Conflictual influence of humidity during shelter selection of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana).

ABSTRACT: In collective decision-making, when confronted with different options, groups usually show a more marked preference for one of the options than do isolated individuals. This results from the amplification of individual preferences by social interactions within the group. We show, in an unusual counter-example, that when facing a binary choice between shelters with different relative humidities, isolated cockroaches of the species Periplaneta americana select the wettest shelter, while groups select the driest one. This inversion of selection results from a conflictual influence of humidity on the probabilities of entering and leaving each shelter. It is shown that the individual probability of entering the wettest shelter is higher than the group probability and is increased by previous en

SUBMITTER: Calvo Martin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937323 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature