![]() ![]() ![]() Tropical formicine Anoplolepis gracilipes. Is to a large extent chemical, we investigated the pheromone functions involved in foraging and alarm behaviour of the invasive Particularly invasiveĪnts are able to act highly cooperatively, out-compete other species, and become ecologically dominant. The ecological success of ants is founded on cooperative behaviour and a well functioning communication. The aim of our project is to take inspiration from these properties and deliver novel ant algorithms, which can apply to the problems of autonomic and autonomous systems. The remarkable sophistication of this self-organised ant foraging system clearly exhibits many desirable properties. This subtle balance means that multiple solutions can be maintained while an optimum is still sought, but alternative solutions are kept available. Furthermore, there is a division of labour between pathfinder scouts who persistently search for the optimal solution and generalised foragers who exploit the current best solution. Pharaoh’s ants utilise multiple chemical pheromones for communication (and memory) over divergent time scales. The problems solved by Pharaoh’s ants are analogous to those challenging modern computer science specifically dynamic or continuous optimisation problems. They respond to changing conditions in a manner which is desirable in emerging computational systems. Self-organised biological systems are robust, flexible and adaptive.
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