Title: | Modeling ant foraging: A chemotaxis approach with pheromones and trail formation |
Address: | "Instituto de Matematica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos 149, Centro de Tecnologia-Bloco C, Cidade Universitaria - Ilha do Fundao, Caixa Postal 68530, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: paulo@im.ufrj.br" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.08.026 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1095-8541 (Electronic) 0022-5193 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "We consider a continuous mathematical description of a population of ants and simulate numerically their foraging behavior using a system of partial differential equations of chemotaxis type. We show that this system accurately reproduces observed foraging behavior, especially spontaneous trail formation and efficient removal of food sources. We show through numerical experiments that trail formation is correlated with efficient food removal. Our results illustrate the emergence of trail formation from simple modeling principles" |
Keywords: | "Animal Communication Animals Ants/*physiology Chemotaxis/*physiology Feeding Behavior/*physiology *Models, Biological Pheromones/*physiology Animal movement Ant foraging Chemotaxis Mathematical biology Mechanistic models Numerical simulation Pheromones Re;" |
Notes: | "MedlineAmorim, Paulo eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2015/09/13 J Theor Biol. 2015 Nov 21; 385:160-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.08.026. Epub 2015 Sep 8" |