scholarly journals Increased opposite sex association is linked with fitness benefits, otherwise sociality is subject to stabilising selection in a wild passerine

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Dunning ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Alex Hoi Hang Chan ◽  
Heung Ying Janet Chik ◽  
Tim Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Population ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Lifetime Fitness ◽  
Feeding Station ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Individual Repeatability

Animal sociality, an individuals propensity to association with others, has consequences for fitness, and particularly mate choice. For example, directly, by increasing the pool of prospective partners, and indirectly through increased survival. Individuals benefit from both over the short-term as these benefits are associated with mating status and subsequent fecundity, but whether animal sociality also translates into fitness is unknown. Here, we quantified social associations and their link with annual and lifetime fitness, measured as the number of recruits and in de-lifed fitness. We measured this in birds visiting a feeding station over two non-breeding periods, using social network analysis and a multi-generational genetic pedigree. We find high individual repeatability in sociality. We found that individuals with an average sociality had the highest fitness, and that birds with more opposite-sex associates had higher fitness, but this did not translate to improved lifetime fitness. For lifetime fitness, we found evidence for stabilizing selection on between sex sociality measures, suggesting that such benefits are only short-lived in a wild population.

scholarly journals Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Ellis ◽  
Daniel W. Franks ◽  
Michael N. Weiss ◽  
Michael A. Cant ◽  
Paolo Domenici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixture Models ◽  
Demographic Change ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Binomial Mixture ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Social Association

Abstract In studies of social behaviour, social bonds are usually inferred from rates of interaction or association. This approach has revealed many important insights into the proximate formation and ultimate function of animal social structures. However, it remains challenging to compare social structure between systems or time-points because extrinsic factors, such as sampling methodology, can also influence the observed rate of association. As a consequence of these methodological challenges, it is difficult to analyse how patterns of social association change with demographic processes, such as the death of key social partners. Here we develop and illustrate the use of binomial mixture models to quantitatively compare patterns of social association between networks. We then use this method to investigate how patterns of social preferences in killer whales respond to demographic change. Resident killer whales are bisexually philopatric, and both sexes stay in close association with their mother in adulthood. We show that mothers and daughters show reduced social association after the birth of the daughter’s first offspring, but not after the birth of an offspring to the mother. We also show that whales whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and with their grandmother than whales whose mother is alive. Our work demonstrates the utility of using mixture models to compare social preferences between networks and between species. We also highlight other potential uses of this method such as to identify strong social bonds in animal populations. Significance statement Comparing patters of social associations between systems, or between the same systems at different times, is challenging due to the confounding effects of sampling and methodological differences. Here we present a method to allow social associations to be robustly classified and then compared between networks using binomial mixture models. We illustrate this method by showing how killer whales change their patterns of social association in response to the birth of calves and the death of their mother. We show that after the birth of her calf, females associate less with their mother. We also show that whales’ whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and grandmothers than whales’ whose mother is alive. This clearly demonstrates how this method can be used to examine fine scale temporal processes in animal social systems.

scholarly journals The Role of the Immune System from an Evolutionary Perspective

2019 ◽  
pp. 198-209
Author(s):  
Carsten Schradin ◽  
Rainer H. Straub
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Medicine ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Lifetime Fitness ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Reproductive Life ◽  
Fitness Benefits

“Nothing in Biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution.” This famous citation of Theodosius Dobzhansky also underlies the integrative field of evolutionary medicine, which faces the challenge to combine (patho-)physiological mechanisms with evolutionary function. Here we introduce a concept from the study of animal behavior, which are the four questions of Tinbergen that consider: 1. the ontogeny of an individual describing its development, 2. its physiological machinery, which 3. has fitness consequences influencing 4. the evolutionary history (phylogeny) of future generations. It is shown how this concept can be applied to infectious disease and to chronic inflammatory systemic diseases. Evolutionary medicine takes lifetime reproductive success into account. The hypothesis to be tested is that mechanisms underlying a disease in old age might have higher fitness benefits in the pre-reproductive and/or reproductive life history stage, leading to an overall increased lifetime fitness.

