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Chakrabarti S, Bump JK, Jhala YV, Packer C. Contrasting levels of social distancing between the sexes in lions. iScience 2021; 24:102406. [PMID: 34013168 PMCID: PMC8113998 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding sexual segregation is crucial to comprehend sociality. A comparative analysis of long-term lion data from Serengeti and Ngorongoro in Tanzania, and Gir in India, reveals that male-female associations are contingent upon male and female group size, prey-size and availability, and the number of prides that each male coalition currently resides. Males maintain proximity with females, whereas females are responsible for segregation except at large kills. Lions feed on the largest prey in Ngorongoro and the smallest in Gir, and females spend the most time with males in Ngorongoro and the least in Gir. Females roar less often in prey-scarce circumstances in Serengeti and throughout the year in Gir possibly to prevent being tracked by males that parasitize on female kills. However, females readily associate with males when available prey is large and abundant. Contrasting availability of resources between Gir and Serengeti/Ngorongoro helps explain the varying degrees of sexual segregation and appears to drive differences in mating systems between these lion populations. Sexual segregation in lion populations is driven by resource availability Females are responsible for segregating from males, except at large kills When prey is scarce, females reduce detection by males by roaring less frequently Contrasting proximity between the sexes has led to variation in mating strategies in these populations of African and Asian lions
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Affiliation(s)
- Stotra Chakrabarti
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 150 Skok Hall, 2003 Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.,Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand 248001, India
| | - Joseph K Bump
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 150 Skok Hall, 2003 Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Yadvendradev V Jhala
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand 248001, India
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
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Petracca LS, Frair JL, Bastille‐Rousseau G, Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ. Harassment‐induced changes in lion space use as a conflict mitigation tool. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lisanne S. Petracca
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse New York USA
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology Oxford University, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Abingdon UK
| | - Jacqueline L. Frair
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse New York USA
| | | | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology Oxford University, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Abingdon UK
| | - Andrew J. Loveridge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology Oxford University, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Abingdon UK
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Sells SN, Mitchell MS, Podruzny KM, Gude JA, Keever AC, Boyd DK, Smucker TD, Nelson AA, Parks TW, Lance NJ, Ross MS, Inman RM. Evidence of economical territory selection in a cooperative carnivore. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210108. [PMID: 33653139 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
As an outcome of natural selection, animals are probably adapted to select territories economically by maximizing benefits and minimizing costs of territory ownership. Theory and empirical precedent indicate that a primary benefit of many territories is exclusive access to food resources, and primary costs of defending and using space are associated with competition, travel and mortality risk. A recently developed mechanistic model for economical territory selection provided numerous empirically testable predictions. We tested these predictions using location data from grey wolves (Canis lupus) in Montana, USA. As predicted, territories were smaller in areas with greater densities of prey, competitors and low-use roads, and for groups of greater size. Territory size increased before decreasing curvilinearly with greater terrain ruggedness and harvest mortalities. Our study provides evidence for the economical selection of territories as a causal mechanism underlying ecological patterns observed in a cooperative carnivore. Results demonstrate how a wide range of environmental and social conditions will influence economical behaviour and resulting space use. We expect similar responses would be observed in numerous territorial species. A mechanistic approach enables understanding how and why animals select particular territories. This knowledge can be used to enhance conservation efforts and more successfully predict effects of conservation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah N Sells
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, 205 Natural Sciences Building, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Michael S Mitchell
- US Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, 205 Natural Sciences Building, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Kevin M Podruzny
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1420 E. 6th Street, Helena, MT 59620, USA
| | - Justin A Gude
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1420 E. 6th Street, Helena, MT 59620, USA
| | - Allison C Keever
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, 205 Natural Sciences Building, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Diane K Boyd
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 490 North Meridian Road, Kalispell, MT 59901, USA
| | - Ty D Smucker
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 4600 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405, USA
| | | | - Tyler W Parks
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 3201 Spurgin Road, Missoula, MT 59804, USA
| | - Nathan J Lance
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1400 South 19th, Bozeman, MT 59718, USA
| | - Michael S Ross
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1400 South 19th, Bozeman, MT 59718, USA
| | - Robert M Inman
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1420 E. 6th Street, Helena, MT 59620, USA
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55
