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Self-organization of collective escape in pigeon flocks.

ABSTRACT: Bird flocks under predation demonstrate complex patterns of collective escape. These patterns may emerge by self-organization from local interactions among group-members. Computational models have been shown to be valuable for identifying what behavioral rules may govern such interactions among individuals during collective motion. However, our knowledge of such rules for collective escape is limited by the lack of quantitative data on bird flocks under predation in the field. In the present study, we analyze the first GPS trajectories of pigeons in airborne flocks attacked by a robotic falcon in order to build a species-specific model of collective escape. We use our model to examine a recently identified distance-dependent pattern of collective behavior: the closer the prey is to the predator, the higher the frequency with which flock members turn away from it. We first extract from the empirical data of pigeon flocks the characteristics of their shape and internal structure (bearing angle and distance to nearest neighbors). Combining these with information on their coordination from the literature, we build an agent-based model adjusted to pigeons' collective escape. We show that the pattern of turning away from the predator with increased frequency when the predator is closer arises without prey prioritizing escape when the predator is near. Instead, it emerges through self-organization from a behavioral rule to avoid the predator independently of their distance to it. During this self-organization process, we show how flock members increase their consensus over which direction to escape and turn collectively as the predator gets closer. Our results suggest that coordination among flock members, combined with simple escape rules, reduces the cognitive costs of tracking the predator while flocking. Such escape rules that are independent of the distance to the predator can now be investigated in other species. Our study showcases the important role of computational models in the interpretation of empirical findings of collective behavior.

SUBMITTER: Papadopoulou M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8782486 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:AbstractCollective behaviour of animals has been a main focus of recent research, yet few empirical studies deal with this issue in the context of predation, a major driver of social complexity in many animal species. When starling (Sturnus vulgaris) flocks are under attack by a raptor, such as a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), they show a great diversity of patterns of collective escape. The corresponding structural complexity concerns rapid variation in density and shape of the flock over time. Here, we present a first step towards unravelling this complexity. We apply a time series analysis to video footage of 182 sequences of hunting by falcons on flocks of thousands of starlings close to two urban roosts during winter. We distinguish several types of collective escape by determining the position and movement of individuals relative to each other (which determines darkness and shape of the flock over time) as well as relative to the predator, namely 'flash expansion', 'blackening', 'wave event', 'vacuole', 'cordon' and 'split'. We show that the specific type of collective escape depends on the collective pattern that precedes it and on the level of threat posed by the raptor. A wave event was most likely to occur when the predator attacked at medium speed. Flash expansion occurred more frequently when the predator approached the flock at faster rather than slower speed and attacked from above rather than from the side or below. Flash expansion was often followed by split, but in many cases, the flock showed resilience by remaining intact. During a hunting sequence, the frequencies of different patterns of collective escape increased when the frequency of attack by the raptor was higher. Despite their complexity, we show that patterns of collective escape depend on the predatory threat, which resembles findings in fish.Significance statementPatterns of collective escape in flocks of starlings have always intrigued laymen and scientists. A detailed analysis of their complex dynamics has been lacking so far, and is the focus of our present study: we analysed video footage of hunting by falcons on flocks of thousands of starlings and show how patterns of collective escape (namely flash expansion, blackening, wave event, vacuole, cordon and split) depend on the preceding pattern and on details of attack. A higher frequency of attack during a hunting sequence resulted in a higher frequency of collective escape events. Flash expansion happened most often when the predator attacks at greater speed. A wave event was most likely when the raptor attacks at medium (rather than high or low) speed. These results provide a first quantitative approach to social complexity in collective avoidance of a predator.

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Self-organization of collective escape in pigeon flocks.

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