The Gordon Lab
Dept. of Biology, Stanford University
Evolution and ecology of collective behavior
Collective behavior takes many forms, such as emergence, self-organization, superorganism, quorum sensing, artificial intelligence, and dynamical networks.
We use ant colonies to investigate systems that operate without central control, and explore analogies with other systems, such as the internet, the immune system, and the brain.
Questions about collective behavior:
- How it works:
How local cues used by individuals add up to the resilient response of the group
- How it functions ecologically:
How the organization responds to a changing environment
- How it evolves:
Which kinds of collective behavior work best in particular conditions
- How colonies regulate activity
- Individual variation and the evolution of behavior
- Ant-plant mutualisms
- Pringle, E. et al. Diversification and phylogeographic structure in widespread Azteca plant-ants from the northern Neotropics
- Pringle, E. et al. Plant defense, herbivory, and the growth of Cordia alliodora trees and their symbiotic Azteca ant colonies
- Pringle, E. et al. Indirect benefits of symbiotic coccoids for an ant-defended myrmecophytic tree
- The spread of the invasive Argentine ant
More research
Interaction networks regulate ant colony behavior.
N. Pinter-Wollman, UC San Diego
- Anternet: Harvester ant foraging and TCP
- TED talk: ant colony behavior
- National Geographic: The Genius of Swarms, Peter Miller
- Boston Review: Ants and humans (PDF)
Books
Ant Encounters
Interaction Networks and
Colony Behavior
Primers in Complex Systems
Ants at Work
How an Insect Society is
Organized