Publications
I. Refereed journal papers
1. Basari, N, Sendova-Franks, AB, Worley, A, Franks, NR (2025) Differential response by tandem leaders and followers to landmark-rich and landmark-poor environments. Anim. Cogn. 28(40). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01958-x
2. Franks NR, Worley A, Fortune GT, Goldstein RE, Sendova-Franks AB (2024) Seeking safety: Movement dynamics after post-contact immobility. PLoS ONE 19(8):e0307370. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307370
3. Franks NR, Podesta, JA, Jarvis, EC, Worley A, Sendova-Franks AB (2022) Robotic communication with ants. J. Exp. Biol. 225(15):jeb244106; doi: 10.1242/jeb.244106
4. Fortune GT, Worley A, Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks NR, Leptos KC, Lauga E, Goldstein RE (2021) The fluid dynamics of collective vortex structures of plant-animal worms. J. Fluid Mech. 914:A20; doi: 10.1017/jfm.2020.1112
5. Franks NR, Worley A, Sendova-Franks AB (2021) Hide-and-seek strategies and post-contact immobility. Biol. Lett. 17:20200892; doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0892
6. Cocconi L, Kuhn-Régnier A, Neuss M, Sendova-Franks AB, Christensen, K (2021). Reconstructing the intrinsic statistical properties of intermittent locomotion through corrections for boundary effects. Bull. Math. Biol. 83(4):1-17; doi: 10.1007/s11538-020-00848-2
7. Christensen K, Cocconi L, Sendova-Franks, AB (2021) Animal intermittent locomotion: A null model for the probability of moving forward in bounded space. J. Theor. Biol. 510:110533; doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110533
8. Sendova-Franks AB, Worley A, Franks NR (2020) Post-contact immobility and half-lives that save lives. Proc. R. Soc. B 287:20200881; doi: 10.1098/ rspb.2020.0881
9. Franks NR, Worley A, Falkenberg M, Sendova-Franks AB, Christensen K (2019) Digging the optimum pit: antlions, spirals and spontaneous stratification. Proc. R. Soc. B 286:20190365; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0365
10. Worley A, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2019) Social flocculation in plant– animal worms. R. Soc. open sci. 6:181626; doi: 10.1098/rsos.181626
11. Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks, NR, Worley, A (2018) Plant-animal worms round themselves up in circular mills on the beach. R. Soc. open sci. 5:180665; doi: 10.1098/rsos.180665
12. Hunt, E, Dornan, C, Sendova-Franks, A, Franks, N (2018) Asymmetric ommatidia count and behavioural lateralization in the ant Temnothorax albipennis. Sci. Rep. 8:5825; doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23652-4
13. Hunt, E, Kendall, C, Stanbury, E, Sendova-Franks, A, Franks, N (2018) Complementary landmarks facilitate ant navigation. Behavioural Processes. 157: 702-710; doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.03.004
14. Richardson, RO, Giuggioli, Franks, NR, Sendova-Franks, AB (2017) Measuring site fidelity and spatial segregation within animal societies. Methods. Ecol. Evol. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.12751
15. O’Shea-Wheller, TA, Masuda N, Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks, NR (2017) Variability in individual assessment behaviour and its implications for collective decision-making. Proc. R. Soc. B 284: 20162237; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2237
16. O’Shea-Wheller, TA, Aggarwal, DK, Edgley, DE, Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks, NR (2016) A social mechanism facilitates ant colony emigrations over different distances. J. Exp. Biol. 219: 3439-3446; doi: 10.1242/jeb.145276
17. O’Shea-Wheller, TA, Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks, NR (2016) Migration control: a distance compensation strategy in ants. The Science of Nature 103: 66; doi: 10.1007/s00114-016-1386-8
18. Burns DDR, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2016) The effect of social information on the collective choices of ant colonies. Behav. Ecol. 27: 1033-1040; doi: 10.1093/beheco/arw005
19. Franks NR, Worley A, Grant KAJ, Gorman AR, Vizard V, Plackett H, Doran C, Gamble ML, Stumpe MC, Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Social behaviour and collective motion in plant-animal worms. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20152946; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2946
20. Doran C, Stumpe M, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2016) Exploration adjustment by ant colonies. R. Soc. open sci. 3: 150533; doi: 10.1098/rsos.150533
21. Hunt ER, Baddeley RJ, Worley A, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR. (2016) Ants determine their next move at rest: motor planning and causality in complex systems. R. Soc. open sci. 3: 150534; doi: 10.1098/rsos.150534
22. O’Shea-Wheller, TA, Sendova-Franks, AB, Franks, NR (2015) Differentiated Anti-Predation Responses in a Superorganism. PLoS One 10(11): e0141012; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141012
