scholarly journals Dynamic social learning in temporally and spatially variable environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 200734
Author(s):  
Dominik Deffner ◽  
Vivien Kleinow ◽  
Richard McElreath
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Strategic Learning ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Group Members

Cultural evolution is partly driven by the strategies individuals use to learn behaviour from others. Previous experiments on strategic learning let groups of participants engage in repeated rounds of a learning task and analysed how choices are affected by individual payoffs and the choices of group members. While groups in such experiments are fixed, natural populations are dynamic, characterized by overlapping generations, frequent migrations and different levels of experience. We present a preregistered laboratory experiment with 237 mostly German participants including migration, differences in expertise and both spatial and temporal variation in optimal behaviour. We used simulation and multi-level computational learning models including time-varying parameters to investigate adaptive time dynamics in learning. Confirming theoretical predictions, individuals relied more on (conformist) social learning after spatial compared with temporal changes. After both types of change, they biased decisions towards more experienced group members. While rates of social learning rapidly declined in rounds following migration, individuals remained conformist to group-typical behaviour. These learning dynamics can be explained as adaptive responses to different informational environments. Summarizing, we provide empirical insights and introduce modelling tools that hopefully can be applied to dynamic social learning in other systems.

Copy the In-group: Group Membership Trumps Perceived Reliability, Warmth, and Competence in a Social-Learning Task

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762110322
Author(s):  
Marcel Montrey ◽  
Thomas R. Shultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Minimal Group Paradigm ◽  
Learning Game ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Cumulative Cultural Evolution

Surprisingly little is known about how social groups influence social learning. Although several studies have shown that people prefer to copy in-group members, these studies have failed to resolve whether group membership genuinely affects who is copied or whether group membership merely correlates with other known factors, such as similarity and familiarity. Using the minimal-group paradigm, we disentangled these effects in an online social-learning game. In a sample of 540 adults, we found a robust in-group-copying bias that (a) was bolstered by a preference for observing in-group members; (b) overrode perceived reliability, warmth, and competence; (c) grew stronger when social information was scarce; and (d) even caused cultural divergence between intermixed groups. These results suggest that people genuinely employ a copy-the-in-group social-learning strategy, which could help explain how inefficient behaviors spread through social learning and how humans maintain the cultural diversity needed for cumulative cultural evolution.

Philopatric vervet monkey females are the focus of social attention rather independently of rank

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 599-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Renevey ◽  
R. Bshary ◽  
E. van de Waal
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Vervet Monkey ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Vervet Monkeys ◽  
Artificial Fruit ◽  
Group Members

Social learning has potential advantages over individual learning but one challenge is to identify valuable information. One possibility is to not randomly learn from any social partner but mainly from specific role models like for example the mother or high ranking group members. A potential mechanism for such directed social learning could be that individuals observe the actions of role models more often than of other group members. Field experiments showed that in vervet monkeys — a species with female philopatry — dominant females are more closely watched than dominant males in an artificial fruit-type social learning task. Here, we quantified social attention to males and females under natural conditions in six groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, South Africa. Using the focal sampling method, we quantified the frequencies with which all adult individuals were observed by other group members of known age class, rank, sex and degree of relatedness during foraging bouts and grooming interactions. We found that group members generally paid more attention to females than to males. This effect remained when we excluded matriline members from the analyses. Furthermore, we found that an individual’s rank did not affect the attention it received from other group members. These results suggest that philopatry may promote social attention independently of an individual’s rank and across situations.

scholarly journals No sex differences in learning in wild bumblebees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicity Muth ◽  
Amber D Tripodi ◽  
Rene Bonilla ◽  
James P Strange ◽  
Anne S Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Comparative Cognition ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Females and males often face different sources of selection, resulting in dimorphism in morphological, physiological, and even cognitive traits. Sex differences are often studied in respect to spatial cognition, yet the different ecological roles of males and females might shape cognition in multiple ways. For example, in dietary generalist bumblebees (Bombus), the ability to learn associations is critical to female workers, who face informationally rich foraging scenarios as they collect nectar and pollen from thousands of flowers over a period of weeks to months to feed the colony. While male bumblebees likely need to learn associations as well, they only forage for themselves while searching for potential mates. It is thus less clear whether foraging males would benefit from the same associative learning performance as foraging females. In this system, as in others, cognitive performance is typically studied in lab-reared animals under captive conditions, which may not be representative of patterns in the wild. In the first test of sex and species differences in cognition using wild bumblebees, we compared the performance of Bombus vancouverensis nearcticus (formerly bifarius) and Bombus vosnesenskii of both sexes on an associative learning task at Sierra Nevada (CA) field sites. Across both species, we found that males and females did not differ in their ability to learn, although males were slower to respond to the sucrose reward. These results offer the first evidence from natural populations that male bumblebees may be equally as able to learn associations as females, supporting findings from captive colonies of commercial bees. The observed interspecific variation in learning ability opens the door to using the Bombus system to test hypotheses about comparative cognition.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal ecological and evolutionary dynamics in natural butterfly populations

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Long term studies of wild populations indicate that natural selection can cause rapid and dramatic changes in traits, with spatial and temporal variation in the strength of selection a critical driver of genetic variation in natural populations. In 2012, we began a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in populations of the butterfly Lycaeides ideas in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). We aimed to quantify the role of environment-dependent selection on evolution in these populations. Building on previous work, in 2017 we collected new samples, incorporated distance sampling, and surveyed the insect community at each site. We also defined the habitat boundary at anew, eleventh site. Our preliminary analyses suggest that both genetic drift and selection are important drivers in this system.   Featured photo from Figure 1 in report.

