Behavioral Analysis of a Group Decision-Making Process

群体决策过程的行为分析托马斯·D·西里动物群体作为集体决策主体的最引人注目的例子之一是一群蜜蜂选择它未来的家。这种现象发生在春末夏初，此时蜂群超出了蜂巢，开始通过蜂群分裂。蜂群集体离开，迅速在父母蜂箱外形成一群蜜蜂；然后它们在附近的树枝上聚集成胡须状的簇，在那里它们选择未来的栖息地。选择筑巢地点的过程首先是数百只侦察蜂从蜂群中飞来，寻找符合蜜蜂房地产偏好的树洞。然后，侦察员返回蜂群，以摇摆舞的方式报告他们的发现，并共同决定他们已经发现的十几个或更多可能的筑巢地点中的哪一个应该是蜂群的新家。PI将决定(1)蜜蜂群中的侦察员如何共同工作来决定他们未来的筑巢地点，以及(2)当他们完成这个决定时，他们如何感觉到。这样的群体决策，或社会选择，在许多群居动物中都会发生。解开社会选择的机制对于理解动物群体是如何运作的至关重要，甚至可能导致人类进行社会选择的新方法。一群蜜蜂选择筑巢地点是动物进行社会选择的一种引人注目的、容易获得的形式。

Behavioral analysis of a group decision-making processThomas D. SeeleyOne of the most spectacular examples of an animal group functioning as a collective decision-making agent is a swarm of honeybees choosing its future home. This phenomenon occurs in the late spring and early summer when a colony outgrows its hive and proceeds to divide itself by swarming. The swarm bees leave en masse, quickly forming a cloud of bees just outside the parental hive; they then coalesce into a beard-like cluster on a nearby tree branch where they choose their future dwelling place. The nest-site selection process starts with several hundred scout bees flying from the swarm cluster to search for tree cavities that meet the bees' real-estate preferences. The scouts then return to the cluster, report their findings by means of waggle dances, and work together to decide which one of the dozen or more possible nest sites that they have discovered should be the swarm's new home.The PI will determine (1) how the scouts in a honey bee swarm work together to make the decision regarding their future nest site, and (2) how they sense when they have finished making this decision. Such group decision making, or social choice, occurs in many species of group-living animals. Unraveling the mechanisms of social choice is essential to understanding how animal groups function and may even lead to novel methods of social choice by humans. A swarm of honey bees choosing its nest site is a striking and accessible form of social choice by animals.