23. Franks NR, Stuttard JP, Doran C, Espositio JC, Master MC, Sendova-Franks AB, Masuda N, Britton NF. (2015) How ants use quorum sensing to estimate the average quality of a fluctuating resource. Sci. Rep. 5:11890; doi: 10.1038/srep11890
24. Christensen K, Papavassiliou D, de Figueiredo A, Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB. (2015) Universality in ant behaviour. J. R. Soc. Interface 12:20140985; doi: 10.1098/rsif.2014.0985
25. Basari N, Laird-Hopkins BC, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2014) Trail laying during tandem-running recruitment in the ant Temnothorax albipennis. Naturwissenschaften, 101:549-566
26. Basari N, Bruendl, AC, Hemingway CE, Roberts NW, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2014) Landmarks and ant search strategies after interrupted tandem runs. J. Exp. Biol. 217:944-954
27. Minter NJ, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2013) Nest-seeking rock ants (Temnothorax albipennis) trade off sediment packing density and structural integrity for ease of cavity excavation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67:1745-1756
28. Doran C, Pearce T, Connor A, Schlegel T, Franklin E, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2013) Economic investment by ant colonies in searches for better homes. Biology Letters 9:20130685. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0685
29. Gottlieb D, Phillips BB, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2013) Individual and social information gathering are fine-tuned to the internal state of the group. Animal Behaviour 85:1479-1484
30. Franklin EL, Robinson EJH, Marshall JAR, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2012) Do ants need to be old and experienced to teach? J. Exp. Biol. 215:1287-1292
31. Richardson TO, Christensen K, Franks NR, Jensen HJ, Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Ants in a labyrinth: a statistical mechanics approach to the division of labour. PLoS One 6:e18416
32. Franklin EL, Richardson TO, Sendova-Franks AB, Robinson EJH, Franks NR (2011) Blinkered teaching: tandem running by visually impaired ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65:569-579
33. Richardson TO, Christensen K, Franks NR, Jensen HJ, Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Group dynamics and record signals in the ant Temnothorax albipennis. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 8:518-528
34. Richardson TO, Robinson EJH, Christensen K, Jensen HJ, Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Comment on P. Nouvellet, J.P. Bacon, D. Waxman, ‘‘Testing the level of ant activity associated with quorum sensing: An empirical approach leading to the establishment and test of a null-model’’. Journal of Theoretical Biology 269:356-358
35. Franks NR, Richardson TO, Keir S, Inge SJ, Bartumeus F, Sendova-Franks AB (2010) Ant search strategies after interrupted tandem runs. 213:1697-1708
36. Richardson TO, Robinson EJH, Christensen K, Jensen HJ, Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (2010) Record dynamics in ants. PLoS One 5:e9621
37. Sendova-Franks AB, Hayward RK, Wulf B, Klimek T, James R, Planqué R, Britton NF, Franks NR (2010)'Emergency networking: famine relief in ant colonies. Animal Behaviour 79:473-485
38. Arcaute E, Christensen K, Sendova-Franks A, Dahl T, Espinosa A, Jensen HJ (2009) Division of labour in ant colonies in terms of attractive fields. Ecological Complexity 6:396-402
39. Berghoff SM, Wurst E, Ebermann E, Sendova-Franks AB, Rettenmeyer CW, Franks NR (2009) Symbionts of societies that fission: mites as guests or parasites of army ants. Ecological Entomology 34:684-695
40. Robinson EJH, Richardson TO, Sendova-Franks AB, Feineman O, Franks NR (2009) Radio tagging reveals the roles of corpulence, experience and social information in ant decision making. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63:627-636
41. Langridge EA, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2008) The behaviour of ant transporters at the old and new nests during successive colony emigrations. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62:1851-1861
42. Franks NR, Hardcastle KA, Collins S, Smith FD, Sullivan KME, Robinson EJH, Sendova-Franks AB (2008) Can ant colonies choose a far-and-away better nest over an in-the-way poor one.Animal Behaviour 76:323-334
43. Aleksiev AS, Longdon, B, Christmas MJ, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2008) Individual and collective choice: parallel prospecting and mining in ants. Naturwissenschaften 95:301-305
44. Langridge EA, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2008) How experienced individuals contribute to an improvement in collective performance in ants Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62: 447-456
45. Aleksiev AS, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2007) Nest ‘moulting’ in the ant Temnothorax albipennis. Animal Behaviour 74:567-575