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Sandel AA, Watts DP. Lethal Coalitionary Aggression Associated with a Community Fission in Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. INT J PRIMATOL 2021; 42:26-48. [PMID: 34267410 DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00185-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Many animals engage in aggression, but chimpanzees stand out in terms of fatal attacks against adults of their own species. Most lethal aggression occurs between groups, where coalitions of male chimpanzees occasionally kill members of neighboring communities that are strangers. However, the first observed cases of lethal violence in chimpanzees, which occurred at Gombe, Tanzania in the 1970s, involved chimpanzees that once knew each other. They followed the only observed case of a permanent community fission in chimpanzees. A second permanent fission recently transpired at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Members of a large western subgroup gradually ceased associating peacefully with the rest of the community and started behaving antagonistically toward them. Affiliation effectively ended by 2017. Here, we describe two subsequent lethal coalitionary attacks by chimpanzees of the new western community on males of the now separate central community, one in 2018 and the second in 2019. The first victim was a young adult male that never had strong social ties with his attackers. The second was a high-ranking male that had often associated with the western subgroup before 2017; he groomed regularly with males there and formed coalitions with several. Other central males present at the start of the second attack fled, and others nearby did not come to the scene. Several western females joined in the second attack; we suggest that female-female competition contributed to the fission. This event highlighted the limits on protection afforded by long-term familiarity and the constraints on costly cooperation among male chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron A Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - David P Watts
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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56
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Brandell EE, Fountain-Jones NM, Gilbertson ML, Cross PC, Hudson PJ, Smith DW, Stahler DR, Packer C, Craft ME. Group density, disease, and season shape territory size and overlap of social carnivores. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:87-101. [PMID: 32654133 PMCID: PMC9844152 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The spatial organization of a population can influence the spread of information, behaviour and pathogens. Group territory size and territory overlap and components of spatial organization, provide key information as these metrics may be indicators of habitat quality, resource dispersion, contact rates and environmental risk (e.g. indirectly transmitted pathogens). Furthermore, sociality and behaviour can also shape space use, and subsequently, how space use and habitat quality together impact demography. Our study aims to identify factors shaping the spatial organization of wildlife populations and assess the impact of epizootics on space use. We further aim to explore the mechanisms by which disease perturbations could cause changes in spatial organization. Here we assessed the seasonal spatial organization of Serengeti lions and Yellowstone wolves at the group level. We use network analysis to describe spatial organization and connectivity of social groups. We then examine the factors predicting mean territory size and mean territory overlap for each population using generalized additive models. We demonstrate that lions and wolves were similar in that group-level factors, such as number of groups and shaped spatial organization more than population-level factors, such as population density. Factors shaping territory size were slightly different than factors shaping territory overlap; for example, wolf pack size was an important predictor of territory overlap, but not territory size. Lion spatial networks were more highly connected, while wolf spatial networks varied seasonally. We found that resource dispersion may be more important for driving territory size and overlap for wolves than for lions. Additionally, canine distemper epizootics may have altered lion spatial organization, highlighting the importance of including infectious disease epizootics in studies of behavioural and movement ecology. We provide insight about when we might expect to observe the impacts of resource dispersion, disease perturbations, and other ecological factors on spatial organization. Our work highlights the importance of monitoring and managing social carnivore populations at the group level. Future research should elucidate the complex relationships between demographics, social and spatial structure, abiotic and biotic conditions and pathogen infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen E. Brandell
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics & Department of Biology, Huck Institute for Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA 16802
| | | | - Marie L.J. Gilbertson
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108
| | - Paul C. Cross
- U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, Montana, USA 59715
| | - Peter J. Hudson
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics & Department of Biology, Huck Institute for Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA 16802
| | - Douglas W. Smith
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, Wolf Project, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA
| | - Daniel R. Stahler
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, Wolf Project, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108
| | - Meggan E. Craft
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108
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57
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Better together? How intergroup associations affect energy balance and feeding behavior in wild bonobos. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02943-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
When the benefits of interacting with out-group members exceed the associated costs, social groups may be expected to be tolerant towards each other. However, in many species exhibiting intergroup tolerance, the nature of benefits gained from intergroup encounters remains unclear. We investigated the potential costs and benefits associated with intergroup associations in bonobos, a species with varying degrees of intergroup tolerance, by testing whether these associations conferred energetic benefits to participants under different socioecological contexts and whether the consequences of these associations substantially differed from within-group competition. We used measures of socioecological factors (fruit abundance and group size), feeding and ranging behaviors, and a physiological marker of energy balance (urinary c-peptide of insulin) collected over a 19-month period from two neighboring wild communities in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We found that intergroup associations were not related to individuals’ energy balance, but they were related to variations in individuals’ ranging and feeding behavior. Specifically, bonobos traveled longer distances, visited larger fruit patches, and increased the time spent feeding on fruits on days they associated with the neighboring group. These adaptations in feeding behavior may be strategies to offset the energetic costs of increased travel distances. In the absence of obvious energetic benefits and with clear strategies employed to offset energetic costs, it is likely that intergroup associations in bonobos provide benefits unrelated to energy acquisition, such as social benefits. Our study sheds light on the potential incentives promoting social networks to extend beyond and across groups in a tolerant species.
Significance statement
Intergroup encounters can be energetically costly due to increased competition over resources. Yet, some species associate with out-group individuals for extended periods of time when the benefits of participating in these associations exceed the potential costs. Bonobos, a species exhibiting intergroup tolerance, modified their feeding behavior during intergroup associations by feeding on larger fruit patches and increasing their time spent feeding on fruits, likely to offset energetic costs of increased travel distances. As results, individuals’ energy balance was not related with intergroup associations. The employment of such strategies in addition to the absence of clear energetic benefits suggests that intergroup associations in bonobos provide social rather than ecological benefits.
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Green PA, Briffa M, Cant MA. Assessment during Intergroup Contests. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 36:139-150. [PMID: 33187729 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Research on how competitors assess (i.e., gather information on) fighting ability and contested resources, as well as how assessment impacts on contest processes and outcomes, has been fundamental to the field of dyadic (one-on-one) contests. Despite recent growth in studies of contests between social-living groups, there is limited understanding of assessment during these intergroup contests. We adapt current knowledge of dyadic contest assessment to the intergroup case, describing what traits of groups, group members, and resources are assessed, and how assessment is manifested in contest processes (e.g., behaviors) and outcomes. This synthesis helps to explain the role of individual heterogeneity in assessment and how groups are shaped by the selective pressure of contests.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Green
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK.
| | - M Briffa
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL3 8AA, UK
| | - M A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
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60
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Tucker M. Finding the right size for a group. eLife 2020; 9:e63871. [PMID: 33168137 PMCID: PMC7655097 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vulturine guineafowl range over larger areas, explore more new places and are more likely to reproduce when they live in groups of intermediate size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlee Tucker
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
- Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
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61
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Interactions with conspecific outsiders as drivers of cognitive evolution. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4937. [PMID: 33024110 PMCID: PMC7538913 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18780-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The social intelligence hypothesis (SIH) posits that within-group interactions drive cognitive evolution, but it has received equivocal support. We argue the SIH overlooks a major component of social life: interactions with conspecific outsiders. Competition for vital resources means conspecific outsiders present myriad threats and opportunities in all animal taxa across the social spectrum (from individuals to groups). We detail cognitive challenges generated by conspecific outsiders, arguing these select for ‘Napoleonic’ intelligence; explain potential influences on the SIH; and highlight important considerations when empirically testing these ideas. Including interactions with conspecific outsiders may substantially improve our understanding of cognitive evolution. The social intelligence hypothesis predicts that social organisms tend to be more intelligent because within-group interactions drive cognitive evolution. Here, authors propose that conspecific outsiders can be just as important in selecting for sophisticated cognitive adaptations.
