scholarly journals Elevated aggression is associated with uncertainty in a network of dog dominance interactions

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1906) ◽  
pp. 20190536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Silk ◽  
Michael A. Cant ◽  
Simona Cafazzo ◽  
Eugenia Natoli ◽  
Robbie A. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Animal Societies

Dominance hierarchies are widespread in animal societies and reduce the costs of within-group conflict over resources and reproduction. Variation in stability across a social hierarchy may result in asymmetries in the benefits obtained from hierarchy formation. However, variation in the stability and behavioural costs of dominance interactions with rank remain poorly understood. Previous theoretical models have predicted that the intensity of dominance interactions and aggression should increase with rank, but these models typically assume high reproductive skew, and so their generality remains untested. Here we show in a pack of free-living dogs with a sex–age-graded hierarchy that the central region of the hierarchy was dominated by more unstable social relationships and associated with elevated aggression. Our results reveal unavoidable costs of ascending a dominance hierarchy, run contrary to theoretical predictions for the relationship between aggression and social rank in high-skew societies, and widen our understanding of how heterogeneous benefits of hierarchy formation arise in animal societies.

Social aggression in an age-dependent dominance hierarchy

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (7) ◽  
pp. 753-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Cronin ◽  
Jeremy Field
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Aggression ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Animal Societies

AbstractSocial aggression arises from conflicts of interest over reproduction in animal societies. Aggression is often highly variable between individuals in a group, may be correlated with dominance, and is often integral to the establishment of dominance hierarchies that in turn determine reproductive opportunities. However, reproductive dominance is not always linked with social dominance: 'queens' are not always the most aggressive individuals in a group. Furthermore, in some animals social rank is determined without aggression, and derived through another means, such as gerontocracy. In such instances, what is the role of aggression, and what underlies the variation between individuals? Here, we investigate the relationship between inheritance rank and aggression in the hover wasp Liostenogaster flavolineata, which has an age-based inheritance queue. All females in this study were of known age and, thus, rank could be determined independently of behaviour. Observations of intra-colony aggression indicated that aggression increased with inheritance rank and occurred among non-breeding subordinates. This cannot be explained by models that do not account for aggression between non-breeders. It is likely that contests over inheritance rank and the higher future fitness anticipated by high-ranking individuals account for this pattern.

Cumulative effects of body size and social experience on aggressive behaviour in a subsocial bee

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (12) ◽  
pp. 1365-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob R. Withee ◽  
Sandra M. Rehan
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Physiological Traits ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Carpenter Bee ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Ceratina Calcarata

Dominance hierarchies represent some of nature’s most rudimentary social structures, and aggression is key to their establishment in many animal species. Previous studies have focused on the relative influences of prior experience and physiological traits of individuals in determining social rank through aggression. Here we examine the behavioural potential for dominance hierarchy formation in the subsocial small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata. Both physiological traits and social experience were found to play partial roles in predicting future interactive behaviour in this species. Our results suggest that individual size is associated with dominance in initial encounters, while prior experience plays a larger role in predicting dominance in subsequent encounters. Social systems in the early stages of social evolution may well have followed these same predictive factors and these factors are key targets for future studies of social evolution and the behavioural origins of dominance hierarchies.

scholarly journals Social rank modulates how environmental quality influences cooperation and conflict within animal societies

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1935) ◽  
pp. 20201720
Author(s):  
Mark Liu ◽  
Bo-Fei Chen ◽  
Dustin R. Rubenstein ◽  
Sheng-Feng Shen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Harsh Environments ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Burying Beetle ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Animal Societies

Although dominance hierarchies occur in most societies, our understanding of how these power structures influence individual investment in cooperative and competitive behaviours remains elusive. Both conflict and cooperation in animal societies are often environmentally regulated, yet how individuals alter their cooperative and competitive investments as environmental quality changes remain unclear. Using game theoretic modelling, we predict that individuals of all ranks will invest more in cooperation and less in social conflict in harsh environments than individuals of the same ranks in benign environments. Counterintuitively, low-ranking subordinates should increase their investment in cooperation proportionally more than high-ranking dominants, suggesting that subordinates contribute relatively more when facing environmental challenges. We then test and confirm these predictions experimentally using the Asian burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis . Ultimately, we demonstrate how social rank modulates the relationships between environmental quality and cooperative and competitive behaviours, a topic crucial for understanding the evolution of complex societies.

scholarly journals Preschoolers do not generalize dominance roles from one situation to another

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narges Afshordi
Keyword(s):  
Social Skill ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
The Other ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Resource Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Zero Sum ◽  
New Situation

Recognizing social rank as a third-party observer is an important social skill. With regard to dominance—the coercive form of social rank—infants expect the winner of a zero-sum conflict over one type of resource to win again when competing with the same agent over a different type of resource (Mascaro & Csibra, 2012). However, it is unclear whether preschoolers also expect dominant-subordinate roles to generalize across situations. The current study tested this question with preschoolers (3-5 years, n = 280, 140 female, USA, 80% White) and adults (n = 200, 99 female, USA, 75% White). Preschoolers and adults recognized the dominant puppet in two resource conflict situations (a toy to play with, a bench to sit on) in which one puppet won by force and the other lost (Exp. 1). Preschoolers did not expect the puppet who had been dominant in one situation (e.g. toy) to win again in a new situation (e.g. bench) (Exp. 2a and 2b). Adults, like infants, thought the dominant puppet would win again (Exp. 2b). When the concepts of dominance and fairness were primed (Exp. 3), preschoolers’ inferences about the winner diverged: Children who had been primed with dominance thought the subordinate would win, while those who had been primed with fairness responded at chance level. This finding, together with converging support from children’s justifications, suggests that preschoolers are particularly sensitive to the unfairness of dominance interactions, and indicates that this consideration affects their inferences about the stability of dominance.

Fecal testosterone in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis): behavioural and endocrine correlates

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (10) ◽  
pp. 1678-1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Joan Bauman ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Ovis Canadensis ◽  
Wild Ungulates ◽  
Individual Behaviour ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Repeated Sampling ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Fecal Testosterone

Noninvasive endocrine techniques allow repeated sampling of the same individual to study causes and consequences of variation in individual behaviour and physiology. In this study, radioimmunoassay was used to measure fecal testosterone and to assess the repeatability of the testosterone assay for bighorn rams (Ovis canadensis). Fecal samples were collected from marked males during the pre-rut and the rut over 2 years. Results were highly repeatable for samples of the same ram within a day (r = 0.93). Fecal testosterone peaked during the pre-rut (when social relationships are established) and then declined from the pre-rut to the rut. For both years of study, fecal testosterone was correlated with social rank (2001: r = 0.73, P < 0.0001; 2002: r = 0.54, P = 0.007) and age (2001: r = 0.65, P = 0.002; 2002: r = 0.53, P = 0.008) of individual rams. When age was accounted for, however, the relationship between social rank and testosterone was no longer significant. Aggressiveness (measured as hourly interaction rate) was weakly correlated with fecal testosterone (r = 0.44, P = 0.039). There was no association between aggressiveness and social rank (r = 0.13, P = 0.591). To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between testosterone levels and individual social rank in wild ungulates.

Interpersonal and role-related schema influence the relationship with the dominant ‘voice’ in schizophrenia: a comparison of three models

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1571-1580 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAX BIRCHWOOD ◽  
PAUL GILBERT ◽  
JEAN GILBERT ◽  
PETER TROWER ◽  
ALAN MEADEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Psychotic Illness ◽  
Activity Frequency ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Voice Activity

Background. Auditory hallucinations in psychosis often contain critical evaluations of the voice-hearer (for example, attacks on self-worth). A voice-hearer's experience with their dominant voice is a mirror of their social relationships in general, with experiences of feeling low in rank to both voices and others being associated with depression. However, the direction of the relationship between psychosis, depression and feeling subordinate is unclear.Method. Covariance structural equation modelling was used with data from 125 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia to compare three ‘causal’ models: (1) that depression leads to the appraisal of low social rank, voice power and distress; (2) that psychotic illness leads to voice activity (frequency, audibility), which in turn leads to depression and the appraisal of voices' power; (3) our hypothesized model, that perceptions of social rank and social power lead to the appraisal of voice power, distress and depression.Results. Findings supported model 3, suggesting that the appraisal of social power and rank are primary organizing schema underlying the appraisal of voice power, and the distress of voices.Conclusions. Voices can be seen to operate like external social relationships. Voice content and experience can mirror a person's social sense of being powerless and controlled by others. These findings suggest important new targets for intervention with cognitive and social therapy.

