Bles Olivier, Deneubourg Jean-Louis, Sueur Cédric, Nicolis Stamatios C
Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (Cenoli)-CP 231, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium.
Université de Strasbourg, CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), IPHC (Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien), UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Oct 28;12(21):2963. doi: 10.3390/ani12212963.
Food sharing can occur in both social and non-social species, but it is crucial in eusocial species, in which only some group members collect food. This food collection and the intranidal (i.e., inside the nest) food distribution through trophallactic (i.e., mouth-to-mouth) exchanges are fundamental in eusocial insects. However, the behavioural rules underlying the regulation and the dynamics of food intake and the resulting networks of exchange are poorly understood. In this study, we provide new insights into the behavioural rules underlying the structure of trophallactic networks and food dissemination dynamics within the colony. We build a simple data-driven model that implements interindividual variability and the division of labour to investigate the processes of food accumulation/dissemination inside the nest, both at the individual and collective levels. We also test the alternative hypotheses (no variability and no division of labour). The division of labour, combined with inter-individual variability, leads to predictions of the food dynamics and exchange networks that run, contrary to the other models. Our results suggest a link between the interindividual heterogeneity of the trophallactic behaviours, the food flow dynamics and the network of trophallactic events. Our results show that a slight level of heterogeneity in the number of trophallactic events is enough to generate the properties of the experimental networks and seems to be crucial for the creation of efficient trophallactic networks. Despite the relative simplicity of the model rules, efficient trophallactic networks may emerge as the networks observed in ants, leading to a better understanding of the evolution of self-organisation in such societies.
食物共享在社会性和非社会性物种中都可能发生，但在真社会性物种中至关重要，在这类物种中只有部分群体成员收集食物。这种食物收集以及通过交哺（即口对口）交换在巢内进行的食物分配，是真社会性昆虫的基本行为。然而，关于调节食物摄入的行为规则以及由此产生的交换网络的动态变化，我们却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们对交哺网络结构和蚁群内食物传播动态背后的行为规则有了新的认识。我们构建了一个简单的数据驱动模型，该模型考虑了个体间的变异性和分工，以研究巢内食物积累/传播过程，涵盖个体和群体层面。我们还测试了其他假设（无变异性和无分工）。与其他模型不同，分工与个体间变异性相结合，能够预测食物动态和交换网络。我们的结果表明，交哺行为的个体间异质性、食物流动动态和交哺事件网络之间存在联系。我们的结果显示，交哺事件数量的轻微异质性足以产生实验网络的特性，而且这似乎对构建高效的交哺网络至关重要。尽管模型规则相对简单，但高效的交哺网络可能会像在蚂蚁中观察到的网络那样出现，从而有助于更好地理解此类社会中自组织的进化过程。
