Information Transfer in Starling Flocks

Synopsis

In nature, large groups of animals tend to flock together to form a coherent group. When this group performs a collective turn, all members in the group must go through a change of state. To prevent cohesion loss in this transition, it is essential that the decision to turn is transferred quickly through the group. A recent study of the starling flocks in Rome has shown that this information propagates through the group with a linear dispersion law and negligible attenuation. However, present models of collective motion show a diffusive transport of information. To correct this, a theory has been formulated that not only correctly predicts the linear dispersion, but also suggests that the higher the order in the group, the faster the transport of information.