Critical Population Density Triggers Rapid Formation of Vast Oceanic Fish Shoals

@article{Makris2009CriticalPD,
  title={Critical Population Density Triggers Rapid Formation of Vast Oceanic Fish Shoals},
  author={Nicholas C. Makris and Purnima Ratilal and Srinivasan Jagannathan and Zheng Gong and Mark J. Andrews and Ioannis Bertsatos and Olav Rune God{\o} and Redwood W. Nero and Josef Michael Jech},
  journal={Science},
  year={2009},
  volume={323},
  pages={1734 - 1737}
}
Similarities in the behavior of diverse animal species that form large groups have motivated attempts to establish general principles governing animal group behavior. [] Key Result By quantifying the formation processes of vast oceanic fish shoals during spawning, we show that (i) a rapid transition from disordered to highly synchronized behavior occurs as population density reaches a critical value; (ii) organized group migration occurs after this transition; and (iii) small sets of leaders significantly…
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