From the Max Planck Gesellschaft:
An international team led by researchers from the University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany have employed virtual reality to decode the algorithm that animals use when deciding where to go among many options. The study reveals that animals cope with environmental complexity by reducing the world into a series of sequential two-choice (binary) decisions — a strategy that results in highly effective decision-making no matter how many options there are. The study offers the first evidence yet of a common algorithm that governs decision-making across species and suggests that fundamental geometric principles can explain how, and why, animals move the way they do.
More here.