scholarly journals Family feuds: social competition and sexual conflict in complex societies

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2304-2313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin R. Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Reproductive Conflict ◽  
Sexual Competition ◽  
Kin Structure ◽  
Animal Societies

Darwin was initially puzzled by the processes that led to ornamentation in males—what he termed sexual selection—and those that led to extreme cooperation and altruism in complex animal societies—what was later termed kin selection. Here, I explore the relationships between sexual and kin selection theory by examining how social competition for reproductive opportunities—particularly in females—and sexual conflict over mating partners are inherent and critical parts of complex altruistic societies. I argue that (i) patterns of reproductive sharing within complex societies can drive levels of social competition and reproductive conflict not only in males but also in females living in social groups, and ultimately the evolution of female traits such as ornaments and armaments; (ii) mating conflict over female choice of sexual partners can influence kin structure within groups and drive the evolution of complex societies; and (iii) patterns of reproductive sharing and conflict among females may also drive the evolution of complex societies by influencing kin structure within groups. Ultimately, complex societies exhibiting altruistic behaviour appear to have only arisen in taxa where social competition over reproductive opportunities and sexual conflict over mating partners were low. Once such societies evolved, there were important selective feedbacks on traits used to regulate and mediate intra-sexual competition over reproductive opportunities, particularly in females.

scholarly journals The kin structure of sexual interactions

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. G. Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
Diploid Genome ◽  
Kin Structure

The origin of sexual reproduction involved the evolution of zygotes from separate genomes and, like other social processes, should therefore be amenable to analysis using kin selection theory. I consider how kin structure affects sexual interactions in three contexts—the evolution of sexual reproduction, sex allocation and sexual conflict. Kin structure helps explain the even-handed replication of paternal and maternal genes under outbreeding. Under inbreeding, it predicts altruistic failure to replicate by one half of the diploid genome. Kin structure predicts optimal sex ratios and potential conflicts over sex ratio within social groups and individuals. Sexual conflict predictably occurs as a function of (i) the probability that current sexual partners will reproduce together in future and (ii) between-partner relatedness. I conclude that systematically analysing the kin structure of sexual interactions helps illuminate their evolution.

Pescadores migrantes: análisis de su dinámica e integración Social

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Fernando González Laxe
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Fishery Resources ◽  
Migration Dynamics ◽  
The Many

The globalization of the economy encourages massive population displacements and inevitably generates a cosmopolitization of societies. This leads to concern, misunderstanding and rejection. The most vulnerable social groups in society can perceive the population as intruders and enemies in social competition. Undoubtedly, the extreme spatial instability of fishery resources is among the many factors affecting migration dynamics. Various reasons for the mobility of fishermen are relevant around this concept. These include aspect related to traditions, to the capitalisation of activity, to technological innovations, and to innovation exchanges concerning the location of fish stocks. This article reflects on spatial increase of fishermen’s. The analyse are part of the paradigm of the sustainable management of common renewable resources, in particular fishery resources. It presents three lines of analysis: the reason for mobility; the choice of destination; and are the integration into host units.

scholarly journals Sex-biased dispersal, kin selection and the evolution of sexual conflict

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1901-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonçalo S. Faria ◽  
Susana A. M. Varela ◽  
Andy Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Kin Selection

Status and Identity

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Deborah Welch Larson ◽  
Alexei Shevchenko
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
International Standing

This chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book draws on social identity theory (SIT) for insights into how status concerns and social identity shape Chinese and Russian foreign policy. SIT argues that social groups strive to achieve a positively distinctive identity. When a group's identity is threatened, it may pursue one of several identity management strategies: social mobility, social competition, or social creativity. Using SIT as a framework, the book addresses several questions. First, how important were status considerations in shaping Chinese and Russian foreign policy? Second, why did China and Russia choose a particular strategy in a given context for improving their state's international standing? Third, how effective were their chosen strategies as measured by the perceptions and beliefs of the leading states.

Power and punishment influence negotiations over parental care

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 911-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina A Barbasch ◽  
Suzanne H Alonzo ◽  
Peter M Buston
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Reproductive Conflict ◽  
Negotiation Model ◽  
Rank 2 ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Total Effort ◽  
Partial Compensation

Abstract Asymmetries in power (the ability to influence the outcome of conflict) are ubiquitous in social interactions because interacting individuals are rarely identical. It is well documented that asymmetries in power influence the outcome of reproductive conflict in social groups. Yet power asymmetries have received little attention in the context of negotiations between caring parents, which is surprising given that parents are often markedly different in size. Here we built on an existing negotiation model to examine how power and punishment influence negotiations over care. We incorporated power asymmetry by allowing the more-powerful parent, rank 1, to inflict punishment on the less-powerful parent, rank 2. We then determined when punishment will be favored by selection and how it would affect the negotiated behavioral response of each parent. We found that with power and punishment, a reduction in one parent’s effort results in partial compensation by the other parent. However, the degree of compensation is asymmetric: the rank 2 compensates more than the rank 1. As a result, the fitness of rank 1 increases and the fitness of rank 2 decreases, relative to the original negotiation model. Furthermore, because power and punishment enable one parent to extract greater effort from the other, offspring can do better, that is, receive more total effort, when there is power and punishment involved in negotiations over care. These results reveal how power and punishment alter the outcome of conflict between parents and affect offspring, providing insights into the evolutionary consequences of exerting power in negotiations.

scholarly journals Does kin selection moderate sexual conflict in Drosophila ?

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1813) ◽  
pp. 20151417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Chippindale ◽  
Meredith Berggren ◽  
Joshua H. M. Alpern ◽  
Robert Montgomerie
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Laboratory Populations ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
Unrelated Male

Two recent studies provide provocative experimental findings about the potential influence of kin recognition and cooperation on the level of sexual conflict in Drosophila melanogaster . In both studies, male fruit flies apparently curbed their mate-harming behaviours in the presence of a few familiar or related males, suggesting some form of cooperation mediated by kin selection. In one study, the reduction in agonistic behaviour by brothers apparently rendered them vulnerable to dramatic loss of paternity share when competing with an unrelated male. If these results are robust and generalizable, fruit flies could be a major new focus for the experimental study of kin selection and social evolution. In our opinion, however, the restrictive conditions required for male cooperation to be adaptive in this species make it unlikely to evolve. We investigated these phenomena in two different populations of D. melanogaster using protocols very similar to those in the two previous studies. Our experiments show no evidence for a reduction in mate harm based upon either relatedness or familiarity between males, and no reduction in male reproductive success when two brothers are in the presence of an unfamiliar, unrelated, ‘foreign’ male. Thus, the reduction of sexual conflict owing to male cooperation does not appear to be a general feature of the species, at least under domestication, and these contrasting results call for further investigation: in new populations, in the field and in the laboratory populations in which these phenomena have been reported.

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 Competitive environments sustain costly altruism with negligible assortment of interactions

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Patrick Doncaster ◽  
Adam Jackson ◽  
Richard A. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Population Regulation ◽  
Density Regulation ◽  
Generic Models ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
Kin Structure ◽  
Strong Competition

Abstract Competition hinders the evolution of altruism amongst kin when beneficiaries gain at the expense of competing relatives. Altruism is consequently deemed to require stronger kin selection, or trait-selected synergies, or elastic population regulation, to counter this effect. Here we contest the view that competition puts any such demands on altruism. In ecologically realistic scenarios, competition influences both altruism and defection. We show how environments that pit defectors against each other allow strong altruism to evolve even in populations with negligible kin structure and no synergies. Competition amongst defectors presents relative advantages to altruism in the simplest games between altruists and defectors and the most generic models of altruistic phenotypes or genotypes invading non-altruistic populations under inelastic density regulation. Given the widespread inevitability of competition, selection will often favour altruism because its alternatives provide lower fitness. Strong competition amongst defectors nevertheless undermines altruism, by facilitating invasion of unrelated beneficiaries as parasites.

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