Effects of social group size on information transfer and task allocation

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Pacala ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon ◽  
H. C. J. Godfray
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Task Allocation ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
And Task

Division of labor

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phanish Puranam
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Task Allocation ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Heuristic Approaches ◽  
Object Based ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Task Division ◽  
And Task

Division of labor involves task division and task allocation. An extremely important consequence of task division and allocation is the creation of interdependence between agents. In fact, division of labor can be seen as a process that converts interdependence between tasks into interdependence between agents. While there are many ways in which the task structure can be chunked and divided among agents, two important heuristic approaches involve division of labor by activity vs. object. I show that a choice between these two forms of division of labor only arises when the task structure is non-decomposable, but the product itself is decomposable. When the choice arises, a key criterion for selection between activity vs. object-based division of labor is the gain from specialization relative to the gain from customization.

Provider selection and task allocation issues in networks with different QoS levels and all you can send pricing

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nihat Kasap ◽  
Haldun Aytug ◽  
S. Selcuk Erenguc
Keyword(s):  
Task Allocation ◽  
And Task

scholarly journals Context-dependent expression of the foraging gene in field colonies of ants: the interacting roles of age, environment and task

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1837) ◽  
pp. 20160841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista K. Ingram ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon ◽  
Daniel A. Friedman ◽  
Michael Greene ◽  
John Kahler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Task Allocation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Genetic Regulation ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
And Task

Task allocation among social insect workers is an ideal framework for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying behavioural plasticity because workers of similar genotype adopt different behavioural phenotypes. Elegant laboratory studies have pioneered this effort, but field studies involving the genetic regulation of task allocation are rare. Here, we investigate the expression of the foraging gene in harvester ant workers from five age- and task-related groups in a natural population, and we experimentally test how exposure to light affects foraging expression in brood workers and foragers. Results from our field study show that the regulation of the foraging gene in harvester ants occurs at two time scales: levels of foraging mRNA are associated with ontogenetic changes over weeks in worker age, location and task, and there are significant daily oscillations in foraging expression in foragers. The temporal dissection of foraging expression reveals that gene expression changes in foragers occur across a scale of hours and the level of expression is predicted by activity rhythms: foragers have high levels of foraging mRNA during daylight hours when they are most active outside the nests. In the experimental study, we find complex interactions in foraging expression between task behaviour and light exposure. Oscillations occur in foragers following experimental exposure to 13 L : 11 D (LD) conditions, but not in brood workers under similar conditions. No significant differences were seen in foraging expression over time in either task in 24 h dark (DD) conditions. Interestingly, the expression of foraging in both undisturbed field and experimentally treated foragers is also significantly correlated with the expression of the circadian clock gene, cycle . Our results provide evidence that the regulation of this gene is context-dependent and associated with both ontogenetic and daily behavioural plasticity in field colonies of harvester ants. Our results underscore the importance of assaying temporal patterns in behavioural gene expression and suggest that gene regulation is an integral mechanism associated with behavioural plasticity in harvester ants.

Habitat patch size and mating system as determinants of social group size in coral-dwelling fishes

Coral Reefs ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Thompson ◽  
P. L. Munday ◽  
G. P. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Habitat Patch ◽  
Habitat Patch Size

Effect of social group size on aggressive behaviour between unacquainted domestic pigs

2001 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P Turner ◽  
Graham W Horgan ◽  
Sandra A Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Domestic Pigs

scholarly journals The effect of social group size on feather corticosterone in the co-operatively breeding Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani): An assay validation and analysis of extreme social living

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. e0174650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua K. Robertson ◽  
Cameron Muir ◽  
Conner S. Hurd ◽  
Jing S. Hing ◽  
James S. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Assay Validation ◽  
Feather Corticosterone
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