title: Collective motion in animal groups from a neurobiological perspective: the adaptive benefits of dynamic sensory loads and selective attention.
abstract: We explore mechanisms associated with collective animal motion by drawing on the neurobiological bases of sensory information processing and decision-making. The model uses simplified retinal processes to translate neighbor movement patterns into information through spatial signal integration and threshold responses. The structure provides a mechanism by which individuals can vary their sets of influential neighbors, a measure of an individual's sensory load. Sensory loads are correlated with group order and density, and we discuss their adaptive values in an ecological context. The model also provides a mechanism by which group members can identify, and rapidly respond to, novel visual stimuli.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Box 358218, Seattle, WA 98195-8218, USA. lemasson@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lemasson
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Goodwin
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003657:Decision Making; D008606:Mental Processes; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation; D014796:Visual Perception