Collective decision-making appears more egalitarian in populations where group fission costs are higher
Herbert-Read, J. E. LU
; Wade, A. S.I.
; Ramnarine, I. W.
and Ioannou, C. C.
(2019)
In Biology letters
15(12).
- Abstract
Collective decision-making is predicted to be more egalitarian in conditions where the costs of group fission are higher. Here, we ask whether Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) living in high or low predation environments, and thereby facing differential group fission costs, make collective decisions in line with this prediction. Using a classic decision-making scenario, we found that fish from high predation environments switched their positions within groups more frequently than fish from low predation environments. Because the relative positions individuals adopt in moving groups can influence their contribution towards group decisions, increased positional switching appears to support the prediction of more evenly... (More)
Collective decision-making is predicted to be more egalitarian in conditions where the costs of group fission are higher. Here, we ask whether Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) living in high or low predation environments, and thereby facing differential group fission costs, make collective decisions in line with this prediction. Using a classic decision-making scenario, we found that fish from high predation environments switched their positions within groups more frequently than fish from low predation environments. Because the relative positions individuals adopt in moving groups can influence their contribution towards group decisions, increased positional switching appears to support the prediction of more evenly distributed decision-making in populations where group fission costs are higher. In an agent-based model, we further identified that more frequent, asynchronous updating of individuals' positions could explain increased positional switching, as was observed in fish from high predation environments. Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions about the structure of collective decision-making and the adaptability of social decision-rules in the face of different environmental contexts.
(Less)
- author
- Herbert-Read, J. E.
LU
; Wade, A. S.I.
; Ramnarine, I. W.
and Ioannou, C. C.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- consensus, coordination, information, Poecilia reticulata
- in
- Biology letters
- volume
- 15
- issue
- 12
- pages
- 1 pages
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85076854846
- pmid:31847746
- ISSN
- 1744-9561
- DOI
- 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0556
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 08935af5-b566-454c-976f-bd9b1cfc26bc
- date added to LUP
- 2020-01-08 13:15:08
- date last changed
- 2025-06-26 19:35:42
@article{08935af5-b566-454c-976f-bd9b1cfc26bc,
abstract = {{<p>Collective decision-making is predicted to be more egalitarian in conditions where the costs of group fission are higher. Here, we ask whether Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) living in high or low predation environments, and thereby facing differential group fission costs, make collective decisions in line with this prediction. Using a classic decision-making scenario, we found that fish from high predation environments switched their positions within groups more frequently than fish from low predation environments. Because the relative positions individuals adopt in moving groups can influence their contribution towards group decisions, increased positional switching appears to support the prediction of more evenly distributed decision-making in populations where group fission costs are higher. In an agent-based model, we further identified that more frequent, asynchronous updating of individuals' positions could explain increased positional switching, as was observed in fish from high predation environments. Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions about the structure of collective decision-making and the adaptability of social decision-rules in the face of different environmental contexts.</p>}},
author = {{Herbert-Read, J. E. and Wade, A. S.I. and Ramnarine, I. W. and Ioannou, C. C.}},
issn = {{1744-9561}},
keywords = {{consensus; coordination; information; Poecilia reticulata}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{12}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Biology letters}},
title = {{Collective decision-making appears more egalitarian in populations where group fission costs are higher}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0556}},
doi = {{10.1098/rsbl.2019.0556}},
volume = {{15}},
year = {{2019}},
}