Extending the Particle Swarm Algorithm to Model Animal Foraging Behaviour

The particle swarm algorithm [1] contains elements which map fairly strongly to the group-foraging problem in behavioural ecology: its continuous equations of motion include concepts of social attraction and communication between individuals, two of the general requirements for grouping behaviour [2]. Despite its socio-biological background, the particle swarm algorithm has rarely been applied to biological problems, largely remaining a technique used in classical optimisation problems. In this paper [3], we show how some simple adaptions to the standard algorithm can make it well suited for the foraging problem.