scholarly journals How feedback and feed-forward mechanisms link determinants of social dominance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobit Dehnen ◽  
Josh J. Arbon ◽  
Damien R. Farine ◽  
Neeltje Boogert
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Feedback Loops ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Feed Forward ◽  
Dominance Interactions

In many animal societies, individuals differ consistently in their ability to win agonistic interactions, resulting in dominance hierarchies. These differences arise due to a range of factors that can influence individuals’ abilities to win agonistic interactions, spanning from genetically driven traits through to individuals’ recent interaction history. Yet, despite a century of study since Schjelderup-Ebbe’s seminal paper on social dominance, we still lack a general understanding of how these different factors work together to determine individuals’ positions in hierarchies. Here, we first outline five widely studied factors that can influence interaction outcomes: intrinsic attributes, resource value asymmetry, winner-loser effects, dyadic interaction-outcome history and third-party support. A review of the evidence shows that whilst different factors have been shown to be important in specific systems, there are few empirical cases where one factor has a definitive effect. We then propose that mixed empirical support for a single factor is likely to arise due to feedback loops, whereby the outcomes of previous agonistic interactions (e.g. access to food) impact factors that might be important in subsequent interactions (e.g. body condition). We provide a conceptual framework which illustrates that there are many potential routes through which feedbacks can occur. Such feedbacks suggest that the factors that determine outcomes of dominance interactions are highly intertwined and are likely to rarely act independently of one-another. Further, we generalise our framework to include multi-generational feed-forward mechanisms and highlight how interaction outcomes in one generation can influence the factors determining interaction outcomes of their offspring via a range of parental effects. This general framework describes how interaction outcomes and the factors determining them are linked within generations via feedback loops, and between generations via feed-forward mechanisms. We then highlight methodological approaches that will facilitate the study of feedback loops and dominance dynamics. Lastly, we discuss how our framework can shape future research, including investigating how feedbacks in dominance hierarchies produce ‘self-organised’ structure, exploring how interaction outcomes are integrated to form dominance hierarchies, and the routes of parental influence on the dominance status of offspring. Ultimately, by considering dominance interactions as part of a dynamic system, that also feeds forward into subsequent generations, we will better understand the factors that structure dominance hierarchies in animal groups.

Into and Out of the Wild: The Call of the Wild and White Fang

Jack London ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 42-59
Author(s):  
Kenneth K. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Changing Environments

This chapter explores London’s two famous dog novels. The Call of the Wild and White Fang are analysed in relation to the themes of initiation, adaptation, captivity, and freedom. Particular emphasis is given to the conflict between the formation of social dominance hierarchies and the urge toward solidarity and cooperation—a key conflict that runs throughout London’s work. The two novels are also considered in relation to a phenomenon the fascinated London: The ability of an organism to override biologically inscribed behavioural scripts and adapt to changing environments. The chapter also examines the significant Naturalistic features London stresses and describe how each text depicts crucial distinctions among amorality, immorality, and morality. In addition to these harsher Darwinian themes, this section examines London’s depiction of altruism.

Functions of perch relocations in a communal night roost of wintering bald eagles

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy A Yackel Adams ◽  
Susan K Skagen ◽  
Richard L Knight
Keyword(s):  
Cold Stress ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Haliaeetus Leucocephalus ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Bald Eagles ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Multiple Functions ◽  
Descriptive Information ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Foraging Associations

We investigated the functions of perch relocations within a communal night roost of wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) along the Nooksack River, Washington, during two winters. We tested seven predictions of two nonexclusive hypotheses: (1) bald eagles relocate within roosts to assess foraging success of conspecifics and (2) bald eagles relocate to obtain thermoregulatory benefits from an improved microclimate. Additionally, we gathered descriptive information to allow refinement of further alternative hypotheses. We rejected the hypothesis that relocations are a means of assessing foraging success. Contrary to our expectations, immature eagles did not relocate to be closer to adults, and relocations were less frequent when food was less abundant. Our data support the hypothesis that eagles relocate within night roosts to obtain a favorable microclimate during winters when they are subjected to cold stress and food stress. In both winters, relocations were more frequent in the evening than in the morning. In both winters, most evening relocations were to the center of the roost rather than to its edge, and the frequency of relocation to the center was greater when temperatures were low. The microclimate hypothesis, however, explains only a limited number of relocations. Based on our findings, it is likely that relocation has multiple functions, including establishing and (or) maintaining foraging associations, establishing and (or) maintaining social-dominance hierarchies when food is less abundant, and nonsocial activities.

Relationships Between Social Dominance and Feeding Behaviour in Lactating Heifers During Periods of Heavy Competition

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 ◽  
pp. 150-150
Author(s):  
A.D. Kenwright ◽  
J.M. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
The Way

Previous research has shown that social dominance in dairy herds can be measured using replacements of one cow by another at feed stations (Rutter et al,1987). When there is competition for feed or space, the motivation to engage in physical and non-physical agonistic interactions will be stronger than if resources are freely available. When resources are limited, social dominance becomes very important and high ranking animals have priority.This becomes especially important after cows are returned from milking and/or when fresh feed is added when the number of cows is far greater than the number of feeding spaces (Campling and Morgan, 1981). This experiment aimed to further investigate the way in which social interaction between cows affects the feeding behaviour, particularly at times of peak feeding activity.

