Separation at weaning from the family is stressful for naturally group-living, but not solitary-living, male African striped miceRhabdomys

Stress ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Mackay ◽  
Tasmin L. Rymer ◽  
Neville Pillay
2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-339
Author(s):  
D. Strickland ◽  
E. Brouwer ◽  
T.M. Burg

A neglected question in the study of communal breeding concerns why alloparental behaviour begins at variously late stages in the breeding cycle. In group-living corvids, the delay tends to be longer in species that are small and (or) typically have only a small nonbreeder complement. This pattern has been attributed to the relatively poor defensive capabilities of such species and their consequently greater need to minimize predator-attracting traffic to the nest or fledglings. We tested this predator avoidance hypothesis with the Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766)), a species in which the feeding of young by any nonbreeders in the family group is delayed until the fledgling period. We reasoned that, on Anticosti Island, Quebec (Canada), in the absence of squirrels and other nest predators, nonbreeders might be permitted to feed nestlings as well as fledglings, and that breeders might feed nestlings more frequently (with smaller food loads) than on the mainland. We found no evidence for either prediction and thus no support for the predator avoidance hypothesis but suggest that Anticosti Canada Jays may have had insufficient time to evolve behaviour more appropriate for their predator-free environment. Secondarily, we confirmed that in all observed instances, the nonbreeders were offspring of the breeding pair from previous years and that they therefore failed to provision nestlings in spite of an apparent genetic interest to do so.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (25) ◽  
pp. 6569-6574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Wittwer ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Tovit Simon ◽  
Li E. K. Murphy ◽  
Mark A. Elgar ◽  
...  

Social animals must communicate to define group membership and coordinate social organization. For social insects, communication is predominantly mediated through chemical signals, and as social complexity increases, so does the requirement for a greater diversity of signals. This relationship is particularly true for advanced eusocial insects, including ants, bees, and wasps, whose chemical communication systems have been well-characterized. However, we know surprisingly little about how these communication systems evolve during the transition between solitary and group living. Here, we demonstrate that the sensory systems associated with signal perception are evolutionarily labile. In particular, we show that differences in signal production and perception are tightly associated with changes in social behavior in halictid bees. Our results suggest that social species require a greater investment in communication than their solitary counterparts and that species that have reverted from eusociality to solitary living have repeatedly reduced investment in these potentially costly sensory perception systems.


Author(s):  
Likhomanova N.O.

