Bird Brains

[toastywombel]

Even the bird-brained can follow a leader. When pigeons fly in flocks, each bird falls behind another with better navigational skill, and the savviest among them leads the flock, scientists report in the April 8 Nature.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57997/title/Pigeons_usually_let_best_navigator_take_the_lead

 

This article just blows me away, and begs the question, how do the members of the flock know what bird has the best navigational skills. This must imply some level of communication and/or observation amongst the birds that is then remembered.

 

Analysis of GPS logs showed that for each excursion, the flock had one leader followed by at least three or four other birds. Each of these followers was in turn followed by other birds in the flock. Comparing the solo flight paths to the group flights showed that the birds with the best navigational skills led the flock.

[ewmon]

I think in any organization (animals, humans, etc), members promote individuals who are successful and who aren't erratic, fast or laborious; and an individual is encouraged to lead due to the following that its performance produces.

[toastywombel]

I think in any organization (animals, humans, etc), members promote individuals who are successful and who aren't erratic, fast or laborious; and an individual is encouraged to lead due to the following that its performance produces.

 

Yes, but how do the birds differentiate between good performance and poor performance on navigation?

[ewmon]

Like most of life, it's all relative. I think most organisms can compare their distress/comfort with that of others nearby.

 

For example, say someone is a member of a prehistoric tribe. There's a hierarchy, but he end up following a maverick who runs him up and down hills, etc (without any benefit) while the rest of the tribe simply follows along an easy path. While this goes on, he look around and realize he's worn out while the others are in much better condition. When the tribe rests, he arrive sweaty and tired, while everyone else is basically okay, and it astounds him that they start going again as soon as they do. (Sound familiar?) I think all sorts of organisms can figure out that they're going about it the hard way.

 

If an individual copies the rest of the tribe and still cannot keep up, then it becomes a straggler and/or joins a pokier crowd.

[toastywombel]

Like most of life, it's all relative. I think most organisms can compare their distress/comfort with that of others nearby.

 

For example, say someone is a member of a prehistoric tribe. There's a hierarchy, but he end up following a maverick who runs him up and down hills, etc (without any benefit) while the rest of the tribe simply follows along an easy path. While this goes on, he look around and realize he's worn out while the others are in much better condition. When the tribe rests, he arrive sweaty and tired, while everyone else is basically okay, and it astounds him that they start going again as soon as they do. (Sound familiar?) I think all sorts of organisms can figure out that they're going about it the hard way.

 

If an individual copies the rest of the tribe and still cannot keep up, then it becomes a straggler and/or joins a pokier crowd.

 

Running up and down hills can offer benefits such as conditioning and endurance building. Though, it would be more likely that individuals would inherit behaviors from their respective tribe(s). As opposed to individuals following a 'maverick'.

 

Also the first humans were hunter/gatherer nomads, who needed to stay on the move to survive. If someone can't keep up in this type of environment, and the tribe had to stay behind to care for this person, the safety of the whole tribe would be threatened as opposed to the safety of just the one person (compared to just being left behind).

 

Since the person cannot keep up, he cannot stay with the tribe, interact with the tribes members, or procreate. The end result of this, that person's traits will not be past on to future generations.