Condition Changes and Choice of Social Environment in African Buffalo Bulls

Behaviour ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 108 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 297-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.H.T. Prins
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Breeding Cycle ◽  
African Buffalo ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Abstract1. The social behaviour of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) was studied between 1981 and 1985 in Lake Manyara National Park, northern Tanzania. Emphasis is placed on the relationships between adult bulls (i.e. older than 7 yrs). 2. These bulls were transient members of the buffalo population of the study area. At any time ± 150 adult bulls were in the area. During the study period 240 individual bulls were recognized, and the number of the 'bull pool' during this period was estimated to be 630. 3. Every few weeks, the bulls switched between the herd state and bachelor state, and wandered from herd to herd, presumably in search of oestrus cows. 4. They did not form stable associations, and when bachelor, they preferentially associated in temporary groups of 3 to 5 bulls. 5. Adult bulls engaged in sparring and showed dominance interactions very rarely. In a dyadic encounter, dominance interactions were only observed between bulls of the same body condition. Encounters involving individuals in different condition resulted in dominance being established without interaction. Fighting is extremely rare and likely to be lethal to both opponents. 6. The switching between both social environments was related to condition loss in the mixed herd and to condition gain in the bachelor state. This resulted in a 'rotating dominance hierarchy'. The bachelor phase is an essential part of the breeding cycle of an adult bull. 7. The necessity of a bachelor phase to recoup body condition may well be a general feature in mammalian species with long breeding seasons.

scholarly journals Fluctuations in neighbourhood fertility generate variable signalling effort

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1796) ◽  
pp. 20141974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor C. Taff ◽  
Gail L. Patricelli ◽  
Corey R. Freeman-Gallant
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Common Yellowthroat ◽  
Geothlypis Trichas ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sexual Signalling ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Studies of sexual signalling generally focus on interactions between dyadic pairs, yet communication in natural populations often occurs in the context of complex social networks. The ability to survey social environments and adjust signal production appropriately should be a critical component of success in these systems, but has rarely been documented empirically. Here, we used autonomous recording devices to identify 118 472 songs produced by 26 male common yellowthroats ( Geothlypis trichas ) over two breeding seasons, coupled with detailed surveys of social conditions on each territory. We found strong evidence that common yellowthroat males adjusted their total song production in response to both changes in within-pair social context and changes in the fertility of neighbouring females up to 400 m away. Within the social pair, males drastically reduced their song production when mated, but the magnitude of this reduction depended on both the time of day and on the fertility status of the social mate. By contrast, when fertile females were present on nearby territories, males increased their song output, especially during daytime singing. At this time, it is unclear whether males actively gathered information on neighbouring female fertility or whether the patterns that we observed were driven by changes in social interactions that varied with neighbourhood fertility. Regardless of the mechanism employed, however, subtle changes in the social environment generated substantial variation in signalling effort.

Dominance and aggression in captive gidgee skinks (Egernia stokesii)

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Holly Baines
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Relative Value ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Aggressive Behaviours ◽  
Feeding Control ◽  
Egernia Stokesii

Dominance is a key component of behaviour in many animal species and is central to social system dynamics, resource acquisition, individual fitness and ultimately reproductive success. We investigated dominance interactions and social behaviours in a group of captive juvenile gidgee skinks (Egernia stokesii). We hypothesised that a dominance hierarchy existed within the group, and that aggressive behaviours would be used to secure limited resources, especially high-value resources. We also hypothesised that body weight would be positively correlated with dominance and aggressive behaviours. We filmed the lizards at 1200 hours for six days a week over the course of eight weeks. We exposed the lizards to three different diets, which consisted of an animal-based diet (crickets), plant-based diet (plants), and a non-feeding control (no food offered). The relative value of these resources to the skinks was established through preference tests. We identified a dominance hierarchy, with dominant individuals exhibiting more aggressive behaviours than subordinates. We found that the frequency of aggressive behaviours was significantly higher in trials where high-valued resources (crickets) were at stake. Furthermore, we found a significant positive correlation between body weight and dominance, bite and chase; larger individuals were ranked higher in the social hierarchy compared to smaller individuals. Our results demonstrate the importance of morphological and behavioural traits in determining a dominance hierarchy in E. stokesii and how dominance can have ecological advantages.

