Colonial synchrony · Kuramoto sway model
Garden Eel Current Sway Lab (2D)
Each eel holds its burrow and sways with a coupled phase oscillator. Stronger current raises the sway frequency; stronger synchronization pulls every phase toward the colony average, so the field snaps from a ragged shimmer into one coherent wave.
Synchrony (order parameter r)— %
Colony wave cycles—
Visible eels— %
Click/tap the sand to startle nearby eels — they retract and visibility drops, then recover.