46. Aleksiev AS, Longdon B, Christmas MJ, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2007) Individual choice of building material for nest construction by worker ants and the collective outcome for their colony. Animal Behaviour 74:559-566
47. Aleksiev AS, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2007) The selection of building material for wall construction by ants. Animal Behaviour 73:779-788
48. Scholes, SR, Sendova-Franks, AB, Swift ST, Melhuish, C (2006) Ants can sort their brood without a gaseous template. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59:531-540
49. Melhuish C, Sendova-Franks AB, Scholes S, Horsfield I, Welsby F (2006) Ant inspired sorting by robots: the importance of initial clustering. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 3:235-242
50. Sendova-Franks AB, Scholes SR, Franks NR, Melhuish C (2004) Brood sorting by ants: two phases and differential diffusion. Animal Behaviour 68:1095-1106
51. Langridge EA, Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (2004) Improvement in collective performance with experience in ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 56:523-529
52. Franks NR, Britton NF, Sendova-Franks AB, Denny AJ, Soans EL, Brown AP, Cole RE, Havardi RJ, Griffiths CJ, Ellis SR (2004) Centrifugal waste disposal and the optimization of ant nest-craters. Animal Behaviour 67:965-973
53. Scholes S, Wilson M, Sendova-Franks AB, Melhuish C (2004) Comparisons in evolution and engineering: the collective intelligence of sorting. Adaptive Behavior 12:147-159
54. Wilson M, Melhuish C, Sendova-Franks AB, Scholes SR (2004) Algorithms for building annular structures with minimalist robots inspired by brood sorting in ant colonies. Autonomous Robots (Special Issue on Swarm Robotics) 17:115-136
55. Sendova-Franks AB, Van lent J (2002) Random walk models of worker sorting in ant colonies. Journal of Theoretical Biology 217:255-274
56. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR, Britton NF (2002) The role of competition in task switching during colony emigration in Leptothorax ants. Animal Behaviour 63: 715-725
57. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB, Anderson C (2001) Division of labour within teams of New World and Old World army ants. Animal Behaviour 62:635-642
58. Backen SJ, Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (2000) Testing the limits of social resilience in ant colonies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 48:125-131
59. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (2000) Queen transport during ant colony emigration: a group-level adaptive behavior. Behavioral Ecology 11:315-318
60. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB, Simmons J, Mogie M (1999) Convergent evolution, super-efficient teams and tempo in Old and New World army ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 266:1697-1701
61. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1999) Self-assembly, self-organization and division of labour. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 354:1395-1405
62. Franks NR, Tofts C, Sendova-Franks AB (1997) Studies of the division of labour: neither physics nor stamp collecting. Animal Behaviour 53:219-224
63. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1995c) Demonstrating new social interactions in ant colonies through randomisation tests: separating seeing from believing. Animal Behaviour 50:1683-1696
64. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1995b) Division of labour in a crisis: task allocation during colony emigration in the ant Leptothorax unifasciatus (Latr.). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 36:269-282
65. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1995a) Spatial relationships within nests of the ant Leptothorax unifasciatus (Latr.) and their implications for the division of labour. Animal Behaviour 50:121-136
66. Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1994) Social resilience in individual worker ants and its role in division of labour. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 256:305-309
67. Sendova-Franks A, Franks NR (1993) Task allocation in ant colonies within variable environments. (A study of temporal polyethism: experimental). Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 55:75-96
68. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (1992) Brood sorting by ants: distributing the workload over the work-surface. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 30:109-123
69. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB, Sendova-Vassileva M, Vassilev L (1991) Nuptial flights and calling behaviour in the ant Leptothorax acervorum (Fabr.). Insect Sociaux 38:327-330
70. Vassilev IB, Sendova AB (1988) The effect of temperature and pressure on the vitality of certain insects. Comptes Rendus de'Acad.Bulg. des Sciences 41:127-129
II. Book chapters
