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Math Biology Summer REU |
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Abstract: Ants How do ant colonies make decisions? They have no overseer, no central command, and no system of global communication. They seem to be a collection of insignificant individuals with extremely limited, highly localized knowledge. Yet as a whole, colonies give rise to highly complex emergent behavior that proves perennially adaptable to ever changing circumstances and surroundings. Workers make up the vast majority of ants in every colony, and they carry out a variety of specialized tasks, such as: Foraging - gathering food Nest maintenance - nursery care, nest expansion, and waste removal Midden work - maintaining external trash heaps Patrolling - exploring, information gathering, and directing foragers How do patrollers and foragers fan out to explore their surroundings efficiently? Without overseers, how are duties distributed among workers each day to adjust to changing environments and to ensure every task gets accomplished? This summer, we will tackle these and many related questions using approaches from mathematical modeling and computer simulation. Suggested text: Ants at Work, by Deborah Gordon home |
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