The purpose of the research is to define “family narrative” term; to analyze its structure as well as typological features in “Bukova Zemlya” [Beech Land]. Panorama-novel covering 225 years” by M. Matios published in 2019.Methods have been designed in compliance with the key principles of narratology (particularly, works by Roland Barthes, Gérard Genette, Yury Lotman, Vladimir Propp, Wolf Schmid, etc), the inter-relation of narration types as well as the implemented forms of memory’s reproduction.Results. The author of the research has suggested a definition of “family narrative” term as a form of transformation of cultural, historical and communicative memory. The author has identified and analyzed its structure, key functions, typological and individual features using “Bukova Zemlya” novel by M. Matios. The text of the novel is built as a linear narrative of four families during 225 years in XVIII-XX centuries at the territory of Bukovyna (currently, in the South-West of Ukraine). According to G. Genette’s typology, the impartiality of the story is achieved via conducting a narration on behalf of a heterodiegetic narrator in an extradiegetic situation. Combination of a family and a historical narratives is typologically manifested through detailed descriptions of ancestry trees; family stories; ethnography-styled descriptions of customs and every-day living of Hutsuls [an ethnic group living in Caprathian mountains of Ukraine or nearby]. The author also mentions well-known historical figures, uses testimonies of the individuals who lived in those times found in archive sources on the First World War, protests, rallies and riots in 1918; describes the events of the Second World War, anti-Soviet Resistance in Bukovyna and finishes the novel with the events of the War in Donbas in 2014. Following the classification approach by G. Genette, M. Matios applies an internal focalization of a plural type. In particular, the views of the various characters are presented from the perspective of a heterodiegenetic narrator. For example, one of the novel’s chapters describes a cross-cutting theme of war simultaneously both as viewed by a peasant, Dariy Berehovchuk, and by an ambassador, Nikolay Vasylko. The family narrative includes specific typology features as “sine qua non” components of the plot: birth, marriage, re-location (home/village/city/home country), hardships (diseases, famines, the Holocaust, wars), death. The author’s specific elements of her view upon the family narrative include the themes of Land, the God and belief, Language, Ethnicity (including the topic of multiple ethnic groups living in Bukovyna). The novel also has such popular elements for a family narrative as images of twins (or twin strangers) and some borrowed traditional features of folk epic tales: cases of “magical recognition” and “magical prophecy” for a future of a kin.Conclusions. The family narrative of M. Matios’ novel includes both typology and individual features. It is built in compliance with the structure of the internal focalization of plural type. The narration is presented as conducted by a heterodiegentic narrator in a extradiegenetic situation. Hence, an impartiality of a narration and a subjectivity of a discourse in present time provides for realization of “I”-presence of a reader and avoiding idealization and mythologization of a family narrative, which are quite traditional for it.Key words: narration, heterodiegenetic narrator, historical narrative, cultural memory, communicative memory. Мета – визначити поняття «родинний наратив», проаналізувати його структуру та типологічні ознаки у творі М. Матіос «Букова земля. Роман-панорама завдовжки у 225 років» (2019).Методи дослідження формуються відповідно до основних положень наратології (праці Р. Барта, Ж. Женетта, Ю. Лотмана, В. Проппа, В. Шміда та ін.), взаємозв’язку типу нарації і втілених форм репродукції пам’яті.Результати. У процесі дослідження було запропоновано дефініцію поняття «родинний наратив» як форми трансформації культурної, історичної та комунікативної пам’яті. Визначено та проаналізовано його структуру, основні функції, типологічні та індивідуальні ознаки на прикладі роману М. Матіос «Букова земля». Зазначено, що текст побудований у формі лінійного наративу історії чотирьох родів протягом 225 років на території Буковини XVIII–XXI століть. Об’єктивність викладу досяга-ється, за типологією Ж. Женетта, завдяки нарації від імені гетеродієгетичного наратора в екстрадієгетичній ситуації. Типо-логічною ознакою є поєднання родинного та історичного наративів, що демонструється через детальний опис родоводів, сімейних історій, етнографічного опису побуту та звичаїв гуцулів, згадок про відомих осіб, використання свідчень сучасників з архівних джерел подій Першої світової війни, протестів, мітингів і заворушень 1918 р., подій Другої світової війни, істо-рії антирадянського опору на Буковині та завершення оповіді роману подіями війни на Донбасі у 2014 р. За класифікацією Ж. Женетта, в романі використано внутрішню фокалізацію множинного типу, а саме подаються погляди різних персонажів із точки зору гетеродієгетичного наратора. Наприклад, наскрізна тема війни в одному з епізодів роману одночасно описується з погляду селянина Дарія Береговчука і посла Николая Василька. Типологічними ознаками родинного наративу є і неодмінні складники сюжету: народження, одруження, зміна місця (дому/села/міста/батьківщини), випробування (хвороби, голод, голо-кост, війна), смерть. Виразними елементами авторського погляду на родинний наратив стали теми землі, Бога і віри, мови, національності (зокрема, і тема багатонаціональної буковинської землі). У романі присутні і такі поширені елементи родин-ного наративу, як образи близнюків (або двійників), а також запозичені усталені ознаки сюжетів народного епосу – епізоди чарівного упізнання і магічного передбачення майбутнього роду.Висновки. Родинний наратив роману М. Матіос містить типологічні та індивідуальні ознаки, формується відповідно до структури внутрішньої фокалізації множинного типу. Нарація подається у викладі гетеродієгетичного наратора в екстрадієге-тичній ситуації. Таким чином, об’єктивність оповіді та суб’єктивність дискурсу теперішнього часу дає змогу втілитися ефекту «я»-присутності читача та уникнути традиційної для родинного наративу ідеалізації та міфологізації.Ключові слова: нарація, гетеродієгетичний наратор, історичний наратив, культурна пам’ять, історична пам’ять, комуні-кативна пам’ять.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingzi Wang ◽  
Stephen J. Cornell ◽  
Michael P. Speed ◽  
Kevin Arbuckle

Abstract Background Animals use diverse antipredator mechanisms, including visual signalling of aversive chemical defence (aposematism). However, the initial evolution of aposematism poses the problem that the first aposematic individuals are conspicuous to predators who have not learned the significance of the warning colouration. In one scenario, aposematism evolves in group-living species and originally persisted due to kin selection or positive frequency-dependent selection in groups. Alternatively, group-living might evolve after aposematism because grouping can amplify the warning signal. However, our current understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of these traits is limited, leaving the relative merit of these scenarios unresolved. Results We used a phylogenetic comparative approach to estimate phenotypic evolutionary models to enable inferences regarding ancestral states and trait dynamics of grouping and aposematic colouration in a classic model system (caterpillars). We find strong support for aposematism at the root of the clade, and some (but weaker) support for ancestral solitary habits. Transition rates between aposematism and crypsis are generally higher than those between group-living and solitary-living, suggesting that colouration is more evolutionarily labile than aggregation. We also find that the transition from group-living to solitary-living states can only happen in aposematic lineage, suggesting that aposematism facilitates the evolution of solitary caterpillars, perhaps due to the additional protection offered when the benefits of grouping are lost. We also find that the high frequency of solitary, cryptic caterpillars is because this state is particularly stable, in that the transition rates moving towards this state are substantially higher than those moving away from it, favouring its accumulation in the clade over evolutionary time. Conclusions Our results provide new insights into the coevolution of colour and aggregation in caterpillars. We find support for an aposematic caterpillar at the root of this major clade, and for the signal augmentation hypothesis as an explanation of the evolution of aposematic, group-living caterpillars. We find that colouration is more labile than aggregation behaviour, but that the combination of solitary and cryptic habits is particularly stable. Finally, our results reveal that the transitions from group-living to solitary-living could be facilitated by aposematism, providing a new link between these well-studied traits.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 809
Author(s):  
Zhenglin Zhu ◽  
Yuting Tan ◽  
Siyu Xiao ◽  
Zhufen Guan ◽  
Wen Zhao ◽  
...  