Evidence for a behavioural syndrome and negative social assortment by exploratory personality in the communally nesting rodent, Octodon degus

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Y. Chock ◽  
Tina W. Wey ◽  
Luis A. Ebensperger ◽  
Loren D. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Animal Personality ◽  
Behavioural Syndrome ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Association Strength ◽  
Dyadic Interactions ◽  
Communally Nesting ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Social Assortment

Recent research in behavioural ecology has revealed the structure of animal personality and connections to ecologically and evolutionarily important traits. Personality is hypothesized to influence social interactions through individual behavioural differences or personality-based dyadic interactions. We describe the structure of personality traits and ask if two traits, boldness and exploration, play a role in the strength or pattern of social associations in a wild population of degus, a rodent that often lives communally with unrelated conspecifics. Boldness was repeatable in both adults and juveniles, but exploration was only repeatable in adults. We found evidence for a behavioural syndrome between exploration and boldness in adult degus. We documented negative assortment by exploratory personality type; more exploratory animals shared burrows with less exploratory animals. However, tendency towards boldness and exploration were not predictive of association strength. Our results highlight a potential connection between personality and social structure in a communally nesting species.

scholarly journals Sexual unfaithfulness can be judged with some accuracy from men's but not women's faces

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 181552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhi Foo ◽  
Antonina Loncarevic ◽  
Leigh W. Simmons ◽  
Clare A. M. Sutherland ◽  
Gillian Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Biological Significance ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Reproductive Costs ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Facial Masculinity ◽  
Opposite Sex

We routinely make judgements of trustworthiness from the faces of others. However, the accuracy of such judgements remains contentious. An important context for trustworthiness judgements is sexual unfaithfulness. Accuracy in sexual unfaithfulness judgements may be adaptive for avoiding reproductive costs associated with having an unfaithful partner. Indeed, emerging studies suggest that women, and to a lesser degree, men, show above-chance accuracy in judging sexual unfaithfulness from opposite-sex faces. In the context of mate guarding, it is important not only to assess the likelihood of a partner defecting, but also to detect same-sex poachers. Therefore, here, we examine whether individuals can also judge sexual unfaithfulness (self-reported cheating and poaching behaviour) from same-sex faces. We found above-chance accuracy in judgements of unfaithfulness from same-sex faces in men but not women. Conversely, we found above-chance accuracy for opposite-sex faces in women but not men. Therefore, both men and women showed above-chance accuracy, but only for men's, and not women's, faces. Raters were making accurate (above-chance) judgements of unfaithfulness from men's faces using facial masculinity, a well-established signal of propensity to adopt short-term mating strategies. In summary, we found above-chance accuracy in impressions of unfaithfulness from men's faces. Although very modest, the level of accuracy could nevertheless have biological significance as an evolved adaptation for identifying potential cheaters/poachers.

scholarly journals Only Cheap Talk after All? New Experimental Psychological Findings on the Role of Verbal Proficiency in Mate Choice

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Lange ◽  
Christine Hennighausen ◽  
Michael Brill ◽  
Frank Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Future Income ◽  
Audio Files ◽  
Self Presentations

Abstract Recent evolutionary experimental psychological research found that high verbal proficiency (VP) increased the perceived attractiveness of individuals (more so for males than females), especially in the context of a long-term relationship. Our study had the objective of replicating and extending this research. Similar to previous studies, audio files in which speakers performed scripted self-presentations that had equal content but varied on VP were used as stimuli for opposite-sex participants. VP was found to increase attractiveness ratings. The effects were mostly small for numerous variables relating to short-term mating, whereas they were moderate to large for long-term mating. Our participants attributed more future income, but not more total number of mates to speakers with higher VP. Female menstrual cycle effects on attractiveness ratings were not found. Contrary to former research, being more verbally proficient was not found to be more beneficial for one sex over the other.

scholarly journals GAMBARAN REGULASI DIRI DAN PERILAKU KENAKALAN SEKSUAL PADA REMAJA DI BATULICIN

Jurnal Ecopsy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yayan ◽  
Emma Yuniarrahmah ◽  
Hemy Heryati Anward
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Juvenile Delinquency ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Sensitive Area ◽  
Sexual Delinquency ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Opposite Sex

ABSTRAK Perilaku kenakalan remaja di Indonesia cukup mengkhawatirkan dan harus segera ditangani. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan gambaran mengenai  regulasi diri dan perilaku kenakalan seksual pada remaja di Batulicin. Metode penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif. Penggalian data dengan menggunakan teknik wawancara, observasi, dan menggunakan tes grafis. Subjek penelitian tiga orang remaja yang bertempat tinggal di Batulicin, terdiri dari dua subjek laki-laki dan satu subjek perempuan. Penelitian menunjukan ketiga subjek memiliki regulasi diri tipe 2 yang merupakan proses jangka pendek menjauhi tujuan diri yang relevan. Hasil penelitian ini juga menemukan bahwa subjek BA memiliki regulasi diri yang lebih baik dari subjek DK dan MK. Komponen regulasi diri masing-masing subjek secara garis besar ingin menentukan dirinya mencapai cita-cita yang diharapkan. Masing-masing subjek memiliki bentuk monitoring, instruksi, evaluasi dan pengenaan kontinjensi terhadap diri yang berbeda-beda. Bentuk perilaku kenakalan seksual yang dilakukan adalah berciuman, berpelukan, memegang daerah sensitif lawan jenis, dan  melakukan hubungan seksual. Kata Kunci: Regulasi Diri, Perilaku Kenakalan Seksual, Remaja ABSTRACT Juvenile delinquency behavior in Indonesia is quite alarming and needs to be immediately addressed. The purpose of this study was to obtain the description of self-regulation and sexual delinquency behavior in adolescents in Batulicin. A qualitative research method was used in the study, and data were collected using the techniques of interviews, observation, and graphics test. Subjects of the study were three adolescents who resided in Batulicin, two males and one female. The results indicated that the three subjects had self-regulation of type 2, which was a short-term process away from the relevant self-goal, and it was also found out that subject BA had better self-regulation than subjects DK and MK. The self-regulation component of each subject in general was that each of them wanted to define himself/herself to achieve the expected ideals. Each subject had different forms of monitoring, instruction, evaluation and imposition of self-contingency. The forms of sexual delinquency behavior they committed were kissing, hugging, holding the sensitive area of the opposite sex, and sexual intercourse. Keywords: Self-regulation, Sexual Delinquency, Behavior, Adolescent

The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction in Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menelaos Apostolou
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
High Tolerance ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Sex Attraction ◽  
Opposite Sex

Abstract. A considerable proportion of the population experiences varying degrees of same-sex attraction. It has been proposed that men exhibit high tolerance to their partner’s same-sex infidelity, which allows such predispositions to exist in a relative high frequency in the population. On this basis, the hypothesis was tested that heterosexual men and women would differ in their tolerance level, with men exhibiting higher tolerance to same-sex infidelity than women. Evidence from an online sample of 590 heterosexual Greek-speaking participants provided strong support for this hypothesis. In particular, the vast majority of women exhibited low tolerance, while about one in two men exhibited high tolerance to same-sex infidelity. Furthermore, men and women exhibited higher tolerance to the same-sex infidelity of their long-term than of their short-term partners, with men exhibiting higher tolerance in the latter case. In addition, women exhibited low tolerance to opposite-sex and same-sex infidelity, but men exhibited low tolerance to opposite-sex infidelity, but much higher tolerance to same-sex infidelity.

Host immune status affects maturation time in two nematode species – but not as predicted by a simple life-history model

Parasitology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 127 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. GUINNEE ◽  
A. W. GEMMILL ◽  
B. H. K. CHAN ◽  
M. E. VINEY ◽  
A. F. READ
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Nematode Species ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Nippostrongylus Brasiliensis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Maturation Time ◽  
Nematode Parasites ◽  
Nude Rats ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Fitness Benefits

In theory, the age at which maturation occurs in parasitic nematodes is inversely related to pre-maturational mortality rate, and cross-species data on mammalian nematodes are consistent with this prediction. Immunity is a major source of parasite mortality and parasites stand to gain sizeable fitness benefits through short-term adjustments of maturation time in response to variation in immune-mediated mortality. The effects of thymus-dependent immune responses on maturation in the nematode parasites Strongyloides ratti and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis were investigated using congenitally thymus-deficient (nude) rats. As compared with worms in normal rats, reproductive maturity of parasites (presence of eggs in utero) in nude rats occurred later in S. ratti but earlier in N. brasiliensis. Immune-mediated differences in maturation time were not associated with differences in worm length. Thymus-dependent immunity had no effect on pre-maturational mortality. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical expectations and possible explanations for the observed patterns in parasite maturation.

scholarly journals Couples showing off: Audience promotes both male and female multimodal courtship display in a songbird

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. eaat4779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nao Ota ◽  
Manfred Gahr ◽  
Masayo Soma
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Private Communication ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Audience Effect ◽  
Courtship Display ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Courtship Displays

Social environments can shape animal communication. Although mutual courtship displays are generally thought to function in private communication between a male and a female, we provide experimental evidence that they work in a broader social context than previously thought. We examined the audience effect on mutual courtship in blue-capped cordon-bleus, a socially monogamous songbird. This species is characterized by conspicuous courtship shared between sexes: Both sexes sing songs and sometimes add a unique dance display that looks like human tap dancing. We found that in both sexes, multimodal courtship displays (song accompanied by dance) were promoted in the presence of an audience, especially if it was the opposite sex. In contrast, unimodal displays (song without dance) were suppressed by audiences. Because birds directed the courtship dancing toward their partners (but not the audience), multimodal courtship displays are likely meant to advertise their current mating status to other cordon-bleus.

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