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Communicative and Cognitive Underpinnings of Animal Group Movement

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Coordination in Human and Primate Groups

Abstract

The topic of collective animal behaviour has seen a surge of interest in recent years, with the diversity of organisms under study ranging from bacteria to humans in crowds. A large part of this research has been devoted to the identification of the mechanisms underlying decision making in the context of collective movement. In this chapter, we provide an overview of different processes that have been invoked to explain group coordination. Using baboons as a model, we illustrate the importance of signalling behaviour and behaviour-reading to achieve group movement, and we discuss the cognitive processes associated with collective action. We conclude by evaluating the differences in human collective action compared to collective action in other animals, with particular regard for the intentional structure of human communication.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Elisabeth Scheiner, Guy Cowlishaw, Peter M. Kappeler, and Michaela Kolbe for helpful comments, Margarita Neff-Heinrich for her careful editing of the manuscript, as well as Kristine Meise, Christina Keller, and Guy Cowlishaw for making unpublished data available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Ethology, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Julia Fischer & Dietmar Zinner

Authors
  1. Julia Fischer
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  2. Dietmar Zinner
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Correspondence to Julia Fischer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute for Psychol, University of Göttingen, Goßlerstr. 14, Göttingen, 37073, Germany

    Margarete Boos

  2. , Dept. of Management, Technology, and Eco, ETH ZĂĽrich, Kreuzplatz 5, ZĂĽrich, 8032, Switzerland

    Michaela Kolbe

  3. , Dept. of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, Göttingen, 37077, Germany

    Peter M. Kappeler

  4. , Dept. of Economic Psychology, University of Trier, Campus 1, Trier, 54286, Germany

    Thomas Ellwart

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Fischer, J., Zinner, D. (2011). Communicative and Cognitive Underpinnings of Animal Group Movement. In: Boos, M., Kolbe, M., Kappeler, P., Ellwart, T. (eds) Coordination in Human and Primate Groups. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15355-6_13

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