Locust Collective Motion and Its Modeling

PLoS Comput Biol. 2015 Dec 10;11(12):e1004522. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004522. eCollection 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Over the past decade, technological advances in experimental and animal tracking techniques have motivated a renewed theoretical interest in animal collective motion and, in particular, locust swarming. This review offers a comprehensive biological background followed by comparative analysis of recent models of locust collective motion, in particular locust marching, their settings, and underlying assumptions. We describe a wide range of recent modeling and simulation approaches, from discrete agent-based models of self-propelled particles to continuous models of integro-differential equations, aimed at describing and analyzing the fascinating phenomenon of locust collective motion. These modeling efforts have a dual role: The first views locusts as a quintessential example of animal collective motion. As such, they aim at abstraction and coarse-graining, often utilizing the tools of statistical physics. The second, which originates from a more biological perspective, views locust swarming as a scientific problem of its own exceptional merit. The main goal should, thus, be the analysis and prediction of natural swarm dynamics. We discuss the properties of swarm dynamics using the tools of statistical physics, as well as the implications for laboratory experiments and natural swarms. Finally, we stress the importance of a combined-interdisciplinary, biological-theoretical effort in successfully confronting the challenges that locusts pose at both the theoretical and practical levels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution / physiology*
  • Animal Migration
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Crowding
  • Grasshoppers / physiology*
  • Locomotion / physiology*
  • Mass Behavior*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Nymph / physiology

Grants and funding

GA’s research has been partially supported by an EU Marie-Curie IRG grant. AA’s research has been supported by grant no. 891-0277-13 from Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.