arXiv subjects

F. Tejera

Publications and source records attributed to F. Tejera.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Log-normal Superstatistics Reveals Statistical Resilience in the Panic Response of Confined Ants

We report the emergence of Log-normal Superstatistics in the collective motion of ants confined in a quasi-2D arena and exposed to a panic-inducing stimulus. A data-driven superstatistical Langevin model accurately reproduces the transition from stationary behavior to an organized escape response, characterized by non-Gaussian velocity distributions and a stochastic diffusion coefficient. Our findings show that danger information propagates via a memory-limited, cascade-like mechanism, resulting in a stable cluster formation despite individual memory constraints. These results indicate that a slowly varying diffusivity arises from the multiplicative combination of interaction-mediated processes under confinement, leading naturally to Log-normal fluctuations. The persistence of this statistical structure under panic reveals a form of collective resilience, establishing a mechanistic bridge between Superstatistics and living active matter in confined environments.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2015

Simple cellular automata to mimic foraging ants submitted to abduction

Many species of ants forage by building up two files: an outbound one moving from the nest to the foraging area, and a nestbound one, returning from it to the nest. Those files are eventually submitted to different threats. If the danger is concentrated at one point of the file, one might expect that ants returning to the nest will pass danger information to their nestmates moving in the opposite direction towards the danger area. In this paper, we construct simple cellular automata models for foraging ants submitted to localized abduction, were danger information is transmitted using different protocols, including the possibility of no transmission. The parameters we have used in the simulations have been estimated from actual experiments under natural conditions. So, it would be easy to test our information-transmission hypothese in real experiments. Preliminary experimental results published elsewhere suggest that the behavior of foraging ants of the species Atta insularis is best described using the hypothesis of no transmission of danger information.

nlin.AO↗

arXiv2015

Uninformed sacrifice: evidence against long-range alarm transmission in foraging ants exposed to a localized perturbation

It is well stablished that danger information can be transmitted by ants through relatively small distances, provoking either a state of alarm when they move away from potentially dangerous stimulus, or charge toward it aggressively. There is almost no knowledge if danger information can be transmitted along large distances. In this paper, we perturb leaf cutting ants of the species Atta insularis while they forage in their natural evioronment at a certain point of the foraging line, so ants make a "U" turn to escape from the danger zone and go back to the nest. Our results strongly suggest that those ants do not transmit "danger information" to other nestmates marching towards the danger area. The individualistic behavior of the ants returning from the danger zone results in a depression of the foraging activity due to the systematic sacrifice of non-informed individuals.

q-bio.PE↗