Collective Motion of Animals: Recent Findings From Field Study and Model Experiments

Collective motion is ubiquitous in nature on all scales, from flocking birds, schooling fishes, to swarming bacteria. Traditionally, understanding of such phenomena is achieved through modeling and simulation. Recently, with advanced imaging techniques and particle tracking algorithms, spatiotemporal data of large quantity of individuals inside a group become available from field studies. From detailed analysis of these data, interactions between individuals are unveiled, which differ largely from previous assumptions. Meanwhile, model experiments on artificial system are performed to controllably study the collective motion. In this review, I will summarize key results from these recent findings, along with simulations that incorporate these new ingredients.