Analysis Materials from Behavioural variation among workers promotes feed-forward loops in a simulated insect colony

Coordinated responses in eusocial insect colonies arise from worker interaction networks that enable collective processing of ecologically relevant information. Previous studies have detected a structural motif in these networks known as the feed-forward loop, which functions to process information in other biological regulatory networks (e.g. transcriptional networks). However, the processes that generate feed-forward loops among workers and the consequences for information flow within the colony remain largely unexplored. We constructed an agent-based model to investigate how individual variation in activity and movement shaped the production of feed-forward loops in a simulated insect colony. We hypothesized that individual variation along these axes would generate feed-forward loops by driving variation in interaction frequency among workers. We found that among-individual variation in activity drove overrepresentation of feed-forward loops in the interaction networks by determining the directionality of interactions. However, despite previous work linking feed-forward loops with efficient information transfer, activity variation did not promote faster or more efficient information flow, thus providing no support for the hypothesis that feed-forward loops reflect selection for enhanced collective functioning. Conversely, individual variation in movement trajectory, despite playing no role in generating feed-forward loops, promoted fast and efficient information flow by linking together unconnected regions of the nest.

真社会性昆虫群落的协同响应，依托支撑生态相关信息集体处理的工蚁交互网络得以产生。过往研究已在这类网络中鉴定出一种名为前馈环（feed-forward loop）的结构基序，该基序在转录调控网络等其他生物调控网络中承担信息处理功能。然而，目前学界对驱动工蚁间形成前馈环的具体过程，以及该结构对群落内部信息流动的影响，仍有待深入探索。本研究构建了基于智能体的模型（agent-based model），以探究个体在活动水平与移动模式上的差异，如何调控模拟昆虫群落中前馈环的生成。我们提出假说：上述两类个体特征差异，将通过改变工蚁间的交互频率，催生前馈环的形成。研究结果显示，个体间的活动水平差异通过决定交互的方向性，使得交互网络中的前馈环出现富集现象。尽管已有研究将前馈环与高效信息传递相挂钩，但活动水平差异并未提升信息流动的速度与效率，因此无法为“前馈环是对增强集体功能的选择压力的响应”这一假说提供实证支持。与之相反，个体移动轨迹的差异虽未参与前馈环的生成，却通过连接蚁穴内彼此孤立的区域，促进了信息的快速高效传递。