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62
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Bolt LM, Cavanaugh MN, Schreier AL. Lone males: Solitary and group-living male howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) behavioral ecology in a Costa Rican rainforest. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 174:201-212. [PMID: 33017866 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Many group-living primate species have evolved the capacity for some individuals to live alone for part of their lives, but this solitary life stage has rarely been the subject of focused research. The mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) is a social primate species with bisexual dispersal that lives in mixed-sex groups with low male-to-female sex ratios. Consequently, males often spend a long period of their lives as solitary individuals. This study compares the tree use, feeding, and long-distance vocalization behavior of solitary and group-living mantled howler monkey males living within a fragmented rainforest in Costa Rica, La Suerte Biological Research Station. Based on differences in competitive ability between solitary and group-living males, we predicted that lone males would be found in significantly smaller feeding and resting trees, consume more low-quality foods, and produce shorter howling bouts made at lower rates than group-living males. MATERIALS AND METHODS We collected data on tree use and feeding during 30-min focal samples on male focal animals, recording data at 2-min intervals. We measured the trees in which the monkeys fed and rested for two or more intervals, and recorded the plant parts consumed. We recorded howling behavior using all-occurrences sampling. RESULTS Lone males used significantly smaller feeding and resting trees, consumed more low-quality foods, and howled at lower rates but had longer howling bouts triggered by anthropogenic noise more than group-living males. DISCUSSION Our results demonstrate that lone males differ in their behavioral ecology compared to group-living males, thus improving understanding of the solitary male life stage in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Bolt
- Department of Anthropology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,The Maderas Rainforest Conservancy, Miami, Florida, USA
| | | | - Amy L Schreier
- The Maderas Rainforest Conservancy, Miami, Florida, USA.,Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver, Colorado, USA
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63
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Mbizah MM, Farine DR, Valeix M, Hunt JE, Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ. Effect of ecological factors on fine-scale patterns of social structure in African lions. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:2665-2676. [PMID: 32895921 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Environmental variations can influence the extent to which individuals interact with other individuals by changing the value of grouping. It is well known that many species can form and disband groups, often in response to the distribution and abundance of resources. While previous studies showed that resources influence the broad-scale structure of animal groups, knowledge gaps remain on whether they affect fine-scale patterns of association among individuals within groups. We quantify association patterns in African lions while simultaneously monitoring the abundance and distribution of prey. We test how social and ecological factors, including individual trait (age, sex, reproductive state) similarity and prey availability (prey abundance, dispersion, herd size and body size) affect within-pride social structure in African lions. We found that individual decisions about associates depended on resource availability with individuals associating equally across all members of the pride when prey herds were scarce, aggregated or large bodied, and associating more exclusively (in subgroups of preferred associates) when prey herds were abundant, dispersed or small bodied. Individuals within lion prides seemed to be buffering against changes in prey availability by modulating their strength and density of connections with conspecifics when prides split into subgroups. The strength and density of connections among individuals within subgroups was greater when prey herds were large and lower when prey herds were dispersed or are large bodied. Our findings suggest that individual lions are making social decisions at both the subgroup level and the pride level, with decisions representing putatively fitness-enhancing strategies. Individuals were typically shifting between having few strong connections and having many weaker connections depending on prevailing ecological conditions, with prey abundance, dispersion and body size having the greatest impact on decisions about splitting into subgroups. The maintenance of connections within prides and subgroups in the face of ecological change suggests that the fission-fusion nature of lion prides might be essential for the long-term maintenance of social connections even when short-term conditions do not allow them. More broadly, our study reveals how fission-fusion dynamics and ecological factors can simultaneously have an effect on animals across multiple levels of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moreangels M Mbizah
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Marion Valeix
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR 5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France.,LTSER France, Zone Atelier "Hwange", CNRS HERD (Hwange Environmental Research Development) Program, Dete, Zimbabwe
| | - Jane E Hunt
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - David W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrew J Loveridge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, UK
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65
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Kotze R, Marshal JP, Winterbach CW, Winterbach HE, Keith M. Demographic consequences of habitat loss and crowding in large carnivores: A natural experiment. Afr J Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robynne Kotze
- Centre for African Ecology School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Jason P. Marshal
- Centre for African Ecology School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Christiaan W. Winterbach
- Eugène Marais Research Chair for Wildlife Management Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd Maun Botswana
| | - Hanlie E.K. Winterbach
- Eugène Marais Research Chair for Wildlife Management Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd Maun Botswana
| | - Mark Keith
