scholarly journals Experimental disturbances reveal group-level costs of social instability

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1891) ◽  
pp. 20181577 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Maldonado-Chaparro ◽  
G. Alarcón-Nieto ◽  
J. A. Klarevas-Irby ◽  
D. R. Farine
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Group Foraging ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Important Trait ◽  
Time Away ◽  
Animal Societies

In group-living species, social stability is an important trait associated with the evolution of complex behaviours such as cooperation. While the drivers of stability in small groups are relatively well studied, little is known about the potential impacts of unstable states on animal societies. Temporary changes in group composition, such as a social group splitting and recombining (i.e. a disturbance event), can result in individuals having to re-establish their social relationships, thus taking time away from other tasks such as foraging or vigilance. Here, we experimentally split socially stable groups of captive zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ), and quantified the effects of repeated disturbance events on (1) group foraging efficiency, and (2) co-feeding associations when subgroups were recombined. We found that the efficiency of groups to deplete a rich, but ephemeral, resource patch decreased after just a single short disturbance event. Automated tracking of individuals showed that repeated disturbances reduced efficiency by causing social relationships to become more differentiated and weaker, resulting in fewer individuals simultaneously accessing the patch. Our experiment highlights how short-term disturbances can severely disrupt social structure and group functionality, revealing potential costs associated with group instability that can have consequences for the evolution of animal societies.

scholarly journals Submission signals in animal groups

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Adam R. Reddon ◽  
Tommaso Ruberto ◽  
Simon M. Reader
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Conflict Avoidance ◽  
Crucial Aspect ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Mutual Interest ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Animal Societies

Abstract Aggression is costly, and animals have evolved tactics to mitigate these costs. Submission signals are an underappreciated example of such adaptations. Here we review submissive behaviour, with an emphasis on non-primates. We highlight the design of submission signals and how such signals can reduce costs. Animal societies necessitate frequent social interactions, which can increase the probability of conflict. Where maintaining group proximity is essential, animals cannot avoid aggression by fleeing. Mutual interest between group members may also select for efficient conflict avoidance and resolution mechanisms. As a result, submission signals may be especially well developed among group living species, helping social animals to overcome potential costs of recurring conflict that could otherwise counter the benefits of group living. Therefore, submission signalling can be a crucial aspect of social living and is deserving of specific attention within the broader context of social evolution and communication.

scholarly journals Higher sociability leads to lower reproductive success in female kangaroos

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 200950
Author(s):  
C. S. Menz ◽  
A. J. Carter ◽  
E. C. Best ◽  
N. J. Freeman ◽  
R. G. Dwyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
First Time

In social mammals, social integration is generally assumed to improve females' reproductive success. Most species demonstrating this relationship exhibit complex forms of social bonds and interactions. However, female eastern grey kangaroos ( Macropus giganteus ) exhibit differentiated social relationships, yet do not appear to cooperate directly. It is unclear what the fitness consequences of such sociability could be in species that do not exhibit obvious forms of cooperation. Using 4 years of life history, spatial and social data from a wild population of approximately 200 individually recognizable female eastern grey kangaroos, we tested whether higher levels of sociability are associated with greater reproductive success. Contrary to expectations, we found that the size of a female's social network, her numbers of preferential associations with other females and her group sizes all negatively influenced her reproductive success. These factors influenced the survival of dependent young that had left the pouch rather than those that were still in the pouch. We also show that primiparous females (first-time breeders) were less likely to have surviving young. Our findings suggest that social bonds are not always beneficial for reproductive success in group-living species, and that female kangaroos may experience trade-offs between successfully rearing young and maintaining affiliative relationships.

Socioecology of wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus): an analysis of social relationships among female primates that use tools in feeding

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele P. Verderane ◽  
Patrícia Izar ◽  
Elisabetta Visalberghi ◽  
Dorothy M. Fragaszy
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Socioecological Models ◽  
Female Social Relationships

Socioecology considers that the features of food sources affect female social relationships in group-living species. Among primates, the tests of socioecological models are largely focused on Old World species and do not evaluate if the use of feeding tools affects the competitive regime over food and females’ relations in wild populations. We studied female social relationships among a wild population of bearded capuchins monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) that use percussive tools (stones) to crack encased foods, in a semi-arid habitat in Brazil. Females fed mainly on clumped, high quality resources, indicating that the habitat provides a high quality diet year-round. Females experienced contest competition within and between-groups. As predicted by socioecological models, females’ social relationships were characterized by philopatry, linear dominance hierarchies, coalitions, and tolerance in feeding bouts. Females spent a small proportion of their feeding time using tools. Nevertheless, tool sites generated high rates of contest competition and lower indices of tolerance among females. Although the social structure of our study population did not differ significantly from the pattern observed in wild populations of Sapajus that do not use tools, tool use increased within-group contest competition and apparently contributed to the linearity of the dominance hierarchies established among females. We predict that when tool use results in usurpable food resources, it will increase contest competition within group-living species.

scholarly journals Optimal group size in a highly social mammal

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (48) ◽  
pp. 14882-14887 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Catherine Markham ◽  
Laurence R. Gesquiere ◽  
Susan C. Alberts ◽  
Jeanne Altmann
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Papio Cynocephalus ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Daily Travel Distance ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Important Trait ◽  
Constraints Model

Group size is an important trait of social animals, affecting how individuals allocate time and use space, and influencing both an individual’s fitness and the collective, cooperative behaviors of the group as a whole. Here we tested predictions motivated by the ecological constraints model of group size, examining the effects of group size on ranging patterns and adult female glucocorticoid (stress hormone) concentrations in five social groups of wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus) over an 11-y period. Strikingly, we found evidence that intermediate-sized groups have energetically optimal space-use strategies; both large and small groups experience ranging disadvantages, in contrast to the commonly reported positive linear relationship between group size and home range area and daily travel distance, which depict a disadvantage only in large groups. Specifically, we observed a U-shaped relationship between group size and home range area, average daily distance traveled, evenness of space use within the home range, and glucocorticoid concentrations. We propose that a likely explanation for these U-shaped patterns is that large, socially dominant groups are constrained by within-group competition, whereas small, socially subordinate groups are constrained by between-group competition and predation pressures. Overall, our results provide testable hypotheses for evaluating group-size constraints in other group-living species, in which the costs of intra- and intergroup competition vary as a function of group size.

scholarly journals Field-realistic antidepressant exposure disrupts group foraging dynamics in mosquitofish

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 20190615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake M. Martin ◽  
Minna Saaristo ◽  
Hung Tan ◽  
Michael G. Bertram ◽  
Venkatesh Nagarajan-Radha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Group Foraging ◽  
Group Variation ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Behavioural Tests

Psychoactive pollutants, such as antidepressants, are increasingly detected in the environment. Mounting evidence suggests that such pollutants can disrupt the behaviour of non-target species. Despite this, few studies have considered how the response of exposed organisms might be mediated by social context. To redress this, we investigated the impacts of two environmentally realistic concentrations of a pervasive antidepressant pollutant, fluoxetine, on foraging behaviour in fish ( Gambusia holbrooki ), tested individually or in a group. Fluoxetine did not alter behaviour of solitary fish. However, in a group setting, fluoxetine exposure disrupted the frequency of aggressive interactions and food consumption, with observed effects being contingent on both the mean weight of group members and the level of within-group variation in weight. Our results suggest that behavioural tests in social isolation may not accurately predict the environmental risk of chemical pollutants for group-living species and highlight the potential for social context to mediate the effects of psychoactive pollutants in exposed wildlife.

Affiliations, aggressions and an adoption: Male–male relationships in wild bonobos

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Surbeck ◽  
Gottfried Hohmann
Keyword(s):  
Close Relationships ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Mate Competition ◽  
Male Group ◽  
Cooperative Hunting ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Living Species ◽  
The Way

The nature of the relationships between males is a characteristic trait of many multi-male group living species with implications for the individuals. In our study population of bonobos, certain male dyads exhibit clear preferences for ranging in the same party and sitting in proximity. These preferences are not reflected in the frequency of aggression towards each other and only to some extent in their affiliative and socio-sexual behaviours. While bonobo males at LuiKotale clearly do not benefit from close relationships in the way chimpanzee males do (cooperative hunting, territorial patrol, mate competition), some relationships might result from close associations between their mothers. In some particular situations, these male relationships can be very important as in the case of an orphan adopted by his older maternal brother. La nature des relations entre mâles est un trait caractéristique de plusieurs groupes qui ont plusieurs mâles, avec des implications au niveau d’individus. Dans notre étude des populations de bonobos, certains dyades mâles montrent une préférence à aller dans le même groupe et s’asseoir proche l’un de l’autre. Cette préférence n’est pas reflétée dans la fréquence d’agression entre eux et est seulement lié, à degrés, à leur comportements socio-sexuels et d’appartenance. Tandis que les mâles bonobos à LuiKotale ne profitent pas de leur fortes relations comme les chimpanzés mâles (chasse coopérative, patrouille territoriale, compétition pour compagnon), ils peuvent aider leur partenaires à supporter le stress de la vie en groupe et peuvent en conséquence contribuer au bien-être des individus. Quelques proches associations entre les mâles peuvent provenir d’associations entre leurs mères. Dans quelques situations particulières, ces relations mâles prouvent leur importance comme dans le cas d’un orphelin adopté par son grand frère maternel.

Social ethology of the wolverine

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Copeland ◽  
Arild Landa ◽  
Kimberly Heinemeyer ◽  
Keith B. Aubry ◽  
Jiska van Dijk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Social System ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Living Species

Social behaviour in solitary carnivores has long been an active area of investigation but for many species remains largely founded in conjecture compared to our understanding of sociality in group-living species. The social organization of the wolverine has, until now, received little attention beyond its portrayal as a typical mustelid social system. In this chapter the authors compile observations of social interactions from multiple wolverine field studies, which are integrated into an ecological framework. An ethological model for the wolverine is proposed that reveals an intricate social organization, which is driven by variable resource availability within extremely large territories and supports social behaviour that underpins offspring development.

scholarly journals Rising Central Spending on Public Security and the Dilemma Facing Grassroots Officials in China

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Xie
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Grassroots Level

In response to worsening social instability in China, among grassroots communities in the poorer central and western provinces in particular, the Chinese central government has made budgetary arrangements, since 2003, to increase investment at the grassroots level to improve the capacity of local governments to maintain social order. However, this action by central government has created a dilemma for local cadres: how to perform their duty to maintain social stability while also balancing a heavy fiscal burden caused in part by the receipt of insufficient additional budgetary subsidies from higher government. This paper is an account of and an analysis of how local cadres in China perform their official duties when faced with this dilemma.

scholarly journals A test of male infanticide as a reproductive tactic in a cichlid fish

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 160891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shagun Jindal ◽  
Aneesh P. H. Bose ◽  
Constance M. O'Connor ◽  
Sigal Balshine
Keyword(s):  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Egg Cannibalism ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Dominant Individual ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Reproductive Tactic ◽  
Relative Body Size

Infanticide and offspring cannibalism are taxonomically widespread phenomena. In some group-living species, a new dominant individual taking over a group can benefit from infanticide if doing so induces potential mates to become reproductively available sooner. Despite widespread observations of infanticide (i.e. egg cannibalism) among fishes, no study has investigated whether egg cannibalism occurs in fishes as a result of group takeovers, or how this type of cannibalism might be adaptive. Using the cooperatively breeding cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher , we tested whether new unrelated males entering the dominant position in a social group were more likely to cannibalize eggs, and whether such cannibalism would shorten the interval until the female's next spawning. Females spawned again sooner if their broods were removed than if they were cared for. Egg cannibalism occurred frequently after a group takeover event, and was rarer if the original male remained with the group. While dominant breeder females were initially highly aggressive towards newcomer males that took over the group, the degree of resistance depended on relative body size differences between the new pair and, ultimately, female aggression did not prevent egg cannibalism. Egg cannibalism, however, did not shorten the duration until subsequent spawning, or increase fecundity during subsequent breeding in our laboratory setting. Our results show that infanticide as mediated through group takeovers is a taxonomically widespread behaviour.

scholarly journals Proximity-based vocal networks reveal social relationships in the Southern white rhinoceros

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Jenikejew ◽  
Brenda Chaignon ◽  
Sabrina Linn ◽  
Marina Scheumann
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Group Living ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Southern White Rhinoceros ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
High Level

Abstract Vocal communication networks can be linked to social behaviour, allowing a deeper understanding of social relationships among individuals. For this purpose, the description of vocal dyads is fundamental. In group-living species, this identification is based on behavioural indicators which require a high level of reactivity during social interactions. In the present study, we alternatively established a proximity-based approach to investigate whether sex-specific differences in vocal communication reflect social behaviour in a species with rather loose social associations and low levels of reactivity: the Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). We performed audio- and video recordings of 30 captive animals from seven groups. Vocal networks for the four most common call types were constructed by considering conspecifics at close distance (≤ 1 body length) to the sender as potential receivers. The analysis of the resulting unidirectional structures showed that not only the sex of the sender but also the sex of the potential receiver, the quality of social interactions (affiliative or agonistic) as well as association strength predict the intensity of vocal interactions between group members. Thus, a proximity-based approach can be used to construct vocal networks providing information about the social relationships of conspecifics—even in species with loose social associations where behavioural indicators are limited.

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