Workshop 4: Insect Self-organization and Swarming
Organizers: David Sumpter, Madeleine Beekman, Stephen Pratt, Vijay Kumar, and Chad Topaz
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Insect groups generate a wide range of interesting collective patterns and behaviours, for example the formation of ant trails, the building of elaborate nests, collective movement of honey bee swarms and marching locust bands, to name just a few. The complex non-linear nature of the mechanisms underlying such collective behaviour has generated a great deal of theoretical interest from mathematicians and physicists. Collective insect behaviour is one area where mathematical modelling and experiment have lived well side by side.
Collective insect behaviour is interesting from the point of view of evolution because understanding the non-linear dynamics provides insights into self-organization in natural systems which in turn serves as an inspiration for computer algorithms and robots. Many of the emergent collective phenomena involve synchronization where large numbers of individuals move in the same direction or co-ordinate their activities. Lastly, mass movement of insects such as grasshoppers and crickets involve large-scale interactions with the environment, whereby feedback between individuals within a group and their environment determine collective patterns.
