Escape cascades as a behavioral contagion process with adaptive network dynamics

Abstract

Complex behavioral contagion in collective evasion of mobile animal groups can be predicted by reconstructing quantitative interaction networks. Based on the assumption of time-scale separation between a fast contagion process and a slower movement response, the underlying interaction networks have been previously assumed to be static, determined by the spatial structure at the onset of the collective escape response. This idealization does not account for the temporal evolution of the spatial network structure, which may have a major impact on the behavioral contagion dynamics. Here, we propose a spatially-explicit, agent-based model for the coupling between behavioral contagion and the network dynamics originating from the spreading movement response. We explore the impact of movement parameters (startle speed, initial directionality, and directional noise) on average cascade size. By conducting numerical simulations for different density levels, we show that increasing escape speed suppresses the cascade size in most cases, that the cascade size depends strongly on the movement direction of the initially startled individual, and that large variability in the direction of individual escape movements (rotational noise) will typically promote the spread of behavioral contagion through spatial groups. Our work highlights the importance of accounting for movement dynamics in behavioral contagion, and facilitates our understanding of rapid coordinated response and collective information processing in animal groups.