Figure 2.
Dynamics of excavation and shape transitions in granular substrate (experiment 6). (a) Dynamics of nest excavation, showing evolution of both nest area A (and its fit by equation (3.1), parameters value: α = 1.71, β = 11.59 h, AM = 17.62 cm2) and rate of digging against time. The two morphological transitions are represented by vertical dashed lines. (b) Characterization of first transition point with the relationship between P and A (ω1 = 0.52; ω2 = 1.63; A1 = 13.54 cm2). (c) Determination of second transition time using scatterplot of A versus AC (γ1 = 1.56; γ2 = 4.73; A2 = 14.03 cm2). (a) Solid grey line, area; dashed-dotted line, fitting equation (3.1); solid black line, digging rate.