Reciprocal relationships in collective flights of homing pigeons

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/6549

Title:	Reciprocal relationships in collective flights of homing pigeons
Authors:	Xu, X Dieck Kattas, G Small, M
Issue Date:	Feb-2012
Source:	Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, Feb. 2012, v. 85, no. 2, 026120, p. 1-6
Abstract:	Collective motion of bird flocks can be explained via the hypothesis of many wrongs and/or a structured leadership mechanism. In pigeons, previous studies have shown that there is a well-defined hierarchical structure and certain specific individuals occupy more dominant positions, suggesting that leadership by the few individuals drives the behavior of the collective. Conversely, by analyzing the same datasets, we uncover a more egalitarian mechanism. We show that both reciprocal relationships and a stratified hierarchical leadership are important and necessary in the collective movements of pigeon flocks. Rather than birds adopting either exclusive averaging or leadership strategies, our experimental results show that it is an integrated combination of both compromise and leadership which drives the group's movement decisions.
Publisher:	American Physical Society
Journal:	Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
ISSN:	1539-3755
EISSN:	1550-2376
DOI:	10.1103/PhysRevE.85.026120
Rights:	Physical Review E © 2012 The American Physical Society. The Journal's web site is located at http://pre.aps.org/
Appears in Collections:	Journal/Magazine Article

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