Âé¶¹ÒùÔº


Animals experience stress when leading groups against majority direction, study finds

Leading the way comes at a cost for feathered friends
Credit: James Klarevas-Irby/ANU

Like humans, animals can become stressed when trying to lead a group of peers in a particular direction, a new study from The Australian National University (ANU) has shown. The paper is in the journal Current Biology.

According to study co-author Associate Professor Damien Farine, many make decisions in a very democratic way, taking a "majority rules" approach.

While effective, it can also take a toll.

"We already have evidence of how this decision-making can work—it's like a . So, individuals might start to move away from the group in the direction they want to go to find food and if they get enough support, the group follows. Alternatively, if no one follows then they fail and return to the group," Associate Professor Farine said.

"The strongest predictor of the direction the group will eventually take is the option with the greatest number of votes.

"Some individuals lead more than others, while some follow more. We were interested in the consequences of this process."

The researchers tracked a group of wild guineafowl in Kenya over a period of four months using and GPS tracking devices.

The guineafowl experienced the highest heart rate when trying to lead their group by initiating movements, especially when trying to do so against the majority of their group members.

"It is noticeable when they're trying to do something that very few individuals in their group would want to do. They also experience a much higher heart rate when they fail to lead in these situations," co-author Dr. James Klarevas-Irby said.

"We also found that just moving as part of a group had a noticeable impact on the heart rate of the birds, which was much higher than when they were moving on their own.

"Most of us can relate—it's like when you're with a bunch of friends and you're trying to decide where to go for dinner, and you really want to go to a particular restaurant but most of your friends want to go somewhere else.

"While initiating and are beneficial in theory for animals like the guinea fowl, because if they succeed, they get to go to the 'restaurant' of their choice, if they find themselves in the minority, it comes at a substantial cost."

More information: The physiological cost of leadership in collective movements, Current Biology (2025). .

Journal information: Current Biology

Citation: Animals experience stress when leading groups against majority direction, study finds (2025, July 22) retrieved 24 July 2025 from /news/2025-07-animals-stress-groups-majority.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Alpha animals must bow to the majority when they abuse their power

19 shares

Feedback to editors