A central goal in the field of animal behavior is to understand the causes and consequences of animal sociality. Predation risk is one of the major drivers of group formation: animals in groups benefit from early detection of threats, which leads to a higher probability of surviving a predator attack. This phenomenon, known as "collective detection", arises from the monitoring behavior of individuals in the group, and relies on the efficient transfer of information from initial detectors to unaware group mates. Collective detection and intragroup information transfer are understudied phenomena, because traditional observation methods limit our ability to collect the high-resolution data needed to explore dynamic behavioral processes. Studying collective processes requires continuous, high-resolution data on all individuals within a group simultaneously. Conventional methods require observers to choose between collecting detailed data on one animal and collecting coarse-grained data on many animals. Video-based methods are used in laboratory studies to generate high-resolution data on animal group. However, these methods require high-contrast backgrounds and consistent lighting and are thus unsuitable for use in field studies where backgrounds are visually complicated and lighting conditions are uncontrollable.
Our research program had two goals. First, we aimed to develop video-based field methodologies and analytical tools that would enable us to efficiently film groups of wild animals and automatically extract behavioral data from these videos. Second, we aimed to use this data to explore the social, environmental and biological factors that drive individual vigilance behavior and affect the efficiency of information flow within groups.
Delays in acquiring drone operation permits resulted in delays to our research timeline; as such we were unable to complete our behavioral analyses during the fellowship. However, we continue to pursue these goals outside of the context of the fellowship and intend to produce scientific results in the coming year. This research is important to understand collective sensing in groups, but may also have important conservation implications: as wildlife populations are depleted and habitats are altered, the size, composition, and spatial ecology of animal groups may change in ways that affect their ability to effectively respond to threats. If collective detection no longer functions properly, the cost-benefit ratio of group formation may be affected, leading to changes in population dynamics and viability.