scholarly journals Allelic Genealogies in Sporophytic Self-Incompatibility Systems in Plants

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 1187-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikkel H Schierup ◽  
Xavier Vekemans ◽  
Freddy B Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Self Incompatibility ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Turnover Process ◽  
Neutral Gene ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Coalescence Times

Abstract Expectations for the time scale and structure of allelic genealogies in finite populations are formed under three models of sporophytic self-incompatibility. The models differ in the dominance interactions among the alleles that determine the self-incompatibility phenotype: In the SSIcod model, alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style, in the SSIdom model, alleles form a dominance hierarchy, and in SSIdomcod, alleles are codominant in the style and show a dominance hierarchy in the pollen. Coalescence times of alleles rarely differ more than threefold from those under gametophytic self-incompatibility, and transspecific polymorphism is therefore expected to be equally common. The previously reported directional turnover process of alleles in the SSIdomcod model results in coalescence times lower and substitution rates higher than those in the other models. The SSIdom model assumes strong asymmetries in allelic action, and the most recessive extant allele is likely to be the most recent common ancestor. Despite these asymmetries, the expected shape of the allele genealogies does not deviate markedly from the shape of a neutral gene genealogy. The application of the results to sequence surveys of alleles, including interspecific comparisons, is discussed.

scholarly journals Social intelligence, human intelligence and niche construction

2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1480) ◽  
pp. 719-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Sterelny
Keyword(s):  
Social Intelligence ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Foraging Mode ◽  
Social Intelligence Hypothesis ◽  
Hominin Evolution ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ecological Complexity ◽  
Intelligence Models

This paper is about the evolution of hominin intelligence. I agree with defenders of the social intelligence hypothesis in thinking that externalist models of hominin intelligence are not plausible: such models cannot explain the unique cognition and cooperation explosion in our lineage, for changes in the external environment (e.g. increasing environmental unpredictability) affect many lineages. Both the social intelligence hypothesis and the social intelligence–ecological complexity hybrid I outline here are niche construction models. Hominin evolution is hominin response to selective environments that earlier hominins have made. In contrast to social intelligence models, I argue that hominins have both created and responded to a unique foraging mode; a mode that is both social in itself and which has further effects on hominin social environments. In contrast to some social intelligence models, on this view, hominin encounters with their ecological environments continue to have profound selective effects. However, though the ecological environment selects, it does not select on its own. Accidents and their consequences, differential success and failure, result from the combination of the ecological environment an agent faces and the social features that enhance some opportunities and suppress others and that exacerbate some dangers and lessen others. Individuals do not face the ecological filters on their environment alone, but with others, and with the technology, information and misinformation that their social world provides.

Two Social Environments in a Working Day: Occupation and Spatial Segregation in Metropolitan Tel Aviv

10.1068/a3452 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 1765-1784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orna Blumen ◽  
Iris Zamir
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Spatial Segregation ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Tel Aviv ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
The Social ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Working Day ◽  
And Gender

The concepts of segregation and social distance have long been used to explain the social environment of stratified residential space. However, the social significance of occupation, though acknowledged, has rarely been applied spatially. In this study, we employed these three concepts to examine the social environment of the entire metropolitan employment space as defined by job location. Smallest space analysis was used to identify and compare the sociospatial segregation produced by workers' occupational distribution in employment and residential spheres. This empirical study focused on metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel's largest urban area, using the latest available national census. Our findings show that the social milieu of employment differed from that of residence: blue-collar workers were segregated from white-collar workers; managers, clerks, and salespersons formed the core group; and gender and ethnic divisions characterised the sociospatial realm of employment. Overall, most employees changed their social environment when they went to work. The study indicates that spatial segregation, within each sphere and between the two spheres, is intrinsic to the capitalist – patriarchal order.

scholarly journals El concepto de Pertenencia (Belonging) como marco analítico para la investigación sobre la juventud de origen inmigrante

2017 ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Concepción Maiztegui ◽  
Esther Aretxabala ◽  
Aitor Ibarrola ◽  
Pedro J. Oiarzabal
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Social

<p>This article describes and explores an analytical framework based on the concept of belonging, which, in turn, takes into consideration the personal, social, and performative dimensions of the integration process of young migrants. The concept of belonging is becoming one of the central pillars in current research on migration and integration, since it allows us to look into the subjective experiences of individuals and into the social environments that have an impact on the daily lives and give shape to the identity frameworks of young migrants. Approaches based on this concept also take into account the role of participation in social processes.</p><p><strong>Published online</strong>: 11 December 2017</p>

scholarly journals Relatedness-Supportive Learning Environment for Girls in Physical Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Gibbons
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Alternative Strategies ◽  
Healthy Relationships ◽  
The Social ◽  
High School Physical Education ◽  
Supportive Learning Environment

The challenges and issues associated with girls’ disengagement from high school physical education are serious and long standing. This disengagement has provided the impetus for the examination of alternative strategies to facilitate girls’ engagement in physical education. The purpose of this paper is to share a range of gender-inclusive practices in physical education grounded in the concept of a relatedness-supportive learning environment. "Relatedness" is the feeling of being connected to others in a social context. In turn, "relatedness support" refers to the social environments in which individuals have the opportunity to develop healthy relationships with others.

Introduction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergely Baics
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Market System ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Access To Food ◽  
Private Domain

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book tells story of New York's transition from a tightly regulated public market system of provisioning in the Early Republic to a free-market model in the antebellum period. It examines what a municipal market system was and how it worked to supply urban dwellers; how and why access to food moved from the public to the private domain by the 1840s; how these two distinctive political economies shaped the physical and social environments of a booming city; and what the social consequences of deregulation were for residents of America's first metropolis. On the whole, the book offers a comprehensive account based in political economy and the social and geographic history of the complex interplay of urban governance, market forces, and the built environment in provisioning New Yorkers.

Bechdel’s Men and Masculinity

2019 ◽  
pp. 52-67
Author(s):  
Judith Kegan Gardiner
Keyword(s):  
Social Environments ◽  
Lesbian Feminism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Men And Masculinity ◽  
Future Visions

In both Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel draws avatars of herself as a butch lesbian who has an admiration for “masculine beauty,” while preferring the company of women and the politics of Leftist lesbian feminism. In the “Cartoonist’s Introduction” to Dykes to Watch Out For, she describes how as a child she had “a curious fixation with the iconography of masculinity” and drew only male figures until years later she asked herself, “What if I stopped drawing guys and started drawing dykes?” (Essential Dykes viii, xiii). But she did continue drawing men as well, centering Fun Home on the depiction of her father’s dilemmas as a closeted gay man trying to fit American ideals of manhood. So Bechdel gives us sad past and potentially optimistic future visions of masculinity and sexuality. This chapter analyzes Bechdel’s men both externally and internally, first with attention to the ways in which she draws the repressed Bruce Bechdel, Alison’s father in Fun Home, and outgoing Stuart, progressive partner to one of Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For, then to considering what she shows us of their thoughts and emotions in the social environments they inhabit.

Socio-Ethical Impact of the Emerging Smart Technologies

2018 ◽  
pp. 226-240
Author(s):  
Octavian M. Machidon
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Research Domains ◽  
Technical Considerations

Today, technology is being integrated in all social environments, at home, school, or work, shaping a new world in which there is a closer interaction between human and machine than ever before. While every new technology brings along the expected “blessings,” there is also the thick end of the stick, namely the potential undesired effects it might cause. Explorative research in smart and enhancing technologies reveals that the current trend is for them to transcend to persuasive technologies, capable of shaping human behavior. In this context, this chapter aims at identifying the social and ethical implications of such technologies, being elaborated after reviewing literature from various research domains. It addresses the implications of today's smart and enhancing technologies on several levels: health repercussions, the social and behavioral changes they generate, and concerns of privacy and security. Also, the chapter emphasizes the need for scientists and researchers to engage not only with the technical considerations, but also with the societal implications mentioned above.

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