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Perspective

Natural search algorithms as a bridge between organisms, evolution, and ecology

Andrew M. Hein, Francesco Carrara, Douglas R. Brumley, Roman Stocker, and Simon A. Levin
  1. aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
  2. bRalph M. Parsons Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
  3. cInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, Eidgenössiche Technische Hoschule (ETH) Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

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PNAS August 23, 2016 113 (34) 9413-9420; first published August 5, 2016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606195113
Andrew M. Hein
aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
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  • For correspondence: ahein@princeton.edu
Francesco Carrara
bRalph M. Parsons Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
cInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, Eidgenössiche Technische Hoschule (ETH) Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Douglas R. Brumley
bRalph M. Parsons Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
cInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, Eidgenössiche Technische Hoschule (ETH) Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Roman Stocker
bRalph M. Parsons Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
cInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, Eidgenössiche Technische Hoschule (ETH) Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Simon A. Levin
aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
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  1. Edited by Tom M. Fenchel, University of Copenhagen, Helsingor, Denmark, and approved July 11, 2016 (received for review May 18, 2016)

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Abstract

The ability to navigate is a hallmark of living systems, from single cells to higher animals. Searching for targets, such as food or mates in particular, is one of the fundamental navigational tasks many organisms must execute to survive and reproduce. Here, we argue that a recent surge of studies of the proximate mechanisms that underlie search behavior offers a new opportunity to integrate the biophysics and neuroscience of sensory systems with ecological and evolutionary processes, closing a feedback loop that promises exciting new avenues of scientific exploration at the frontier of systems biology.

  • sensing
  • navigation
  • evolutionary strategy
  • encounter rates
  • exploration–exploitation

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: ahein{at}princeton.edu.
  • Author contributions: A.M.H., F.C., D.R.B., R.S., and S.A.L. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

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Search algorithms: Organisms, evolution, ecology
Andrew M. Hein, Francesco Carrara, Douglas R. Brumley, Roman Stocker, Simon A. Levin
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2016, 113 (34) 9413-9420; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606195113

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Search algorithms: Organisms, evolution, ecology
Andrew M. Hein, Francesco Carrara, Douglas R. Brumley, Roman Stocker, Simon A. Levin
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2016, 113 (34) 9413-9420; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606195113
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 113 (34)
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    • Abstract
    • The Evolution of Search Strategies
    • Search Strategies and the Pace of Ecological Interactions
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