International laboratory Comp²a
Animal behavioural complexity; identification of the scale-free universal rules and of their selection
Animal behavioural complexity; identification of the scale-free universal rules and of their selection
Coordinator: Cédric Sueur
Coordinator laboratory: UMR7178 IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel, f-67087 Strasbourg Cedex
Abstract: This International Research Project between IPHC, CEFE, Ethics, CEBC and Kyoto University (Kuias, PRI and WRC) aims to understand individual and collective behavioral complexity of several animal species and to analyse the fractality of this complexity. This IRP is divided into two main axes and two sub-axes: at the individual level by the analyses of penguins’ movements and primates’ drawings (human and non-human); at the collective level by the study of social networks and collective decisions. Each of these four axes is temporally divided into four phases: 1. data collection, 2. Data analyses, 3. statistical analyses and 4. Scientific papers writing.
Living organisms are complex. The first unicellular beings, already complex, associated to form additionally complex organisms, animals, and plants. Plants formed multispecific communities whose complex associations are only now being discovered. Animals formed societies with equally diverse and varied operational mechanisms. Within these animal societies, humans and ants are examples of incredible and perfect complexity, and although these two are the most represented taxa on Earth, they display totally different rules of functioning. Following natural selection, universal rules are observed at different levels of complexity, such as the cell, animal, and society. Associations between these entities are frequently self-organised and assume the form of networks with common properties (modular, scale-invariant, or scale-free), such as the associations between molecules, molecules and neurons, and members of a group of hyenas or macaques. Finally, the organisation, conformation, and production of elements at these different organisational levels are also governed by rules that can be defined in the form of fractals. Fractality describes a mathematical object such as a curve or a surface whose structure does not variate with changes in scale. Thus, a fractal contains well-defined structural subdivisions in a hierarchy of ordered scales, according to the size of the object (the largest to the smallest). Before its introduction by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1977, scientists found it difficult to characterise natural phenomena mathematically using Euclidean geometry. There are several fractal structures in our environment, although approximate. Human bodies also contain fractal elements, for example, the airways or nervous system. The subdivisions of bronchial tubes or nerves in these structures are mathematically comparable to those of the branches of a tree, foraging routes of ants, or formation of crystals. Scientific studies have demonstrated that we recognise and react positively to fractal structures because of their commonality between our bodies and other living organisms (animals and plants). This similarity links us cognitively to structures such as landscapes that follow the same geometric principles. Consequently, we react poorly to non-fractal structures. This discomfort occurs because their minimalism contradicts the fractal structures and patterns of the natural environments we inhabit. Thus, our visual environment can affect our well-being and health.
Fractality, whether spatial or temporal, is also found in animal behaviour and is linked to its efficiency or optimality. This means that behavioural patterns, which can develop or be explained in fractal form, would be selected during evolution and increase the selective value or fitness of the animals exhibiting them. For example, the health as well as stress behaviour of animals are linked to fractality (diversity and stochasticity of their behaviour), which otherwise may lead to the appearance of stereotypies. Random walks (spatial fractality) are the most fundamental of the stochastic processes found in the phenomena of diffusion (of information or disease), interaction, and opinion (collective decision) in animals, including humans. Our human eyes truly perceive a great gap between the simple behaviour, for example, of a sea urchin and the complex behaviour of the great apes, which is so close to our own that its translation almost inevitably becomes anthropomorphic; hence, we should be a little cautious when interpreting behaviour. However, this fractal-like complexity has been observed in several species: in the flight of flies, movements of gulls and penguins, behavioural activities of macaques, drawings of chimpanzees and humans, collective search for food by ants, and interaction networks of insect or mammal communities. This IRP between IPHC UMR7178, CNRS-University of Strasbourg, CEFE (Montpellier, Ethics (Lille) and CEBC (Chizé), KUIAS, WRC, and PRI aims to understand the complexity of individual and social (or collective) behaviours of several animal species and analyse their fractality.
