In a group of animals, who deals with new information coming from the environment? Researchers from the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior have discovered that the answer lies not in who, but in where: information can be processed, not only by individual animals, but also in the invisible connections between them. The international team of scientists provides evidence of information processing occurring in the physical structure of animal groups. The study demonstrates that animals can encode information about their environment in the architecture of their groups and provides rare insight into how animal collectives are able to behaviorally adapt to a changing world.
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Source: Phys.org