Determinants of social rank in female black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla)

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M Ramsay ◽  
Laurene M Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Social Rank ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Resource Holding Potential ◽  
Resource Value ◽  
Parus Montanus ◽  
Poecile Atricapilla ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Prior Residency

Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) mate assortatively by social rank. Previous field studies suggest that intrinsic characteristics of females may influence success at pairing with dominant males. Here we examined factors leading to dominance using dyads of captive unfamiliar females. The owner–intruder hypothesis predicts that prior residency determines dominant–subordinate relationships. The resource-value hypothesis suggests that social status is initially determined by need and the relationship persists through familiarity of the interactants. The resource holding potential hypothesis suggests that individuals win in dyadic contests because of intrinsic characteristics such as size or age. We tested the owner–intruder and resource-value hypotheses by allowing females prior residency in aviaries where dominance interactions subsequently occurred and by food depriving the intruders. Post-hoc comparisons of dominant–subordinate attributes tested the resource holding potential hypothesis. We found that owners were more likely to win interactions. Hungry individuals showed no competitive advantage. Dominants and subordinates did not differ in morphology or age. Our results agree with data from willow tits (Parus montanus) which show that captive females establish dominance independent of males and that prior residence plays a key role. These findings, together with field studies, suggest that assortative mating in chickadees results, at least in part, from intrasexual interactions among females.

scholarly journals Size-Dependent Elastic Modulus and Vibration Frequency of Nanocrystals

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihong Liang ◽  
Hansong Ma ◽  
Yueguang Wei
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Vibration Frequency ◽  
Lattice Strain ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Bulk Crystals ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Vibration Properties ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Intrinsic Correlation ◽  
The Stability

The elastic properties and the vibration characterization are important for the stability of materials and devices, especially for nanomaterials with potential and broad application. Nanomaterials show different properties from the corresponding bulk materials; the valid theoretical model about the size effect of the elastic modulus and the vibration frequency is significant to guide the application of nanomaterials. In this paper, a unified analytical model about the size-dependent elastic modulus and vibration frequency of nanocrystalline metals, ceramics and semiconductors is established based on the inherent lattice strain and the binding energy change of nanocrystals compared with the bulk crystals, and the intrinsic correlation between the elasticity and the vibration properties is discussed. The theoretical predictions for Cu, Ag, Si thin films, nanoparticles, andTiO2nanoparticles agree with the experimental results, the computational simulations, and the other theoretical models.

The power and omnipotence of voices: subordination and entrapment by voices and significant others

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. BIRCHWOOD ◽  
A. MEADEN ◽  
P. TROWER ◽  
P. GILBERT ◽  
J. PLAISTOW
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Rank Difference ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Voice ◽  
New Framework

Background. Cognitive therapy for psychotic symptoms often embraces self-evaluative beliefs (e.g. self-worth) but whether and how such beliefs are related to delusions remains uncertain. In previous research we demonstrated that distress arising from voices was linked to beliefs about voices and not voice content alone. In this study we examine whether the relationship with the voice is a paradigm of social relationships in general, using a new framework of social cognition, ‘ranking’ theory.Method. In a sample of 59 voice hearers, measures of power and social rank difference between voice and voice hearer are taken in addition to parallel measures of power and rank in wider social relationships.Results. As predicted, subordination to voices was closely linked to subordination and marginalization in other social relationships. This was not the result of a mood-linked appraisal. Distress arising from voices was linked not to voice characteristics but social and interpersonal cognition.Conclusion. This study suggests that the power imbalance between the individual and his persecutor(s) may have origins in an appraisal by the individual of his social rank and sense of group identification and belonging. The results also raise the possibility that the appraisal of voice frequency and volume are the result of the appraisal of voices' rank and power. Theoretical and novel treatment implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Competitive growth in a social fish

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 20180737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cymone Reed ◽  
Rebecca Branconi ◽  
John Majoris ◽  
Cara Johnson ◽  
Peter Buston
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Competitive Growth ◽  
Plastic Response ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Amphiprion Percula ◽  
Animal Societies

Many animal societies have dominance hierarchies in which social rank is correlated with size. In such societies, the growth and size of individuals can be a strategic response to their social environment: in fishes, individuals may decrease their growth rate to remain small and retain a subordinate position; in mammals, individuals may increase their growth rate to become large and attain a dominant position—a strategy called competitive growth. Here, we investigate whether the clown anemonefish, Amphiprion percula , exhibits competitive growth also. We show that juvenile clownfish paired with a size-matched reproductive rival increase their growth rate and size relative to solitary controls. Remarkably, paired individuals achieved this, despite being provided with the same amount of food as solitary controls. Our results demonstrate that clownfish are able to increase their growth rate in response to social competition. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that the growth of social vertebrates can be a fine-tuned plastic response to their social environment.

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