Populations of independently oscillating agents can sometimes synchronize. In the context of animal societies, conspicuous synchronization of activity is known in some social insects. However, the causes of variation in synchrony within and between species have received little attention. We repeatedly assessed the short-term activity cycle of ant colonies (Temnothorax rugatulus) and monitored the movements of individual workers and queens within nests. We detected persistent differences between colonies in the waveform properties of their collective activity oscillations, with some colonies consistently oscillating much more erratically than others. We further demonstrate that colony crowding reduces the rhythmicity (i.e., the consistent timing) of oscillations. Workers in both erratic and rhythmic colonies spend less time active than completely isolated workers, but workers in erratic colonies oscillate out of phase with one another. We further show that the queen's absence can impair the ability of colonies to synchronize worker activity and that behavioral differences between queens are linked with the waveform properties of their societies.

中文翻译：

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蚂蚁社会集体节奏和同步性的种内变异来源

独立振荡主体的群体有时可以同步。在动物社会的背景下，一些社会性昆虫的活动具有明显的同步性。然而，物种内部和物种之间同步变化的原因却很少受到关注。我们反复评估蚁群（Temnothorax rugatulus）的短期活动周期，并监测蚁巢内工蚁和蚁后的活动情况。我们发现菌落之间集体活动振荡的波形特性存在持续差异，一些菌落的振荡始终比其他菌落更加不稳定。我们进一步证明，群体拥挤会降低振荡的节奏性（即一致的时间）。不稳定群落和有节奏群落中的工蚁的活跃时间都比完全孤立的工蚁少，但不稳定群落中的工蚁彼此之间的振荡却异相。我们进一步表明，蚁后的缺席会损害蚁群同步工蚁活动的能力，而且蚁后之间的行为差​​异与其社会的波形特性有关。