The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies

dc.contributor.authorBurns, Dominic D.R.
dc.contributor.authorPitchford, Jon W.
dc.contributor.authorParr, Catherine Lucy
dc.contributor.authorFranks, Daniel W.
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, Elva J.H.
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-07T14:19:45Z
dc.date.available2020-05-07T14:19:45Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractA 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.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2020en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipNERC ACCE DTPen_ZA
dc.description.urihttps://academic.oup.com/behecoen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBurns, 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.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1045-2249 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1465-7279 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1093/beheco/arz138
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/74514
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_ZA
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2019. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectCollective decision-makingen_ZA
dc.subjectDecentralizationen_ZA
dc.subjectDynamic networksen_ZA
dc.subjectPolydomyen_ZA
dc.subjectSocial insectsen_ZA
dc.subjectSocial networksen_ZA
dc.titleThe costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant coloniesen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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