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arXiv · 1402.5611

A continuous model of ant foraging with pheromones and trail formation

Abstract

We propose and numerically analyze a PDE model of ant foraging behavior. Ant foraging is a prime example of individuals following simple behavioral rules based on local information producing complex, organized and ``intelligent'' strategies at the population level. One of its main aspects is the widespread use of pheromones, which are chemical compounds laid by the ants used to attract other ants to a food source. In this work, we consider a continuous description of a population of ants and simulate numerically the foraging behavior using a system of PDEs of chemotaxis type. We show that, numerically, this system accurately reproduces observed foraging behavior, such as trail formation and efficient removal of food sources.

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Paulo Amorim. 2014-02-23. A continuous model of ant foraging with pheromones and trail formation. https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.5611

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