- Eugène Marais Research Chair for Wildlife Management Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
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66
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Radford C, McNutt JW, Rogers T, Maslen B, Jordan N. Artificial eyespots on cattle reduce predation by large carnivores. Commun Biol 2020; 3:430. [PMID: 32770111 PMCID: PMC7414152 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01156-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Eyespots evolved independently in many taxa as anti-predator signals. There remains debate regarding whether eyespots function as diversion targets, predator mimics, conspicuous startling signals, deceptive detection, or a combination. Although eye patterns and gaze modify human behaviour, anti-predator eyespots do not occur naturally in contemporary mammals. Here we show that eyespots painted on cattle rumps were associated with reduced attacks by ambush carnivores (lions and leopards). Cattle painted with eyespots were significantly more likely to survive than were cross-marked and unmarked cattle, despite all treatment groups being similarly exposed to predation risk. While higher survival of eyespot-painted cattle supports the detection hypothesis, increased survival of cross-marked cattle suggests an effect of novel and conspicuous marks more generally. To our knowledge, this is the first time eyespots have been shown to deter large mammalian predators. Applying artificial marks to high-value livestock may therefore represent a cost-effective tool to reduce livestock predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Radford
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13,, Maun, Botswana
| | | | - Tracey Rogers
- Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Ben Maslen
- Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Neil Jordan
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13,, Maun, Botswana.
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Taronga Conservation Society, Dubbo, NSW, 2830, Australia.
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67
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Pal S, Hossain M, Panday P, Pati NC, Pal N, Chattopadhyay J. Cooperation delay induced chaos in an ecological system. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2020; 30:083124. [PMID: 32872823 DOI: 10.1063/5.0012880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In the present paper, we investigate the impact of time delay during cooperative hunting in a predator-prey model. We consider that cooperative predators do not aggregate in a group instantly, but individuals use different stages and strategies such as tactile, visual, vocal cues, or a suitable combination of these to communicate with each other. We observe that delay in hunting cooperation has stabilizing as well as destabilizing effects in the system. Also, for an increase in the strength of the delay, the system dynamics switch multiple times and eventually become chaotic. We see that depending on the threshold of time delay, the system may restore its original state or may go far away from its original state and unable to recollect its memory. Furthermore, we explore the dynamics of the system in different bi-parameter spaces and observe that for a particular range of other parameter values, the system dynamics switch multiple times with an increase of delay in all the planes. Different kinds of multistability behaviors, the coexistence of multiple attractors, and interesting changes in the basins of attraction of the system are also observed. We infer that depending on the initial population size and the strength of cooperation delay, the populations can exhibit stable coexistence, oscillating coexistence, or extinction of the predator species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saheb Pal
- Department of Mathematics, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan 731235, India
| | - Mainul Hossain
- Department of Mathematics, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan 731235, India
| | - Pijush Panday
- Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India
| | - N C Pati
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan 713104, India
| | - Nikhil Pal
- Department of Mathematics, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan 731235, India
| | - Joydev Chattopadhyay
- Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India
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68
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Welch MJ, Smith T, Hosie C, Wormell D, Price E, Stanley CR. Social Experience of Captive Livingstone's Fruit Bats ( Pteropus livingstonii). Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E1321. [PMID: 32751770 PMCID: PMC7460041 DOI: 10.3390/ani10081321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social network analysis has been highlighted as a powerful tool to enhance the evidence-based management of captive-housed species through its ability to quantify the social experience of individuals. We apply this technique to explore the social structure and social roles of 50 Livingstone's fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) housed at Jersey Zoo, Channel Islands, through the observation of associative, affiliative, and aggressive interactions over two data collection periods. We implement binomial mixture modelling and characteristic-based assortment quantification to describe the complexity and organisation of social networks, as well as a multiple regression quadratic assignment procedural (MRQAP) test to analyse the relationship between network types. We examine the effects of individual characteristics (i.e., sex, age, and dominance rank) on social role by fitting models to explain the magnitude of node metrics. Additionally, we utilize a quadratic assignment procedural (QAP) test to assess the temporal stability of social roles over two seasons. Our results indicate that P. livingstonii display a non-random network structure. Observed social networks are positively assorted by age, as well as dominance rank. The frequency of association between individuals correlates with a higher frequency of behavioural interactions, both affiliative and aggressive. Individual social roles remain consistent over ten months. We recommend that, to improve welfare and captive breeding success, relationships between individuals of similar ages and dominance levels should be allowed to persist in this group where possible, and separating individuals that interact frequently in an affiliative context should be avoided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan J. Welch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK; (T.S.); (C.H.); (C.R.S.)
