Beyond the sum of individuals
2006/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Lobster pests cause great harm to farmers, especially in Africa and Australia. When they are in small groups, each oti moves separately and are less harmful. In large groups, however, otis behave differently: they all move together, as if they were a single organism. It is then that they become a danger to farmers.
The University of Oxford has investigated when this behavior change occurs. In a delimited space, young otis, nymphs, have seen how much they change behavior. It seems that they begin to move when there are 25 nymphs per square meter.
The result of the research can be relevant for pest control. However, researchers still do not know why this behavior change occurs, since being cannibals may not become food for others parallel to them.
