Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorShirgaonkar, Anup
dc.contributor.authorMacIver, Malcolm A.
dc.contributor.authorPatankar, Neelesh A.
dc.date.accessioned2010-12-22T19:52:07Z
dc.date.available2010-12-22T19:52:07Z
dc.date.issued2010-05
dc.date.submitted2010-01
dc.identifier.issn1553-7358
dc.identifier.issn1553-734X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60367
dc.description.abstractWhile there is accumulating evidence for the importance of the metabolic cost of information in sensory systems, how these costs are traded-off with movement when sensing is closely linked to movement is poorly understood. For example, if an animal needs to search a given amount of space beyond the range of its vision system, is it better to evolve a higher acuity visual system, or evolve a body movement system that can more rapidly move the body over that space? How is this trade-off dependent upon the three-dimensional shape of the field of sensory sensitivity (hereafter, sensorium)? How is it dependent upon sensorium mobility, either through rotation of the sensorium via muscles at the base of the sense organ (e.g., eye or pinna muscles) or neck rotation, or by whole body movement through space? Here we show that in an aquatic model system, the electric fish, a choice to swim in a more inefficient manner during prey search results in a higher prey encounter rate due to better sensory performance. The increase in prey encounter rate more than counterbalances the additional energy expended in swimming inefficiently. The reduction of swimming efficiency for improved sensing arises because positioning the sensory receptor surface to scan more space per unit time results in an increase in the area of the body pushing through the fluid, increasing wasteful body drag forces. We show that the improvement in sensory performance that occurs with the costly repositioning of the body depends upon having an elongated sensorium shape. Finally, we show that if the fish was able to reorient their sensorium independent of body movement, as fish with movable eyes can, there would be significant energy savings. This provides insight into the ubiquity of sensory organ mobility in animal design. This study exposes important links between the morphology of the sensorium, sensorium mobility, and behavioral strategy for maximally extracting energy from the environment. An “infomechanical” approach to complex behavior helps to elucidate how animals distribute functions across sensory systems and movement systems with their diverse energy loads.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant IOS-0846032)en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBET-0828749)en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (TeraGrid Project grant CTS-070056T)en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipArgonne National Laboratoryen_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000769en_US
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attributionen_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/en_US
dc.sourcePLoSen_US
dc.titleEnergy-Information Trade-Offs between Movement and Sensingen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.citationMacIver, Malcolm A., Neelesh A. Patankar, and Anup A. Shirgaonkar. “Energy-Information Trade-Offs between Movement and Sensing.” PLoS Comput Biol 6.5 (2010): e1000769.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.approverShirgaonkar, Anup
dc.contributor.mitauthorShirgaonkar, Anup
dc.relation.journalPLoS Computational Biologyen_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen_US
dc.type.urihttp://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticleen_US
eprint.statushttp://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerRevieweden_US
dspace.orderedauthorsMacIver, Malcolm A.; Patankar, Neelesh A.; Shirgaonkar, Anup A.en
mit.licensePUBLISHER_CCen_US
mit.metadata.statusComplete


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record