Project description
Factors shaping individual roles in collective decision-making
The ability of individuals to jointly make a decision is known as collective decision-making. But what determines consistent differences among individuals in their ability to have influence over group decisions? The EU-funded ECOLBEH project will investigate how individual-level factors determine leadership and how movement decisions are modulated by long-term social and genetic relationships among group members. It will also test whether the mechanisms by which groups reach consensus are resilient to environmental change. The project will develop new methods to collect and analyse multi-scale data in a wild population of highly social birds, including using high-resolution GPS to track movement, whole-genome sequencing to determine kinship and drone-based mapping to identify the environmental conditions. The findings will further our understanding of social behaviour in mobile animal groups, including humans.
Objective
The evolutionary transition from solitary to group living has fundamentally changed how organisms interact with their environment. However, to reap the rewards of group living, from collective intelligence to predator avoidance, group members must maintain cohesion by making collective decisions. Theory suggests that individuals’ ability to influence collective decisions could be determined by a range of factors, including their state, social role, relationships with other group members, the composition of their social group, and the physical environment. Although these factors could all interact, most empirical studies have investigated them in isolation. The aim of this project is to take a ‘whole-system’ approach by quantifying (1) how individual-level factors determine leadership, (2) how movement decisions are modulated by long-term social and genetic relationships among group members, and (3) whether the mechanisms by which groups reach consensus are resilient to rapid environmental change. This research program will add unprecedented ecological validity and replication to the field of collective decision making. I will leverage state-of-the-art technology and develop novel methods to simultaneously collect and analyse multi-scale data in a wild population of highly social birds. These data include the movement of individuals within and between groups (high-resolution GPS), social interactions (direct observations), kinship (whole-genome sequencing), physiology (heart rate), and environmental conditions (drone-based mapping). The analytical methods I will develop (e.g. multi-layered dynamic social network analysis) will provide new tools for the research community, while integrating these unique data across replicated groups and over multiple generations, the project will bring new depth to the field. This depth is essential to address the questions that are central to our understanding of social behaviour in mobile animal groups, including humans.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering information engineering telecommunications telecommunications networks data networks
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8006 Zurich
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.