Field of Research:
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
In Germany:
01.07.2024 -
Host's project description
When flocks of birds suddenly change direction, but maintain their perfect formation, they do not need a leader to do so. But does this work the same way in groups of animals that are more hierarchically organised, like apes? How do groups of animals move; how do they defend their territory and how do they make decisions? These are the kinds of questions addressed by the young research field of Movement Ecology. It is in this context that the Anthropologist Meg Crofoot studies groups of baboons, using GPS tracking tags to follow and analyse their movements. The results of her work show how complex decision-making in these groups really is and that it is not just the leader of the pack who decides which way to go. Instead, majority decisions are reached, just like in a democracy, although reflex behaviour, whereby the animals orientate themselves according to the distance from various targets, for example, or the group’s angle to them, also plays a role. Meg Crofoot will help to build up the focus in Movement Ecology at the University of Konstanz and expand the research field that currently concentrates on fish and birds to embrace social groups like apes.
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Home Institute
Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensbiologie
Am Obstberg 1
78315
Radolfzell
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