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The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
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Stochasticity may generate coherent motion in bird flocks.

Andy M Reynolds1

  • 1Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.

Physical Biology
|February 9, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Collective animal movements like flocking can be explained by changes in noise intensity within potential wells. This noise influences attraction centers, creating coherent motion and scale-free correlations in bird flocks.

Keywords:
collective animal movementsflockingintrinsic noise

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Area of Science:

  • Collective animal behavior
  • Theoretical ecology
  • Statistical physics

Background:

  • Flocking and swarming are key examples of collective animal movement.
  • Previous research focused on simple rules and correlations for coherent motion.
  • Recent findings suggest flocking and swarming animals behave as if in elastic potential wells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explain coherent motion in flocks using variations in noise intensity.
  • To demonstrate how noise-induced potential well changes generate collective behavior.
  • To link potential wells to flock characteristics like high-density borders and escape patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of multiplicative noise effects on potential wells.
  • Analysis of how noise variations alter attraction centers and correlations.
  • Examination of emergent properties from noisy, confining potentials.

Main Results:

  • Coherent motion arises from changing potential well shapes due to noise intensity variations.
  • Scale-free correlations and high-density flock borders are explained by these potential wells.
  • Collective escape patterns in starling flocks under predation are accounted for.
  • Birds may inhabit unstable potential wells, while insects reside in stable ones.

Conclusions:

  • Collective behavior in flocks and swarms can emerge from noisy potential wells.
  • Noise-driven dynamics offer a unified explanation for flocking and swarming.
  • Bird flocks may exist at criticality, influenced by individual perception.