A tunable algorithm for collective decision-making
Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways that link them. Much attention has been given to robust algorithms, or those that allow a system to maintain its functions in the face of intern...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 103; no. 43; p. 15906 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
24.10.2006
|
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 0027-8424 |
| Online Access: | Get more information |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Abstract | Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways that link them. Much attention has been given to robust algorithms, or those that allow a system to maintain its functions in the face of internal or external perturbations. At the same time, environmental variation imposes a complementary need for algorithm versatility, or the ability to alter system function adaptively as external circumstances change. An important goal of systems biology is thus the identification of biological algorithms that can meet multiple challenges rather than being narrowly specified to particular problems. Here we show that emigrating colonies of the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus tune the parameters of a single decision algorithm to respond adaptively to two distinct problems: rapid abandonment of their old nest in a crisis and deliberative selection of the best available new home when their old nest is still intact. The algorithm uses a stepwise commitment scheme and a quorum rule to integrate information gathered by numerous individual ants visiting several candidate homes. By varying the rates at which they search for and accept these candidates, the ants yield a colony-level response that adaptively emphasizes either speed or accuracy. We propose such general but tunable algorithms as a design feature of complex systems, each algorithm providing elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. |
|---|---|
| AbstractList | Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways that link them. Much attention has been given to robust algorithms, or those that allow a system to maintain its functions in the face of internal or external perturbations. At the same time, environmental variation imposes a complementary need for algorithm versatility, or the ability to alter system function adaptively as external circumstances change. An important goal of systems biology is thus the identification of biological algorithms that can meet multiple challenges rather than being narrowly specified to particular problems. Here we show that emigrating colonies of the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus tune the parameters of a single decision algorithm to respond adaptively to two distinct problems: rapid abandonment of their old nest in a crisis and deliberative selection of the best available new home when their old nest is still intact. The algorithm uses a stepwise commitment scheme and a quorum rule to integrate information gathered by numerous individual ants visiting several candidate homes. By varying the rates at which they search for and accept these candidates, the ants yield a colony-level response that adaptively emphasizes either speed or accuracy. We propose such general but tunable algorithms as a design feature of complex systems, each algorithm providing elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways that link them. Much attention has been given to robust algorithms, or those that allow a system to maintain its functions in the face of internal or external perturbations. At the same time, environmental variation imposes a complementary need for algorithm versatility, or the ability to alter system function adaptively as external circumstances change. An important goal of systems biology is thus the identification of biological algorithms that can meet multiple challenges rather than being narrowly specified to particular problems. Here we show that emigrating colonies of the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus tune the parameters of a single decision algorithm to respond adaptively to two distinct problems: rapid abandonment of their old nest in a crisis and deliberative selection of the best available new home when their old nest is still intact. The algorithm uses a stepwise commitment scheme and a quorum rule to integrate information gathered by numerous individual ants visiting several candidate homes. By varying the rates at which they search for and accept these candidates, the ants yield a colony-level response that adaptively emphasizes either speed or accuracy. We propose such general but tunable algorithms as a design feature of complex systems, each algorithm providing elegant solutions to a wide range of problems.Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways that link them. Much attention has been given to robust algorithms, or those that allow a system to maintain its functions in the face of internal or external perturbations. At the same time, environmental variation imposes a complementary need for algorithm versatility, or the ability to alter system function adaptively as external circumstances change. An important goal of systems biology is thus the identification of biological algorithms that can meet multiple challenges rather than being narrowly specified to particular problems. Here we show that emigrating colonies of the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus tune the parameters of a single decision algorithm to respond adaptively to two distinct problems: rapid abandonment of their old nest in a crisis and deliberative selection of the best available new home when their old nest is still intact. The algorithm uses a stepwise commitment scheme and a quorum rule to integrate information gathered by numerous individual ants visiting several candidate homes. By varying the rates at which they search for and accept these candidates, the ants yield a colony-level response that adaptively emphasizes either speed or accuracy. We propose such general but tunable algorithms as a design feature of complex systems, each algorithm providing elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. |
| Author | Sumpter, David J T Pratt, Stephen C |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Stephen C surname: Pratt fullname: Pratt, Stephen C email: stephen.pratt@asu.edu organization: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA. stephen.pratt@asu.edu – sequence: 2 givenname: David J T surname: Sumpter fullname: Sumpter, David J T |
| BackLink | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17038502$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed |
| BookMark | eNo1jztPwzAUhT0U0QfMbCgTW8qNE7_GqoKCVIkF5sh2borBsUOcIPHviUSZzvKd15osQgxIyE0B2wJEed8HnbbAoZJQFFAuyAqAilxWtFqSdUofAKCYhEuyLASUkgFdEbrLxilo4zHT_hQHN753WRuHzEbv0Y7uG7MGrUsuhrzTny6crshFq33C67NuyNvjw-v-KT--HJ73u2NumeJjbqq5jCFSRqUxleFasQasotByFJJXphS0URqMVZJrjg238z4lDaVlawu6IXd_uf0QvyZMY925ZNF7HTBOqeZy9kklZvD2DE6mw6buB9fp4af-f0l_AVWmU4A |
| CitedBy_id | crossref_primary_10_1093_beheco_arq198 crossref_primary_10_1146_annurev_ento_020117_043249 crossref_primary_10_1098_rsos_140533 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_anbehav_2008_02_016 crossref_primary_10_1242_jeb_106849 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00040_009_0009_1 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_tics_2008_10_002 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_jtbi_2012_07_025 crossref_primary_10_1089_cmb_2021_0369 crossref_primary_10_1111_1365_2656_13423 crossref_primary_10_1093_beheco_arr007 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0011705 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_biosystems_2016_02_001 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_cub_2008_09_064 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0018901 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_knosys_2025_113138 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_anbehav_2014_05_006 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00040_016_0503_1 crossref_primary_10_1242_jeb_059188 crossref_primary_10_1523_JNEUROSCI_2322_15_2015 crossref_primary_10_1137_22M1478690 crossref_primary_10_1002_ece3_6381 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41562_018_0518_x crossref_primary_10_1242_jeb_194019 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_013_1659_6 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41598_020_59202_0 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0032411 crossref_primary_10_1086_605373 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0141971 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_008_0565_9 crossref_primary_10_1007_s11721_013_0085_8 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41467_021_23195_9 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_015_1882_4 crossref_primary_10_1177_21582440231219046 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_cognition_2025_106211 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_beproc_2019_103994 crossref_primary_10_1177_1368430212451863 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0019748 crossref_primary_10_1002_mde_2553 crossref_primary_10_1073_pnas_1116141109 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0127459 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_tics_2022_06_011 crossref_primary_10_1093_beheco_arz135 crossref_primary_10_1038_nature12137 crossref_primary_10_1086_650290 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0073216 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0019981 crossref_primary_10_1086_670242 crossref_primary_10_1073_pnas_0710344105 crossref_primary_10_1073_pnas_2123076119 crossref_primary_10_1093_aesa_saaa018 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00040_017_0575_6 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_neubiorev_2023_105500 crossref_primary_10_1093_aesa_saaa017 crossref_primary_10_1109_TAC_2017_2723956 crossref_primary_10_1002_cplx_21772 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41537_020_00133_0 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_010_0971_7 crossref_primary_10_1093_beheco_arq218 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_cub_2012_07_058 crossref_primary_10_1038_srep43607 crossref_primary_10_1126_sciadv_1500253 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_jtbi_2018_07_004 crossref_primary_10_1038_s42003_018_0276_3 crossref_primary_10_1007_s11721_007_0007_8 crossref_primary_10_1111_eth_13140 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_014_1703_1 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_anbehav_2013_03_010 crossref_primary_10_1098_rsos_170097 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pcbi_1003937 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00265_007_0468_1 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_cub_2021_12_013 crossref_primary_10_1007_s00040_024_00969_0 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_tree_2018_03_004 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_anbehav_2018_10_002 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_jtbi_2013_07_014 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pcbi_1005713 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0063363 crossref_primary_10_4137_CIN_S14054 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_anbehav_2012_08_036 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41598_018_30656_7 crossref_primary_10_1371_journal_pone_0019888 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_beproc_2010_04_009 crossref_primary_10_1038_s41578_025_00818_x crossref_primary_10_1162_neco_2008_03_07_487 |
| ContentType | Journal Article |
| DBID | CGR CUY CVF ECM EIF NPM 7X8 |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.0604801103 |
| DatabaseName | Medline MEDLINE MEDLINE (Ovid) MEDLINE MEDLINE PubMed MEDLINE - Academic |
| DatabaseTitle | MEDLINE Medline Complete MEDLINE with Full Text PubMed MEDLINE (Ovid) MEDLINE - Academic |
| DatabaseTitleList | MEDLINE MEDLINE - Academic |
| Database_xml | – sequence: 1 dbid: NPM name: PubMed url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed sourceTypes: Index Database – sequence: 2 dbid: 7X8 name: MEDLINE - Academic url: https://search.proquest.com/medline sourceTypes: Aggregation Database |
| DeliveryMethod | no_fulltext_linktorsrc |
| Discipline | Sciences (General) |
| ExternalDocumentID | 17038502 |
| Genre | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Journal Article |
| GroupedDBID | --- -DZ -~X .55 .GJ 0R~ 123 29P 2AX 2FS 2WC 3O- 4.4 53G 5RE 5VS 85S AACGO AAFWJ AANCE AAYJJ ABBHK ABOCM ABPLY ABPPZ ABTLG ABXSQ ABZEH ACGOD ACHIC ACIWK ACNCT ACPRK ADULT AENEX AEUPB AEXZC AFFNX AFOSN AFRAH ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS AQVQM AS~ BKOMP CGR CS3 CUY CVF D0L DCCCD DIK DOOOF DU5 E3Z EBS ECM EIF EJD F5P FRP GX1 H13 HH5 HQ3 HTVGU HYE IPSME JAAYA JBMMH JENOY JHFFW JKQEH JLS JLXEF JPM JSG JSODD JST KQ8 L7B LU7 MVM N9A NPM N~3 O9- OK1 P-O PNE PQQKQ R.V RHF RHI RNA RNS RPM RXW SA0 SJN TAE TN5 UKR VQA VXZ W8F WH7 WHG WOQ WOW X7M XSW Y6R YBH YIF YIN YKV YSK ZCA ZCG ~02 ~KM 7X8 ADQXQ ADXHL |
| ID | FETCH-LOGICAL-c596t-b49585ee2528bb4b6a95d0c920f6e7864b372d9a0bc986a6ed6c09598b223fc12 |
| IEDL.DBID | 7X8 |
| ISICitedReferencesCount | 115 |
| ISICitedReferencesURI | http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000241568500033&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| ISSN | 0027-8424 |
| IngestDate | Sun Nov 09 14:00:56 EST 2025 Wed Feb 19 01:44:27 EST 2025 |
| IsDoiOpenAccess | false |
| IsOpenAccess | true |
| IsPeerReviewed | true |
| IsScholarly | true |
| Issue | 43 |
| Language | English |
| LinkModel | DirectLink |
| MergedId | FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c596t-b49585ee2528bb4b6a95d0c920f6e7864b372d9a0bc986a6ed6c09598b223fc12 |
| Notes | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| OpenAccessLink | http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0604801103 |
| PMID | 17038502 |
| PQID | 68986897 |
| PQPubID | 23479 |
| ParticipantIDs | proquest_miscellaneous_68986897 pubmed_primary_17038502 |
| PublicationCentury | 2000 |
| PublicationDate | 2006-10-24 |
| PublicationDateYYYYMMDD | 2006-10-24 |
| PublicationDate_xml | – month: 10 year: 2006 text: 2006-10-24 day: 24 |
| PublicationDecade | 2000 |
| PublicationPlace | United States |
| PublicationPlace_xml | – name: United States |
| PublicationTitle | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS |
| PublicationTitleAlternate | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |
| PublicationYear | 2006 |