71. Franks NR, Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Learning and Decision Making in a Social Context. In: (R Menzel & PR Benjamin eds.) Volume 22: Invertebrate Learning and Memory, 1st Edition. Academic Press, ISBN:9780124158238, Pages:656
III. Contributions to journal issues or books based on conference proceedings
72. Melhuish C, Wilson M, Sendova-Franks, AB (2001) Patch-sorting: multi-object clustering using minimalist robots. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2159:543-552
73. Deneubourg JL, Goss S, Franks N, Sendova-Franks A, Detrain C, Chretien L (1991) The dynamics of collective sorting: robot-like ants and ant-like robots. In: Meyer J-A, Wilson S (eds) Simulation of animal behaviour: from animals to animats. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 356-365
IV. Book reviews
74. Sendova-Franks AB (2006) Problem solving inspired by ants. A review of Ant colony optimization by Marco Dorigo and Thomas Stützle, MIT Press, 2004, 305 pp. Connection Science 18:89-91
75. Sendova-Franks AB (1994) Who's who of tramp ants. A review of Exotic ants; Biology, impact, and control of introduced species. Editor, DF Williams. Westview Press, Boulder. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9:497-498
V. In Focus editorial articles
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Neophobia and animal adjustment to urban environments. Animal Behaviour 117:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Spatial memory in frogs transporting their tadpoles. Animal Behaviour 116:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Juvenile playfulness and adulthood anxiety in mice. Animal Behaviour 114:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Same-sex sexual behaviour in flour beetles. Animal Behaviour 114:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Nursing the offspring of other females in giraffes. Animal Behaviour 113:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Memory and quantity discrimination in angelfish. Animal Behaviour 112:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2016) Night-sky orientation in diurnal and nocturnal dung beetles. Animal Behaviour 111:iii-vi
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Spatial segregation in foraging shearwaters. Animal Behaviour 110:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) A g factor in wild New Zealand robins. Animal Behaviour 109:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) The function of white coloration in nocturnal spiders. Animal Behaviour 108:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Relationships influence exploration in wolves and dogs. Animal Behaviour 107:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Desert ants use odour to navigate. Animal Behaviour 106:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Age-related performance decline in zebra finches. Animal Behaviour 105:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Winner and loser effects in flies of both sexes. Animal Behaviour 104:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Song pitch and body size in willow warblers. Animal Behaviour 103:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) The food search strategies of noisy miners. Animal Behaviour 102:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Visual orientation and courtship in fiddler crabs. Animal Behaviour 101:iii-v
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Startle displays in katydids. Animal Behaviour 100:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2015) Separate effects of population density and food availability on home ranges. Animal Behaviour 99:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Why do sea snakes dive? Animal Behaviour 98:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Honeybees eavesdrop on their ant predators. Animal Behaviour 97:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Robots influence cognitive task performance in children. Animal Behaviour 96:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Aphid manipulation of host plants benefits feeding behaviour. Animal Behaviour 95:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Macaque male attraction to female facial colour and contrast. Animal Behaviour 94:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Navigational conflict resolution by penguin chick pairs. Animal Behaviour 93:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Mothers joining forces: benefits of communal nesting in house mice. Animal Behaviour 92:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Behavioural traditions in marmosets. Animal Behaviour 91:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Group size preferences in Three-spined Sticklebacks. Animal Behaviour 90:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Mushroom harvesting in ants. Animal Behaviour 89:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Early social isolation affects lizard behaviour. Animal Behaviour 88:iii-iv
· Sendova-Franks AB (2014) Maternal styles in quail. Animal Behaviour 87:1-2
