scholarly journals Season-specific carry-over of early-life associations in a monogamous bird species

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf H.J.M. Kurvers ◽  
Lea Prox ◽  
Damien R. Farine ◽  
Coretta Jongeling ◽  
Lysanne Snijders
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Carry Over

AbstractSocial relationships can have important fitness consequences. Although there is increasing evidence that social relationships carry over across contexts, few studies have investigated whether relationships formed early in life are carried over to adulthood. For example, juveniles of monogamous species go through a major life-history stage transition—pair formation—during which the pair bond becomes a central unit of the social organization. At present, it remains unclear if pair members retain their early-life relationships after pair formation. We investigated whether same-sex associations formed early in life carry over into adulthood and whether carry-over was dependent on season, in a monogamous species. Moreover, we investigated the role of familiarity, genetic relatedness and aggression on the perseverance of social associations. We studied the social structure before and after pair formation in captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), a highly social, long-lived, monogamous species. We constructed association networks of groups of geese before pair formation, during the subsequent breeding season, and in the following wintering season. Next, we studied how these associations carried over during seasonal changes. We found that early-life associations in females were lost during the breeding season, but resurfaced during the subsequent wintering season. In males, the early-life associations persisted across both seasons. Association persistence was not mediated by genetic relatedness or familiarity. The high level of aggressiveness of males, but not females, in the breeding season suggests that males may have played a key role in shaping both their own social environment and that of their partners. We show that early-life social relationships can be maintained well into later life. Such relationships can be sustained even if they are temporarily disrupted, for example due to reproductive behaviour. Our findings therefore highlight that the early-life social environment can have life-long consequences on individuals’ social environment.

scholarly journals Social environment influences the relationship between genotype and gene expression in wild baboons

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1618) ◽  
pp. 20120345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Runcie ◽  
Ralph T. Wiedmann ◽  
Elizabeth A. Archie ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Gregory A. Wray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wild Baboons

Variation in the social environment can have profound effects on survival and reproduction in wild social mammals. However, we know little about the degree to which these effects are influenced by genetic differences among individuals, and conversely, the degree to which social environmental variation mediates genetic reaction norms. To better understand these relationships, we investigated the potential for dominance rank, social connectedness and group size to modify the effects of genetic variation on gene expression in the wild baboons of the Amboseli basin. We found evidence for a number of gene–environment interactions (GEIs) associated with variation in the social environment, encompassing social environments experienced in adulthood as well as persistent effects of early life social environment. Social connectedness, maternal dominance rank and group size all interacted with genotype to influence gene expression in at least one sex, and either in early life or in adulthood. These results suggest that social and behavioural variation, akin to other factors such as age and sex, can impact the genotype–phenotype relationship. We conclude that GEIs mediated by the social environment are important in the evolution and maintenance of individual differences in wild social mammals, including individual differences in responses to social stressors.

2. Mating systems, or who goes with whom, and for how long

2018 ◽  
pp. 16-33
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Multiple Partners ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
Genetic Techniques ◽  
Males And Females

‘Mating systems, or who goes with whom, and for how long’ examines the variation in how males and females associate during the breeding season, ranging from brief couplings with multiple partners to lifelong monogamy. It also shows how the discovery that females mate with many partners, even in supposedly monogamous species such as songbirds, was made possible by modern genetic techniques. Variation in mating systems holds considerable implications for the operation of sexual selection. The way that animal mating systems have been explained historically is outlined before considering how a more contemporary understanding of genetic and social relationships has reshaped our thinking and how understanding a species’ mating system can have practical applications.

scholarly journals Carry-over effects of resource competition and social environment on aggression

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Kilgour ◽  
D R Norris ◽  
A G McAdam
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
The Social ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Plastic Responses

