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The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies

Publication ,  Journal Article
Anderson, C; Franks, NR; McShea, DW
Published in: Animal Behaviour
January 1, 2001

To understand the functioning and organizational complexity of insect societies, a combination of different approaches is needed. One such approach, which we adopt in this study, is to consider tasks in insect societies not based upon their function, as is traditional, but upon their structure. Four types of task in insect societies have been proposed: individual, group, team and partitioned tasks. We examine the relationships among these four task types and consider 'task complexity' to mean the degree of cooperation and coordination required to complete a particular task successfully. In this respect, individual tasks are considered the simplest (low complexity), group tasks are more complex (medium), and team and partitioned tasks the most complex (high). We decompose tasks into their component subtasks to understand how the demands of a task influence how workers must work together to complete it successfully. We describe a simple method to measure the complexity of tasks using task deconstruction. Points are assigned to each subtask within the task and summed to give a total score. This measure, the task's score, allows objective comparison of tasks (different tasks may be ranked in order of their complexity) within and between species, or even higher taxa, and we hope it will be of practical use to researchers. We propose that both team and partitioned tasks may contain individual, group, team and partitioned subtasks. We examine each of the possible task-subtask relationships and provide examples from known social insect behaviour. © 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

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Published In

Animal Behaviour

DOI

ISSN

0003-3472

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

62

Issue

4

Start / End Page

643 / 651

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 52 Psychology
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 30 Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
  • 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

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Anderson, C., Franks, N. R., & McShea, D. W. (2001). The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies. Animal Behaviour, 62(4), 643–651. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1795
Anderson, C., N. R. Franks, and D. W. McShea. “The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies.” Animal Behaviour 62, no. 4 (January 1, 2001): 643–51. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1795.
Anderson C, Franks NR, McShea DW. The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies. Animal Behaviour. 2001 Jan 1;62(4):643–51.
Anderson, C., et al. “The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies.” Animal Behaviour, vol. 62, no. 4, Jan. 2001, pp. 643–51. Scopus, doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1795.
Anderson C, Franks NR, McShea DW. The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies. Animal Behaviour. 2001 Jan 1;62(4):643–651.
Journal cover image

Published In

Animal Behaviour

DOI

ISSN

0003-3472

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

62

Issue

4

Start / End Page

643 / 651

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 52 Psychology
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 30 Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
  • 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences