| Records |
Author  |
Biro, D.; Sumpter, D.J.T.; Meade, J.; Guilford, T. |
| Title |
From Compromise to Leadership in Pigeon Homing |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Current Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Curr Biol |
| Volume |
16 |
Issue |
21 |
Pages |
2123-2128 |
| Keywords |
Animal Migration; Animals; Columbidae/*physiology; Decision Making; *Flight, Animal; *Homing Behavior; Models, Biological; Orientation; *Social Behavior; *Social Dominance |
| Abstract |
Summary A central problem faced by animals traveling in groups is how navigational decisions by group members are integrated, especially when members cannot assess which individuals are best informed or have conflicting information or interests , , , and . Pigeons are now known to recapitulate faithfully their individually distinct habitual routes home , and , and this provides a novel paradigm for investigating collective decisions during flight under varying levels of interindividual conflict. Using high-precision GPS tracking of pairs of pigeons, we found that if conflict between two birds' directional preferences was small, individuals averaged their routes, whereas if conflict rose over a critical threshold, either the pair split or one of the birds became the leader. Modeling such paired decision-making showed that both outcomes--compromise and leadership--could emerge from the same set of simple behavioral rules. Pairs also navigated more efficiently than did the individuals of which they were composed, even though leadership was not necessarily assumed by the more efficient bird. In the context of mass migration of birds and other animals, our results imply that simple self-organizing rules can produce behaviors that improve accuracy in decision-making and thus benefit individuals traveling in groups , and . |
| Address |
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom. daro.biro@zoo.ox.ac.uk |
| Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
| Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
| Language |
Englisch |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
| Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
| Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
| ISSN |
0960-9822 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
| Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
| Notes |
PMID:17084696 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
|
Serial |
2026 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Wagner, G. |
| Title |
[Flight leadership in flocks of homing pigeons] |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1975 |
Publication |
Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie |
Abbreviated Journal |
Z. Tierpsychol. |
| Volume |
|
Issue |
39 |
Pages |
61-74 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Columbidae; *Flight, Animal; *Orientation |
| Abstract |
Groups of 3-5 homing pigeons individually recognizable by different colours of their plumage were followed by helicopter on their way home. In most cases the animals flew together as a group with frequently changing leadership. Flight formations in terms of leadership were noted every minute. It was examined statistically whether the flight order varies at random or whether there are leading and led birds. In 6 out of 7 experiments with groups of 4-5 pigeons flight order was far from random, one or two pigeons proving to be leaders. In only one experiment leadership did not differ from a random distribution. No correlation could be found between the tendency to lead within a group and homing performance of the single pigeon when released individually. |
| Address |
|
| Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
| Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
| Language |
German |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
Zur Frage des Flugfuhrens in heimkehrenden Brieftaubengruppen |
| Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
| Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
| ISSN |
0044-3573 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
| Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
| Notes |
PMID:1231423 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
|
Serial |
2050 |
| Permanent link to this record |
