FISH TRACKS: A computer-generated representation of the trajectories of several zebrafish (Danio rerio).ALFONSO PEREZ-ESCUDERO AND SARA ARGANDA
Mackerel shoaling in silvery spheres, flocks of blackbirds billowing like dark clouds, and ant colonies carpeting forest floors—nature boasts some spectacular examples of individual animals coming together to form coordinated hordes. The question of how they accomplish such collective behavior has occupied biologists for decades. But although the majesty of swarms is clear for all to see, the mechanisms that explain how starlings coordinate their speed and direction, say, or how honeybees decide where to make a new hive are far too subtle to be detected by the naked eye. (See “Crowd Control,” The Scientist, July 2013.)
“We need to see the fine-scale trajectories of every individual in a group at the same time so we can know precisely where they’re moving with respect to ...
