International collaborative studies on spatial distribution and movement synchronization in social groups of horses

Project Gist

Investigation of the evolution of sociality by comparative studies on horses’ multi-level society

Keywords

Sociality、Group dynamics、Competition and cooperation, Evolution, Comparative cognitive science

Background and Purpose

We investigate the evolutionary basis of social behaviors such as synchrony and group decision-making, which are important components of human sociality, in both wild and captive horses. Using the latest technologies such as GPSs and drones, we quantitatively examine behavioral coordination among wild and captive horses to elucidate the phylogenetic basis for aspects of their social behavior. This is an international collaborative project among Kyoto University, University of Coimbra, University of Oxford, and Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III University. The aim is to promote exchange with researchers in different fields in Japan and overseas, and to contribute to the development of new academic fields that combine biology, engineering, and mathematical informatics.

Project Achievements

We made academic exchange agreements (MOU) with four European and domestic institutions and established an international network for intensive research collaboration. It has produced innovative results, such as finding a multi-layered society, as is found in humans in equine society. We have already published five peer-reviewed English academic papers from this two-year project, and also actively contributed to general-purpose scientific journals for the public. It attracts a lot of attention from international researchers and media. It also leads to acquisition of research funding such as the Grant in Aid for Scientific Research (A) from JSPS.

Future Prospects

Building on the research environment infrastructure developed with the support of SPIRITS, we will strive to build a more international collaborative research network and aim to acquire large-scale research funds. Research data has been accumulated, and it is expected that 5-10 English-language academic papers will be published in the next two years. I would like to expand the scope to a wide variety of animals and connect it to a large-scale comparative research project to elucidate the evolution of sociality.

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Joint Research/Academic Institutions Abroad

University of Coimbra, University of Oxford, Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III University

Principal Investigator