EXC 2117:  Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour

• Subject Area: Zoology ; Computer Science ; Psychology
• Term: since 2019
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390829875

The behaviour of collectives is both striking and captivating. But which mechanisms drive the seemingly choreographed movements of human crowds, flocking birds, schooling fish, or massive locust swarms threatening global food supplies? Why is such behaviour widespread in nature and which underlying principles transcend the specifics of each system? The Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour (CASCB), a joint initiative by the University of Konstanz (UKON) and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB), is dedicated to exploring a broad spectrum of collective behaviours across species and environments. By integrating behavioural, physiological, neural, ecological, and technological studies, CASCB employs a quantitative approach to provide fundamental insights into collective behaviour and to develop new principles for designing human-engineered systems. In its first funding period, CASCB has become a globally-connected interdisciplinary hub for collective behaviour research, fostering a vibrant, interdisciplinary community of over 160 scholars. In our newly opened research building, the Centre for Visual Computing of Collectives (VCC), CASCB has become a thriving focal point for our research community and campus life. In 2029, the MPI-AB will open its new building in the direct vicinity of the VCC, thus driving an even stronger collaboration. For the second funding period, our range of innovative research programmes will study the neural and algorithmic foundations of individual decision-making as well as the mechanisms and functional outcomes of inter-individual physiological and behavioural synchronisation. We complement our focus on the individual within the collective with research on the complex multi-scale networks of communication that give rise to collective behaviours. We will perform lifetime tracking of hundreds of birds during their global migrations, monitor hundreds of thousands of fish evading group-hunting predators, and observe near-countless locusts forming devastating swarms. The human collective behaviour cohort (CBC) study will allow us to observe multiple groups of students over years during a critical life transition. Our progress is enhanced by the dynamic and effective science-technology loop at CASCB, powering our responsive and highly synergistic interdisciplinary research strategies. Having gained fundamental insights into collective behaviour and linking mechanisms as well as functions across diverse systems and scales, CASCB lays the groundwork for new conceptual, computational, and mathematical frameworks for understanding collective behaviour. These frameworks, in turn, reshape experimental designs and technological innovations. Our approach will enable us to apply the science of collective behaviour to real-world problems, such as controlling locust swarms, addressing collective human challenges like climate change, and developing effective, scalable collective robotics.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Universität Konstanz
• Participating Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensbiologie
• Spokespersons: Professor Iain Couzin, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Oliver Deussen; Professorin Dr. Britta Renner
• Participating Researchers: Professor Armin Bahl, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Clemens Bechinger; Einat Couzin-Fuchs, Ph.D.; Professorin Margaret Crofoot, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Tiare Feuchtner; Professor Dr. Urs Fischbacher; Dr. Andrea Flack; Professorin Dr. Barbara Ingrid Fruth; Professor Dr. Wolfgang Gaissmaier; Professor Dr. David Garcia Becerra; Professor Dr. Bastian Goldlücke; Professor Dr.-Ing. Heiko Hamann; Professor Dr. Daniel Keim; Professor Dr. Jens Pruessner; Professor Dr. Falk Schreiber; Professor Dr. Harald Schupp; Dr. Caroline Schuppli; Dr. Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin; Dr. Anna Stöckl; Professor Tobias Sutter, Ph.D.; Dr. Hannah Jane Williams; Professorin Dr. Petra Wirtz, Ph.D.