Study of physical, biological, and chemical aspects of vortex forming animal swarms in theory and experiment, especially in Daphnia

提出的跨学科项目涉及物理，生物和化学方面的涡旋形成群体的自我推动的代理人在理论和实验。实验部分使用的生物制剂是常见的淡水浮游动物水蚤。本项目包括两个平行的研究方向：(1)研究自走智能体群体从聚集到集体涡运动的转变及其发生这种转变所需的前提条件。建议通过以下方法进行研究：(a)计算机建模，特别是分析药剂与周围介质之间的相互作用，以及药剂之间的相互作用，以及(b)实验，允许跟踪个体水蚤的路径和高密度群体中的水运动。(2)对个体动物对环境变化的行为进行详细的实验研究，如kairomone（来自捕食者的化学信号）和食物浓度的变化、光照条件的变化或动物密度的变化。这主要是通过电记录水蚤的神经反应和表征它们的游泳行为来分析的。本研究的结果除了其本身的意义外，对于后续处理从群体运动到集体涡旋运动转变的实验的开展以及现有计算机模型的优化也具有重要意义，如上文(1)所述。

The proposed interdisciplinary project deals with the physical, biological, and chemical aspects of vortex forming swarms of self-propelled agents in theory and experiment.The biological agent employed for the experimental part of the study is the common fresh-water zooplankton Daphnia. The project consists of two research directions to be followed in parallel:(1) The investigation of the transition from gathering to collective vortex motion in self-propelled agent swarms and the preconditions necessary for this transition to occur. This is proposed to be studied by means of (a) computer modeling, especially with respect to the analysis of the interactions between the agents and the surrounding medium, as well as inter-agent interactions, and (b) experiments which allow tracking of the path of individual Daphnia and the water movement in high density swarms.(2) The detailed experimental investigation of the behavior of individual animals to changes in their environment, i.e. changes in kairomone (chemical cues from predators) and food concentration, changes in light conditions, or changes in animal density.This is proposed to be analyzed mainly by electrorecording neural responses of Daphnia and characterizing their swimming behavior. Besides its own right, results of this study are important for the development of follow-up experiments dealing with the transition from swarming to collective vortex motion and the optimization of existing computer models, as outlined above in (1).