Abstract Aggressive behavior is common in many species and is often adaptive because it enables individuals to gain access to limited resources. However, aggression is also highly plastic and the degree of plasticity could be influenced by factors such as resource limitation and the social environment. In this study, we examined how the effects of social experience and resource limitation could persist to affect future aggressive interactions. Using naturally inbred strains of Drosophila melanogaster that differ in aggressiveness, we manipulated the level of available resources by varying fly density (two treatments: high and low per capita resources) and group composition by varying strain frequency (five treatments: homogeneous strains, or mixed at 1:3, 1:1 or 3:1 ratios of the more aggressive to less-aggressive strain). For each treatment group, we measured aggression before and after flies were placed through a 4-day period of fixed resources. There was no consistent effect of resource competition on aggression. Instead, changes in aggression depended on resource availability in combination with group composition. In homogeneous groups made up of only one strain, all males became more aggressive following the fixed-resource period, regardless of fly density. In mixed-strain treatments at high density, we observed plastic shifts in aggression of males from both strains, but the direction of plastic responses depended on social composition. Our results show that aggression may not only be influenced by the intensity of previous competitive experiences caused by resource limitation, but also through social effects caused by the composition of the group.

Attachment to the Physical Dimension of Places

2002 ◽  
Vol 91 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1177-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carmen Hidalgo ◽  
Bernardo Hernández
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Strong Emphasis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Previous Contact

Social relationships had been important in explanation and prediction of attachment to places. Although some have asserted the importance of physical aspects of the environment in the formation of attachment ties to a place, the social environment is required for the formation of bonds to a place, although strong emphasis on the social aspect has been questioned and the importance of the physical environment noted. The present objective in two studies was to test whether college students ( ns = 30 and 27) show a preference for a place they know, independently of the social interactions developed in them. Results confirmed the hypothesis, i.e., after a very brief stay in a certain place with nobody else there, these college students preferred that place to another with which they had not had previous contact.

scholarly journals Social relationships and reproductive performance in group-living arctic blue foxes

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannu Korhonen ◽  
Sakari Alasuutari
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Genetic Origin ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Blue Fox

The aim of the present work was to study social relationships and reproductivity in captive arctic blue fox groups of different genetic origin. The social status of the individuals among groups remained constant during autumn and early winter. Males typically dominated over females in the groups. Males also had higher body weights and more social contacts than females. The locomotor activity of the animals increased during the breeding season, especially in the case of males. Urinary marking had a significant importance during the breeding season, being most pronounced in dominant males. No synchronization was observed in the heat development of females despite some kinship. Behaviours such as escape attempts, bitings and increased aggressiveness occurred in March-April as a result of increasing social tension combined with reproductive behaviour. Whelping success varied depending on group composition. Some of the non-breeding and breeding females were observed to act as communal nursing helpers.

scholarly journals Presence of kin-biased social associations in a lizard with no parental care: the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii)

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1406-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carme Piza-Roca ◽  
Kasha Strickland ◽  
Nicola Kent ◽  
Celine H Frere
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Intellagama Lesueurii

Abstract Numerous studies have observed kin-biased social associations in a variety of species. Many of these studies have focused on species exhibiting parental care, which may facilitate the transmission of the social environment from parents to offspring. This becomes problematic when disentangling whether kin-biased associations are driven by kin recognition, or are a product of transmission of the social environment during ontogeny, or a combination of both. Studying kin-biased associations in systems that lack parental care may aid in addressing this issue. Furthermore, when studying kin-biased social associations, it is important to differentiate whether these originate from preferential choice or occur randomly as a result of habitat use or limited dispersal. Here, we combined high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism data with a long-term behavioral data set of a reptile with no parental care to demonstrate that eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) bias their nonrandom social associations toward their kin. In particular, we found that although the overall social network was not linked to genetic relatedness, individuals associated with kin more than expected given availability in space and also biased social preferences toward kin. This result opens important opportunities for the study of kinship-driven associations without the confounding effect of vertical transmission of social environments. Furthermore, we present a robust multiple-step approach for determining whether kin-biased social associations are a result of active social decisions or random encounters resulting from habitat use and dispersal patterns.

‘Neurosis' and the Personal Social Environment

1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. P. Sims ◽  
D. H. Heard ◽  
C. E. Rowe ◽  
M. M. P. Gill ◽  
V. Maddock
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Day Treatment ◽  
Interview Schedule ◽  
Neurotic Disorder ◽  
The Social

The Interview Schedule for Social Interactions (ISSI) was used to assess the social environment of 65 British inner-city patients suffering from severe neurotic disorder; all patients were offered a 12-week course of intensive day treatment with an educational and psychodynamic basis. Compared with a general population in Canberra, the neurosis sufferers had lower (morbid) scores on the ISSI for the extent and quality of their social relationships. Of the 34 subjects who completed treatment and attended for the post-treatment investigation, 21 attained a PSE score below the level for ‘caseness'. Twenty-five subjects who attended for follow-up at 18–24 months had improved significantly on all four of the standard ISSI measures, although they had not done so immediately after treatment. This suggests that although symptoms may improve at the time of treatment, social relationships improve only over several months.

scholarly journals Carry-over effects of the social environment on future divorce probability in a wild bird population

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1817) ◽  
pp. 20150920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antica Culina ◽  
Camilla A. Hinde ◽  
Ben C. Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Bird Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Carry Over

Initial mate choice and re-mating strategies (infidelity and divorce) influence individual fitness. Both of these should be influenced by the social environment, which determines the number and availability of potential partners. While most studies looking at this relationship take a population-level approach, individual-level responses to variation in the social environment remain largely unstudied. Here, we explore carry-over effects on future mating decisions of the social environment in which the initial mating decision occurred. Using detailed data on the winter social networks of great tits, we tested whether the probability of subsequent divorce, a year later, could be predicted by measures of the social environment at the time of pairing. We found that males that had a lower proportion of female associates, and whose partner ranked lower among these, as well as inexperienced breeders, were more likely to divorce after breeding. We found no evidence that a female's social environment influenced the probability of divorce. Our findings highlight the importance of the social environment that individuals experience during initial pair formation on later pairing outcomes, and demonstrate that such effects can be delayed. Exploring these extended effects of the social environment can yield valuable insights into processes and selective pressures acting upon the mating strategies that individuals adopt.

scholarly journals How Identification With the Social Environment and With the Government Guide the Use of the Official COVID-19 Contact Tracing App: Three Quantitative Survey Studies (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Scholl ◽  
Kai Sassenberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Personal Benefit ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

BACKGROUND Official contact tracing apps have been implemented and recommended for use across nations to track and contain the spread of COVID-19. Such apps can be effective if people are <i>willing</i> to use them. Accordingly, many attempts are being made to motivate citizens to make use of the officially recommended apps. OBJECTIVE The aim of this research was to contribute to an understanding of the preconditions under which people are willing to use a COVID-19 contact tracing app (ie, their use intentions and use). To go beyond personal motives in favor of app use, it is important to take people’s social relationships into account, under the hypothesis that the more people identify with the <i>beneficiaries</i> of app use (ie, people living close by in their social environment) and with the <i>source</i> recommending the app (ie, members of the government), the more likely they will be to accept the officially recommended contact tracing app. METHODS Before, right after, and 5 months after the official contact tracing app was launched in Germany, a total of 1044 people participated in three separate surveys. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses, examining the same model in all studies at these critical points in time. RESULTS Across the three surveys, both identification with the beneficiaries (people living in their social environment) and with the source recommending the app (members of the government) predicted greater intention to use and use (installation) of the official contact tracing app. Trust in the source (members of the government) served as a mediator. Other types of identification (with people in Germany or people around the world) did not explain the observed results. The findings were highly consistent across the three surveys. CONCLUSIONS Attempts to motivate people to use new health technology (or potentially new measures more generally) not only for their personal benefit but also for collective benefits should take the social context into account (ie, the social groups people belong to and identify with). The more important the beneficiaries and the sources of such measures are to people’s sense of the self, the more willing they will likely be to adhere to and support such measures.

The social environment and health

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Abel Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Class A ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Causal Pathway ◽  
The Social ◽  
Life Circumstances ◽  
A Chain

This chapter explores three main issues related to the analyses of the social gradient in health: correlations, causations, and interventions. Observed correlations between indicators of socioeconomic position and health do not imply that there are causations. The usefulness of various indicators is discussed, such as education, income, occupation categories, and social class. A causal pathway is presented that suggests a chain from early life circumstances, via education, occupation, income, and perceived status onto health. The chapter ends with a discussion of various policy options to reduce inequalities in health that are caused by social determinants.

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