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Song syllable order matters to skylarks. Animal Behaviour 86:1113-1115
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Individual recognition in mongooses. Animal Behaviour 86:873-875
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Time is in the eye of the beholder. Animal Behaviour 86:663-665
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Olfactory cues of social familiarity mediate group-joining decisions in predatory mites. Animal Behaviour 86:489-490
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Protective mother hens. Animal Behaviour 86:209–211
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Human mutual mate choice for height results in a compromise. Animal Behaviour 86:1–2
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Task specialization in mound-building mice. Animal Behaviour 85:1135–1136
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Sensory exploitation in mate choice. Animal Behaviour 85:867–868
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Effect of increased yolk testosterone in chickens. Animal Behaviour 85:691–692
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) The twilight ascents of swifts. Animal Behaviour 85:515–516
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Transmission of nest site preferences in titmice. Animal Behaviour 85:297–298
· Sendova-Franks AB (2013) Flexibility of task response thresholds in bumblebees. Animal Behaviour 85:3–4
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Adult play and social tolerance. Animal Behaviour 84:1281–1282
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Ageing in spiders. Animal Behaviour 84:1083–1084
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Vibrational communication in digging ants. Animal Behaviour 84:739–741
· Sendova-Franks AB, Griffith SC (2012) Birds can recognize kin from individual odours. Animal Behaviour 84:497–498
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Birth weight is related to learning performance in honeybee Foragers. Animal Behaviour 84:293–294
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Exploratory behaviour and metabolic rate in shrews. Animal Behaviour 84:1–2
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Visual lateralization in cuttlefish. Animal Behaviour 83:1301–1302
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Courtship effort as a mate choice signal in gobies. Animal Behaviour 83:1141–1142
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Hornet’s response to honeybee signal. Animal Behaviour 83:869–870
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Call diversity in killer whales. Animal Behaviour 83:571–572
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) Timing of homeward flights in seabirds. Animal Behaviour 83:311–312
· Sendova-Franks AB (2012) The effect of migration on assortative mating. Animal Behaviour 83:1–2
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Orientation of nocturnal insect migrants. Animal Behaviour 82: 1219–1220
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Tool use and cognition in Darwin’s finches. Animal Behaviour 82: 925–926
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Salmon use diet cues to recognize a mammalian predator. Animal Behaviour 82:611–612
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Alternative mating strategies in elephant seals. Animal Behaviour 82: 423–424
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) The role of experience in nest building. Animal Behaviour 82:175–176
· Sendova-Franks AB (2011) Meerkats alternate roles in conflict situations. Animal Behaviour 81:1091–1092
VI. Popular science
o Hüetlin T (2010) Vorkoster für die Königin Der Spiegel, 10 February 2010, p. 141
o Viegas J (2010) Poison-taster ants help save colonies. Discovery News website (www.news.discovery.com/animals/ants-poison-famine.htm), 8 January 2010
o Kelly J (2007) EPSRC funding for ‘Defying the rules’. UWE Bristol: the Bulletin, 27 February 2007, issue 65, p. 4.
o Kelly J (2007) Why ants don’t bump into each other. UWE Bristol: the Bulletin, 27 January 2007, issue 63, p. 14; attracted attention by local newspapers, TV and radio station and some national newspapers and agencies.
o Sendova-Franks AB (2004) Researchers star in TV documentary on biomimetics. UWE Bristol: the Bulletin, 27 May 2004, issue 40, p. 19.
o Douse C (2004) Meet the antbots. EPSRC Newsline, Spring 2004, issue 29, pp. 16-17
o Constable T (2002) Division of labour: the intricate ways army ants work together. BBC Wildlife Magazine, p. 22, February 2002, based on Franks et al. (2001a) above
o Whitfield J (2001) When is an ant like a bicycle? Nature Science Update (www.nature.com/nsu/011101/011101-6.html), 30 October 2001, based on Franks et al. (2001a)
o Sendova-Franks, AB (2000) Mathematical modelling of ant colonies. Tempus, July 2000, Faculty of Computer Studies and Mathematics, University of the West of England