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Chaos And Complexity in ant society

Chaos And Complexity in ant society. As Presented by Andrew Smith & Estelle Stroup. Overview – Why Study Ants. Ants are an ideal system to study when considering complexity in biology due to: Ants are simple organisms which can be modeled using simple rules

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Chaos And Complexity in ant society

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  1. Chaos And Complexity in ant society As Presented by Andrew Smith & Estelle Stroup

  2. Overview – Why Study Ants • Ants are an ideal system to study when considering complexity in biology due to: • Ants are simple organisms which can be modeled using simple rules • Ant species are extremely diverse (varying social structures, behavior, morphology, etc.) • Ants reproduce quickly and can be easily studied in a controlled environment • Colonies generally consist of many individuals which interact strongly constituting a perfect candidate for complexity

  3. Order From Chaos—Pheromones • In ant societies, one of the main forms of communication is chemical signals called pheromones • Often scientists model foraging in ant colonies by a number of ants which move in a random manner around the nest • Once food is found pheromone trails guide additional ants to the source • In turn, these ants intensify the pheromone trail causing a positive feedback loop

  4. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  5. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  6. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  7. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  8. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  9. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  10. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  11. Ant Foraging Food Nest

  12. Pheromones continued… • A similar process causes ants to swarm when an ant is crushed (a defensive reaction) • In both cases pheromone trails act as attractors for ant motion

  13. Self-Organization in Ant Colonies • Ants are simple individual organisms capable of performing complex tasks when joined together. • They are often capable of performing these tasks without a central controlling force. • Self-organized digging activity in ant colonies (experiment). • The making of structures solely out of their own bodies.

  14. In Conclusion • Practical Applications • Ant Colony Optimization • A theory used to optimize performance in numerous industries ranging from the automotive industry to the packing and shipping industry. • Based on the efficient workings of a typical ant colony.

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