This IRP project is divided into two major axes and two sub-axes, allowing us to understand the complexity of behaviours at different levels of functionality: at the individual level by studying the movements of penguins as well as the drawings of human and non-human primates, and at the collective level by studying social networks and collective decisions.
- FRANCE
Nom du porteur Français : Cédric Sueur
Unité : UMR7178 IPHC
Tutelles : INEE, IN2P3
Personnes impliquées dans le IRP dans l’unité du porteur
- François Criscuolo, DR, Ecophysiologie, francois.criscuolo@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Fabrice Bertile, CR, Chimie, métabolomique, protéomique, fabrice.bertile@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Audrey Bergouignan, CR, Ecologie de la santé, Physiologie humaine, audrey.bergouignan@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Jérôme Pansanel, IR, Mathématiques, Informatique, jerome.pansanel@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Sandrine Zahn, IR, Analyses physiologiques, sandrine.zahn@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Lison Martinet, Doctorant 100%, Cognition animale, lison.martinet@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Benjamin Beltzung, Doctorant 100%, Cognition animale et mathématiques/IA, benjamin.beltzung@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Alexandre Naud, Doctorant, 100%, épidémiologie, analyse des réseaux sociaux, alexandre.naud@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Martin Quque, Postdoc (ATER) 100%, écologie comportementale, métabolomique, protéomique, martin.quque@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Sebastian Sosa, Postdoc 50%, écologie comportementale, analyse des réseaux sociaux, ssosa@iphc.cnrs.fr
- Valeria Romano, Postdoc 50%, anthropologie évolutive, épidémiologie, romanodepaula@gmail.com
Unité : CEBC UMR7372
Tutelles : INEE
- Yan Ropert-Coudert, DR, Ecophysiologie, yan.ropert-coudert@cebc.cnrs.fr, directeur des sciences de la vie au Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, vice-président du comité français pour la recherche en Antarctique et membre de la délégation française aux réunions du Traité de l’Antarctique.
- Akiko Kato, IR, Ecophysiologie, Akiko.KATO@cebc.cnrs.fr
Unité: Anthropolab, ETHICS EA7446
- Marie Pelé, CR, Ethologie, marie.pele@univ-catholille.fr
- Vincent Lenglin, Informatique, Vincent.Lenglin@univ-catholille.fr
Unité : CEFE UMR5175
Tutelles : INEE
- Julien Renoult, CR, Ecologie comportementale, mathématiques, julien.renoult@cefe.cnrs.fr
- Japon
Nom de l’unité partenaire : Wildlife Research Center, Université de Kyoto
Tutelles : A remplir au mieux de vos possibilités, nous pourrons compléter au besoin
Contact principal et personnes impliquées dans le IRP :
- Satoshi Hirata, Professor, Animal Cognition, hirata.satoshi.8z@kyoto-u.ac.jp
- Andrew MacIntosh, Associate Professor, Ecologie comportementale, macintosh.andrew.7r@kyoto-u.ac.jp
- Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Professor, Animal Cognition, matsuzawa.tetsuro.8w@kyoto-u.ac.jp
- Naoki Morimura, Associate Professor, Animal Cognition, morimura.naruki.5a@kyoto-u.ac.jp
- Shinya Yamamoto, Associate Professor, Animal Cognition, Animal Ecology, Shinyayamamoto1981@gmail.com
- Monamie Ringhofer, Research associate, Animal cognition, monamie.ringhofer@gmail.com
- Tamao Maeda, Doctorant 100%, Animal Cognition, Animal Ecology, maeda.tamao.76a@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Nom de l’unité partenaire : Teikyo University of Science
Tutelles : A remplir au mieux de vos possibilités, nous pourrons compléter au besoin
Contact principal et personnes impliquées dans le IRP :
- Masaki Shimada, Associate Professor, Animal behavior, Animal ecology,
masakishimada@japan.email.ne.jp