Behavioral correlations stretching over time are an essential but often neglected aspect of interactions among animals. These correlations pose a challenge to current behavioral-analysis methods that lack effective means to analyze complex series of interactions. Here we show that non-invasive information-theoretic tools can be used to reveal communication protocols that guide complex social interactions by measuring simultaneous flows of different types of information between subjects. We demonstrate this approach by showing that the tandem-running behavior of the ant Temnothorax rugatulus and that of the termites Coptotermes formosanus and Reticulitermes speratus are governed by different communication protocols. Our discovery reconciles the diverse ultimate causes of tandem running across these two taxa with their apparently similar signaling mechanisms. We show that bidirectional flow of information is present only in ants and is consistent with the use of acknowledgement signals to regulate the flow of directional information.

中文翻译：

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揭示信息流的结构可区分相似的动物社会行为

随着时间的流逝，行为相关性是动物之间相互作用的重要但经常被忽略的方面。这些相关性对当前的行为分析方法提出了挑战，这些方法缺乏有效的手段来分析复杂的一系列相互作用。在这里，我们展示了非侵入性信息理论工具可用于揭示可通过测量受试者之间不同类型信息的同时流动来指导复杂社会互动的通信协议。我们通过显示蚂蚁Temnothorax rugatulus和白蚁Coptotermes formosanus和Reticulitermes speratus的串联运行行为来证明这种方法由不同的通信协议控制。我们的发现使跨这两个类群的串联的多种最终原因与它们看起来相似的信号传导机制相协调。我们表明双向信息流仅存在于蚂蚁中，并且与使用确认信号来调节方向信息流相一致。