collectively reach some form of agreement if the group is to remain together. Insects have been model organisms to study collective behaviour and advance our understanding of mechanisms leading to optimal and successful decisions. While it is clear that there are no two identical individuals, a debate still exists on whether heterogeneity of behaviour among group members could improve, or not, group performance. In fact, the question of how identical or dissimilar units, with same average properties, give rise to different collective processes goes beyond behavioural ecology. During this talk, I will introduce some of the mechanisms involved in collective behaviour (e.g., information sharing, social feedback and social interactions), and discuss how these mechanisms coupled with individual differences can lead to more accurate decisions, from gregarious to eusocial insects.