The domestic silkworms, Bombyx mori, always live in groups and little is known of the outcomes of solitary living. We bred solitary silkworms and performed a comprehensive investigation of the difference between solitary and group-living silkworms. The results show that solitary silkworms had significantly lower weights than group-living counterparts. Moreover, solitary silkworms had faster movements under food luring or heat stress than the group-living ones, supported by extensive behavior experiments. These findings inferred that an increased agility resulted from solitary living. For an understanding of the molecular mechanism associated with solitary living, we performed integrated mRNA and miRNA (microRNA) sequencing of tissues for solitary and group-living silkworms. We identified 165 differently expressed genes (DEGs) and 6 differently expressed miRNAs between the solitary and group-living silkworms. Functional and pathway analyses indicated that these DEGs are associated with weight loss and agility increase. These findings compose a sketch depicting an association between the phenotypes and genes resulted from solitary living and refresh the understanding of solitary living and loneliness, which has an increased prevalence in our modern society.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 20170008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Fedorova ◽  
Cara L. Evans ◽  
Richard W. Byrne

Group size predicts brain size in primates and some other mammal groups, but no such relationship has been found in birds. Instead, stable pair-bonding and bi-parental care have been identified as correlates of larger brains in birds. We investigated the relationship between brain size and social system within the family Picidae , using phylogenetically controlled regression analysis. We found no specific effect of duration or strength of pair-bonds, but brain sizes were systematically smaller in species living in long-lasting social groups of larger sizes. Group-living may only present a cognitive challenge in groups in which members have individually competitive relationships; we therefore propose that groups functioning for cooperative benefit may allow disinvestment in expensive brain tissue.


Author(s):  
Herbert Rubens KOCH FILHO ◽  
Luiza Foltran De Azevedo KOCH ◽  
Solena Ziemer KUSMA ◽  
Sérgio Aparecido IGNÁCIO ◽  
Simone Tetu MOYSÉS ◽  
...  

Background: The gerontoism, a neologism adopted here, is a form of discrimination regarding age and can occur in rational, emotional, and behavioral contexts, and could be influenced by many factors. This study aimed to identify if the social support and the family functionality interfere in the self-perception of gerontoism. Methods: Participants were 376 elderly in good physical and mental condition. They participated in the Group Living organization in the Municipality of Curitiba, State of Paraná, Brazil, in 2012.  Information was collected about sociodemographic profile using a structured questionnaire. The social support, the family functionality, and the self-perception of gerontoism were defined by the Medical Outcomes Study, the Family APGAR index, and Ageism Survey, respectively. The variables were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, One Way ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD test, and the Student’s t-test. Results: Most of the participants came from small cities from the interior (48.7%), were female (94.4%), with age ranging 60-69 yr-old (45.5%), whites (76.1%), widowers (47.1%), with children (93.9%), with low schooling (55.3%), with family income from 1-2 minimum wage (31.4%), and retirees not working (44.1%). It was not observed correlation between sociodemographic variables and self-perception of gerontoism. Statistical significance was observed between self-perception of gerontoism and social support (r= -0.26, P=0.00), and between the self-perception and family functionality (r = -0.28, P=0.00). Once the scores of self-perception of gerontoism increased, the ones from social support and family functionality, decreased. Conclusion: Lower self-perception of gerontoism was observed in elderly with higher social support and family functionality.  


Author(s):  
Оюун-Эрдэнэ Б

The social shift time carried out in Mongolia, the worldwide globalization and the cultural globalization have been bringing considerable changes to the structures and the styles of the families of Mongolia. For the purpose to determine the current styles, the development, the changes and the future trends of the family relations and the factors affecting these, we fulfilled a basic survey named “The Current Situation of the Mongolian Family Relations” in 2010. The survey showed a tendency that the family relation matters will become more complicated in the country and problems ought to be solved will appear in the near 5 to 10 years. There will be many confronting problems such as family violation, divorce and post-divorce child matter. There are common family types such as integrated, single, one-sided and having disabled members in Mongolia and several new styles have been appearing for example: transnational family, multi-cultural family, partnership family, contracted family1, homosexual family and group living family. Accordingly, there are needs and necessities to determine ways for completely researching the family affairs in a level of theory and practice to give answers, for including in the state policy and operations, for making practical consulting and for solving the problems and the matters. Except providing the citizens with the education essential to keep families with normal relations, it is necessary to issue them a family education, which is fit to their life cycles, age specialties or otherwise which is based on their needs. The survey showed that 72.3% replied a family consulting center is required, 72.3% replied a family education-provider institution is needed too and 45.4% answered a marriage ceremony hall is needed. It means such needs have already appeared and the demands are not being provided. It is being observed that a trend about families is to gradually change from the conventional trend. An attitude to be based on dishonest and material interests, losing the precious values of families, to avoid the family responsibilities and to be selfishness preferring independence for sexual relations. Building a state system, which is specially responsible for the family affairs, is significantly important to enhance the inter-sector regulations for solving the problems confronting the families.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document