| References | 12816612 - Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2003 Jun 15;361(1807):1283-312 16236548 - Trends Immunol. 2005 Dec;26(12):653-9 15369668 - Cell. 2004 Sep 17;118(6):675-85 16507368 - Mol Cell. 2006 Mar 3;21(5):711-7 16407943 - Nature. 2006 Jan 12;439(7073):153 12495514 - Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2002 Nov 29;357(1427):1567-83 14667335 - Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Dec 7;270(1532):2457-63 9923680 - Nature. 1999 Jan 14;397(6715):168-71 14512616 - Science. 2003 Sep 26;301(5641):1867-70 15036882 - Trends Neurosci. 2004 Mar;27(3):161-8 11923843 - Nat Biotechnol. 2002 Apr;20(4):370-5 16701416 - Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Aug;20(8):449-56 16553306 - Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Jan 29;361(1465):5-22 9891813 - Annu Rev Microbiol. 1998;52:779-806 12432407 - Nature. 2002 Nov 14;420(6912):224-30 16212498 - Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2005;21:319-46 12879057 - Nature. 2003 Jul 24;424(6947):388 15276612 - Trends Microbiol. 2004 Aug;12(8):366-72 15163413 - Cell. 2004 May 28;117(5):663-76 10910359 - Nature. 2000 Jul 13;406(6792):188-92 11493681 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Aug 14;98(17):9703-6 15520792 - Nat Rev Genet. 2004 Nov;5(11):826-37 12432404 - Nature. 2002 Nov 14;420(6912):206-10 11875207 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 19;99 Suppl 1:2538-45 |
| References_xml | – reference: 12432404 - Nature. 2002 Nov 14;420(6912):206-10 – reference: 11493681 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Aug 14;98(17):9703-6 – reference: 11875207 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 19;99 Suppl 1:2538-45 – reference: 12879057 - Nature. 2003 Jul 24;424(6947):388 – reference: 15520792 - Nat Rev Genet. 2004 Nov;5(11):826-37 – reference: 16407943 - Nature. 2006 Jan 12;439(7073):153 – reference: 12816612 - Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2003 Jun 15;361(1807):1283-312 – reference: 12495514 - Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2002 Nov 29;357(1427):1567-83 – reference: 14667335 - Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Dec 7;270(1532):2457-63 – reference: 11923843 - Nat Biotechnol. 2002 Apr;20(4):370-5 – reference: 15369668 - Cell. 2004 Sep 17;118(6):675-85 – reference: 14512616 - Science. 2003 Sep 26;301(5641):1867-70 – reference: 9891813 - Annu Rev Microbiol. 1998;52:779-806 – reference: 15036882 - Trends Neurosci. 2004 Mar;27(3):161-8 – reference: 15163413 - Cell. 2004 May 28;117(5):663-76 – reference: 16212498 - Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2005;21:319-46 – reference: 16236548 - Trends Immunol. 2005 Dec;26(12):653-9 – reference: 16701416 - Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Aug;20(8):449-56 – reference: 15276612 - Trends Microbiol. 2004 Aug;12(8):366-72 – reference: 12432407 - Nature. 2002 Nov 14;420(6912):224-30 – reference: 10910359 - Nature. 2000 Jul 13;406(6792):188-92 – reference: 16553306 - Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Jan 29;361(1465):5-22 – reference: 16507368 - Mol Cell. 2006 Mar 3;21(5):711-7 – reference: 9923680 - Nature. 1999 Jan 14;397(6715):168-71 |
| SSID | ssj0009580 |
| Score | 2.2598476 |
| Snippet | Complex biological systems are increasingly understood in terms of the algorithms that guide the behavior of system components and the information pathways... |
| SourceID | proquest pubmed |
| SourceType | Aggregation Database Index Database |
| StartPage | 15906 |
| SubjectTerms | Algorithms Animal Migration Animals Ants - physiology Decision Making Social Behavior |
| Title | A tunable algorithm for collective decision-making |
| URI | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17038502 https://www.proquest.com/docview/68986897 |
| Volume | 103 |
| WOSCitedRecordID | wos000241568500033&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| hasFullText | |
| inHoldings | 1 |
| isFullTextHit | |
| isPrint | |
| link | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwpV05T8MwFH4qlIEFKGc5PTDAYOo4jg8JCSFExQBVB0DdothxAImmhaT8fuwcEgtiYEi2RNbLOz4_530fwCmJSCrTiOM00AQzHgqsDMmwksTqJKNcVFoEz_diNJKTiRp34LKdhfG_VbY5sUrU6cz4HvmASyXdJa7mH9hrRvmz1UZAYwm6oQMyPizFRP6g3JX1AAp1eZhR1hL7iHAwz5PiwtPGSF_-wt_RZVVlhuv_W98GrDXoEl3X7tCDjs03odfEb4HOGpLp8y2g16hcVHNTKHl_ca8qX6fIAVjkHaNOgiht9HfwtJKs2oan4e3jzR1u9BOwiRQvsXabHxlZSyMqtWaaJypKiVGUZNwKyZkOBU1VQrRxa0-4TbnxbUGpHWbITEB3YDmf5XYPELOZCGxGtfHsM5Rqq5VHOm5DIlikWB9OWqvEzj_9oUOS29miiFu79GG3Nmw8r2k04kD4U0lC9_989gBWq86HKxmUHUI3c5Fpj2DFfJVvxedx9dndfTR--Ab1prXv |
| linkProvider | ProQuest |
| openUrl | ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=A+tunable+algorithm+for+collective+decision-making&rft.jtitle=Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+-+PNAS&rft.au=Pratt%2C+Stephen+C&rft.au=Sumpter%2C+David+J+T&rft.date=2006-10-24&rft.issn=0027-8424&rft.volume=103&rft.issue=43&rft.spage=15906&rft_id=info:doi/10.1073%2Fpnas.0604801103&rft.externalDBID=NO_FULL_TEXT |
| thumbnail_l | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=0027-8424&client=summon |
| thumbnail_m | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=0027-8424&client=summon |
| thumbnail_s | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=0027-8424&client=summon |