Collective behavior as a research area investigates how large ensembles of interacting agents—such as cells, animals, humans, or artificial units—generate emergent spatiotemporal patterns and coordinated dynamics that cannot be trivially inferred from individual-level rules. It integrates concepts and methods from statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, complex systems theory, network science, and computational modeling to characterize phenomena such as synchronization, swarming, flocking, consensus formation, and phase transitions in social or biological systems. Research focuses on identifying local interaction rules, quantifying macroscopic order parameters, understanding robustness and criticality, and developing predictive, often multi-scale, models of group-level organization and decision-making.
Some fish swim in synchrony. Others, it turns out, breathe in synchrony. This is true for arapaimas, an obligate air-breathing species living in the Amazon. A new study in Communications Biology, led by the Leibniz Institute ...
Ecology
Jun 23, 2026
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Many animal species that live in groups are known to adjust their behavior to strengthen their social bonds or increase their coordination with others around them. For instance, humans and some other animals exhibit vocal ...
Frightened bat rays produce a chemical cue to warn other rays of danger, a well-known anti-predator strategy for bony fish that has not been documented in cartilaginous fish until now. Oregon State University researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 20, 2026
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Animal pairs engage in mutual signaling by simultaneously performing a diverse repertoire of behaviors. A famous example is the sophisticated dance (mutual displays) performed by bird pairs.
Plants & Animals
Jun 20, 2026
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Flocking birds and schools of fish are a familiar sight. While previous research has uncovered the broad dynamics driving these movements, their underlying intricacies remain a mystery. Now a study by a team of New York University ...
Soft Matter
Jun 18, 2026
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Whether it's to the moon or Mars, a NASA mission requires some essential preparations: designing and developing the spacecraft, astronaut training and safety checks, clear goals, and strategies and procedures for maintaining ...
Space Exploration
Jun 17, 2026
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A new study demonstrates that honeybees can evaluate the reliability of their own communication, actively adjusting the vigor of their "waggle dance" based on the truthfulness of the information they provide. By manipulating ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
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Dwarf mongooses anticipate encounters with rival groups and adjust how they move, communicate and defend resources beforehand, according to new research from the University of Bristol. The study, published in Nature Ecology ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
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Birds in flocks, bacteria and cells: In many collective systems, individual elements respond to only part of their surroundings, seemingly defying Newton's third law of motion—action equals reaction. These exceptions are ...
General Physics
Jun 12, 2026
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Once charted as a 'guest star' in ancient China, dreaded as a harbinger of ill omens in medieval Europe, and preserved in the narratives and artworks of Indigenous cultures, these cosmic spectacles are now known as core-collapse ...
Astronomy
Jun 12, 2026
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