Mechanisms of Transition from Discrete to Continuous Synchronization in Firefly Swarms

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/4q77fs85k

Abstract

Many biological systems tend to display self-organization; one such system is swarms of fireflies. Self-organization for systems of fireflies is manifested as synchronization of the flashes in a melody of light. As the volume of data amassed has increased, our observations indicate that conventional modeling approaches are inadequate for accurately representing them. A different method of studying these models has arisen: Agent-Based Modeling. This thesis aims to study one emergent phenomenon of fireflies using this method, that of the transition from discrete to continuous synchronization. By using this Agent-Based Model, we show that the transition from discrete to continuous synchronization should occur around seven flashes per burst. Furthermore, we validate this model by using observational data from firefly species that display discrete synchronization and a species that displays continuous synchronization.

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