Implementation and comparison of previously proposed...

Implementation and comparison of previously proposed models of ant colony emigration

Keywords: 	ant, colony emigration, machine learning, mathematical modelling, model comparison, social insects
Prerequisites:
The project requires an interest in the behaviour of social insects.
This project requires a strong mathematical and computational background.
The successful candidate will liaise with the Ant Lab and other MSc and PhD students already working on related projects.
Abstract:
The process of ant colony emigration from one nest site to another is a classic example of a system in nature that demonstrates decentralised decision making. Understanding this process will not only help us gain insight into behaviour of social insects in general, but also provide mathematical foundation to study other networks capable of exhibiting emergent intelligence, such as neurons in a brain or AI swarm intelligence. The Bristol Ant Lab [1] is one of the leading research groups to carry out ground-breaking studies on the behaviour of ant species Temnothorax albipennis under the leadership of Prof. Nigel Franks [2]. Their work has contributed to the development of several mathematical models that aim to describe and study the process of ant colony emigration. Other models have also been proposed by other research groups in the past.

The aim of this project is to implement several previously proposed models, namely Pratt [3], Planque [4], Pratt-Sumpter [5] and AH-HA [6], in a single piece of software. This will help us to extensively study and compare aforementioned models and their conclusions. Outputs of these models, such as population dynamics, existence of a speed-accuracy trade off, effect of reverse tandem running (RTR) and so on, will be analysed and compared side by side. This is a step forward towards creation of better, more realistic models of house-hunting behaviour demonstrated by Temnothorax albipennis.

References:
[1] – http://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/research/behaviour/antlab/
[2] – http://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/people/nigel-r-franks/index.html
[3] – Pratt, S., Mallon, E., Sumpter, D., & Franks, N. (2002). Quorum sensing, recruitment, and collective decision-making during colony emigration by the ant Leptothorax albipennis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 52(2)
[4] – Planqué, R., Dechaume-Moncharmont, F.-X., Franks, N. R., Kovacs, T., & Marshall, J. a R. (2007). Why do house-hunting ants recruit in both directions? Die Naturwissenschaften, 94(11), 911–8.
[5] – Pratt, S. C., Sumpter, D. J. T., Mallon, E. B., & Franks, N. R. (2005). An agent-based model of collective nest choice by the ant Temnothorax albipennis. Animal Behaviour, 70(5), 1023–1036. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.01.022
[6] – Marshall, J. a R., Dornhaus, A., Franks, N. R., & Kovacs, T. (2006). Noise, cost and speed-accuracy trade-offs: decision-making in a decentralized system. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface / the Royal Society, 3(7), 243–54. doi:10.1098/rsif.2005.0075