The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies
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Date
Authors
Burns, Dominic D.R.
Pitchford, Jon W.
Parr, Catherine Lucy
Franks, Daniel W.
Robinson, Elva J.H.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Abstract
A challenge faced by individuals and groups of many species is determining how resources and activities should be spatially distributed:
centralized or decentralized. This distribution problem is hard to understand due to the many costs and benefits of each strategy
in different settings. Ant colonies are faced by this problem and demonstrate two solutions: 1) centralizing resources in a single nest
(monodomy) and 2) decentralizing by spreading resources across many nests (polydomy). Despite the possibilities for using this system
to study the centralization/decentralization problem, the trade-offs associated with using either polydomy or monodomy are poorly understood
due to a lack of empirical data and cohesive theory. Here, we present a dynamic network model of a population of ant nests
which is based on observations of a facultatively polydomous ant species (Formica lugubris). We use the model to test several key hypotheses
for costs and benefits of polydomy and monodomy and show that decentralization is advantageous when resource acquisition
costs are high, nest size is limited, resources are clustered, and there is a risk of nest destruction, but centralization prevails when
resource availability fluctuates and nest size is limited. Our model explains the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of polydomous
ants, demonstrates several trade-offs of decentralization and centralization, and provides testable predictions for empirical work on
ants and in other systems.
Description
Keywords
Collective decision-making, Decentralization, Dynamic networks, Polydomy, Social insects, Social networks
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Burns, D.D.R., Pitchford, J.W., Parr, C.L. et al. 2019, 'The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies', Behavioural Ecology, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 1700-1706.