Resource variability and the collapse of a dominance hierarchy in a colour polymorphic species

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (6) ◽  
pp. 443-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawson M. Brown ◽  
Matthew S. Lattanzio
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Species Dominance ◽  
Polymorphic Species ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Colour Morphs ◽  
Resource Variability

Abstract Intraspecific social dominance hierarchies should be influenced by environmental variation; however, in colour polymorphic species, dominance hierarchies are often assumed fixed, and thus insensitive to environmental variability. We ran a series of experiments using the colour polymorphic long-tailed brush lizard (Urosaurus graciosus) to challenge this assumption. We staged contests between orange and yellow morph males over a single heated perch, two perches at the same temperature, or two perches differing in temperature. Our first experiment revealed that orange-throated males are socially dominant. However, this hierarchy collapsed in our other experiments as yellow males became more aggressive. Interestingly, both males only ever secured their own perch where the perches differed in temperature. These findings mirror observations of morph behavioural flexibility in nature and studies of behaviour–environment interactions in non-polymorphic taxa. We conclude that colour morphs may have an underappreciated ability to assess resource-level changes and respond with concomitant flexibility in behaviour.

scholarly journals Reproductive skew, fitness costs, and winner-loser effects in social-dominance evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olof Leimar ◽  
Redouan Bshary
Keyword(s):  
Game Theory ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Reproductive Skew ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Winner And Loser Effects ◽  
Distribution Of Resources

Social hierarchies can increase reproductive skew in group-living animals. Using game theory we investigate how the opportunity for differently ranked individuals to acquire resources influences reproductive skew, costs of hierarchy formation, and winner and loser effects. Individuals adjust their aggressive and submissive behaviour through reinforcement learning. The learning is based on perceived rewards and penalties, which depend on relative fighting ability. From individual-based simulations we determine evolutionary equilibria of traits that control an individual's learning. We examine situations that differ in the extent of monopolisation of contested resources by dominants and in the amounts of uncontested resources that are distributed independently of rank. With costly fighting, we find that stable dominance hierarchies form, such that reproductive skew mirrors the distribution of resources over ranks. Individuals pay substantial costs of interacting, in particular in high-skew situations, with the highest costs paid by intermediately ranked individuals. For cases where dominants monopolise contested resources there are notable winner and loser effects, with winner effects for high ranks and very pronounced loser effects for lower ranks. The effects are instead weak when acquired resources increase linearly with rank. We compare our results on contest costs and winner-loser effects with field and experimental observations.

Polistes paper wasps: a model genus for the study of social dominance hierarchies

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Jandt ◽  
E. A. Tibbetts ◽  
A. L. Toth
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Paper Wasps ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies

scholarly journals Elevated aggression is associated with uncertainty in a network of dog dominance interactions

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1906) ◽  
pp. 20190536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Silk ◽  
Michael A. Cant ◽  
Simona Cafazzo ◽  
Eugenia Natoli ◽  
Robbie A. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Animal Societies

Dominance hierarchies are widespread in animal societies and reduce the costs of within-group conflict over resources and reproduction. Variation in stability across a social hierarchy may result in asymmetries in the benefits obtained from hierarchy formation. However, variation in the stability and behavioural costs of dominance interactions with rank remain poorly understood. Previous theoretical models have predicted that the intensity of dominance interactions and aggression should increase with rank, but these models typically assume high reproductive skew, and so their generality remains untested. Here we show in a pack of free-living dogs with a sex–age-graded hierarchy that the central region of the hierarchy was dominated by more unstable social relationships and associated with elevated aggression. Our results reveal unavoidable costs of ascending a dominance hierarchy, run contrary to theoretical predictions for the relationship between aggression and social rank in high-skew societies, and widen our understanding of how heterogeneous benefits of hierarchy formation arise in animal societies.

Social Dominance Hierarchies and Phenotypic Correlates of Dominance in Captive Groups of the Grey-cheeked FulvettaAlcippe morrisoniain Taiwan

Ethology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 442-450
Author(s):  
Meng-Wen Fan ◽  
Bruno A. Walther ◽  
Ruey-Shing Lin
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies

scholarly journals Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobit Dehnen ◽  
Danai Papageorgiou ◽  
Brendah Nyaguthii ◽  
Wismer Cherono ◽  
Julia Penndorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Access To Resources ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Strategic Investment ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Rank Differences

Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, individuals should be strategic in who they interact with. One hypothesis is that individuals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain--in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance--from winning such interactions. Here, we develop a novel analytical framework to test whether interactions are directed strategically in relation to rank differences, and use these to compare strategies across types of interactions that vary in cost. We show that male vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically direct costly interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group's hierarchy. In contrast, low-cost interactions are not directed towards closest competitors, but towards group members slightly further down the hierarchy. We then show that, as a result of the difference in strategic use of high- and low-cost interactions towards closest competitors, individuals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions--such as chases--towards males found one to three ranks below them. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups.

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