title: Animal transportation networks.
abstract: Many group-living animals construct transportation networks of trails, galleries and burrows by modifying the environment to facilitate faster, safer or more efficient movement. Animal transportation networks can have direct influences on the fitness of individuals, whereas the shape and structure of transportation networks can influence community dynamics by facilitating contacts between different individuals and species. In this review, we discuss three key areas in the study of animal transportation networks: the topological properties of networks, network morphogenesis and growth, and the behaviour of network users. We present a brief primer on elements of network theory, and then discuss the different ways in which animal groups deal with the fundamental trade-off between the competing network properties of travel efficiency, robustness and infrastructure cost. We consider how the behaviour of network users can impact network efficiency, and call for studies that integrate both network topology and user behaviour. We finish with a prospectus for future research.
authors.affiliation: Paris Interdisciplinary Energy Research Institute, Paris Diderot University, 75013 Paris, France Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perna
authors.affiliation: Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia tanya.latty@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Latty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological
keywords: animal trails; biological transportation networks; collective animal behaviour; pattern formation; tunnels