Mortality Variations in Natural Populations of the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 1589-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Mallet ◽  
C. E. A. Carver ◽  
S. S. Coffen ◽  
K. R. Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Environmental Gradient ◽  
Blue Mussel ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Cumulative Mortality ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Stressful Environments ◽  
Physiological Flexibility

To investigate environmental and seasonal patterns of mortality among natural populations of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, we transplanted 11 stocks of juvenile mussels to nine sites along the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Stock, Stock by Site, and Stock by Season together accounted for 53% of the variance in mortality whereas Site and Season together explained less than 1% of the variance. Genetic variability among stocks was inferred from differences in their cumulative mortality averaged over all environments. Several stocks, however, exhibited similar levels of mortality over all sites and were apparently insensitive to the environmental gradient. This implies physiological flexibility or the ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. We conclude that the blue mussel adapts to variable environments by maintaining both physiologically flexible and genetically variable populations. In addition, we noted that stocks originating from more stressful environments tended to exhibit lower mortalities than those originating from less stressful environments.

scholarly journals Larval densities of the protected Striped lychnis moth Shargacucullia lychnis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Buckinghamshire

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliano Morimoto ◽  
Lucy Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Larval Density ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Larval Population ◽  
History Information ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Natural history information is essential for ecologically-relevant inferences about (adaptive) responses in organismal biology. Yet, natural history data can be difficult to obtain, particularly for the developmental stages of holometabolous insects. This gap can compromise our ability to design controlled experiments that provide useful understanding of insect responses to changing environments and precludes our ability to understand how natural populations may respond to unpredictable climatic changes in their natural environment. In this study, we collated data from previous reports from the Butterfly Conservation Upper Thames Branch on the larval population density of Shargacucullia lychnis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Buckinghamshire. In the UK, S. lychnis is a protected species, for which natural history information can be invaluable for its effective conservation. We report here that the natural range of larval densities observed for S. lychnis across locations and years is 0.001 to 6.417 larvae per spike. More importantly, S. lychnis larval density has overall declined from 1996 to 2020, which could support previous reports of a contraction in population range for this species. Overall, this study provides invaluable information about larval population density for an important protected Lepidopteran species of the UK.

scholarly journals A GENERAL MODEL TO ACCOUNT FOR ENZYME VARIATION IN NATURAL POPULATIONS

Genetics ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-848
Author(s):  
John H Gillespie ◽  
Charles H Langley
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Polymorphism ◽  
Gene Function ◽  
General Model ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Biochemical Evidence ◽  
Enzyme Variation ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Varying Environments ◽  
Spatially Varying

ABSTRACT Approximate conditions for genetic polymorphism in temporally and spatially varying environments are presented for loci which are intermediate at the level of fitness or at the level of gene function. The conditions suggest that polymorphism will be more likely in more variable environments while unlikely in constant environments. Biochemical evidence is presented to justify the assumption of heterozygote intermediacy. Observations on natural populations are cited which substantiate the claim that allozymic polymorphism is primarily due to selection acting on environmental variation in gene function.

scholarly journals Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation of Hancornia speciosa GOMES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila Valéria Álvares-Carvalho ◽  
Thiago Roberto Soares Vieira ◽  
Bruno Antonio Lemos de Freitas ◽  
Erica Moraes Santos de Souza ◽  
Laura Jane Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Distribution ◽  
Maximum Entropy Method ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Entropy Method ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspots ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Hancornia Speciosa ◽  
Priority Populations ◽  
Issr Molecular Markers

Abstract Hancornia speciosa is the target of research on genetic diversity, ethnobotanical and medicinal studies. However, information on the genetic variability of populations associated with modeling the potential distribution in the state of Sergipe has not yet been performed. The objective of this study was to predict the potential occurrence of H. speciosa in areas of high use of their fruits. The maximum entropy method was used to detect the distribution patterns of H. speciosa in variable environments. The diversity of four natural populations, situated in areas of extractivist, was determined by ISSR molecular markers. The species occurs more densely in the coastal regions of Sergipe. The prediction of occurrence indicates that the species reduces areas of occurrence, mainly due to anthropic actions. It is suggested that the species needs public policies aimed at its conservation and the priority populations for conservation.

scholarly journals Evolution of polygenic traits under global vs local adaptation

Genetics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Yeaman
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Complex Traits ◽  
Genetic Architecture ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Using Data ◽  
And Migration

Abstract Observations about the number, frequency, effect size, and genomic distribution of alleles associated with complex traits must be interpreted in light of evolutionary process. These characteristics, which constitute a trait’s genetic architecture, can dramatically affect evolutionary outcomes in applications from agriculture to medicine, and can provide a window into how evolution works. Here, I review theoretical predictions about the evolution of genetic architecture under spatially homogeneous, global adaptation as compared with spatially heterogeneous, local adaptation. Due to the tension between divergent selection and migration, local adaptation can favor “concentrated” genetic architectures that are enriched for alleles of larger effect, clustered in a smaller number of genomic regions, relative to expectations under global adaptation. However, the evolution of such architectures may be limited by many factors, including the genotypic redundancy of the trait, mutation rate, and temporal variability of environment. I review the circumstances in which predictions differ for global vs local adaptation and discuss where progress can be made in testing hypotheses using data from natural populations and lab experiments. As the field of comparative population genomics expands in scope, differences in architecture among traits and species will provide insights into how evolution works, and such differences must be interpreted in light of which kind of selection has been operating.

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