Besides focusing on the adaptive significance of collective movements, it is crucial to study
the mechanisms and dynamics of decision-making processes at the individual level …

Leadership is arguably one of the most important themes in the social sciences, yet until
recently has been largely overlooked in the natural sciences (Dyer et al., 2009; King et al …

The mechanisms by which group-living animals collectively exploit resources, and the role
of individuals in group decisions, are central issues for understanding animal distribution …

Consensus decisions about the nature and timing of group activities allow animals to
maintain group cohesiveness, but also entail costs because individuals often differ with …

Living in groups necessarily involves a certain amount of within-group competition for food.
Group members may have different motivations, implying the reaching of a consensus to …

A group of animals can only move cohesively, if group members “somehow” reach a
consensus about the timing (eg, start) and the spatial direction/destination of the collective …

An important potential advantage of group-living that has been mostly neglected by life
scientists is that individuals in animal groups may cope more effectively with unfamiliar …

Individuals need to coordinate their activities to benefit from group living. Thus group
decisions are essential for societies, especially if group members cooperate with each other …

In vertebrate groups of stable composition, particular categories of individuals have
traditionally been thought to lead decision making occurring around group movements …

The prevalent view of group splitting during group decisions is that a beneficial consensus
has not been reached because time constraints, different individual information, or inter …