Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems

Funding providers: EPSRC studentship with a 50% Match funded contribution from ONRG

Subject areas: Interdsipclinary Science, Collective Animal Behaviour, Computational Biology, Comparative Analyses, Swarm Robotics

Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-September)

Supervisors:

Andrew King (Swansea University)

William Allen (Swansea University)

Marina Papadopoulou (Tuscia University, Italy)

Andreagiovanni Reina (University of Konstanz, Germany)

Robert Heathcote (Oxford University)

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Biological Sciences

Mode of study: Full or Part-time study is possible

Project description:

Animal groups exhibit remarkable coordination and problem-solving capabilities, such as schools of fish working together to deter attacks by predators or fire ants creating rafts using their bodies to float over floodwaters. Recent work in behavioural biology emphasises how differences among individuals within groups (e.g., biomechanics, physiology, behaviour, cognition) determine group structure and functioning [1]. Building on these insights, you will compile and standardise datasets of collective movement and collect new data from multiple species of freshwater fish. From these data, you will identify and compare discrete “events” of coordinated movement and use our recently developed “swaRmverse” analysis pipeline [2] to perform inter- and intra-species comparisons of collective movement [3]. Based on these comparisons, you will create agent-based models (ABMs) that define interaction rules based on observed similarities and differences in events [4], with a focus on the specific role of individual differences. Creation of these ABMs will advance our understanding of why evolution selects and maintains individual heterogeneity [1]. You will apply this knowledge to engineered swarm systems. Swarm systems tend to rely on simple and homogeneous interactions used in early ABMs of collective motion [5]. Using the newly developed ABMs, you will create a model catalogue targeted at specific engineering problem domains that researchers in swarm robotics can use for developing more adaptive and efficient swarm systems [6].

Supervisory team:

You will be based at SHOALgroup.org at Swansea University (Singleton Campus) and will make visits to co-supervisors at collaborating institutions. You will receive mentorship and training from all supervisors, in behavioural biology (King, Heathcote), comparative analyses (Allen), agent-based modelling (Papadopoulou) and swarm robotics (Reina), and be an active member of interdisciplinary research teams addressing fundamental questions in social biology, with strong applied themes. As supervisors, we strive to create an enjoyable, inclusive, and productive team environment. You are encouraged to contact us and speak with previous PhD students about what to expect (e.g. see SHOALgroup alumni).