The emergence of a collective sensory response threshold in ant colonies

Abstract

Significance In this study, we ask how ant colonies integrate information about the external environment with internal state parameters to produce adaptive, system-level responses. First, we show that colonies collectively evacuate the nest when the ground temperature becomes too warm. The threshold temperature for this response is a function of colony size, with larger colonies evacuating the nest at higher temperatures. The underlying dynamics can thus be interpreted as a decision-making process that takes both temperature (external environment) and colony size (internal state) into account. Using mathematical modeling, we show that these dynamics can emerge from a balance between local excitatory and global inhibitory forces acting between the ants. Our findings in ants parallel other complex biological systems like neural circuits.

Dynamic pathogen detection and social feedback shape collective hygiene in ants

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An ant colony is like a neural network

“…In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that ants make collective decisions in response to heat [1]. As the temperature rises gradually, the ants continue to carry out their current tasks as normal.…”

How AI’s Self-Prolongation Influences People’s Perceptions of Its Autonomous Mind: The Case of U.S. Residents

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