Navigation Links
Fish choose their leaders by consensus
Date:11/13/2008

ize.

Now, the researchers find, the same is true in schools of stickleback fish making the decision about which leader to follow. Ward presented groups of three-spined sticklebacks with two fish replicas differing in characteristics, including size, fatness, shade, and spottiness, that reflect something about the health or fitness of the individual. For instance, a plump belly can indicate success in food gathering, while spots may indicate a parasitic infection.

He then ran trials in which one, two, four, or eight sticklebacks had to choose between two replica fish, one of which had been shown to be more attractive on the basis of the team's earlier studies. As group size increased, the fish made more accurate decisions, the researchers report, better discriminating subtle differences in the replicas' appearances.

In the majority of trials, either all or all but one of the fish followed the more attractive leader, they found. But the consensus method sometimes led the fish astray. In a substantial minority of trials, all or all but one of the fish followed the less attractive leadernot quite reaching Condorcet's philosophical ideal.

A simple quorum rule, in which an animal's probability of committing to a particular option increases sharply when a threshold number of other individuals have committed to it, proved sufficient to explain the observations, suggesting that animals can make accurate decisions without the need for complicated comparisons of the information they possess.

"Our results show rather that submission to peers and occasional cascades of incorrect decisions can be explained as a by-product of what is usually accurate consensus decision-making," the researchers wrote. Indeed, Sumpter said, humans make the same types of errors.

"A good example here is the stock exchange," he said. "Just now there is a lot of discussion about traders unable to make their own assessment and panic selling because ot
'/>"/>

Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Source:Eurekalert

1

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Australian frog species chooses not to put eggs in 1 basket
2. Male cyclists risk sexual problems if they don’t choose the right bike
3. Reproductive plasticity revealed: Neotropical treefrog can choose to lay eggs in water or on land
4. New folic acid seal helps women choose enriched grain foods to help prevent birth defects
5. Estuarine Research Federation chooses Springer as publishing partner
6. Species still have more viable offspring if they can choose their best mate
7. Institution of Chemical Engineers chooses Elsevier as publishing partner
8. In the war against diseases, nerve cells need their armor
9. Lead-flapping objects experience less wind resistance than their trailing counterparts
10. Red-eyed treefrog embryos actively avoid asphyxiation inside their eggs
11. Rare corals breed their way out of trouble
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/23/2013)... world are billions of animal and plant specimens from ... all stacked, stored and preserved in jars and collection ... critical to understanding how the Earth,s biodiversity is changing ... if only the information were easily accessible. , A ... of a team from the University of Colorado Boulder, ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... (NLST) investigators also conclude that the 20 percent ... tomography (LDCT) versus chest X-ray (CXR) screening previously ... at experienced screening centers in the United States. ... with their patients about the benefits and risks ... in the New England Journal of Medicine ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... engineering drastically reduces the time and effort needed ... of biotechnology, scientists are reporting. Published in the ... paves the way for more rapid development of ... other activities. , Keith Shearwin and colleagues explain ... genetic material DNA into a bacterium,s genome is ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):CU-Boulder helps tap crowds to digitize museum records of bugs and plants 2CU-Boulder helps tap crowds to digitize museum records of bugs and plants 3CU-Boulder helps tap crowds to digitize museum records of bugs and plants 4NLST: CT detects twice as many lung cancers as X-ray at initial screening exam 2NLST: CT detects twice as many lung cancers as X-ray at initial screening exam 3
... The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat ... step toward becoming a reality. In a study published ... researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to ... mimic the eye cells that die and cause loss of ...
... Society and the State Institute of Animal Health (IAGRO) in ... first health assessments of white-lipped peccaries (medium-sized pig-like animals) in ... impact of Leptospirosis a zoonotic bacteria that affects a ... livestock. The studyconducted between 2003 and 2005 in ...
... --- Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn,t affect all ... pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or ... while another woman who also drinks has a child without ... on by the mother to her son, according to new ...
Cached Biology News:Stem cell therapy for age-related macular degeneration -- a step closer to reality 2Monitoring peccaries in Brazil benefits wildlife, local communities and food security 2Monitoring peccaries in Brazil benefits wildlife, local communities and food security 3Why some children are harmed by mother's alcohol, but others aren't 2
(Date:5/24/2013)... 24, 2013 This market report ... kinase profiling carried out in May 2013. The ... breakdown of the responses for each question, its ... It also highlights some interesting differences, particularly between ... bottom-up models were developed to estimate the in ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... CAMBRIDGE, England , May 24, 2013 ... von Mundipharma angefertigt – Bei der ... Version , 91 % der Teilnehmer einer ... obwohl nur 20 % laut GINA [*] -Definition [1] ... zeigt, dass Menschen mit Asthma generell einer von vier ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013 Graphite Metallizing ... self-lubricating bushings mounted in stainless steel pillow blocks. ... of GRAPHALLOY with the application and installation versatility ... Pillow Blocks work exceptionally well when submerged ... hostile liquids such as acids, alkalies, hydrocarbons, black ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... MA (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... inch wide and provide 15 mm travel range ... The small dimensions make these new positioners ... confined spaces. A vacuum rated version is also ... Drawings, specifications and datasheets can be found at: ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Kinase Market Profiling - In House & Outsourced Trends 2015 Forecast in New Research Report at ReportsnReports.com 2Kinase Market Profiling - In House & Outsourced Trends 2015 Forecast in New Research Report at ReportsnReports.com 3Kinase Market Profiling - In House & Outsourced Trends 2015 Forecast in New Research Report at ReportsnReports.com 4Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 2Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 3Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 4Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 5Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 6Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 7Graphite Metallizing Now Offers GRAPHALLOY® Stainless Steel Pillow Blocks for Success in Submersible Applications 2Graphite Metallizing Now Offers GRAPHALLOY® Stainless Steel Pillow Blocks for Success in Submersible Applications 3Precision Positioning System Uses Miniaturezed Piezo Linear Motor: LPS-24 Linear Stage by PI 2
... it possible to manufacture small and,complex components to ... demands of quality,assurance for the measurement of size, ... carried out in the area of geometrical,measurement on ... research project,in the area of micro co-ordinate metrology ...
... , , , ST. LOUIS, ... announced that the Company notified certain owners of the Company,s Class ... "Reporting Persons"), that the stockholder action by written consent purported to ... does not comply with the requirements of the Company,s By-Laws and ...
... SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 7 Two studies released August 6, ... to demonstrate that vertebroplasty, a procedure to treat some painful spine ... field, this is incorrect, as both studies actually demonstrate a significant ... , Tory McJunkin, MD, co-founder of Arizona Pain Specialists, ...
Cached Biology Technology:KV Pharmaceutical Announces Stockholder Action to Amend By-Laws is Invalid 2KV Pharmaceutical Announces Stockholder Action to Amend By-Laws is Invalid 3KV Pharmaceutical Announces Stockholder Action to Amend By-Laws is Invalid 4KV Pharmaceutical Announces Stockholder Action to Amend By-Laws is Invalid 5KV Pharmaceutical Announces Stockholder Action to Amend By-Laws is Invalid 6Arizona Pain Specialists Contend Recent Vertebroplasty Studies are Misleading 2Arizona Pain Specialists Contend Recent Vertebroplasty Studies are Misleading 3
... Methylation Kit uses a simplified procedure and ... analysis. The kit is based on the ... cytosine and sodium bisulfite where cytosine is ... Kits innovative in-column desulphonation reaction eliminates several ...
... Phosphate Assay Kit is based on quantification ... Green, molybdate and free orthophosphate. The rapid ... conveniently measured on a spectrophotometer (600-660 nm) ... colorimetric assay kits have been optimized to ...
... digital x-ray detectors from KUBTEC represents a ... 12 to 16 bit digital interface. The ... array sensor with pixel spacing down to ... low x-ray energies (10-50 kV) and an ...
... intended for laboratory research use only. ... buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin. ... certified pathologists. Tissue cores were removed ... a new recipient paraffin block, in an ...
Biology Products: