scholarly journals Determinants Of Dominance, Resting Place And Neighbour Preferences In Wrzosówka Polska Ewes Kept Indoors

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin T. Górecki ◽  
Natalia Dziwińska

Abstract The aim of this study was to recognize features determining social hierarchy in Wrzosówka Polska ewes kept indoors as well as to investigate their resting place and companionship preferences. Observations (156 hours in total) were carried out in a group of 22 ewes. The social rank of sheep was determined by their age, body weight and length of horns. Social position was positively correlated with aggressive behaviour performed and negatively with aggressive behaviour received. Use of space while resting was influenced by ewe social behaviour; aggressive individuals lied more often in attractive places, namely against walls and fodder troughs compared to other animals. In general, the ewes rested by having physical contact with animals of similar rank and aggressiveness. Kinship appeared not to be important in neighbour preference. As can be concluded, social interactions influenced the use of space and neighbourhood in ewes

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 ◽  
pp. 108-108
Author(s):  
D.S. Arey ◽  
W.G. Jamieson

The mixing of unfamiliar sows usually results in fighting which determines relative social rank. In some situations aggression can be perpetuated and subordinate animals can suffer as a result of competition for resources such as feed and space. Although Moore et al (1993) suggested that newly introduced group members become fully integrated after 21 days there have been few studies which have examined the development of social interactions over the longer term. The aim of the experiment was to determine how social behaviour changed over time and the affects that this may have on the welfare of group-housed sows.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Copeland ◽  
Arild Landa ◽  
Kimberly Heinemeyer ◽  
Keith B. Aubry ◽  
Jiska van Dijk ◽  
...  

Social behaviour in solitary carnivores has long been an active area of investigation but for many species remains largely founded in conjecture compared to our understanding of sociality in group-living species. The social organization of the wolverine has, until now, received little attention beyond its portrayal as a typical mustelid social system. In this chapter the authors compile observations of social interactions from multiple wolverine field studies, which are integrated into an ecological framework. An ethological model for the wolverine is proposed that reveals an intricate social organization, which is driven by variable resource availability within extremely large territories and supports social behaviour that underpins offspring development.


Behaviour ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Valone

Abstract1. The relation between the social behavior and the electrical emissions of Gymnotus carapo is examined. 2. Members of the species Gymnotus carapo approach certain sources of electrical stimuli and, in a statistically significant number of instances, assume a stance parallel to the plane from which the stimuli originate. 3. The approach and postural responses elicited by electrical cues resemble those observed when two fish, placed in the same tank, interact socially. 4. Electrical cues therefore appear to facilitate certain social interactions in Gymnotus carapo. 5. The character of electrical emission in Gymnotus carapo appears to change as a function of certain social interaction: a. Interaction resembling aggression is accompanied by brief increases in the frequency of emission. b. The increases in frequency appear to be linked to thrusting movements. c. Fish interacting with one another appear to lock into a common frequency more often than fish that are not in physical contact with one another. d. During social interaction, one of the two fish is occasionally observed to halt emissions altogether. 6. The exact significance of the social behavior observed in the context of the life history of Gymnotus carapo is unknown.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daeeun Kim ◽  
JuYoung Kim ◽  
Hackjin Kim

Why would people conform more to others with higher social positions? People may place higher confidence in the opinions of those who rank higher in the social hierarchy, or they may wish to make better impressions on people of higher social status. We investigated how individual preferences for novel stimuli are influenced by the preferences of others in the social hierarchy and whether anonymity affects such preference changes. After manipulation of their social rank, participants were asked to indicate how much they liked or disliked a series of images. Then, they were shown the rating given to each image by a partner (either inferior or superior in social rank) and were given a chance to adjust their ratings. The participants were more likely to change their preferences to match those of a superior partner in the public vs. private condition. The tendency to conform to the views of the superior partner was stronger among those with higher social dominance orientation (SDO) and those with greater fear of negative evaluation (FNE) by others. Altogether, the findings suggest that the motivation to make better impressions on people of higher social status can be the major driver of conformity to others with higher social positions.


1968 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2387-2401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip E. K. Symons

Aggressive behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr, tested in groups of eight, was greater during 3 days of deprivation of food than during 3 days of feeding. Frontal and lateral displaying appeared to increase more than charging and nipping. Increased agression was only partly a result of increased locomotion, and therefore was partly a direct effect of hunger.Strong social hierarchies developed, larger fish nipping smaller ones more than the reverse. The correlation between size and hierarchical status was usually sufficient to account for the strength of hierarchy observed.Upon deprivation of food the dominant of any pair of socially unequal fish on the average increased its nipping of the subordinate. The nipping rate of dominants by subordinates did not change consistently; many low ranking fish decreased their nipping rate upon deprivation. These results would strengthen hierarchies during deprivation. Initiation of attacks by small fish, as opposed to nipping, increased consistently during deprivation.Nipping was more frequent between fish of equal status and size than between fish of unequal status or size. This could have accounted for the strength of hierarchies in groups in which the correlation between size and position was insufficient to do so.The increase in aggression upon food deprivation could function to increase the size of feeding territories when food is scarce. This and the strengthening of hierarchies would cause emigration of some fish from the area. Concentration of aggression between fish of equal size and status could permit parr of different ages to coexist.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndon A. Jordan ◽  
Marian Y. L. Wong ◽  
Sigal S. Balshine

Members of animal groups face a trade-off between the benefits of remaining with a familiar group and the potential benefits of dispersing into a new group. Here, we examined the group membership decisions of Neolamprologus pulcher , a group-living cichlid. We found that subordinate helpers showed a preference for joining familiar groups, but when choosing between two unfamiliar groups, helpers did not preferentially join groups that maximized their social rank. Rather, helpers preferred groups containing larger, more dominant individuals, despite receiving significantly more aggression within these groups, possibly owing to increased protection from predation in such groups. These results suggest a complex decision process in N. pulcher when choosing among groups, dependent not only on familiarity but also on the social and life-history consequences of joining new groups.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Kai Ma ◽  
Pei-Yun Zeng ◽  
Yu-Hsin Chu ◽  
Chih-Lin Lee ◽  
Ching-Chuan Cheng ◽  
...  

Abstract The importance of social interactions has been reported in different animal species. During the pandemic, although people can communicate through other sensory cues, social touch is mostly prohibited under different levels of social distance policies, which inspired us to explore the necessity of physical contact in mouse social interaction. In this study, we first conducted a long-term observation showing that pair-housed mice in a standard laboratory cage spent nearly half the day in direct physical contact with each other. Furthermore, isolation experiments demonstrated that, even with access to other sensations, prevention of social touch for one month significantly induced anxiety levels, changed social behaviors and increased interleukin-6 cytokine in the hippocampus and the serum of mice. Our study demonstrated the necessity of social touch for the maintenance of mental health in mice. This information could have important implications for human social interactions, especially the social policies during a pandemic crisis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay E Holekamp ◽  
Eli D Strauss

Abstract The reproductive biology of many female mammals is affected by their social environment and their interactions with conspecifics. In mammalian societies structured by linear dominance hierarchies, such as that of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), a female’s social rank can have profound effects on both her reproductive success and her longevity. In this species, social rank determines priority of access to food, which is the resource limiting reproduction. Due largely to rank-related variation in access to food, reproduction from the perspective of a female spotted hyena can only be understood in the context of her position in the social hierarchy. In this review, we examine the effects of rank on the various phases of reproduction, from mating to weaning. Summed over many individual reproductive lifespans, the effect of rank at these different reproductive phases leads to dramatic rank-related variation in fitness among females and their lineages. Finally, we ask why females reproduce socially despite these apparent costs of group living to low-ranking females. Gregariousness enhances the fitness of females regardless of their positions in the social hierarchy, and females attempting to survive and reproduce without clanmates lose all their offspring. The positive effects of gregariousness appear to result from having female allies, both kin and non-kin, who cooperate to advertise and defend a shared territory, acquire, and defend food resources, maintain the status quo, and occasionally also to rise in social rank.


Author(s):  
Ángel V. Jiménez ◽  
Alex Mesoudi

Abstract Informal social hierarchies within small human groups are argued to be based on prestige, dominance, or a combination of the two (Henrich & Gil-White, 2001). Prestige-based hierarchies entail the ordering of individuals by the admiration and respect they receive from others due to their competence within valued domains. This type of hierarchy provides benefits for subordinates such as social learning opportunities and both private and public goods. In contrast, dominance-based hierarchies entail the ordering of individuals by their capacity to win fights, and coerce or intimidate others. This type of hierarchy produces costs in subordinates due to its aggressive and intimidating nature. Given the benefits and costs associated with these types of social hierarchies for subordinates, we hypothesised that prestige and dominance cues are better recalled and transmitted than social rank cues that do not elicit high prestige or dominance associations (i.e. medium social rank cues). Assuming that for the majority of the population who are not already at the top of the social hierarchy it is more important to avoid the costs of dominance-based hierarchies than to obtain the benefits of prestige-based hierarchies, we further hypothesised that dominance cues are better transmitted than prestige cues. We conducted a recall-based transmission chain experiment with 30 chains of four generations each (N = 120). Participants read and recalled descriptions of prestigious, dominant, and medium social rank footballers, and their recall was passed to the next participant within their chain. As predicted, we found that both prestige cues and dominance cues were better transmitted than medium social rank cues. However, we did not find support for our prediction of the better transmission of dominance cues than prestige cues. We discuss whether the results might be explained by a specific social-rank content transmission bias or by a more general emotional content transmission bias.


Behaviour ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 107 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 241-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Stammbach

The aim of this study was to investigate the capability of monkeys to assess special characteristics in conspecifics. In a first phase I ascertained that all members of a colony of longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were able to attain food by manipulating a one lever apparatus, thus introducing the "tradition" of lever pulling. Then, experiments were carried out on subgroups of the colony where only one of the lower ranking subgroup members was trained to succeed in a more complex task where three levers had to be pulled in a correct sequence. Eight specialists were established in sequence. These specialists became food producers for themselves and for the other group members. Each trial of a specialist's series was carried out in two phases. In the first, the food phase, the food dispensing apparatus was active and responses of other subgroup members to the food producing specialist were observed. In the second, the social phase, the apparatus remained inactive and observations focused on social interactions of the subgroup. As expected, primarily high ranking subgroup members attempted to participate in the food rewards gained by the specialist. It is shown that high ranking animals began to hold back their initial chasing of the specialist from the food site in course of the trials and were soon tolerated to sit near the subordinate food producer. Furthermore, some of the non-specialists began to follow or even to pass the specialist when he was approaching the apparatus to manipulate the levers. These non-specialists thus indicated that they were able to anticipate later actions. In seven out of 55 specialist-non-specialist relationships all predicted changes in social interactions occurred. In the majority of the dyads in which a change in social affiliation was registered an increase of grooming or spatial proximity was positively correlated with the amount of benefit gained from the specialist. In the social phase of the trials the non-specialists gave more grooming to the food producers and maintained spatial proximity even in this second phase. To conclude: At least some of the group members became aware of the skills of the specialists and adapted their behaviour accordingly as if to maximize benefits from their skills. Previous studies had already suggested that monkeys know about social position, social relationships and kinship of group members. This study adds a new aspect of knowledge, namely knowledge on capabilities and skills of others. Differential knowledge allows monkeys to select partners optimally according to their skills and social position.


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