Collective Dynamical Network Formation of Active Matter―Collective Motion of Nematodes

Abstract

Our study of collective motion of nematodes is introduced. To investigate the dependence of the collective motion on various parameters, we used Caenorhabditis elegans, which can be observed under diverse conditions and whose many types of motility mutants are known. When worms were highly concentrated, they formed a dynamically fluctuating network structure on a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, and agar surface. We constructed a minimal multi-particle model considering the characteristics of motility of isolated worms and the two-body interaction of worms. With a large number of particles, a dynamical network corresponding to that of worms was formed. The dependence of the collective motion on various parameters was well reproduced by the model.