| | - Tessa Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK; (T.S.); (C.H.); (C.R.S.)
| | - Charlotte Hosie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK; (T.S.); (C.H.); (C.R.S.)
| | - Dominic Wormell
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Trinity, Jersey JE3 6AP, UK; (D.W.); (E.P.)
| | - Eluned Price
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Trinity, Jersey JE3 6AP, UK; (D.W.); (E.P.)
| | - Christina R. Stanley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK; (T.S.); (C.H.); (C.R.S.)
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69
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Seiler N, Robbins MM. Using long-term ranging patterns to assess within-group and between-group competition in wild mountain gorillas. BMC Ecol 2020; 20:40. [PMID: 32677937 PMCID: PMC7367404 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-020-00306-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Competition within and between social groups determines access to resources and can be inferred from space use parameters that reflect depletion of food resources and competitive abilities of groups. Using location data from 1998 to 2017, we investigated within- and between-group competition in 12 groups of wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). As within-group feeding competition is expected to increase with group size, an increase in group size is predicted to lead to an increase in the size of annual home ranges and core areas, but to a decrease in fidelity (reuse of an area). Due to asymmetries in competitive abilities, larger groups are expected to have higher exclusivity (degree of non-shared space) of annual home ranges and core areas than smaller groups. Results We found evidence of within-group feeding competition based on a positive relationship between group size and both annual home range and core area size as well as a negative relationship between group size and core area fidelity. Additionally, fidelity of core areas was lower than of home ranges. Between-group competition was inferred from a trend for groups with more members and more males to have more exclusive home ranges and core areas. Lastly, annual core areas were largely mutually exclusive. Conclusions Our study suggests that non-territorial, group-living animals can have highly dynamic, long-term avoidance-based spacing patterns, both temporally and spatially, to maintain annual core area exclusivity among groups while concurrently shifting these areas annually within overlapping home ranges to avoid resource depletion. Despite ranging in larger home ranges and core areas, larger groups were able to maintain more exclusive ranges than smaller groups, suggesting a competitive advantage for larger groups in between-group competition in a non-territorial species. Together, these findings contribute to understanding how social animals make behavioral adjustments to mitigate the effects of intraspecific competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Seiler
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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70
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Nieder A. The Adaptive Value of Numerical Competence. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:605-617. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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71
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Microbial transmission in animal social networks and the social microbiome. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1020-1035. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1220-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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72
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Federico V, Allainé D, Gaillard JM, Cohas A. Evolutionary Pathways to Communal and Cooperative Breeding in Carnivores. Am Nat 2020; 195:1037-1055. [PMID: 32469664 DOI: 10.1086/708639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In animal societies, individuals can cooperate in a variety of tasks, including rearing young. Such cooperation is observed in complex social systems, including communal and cooperative breeding. In mammals, both these social systems are characterized by delayed dispersal and alloparenting, whereas only cooperative breeding involves reproductive suppression. While the evolution of communal breeding has been linked to direct fitness benefits of alloparenting, the direct fitness cost of reproductive suppression has led to the hypothesis that the evolution of cooperative breeding is driven by indirect fitness benefits accrued through raising the offspring of related individuals. To decipher between the evolutionary scenarios leading to communal and cooperative breeding in carnivores, we investigated the coevolution among delayed dispersal, reproductive suppression, and alloparenting. We reconstructed ancestral states and transition rates between these traits. We found that cooperative breeding and communal breeding evolved along separate pathways, with delayed dispersal as the first step for both. The three traits coevolved, enhancing and stabilizing one another, which resulted in cooperative social systems as opposed to intermediate configurations being stable. These findings promote the key role of coevolution among traits to stabilize cooperative social systems and highlight the specificities of evolutionary patterns of sociality in carnivores.
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73
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Lemoine S, Boesch C, Preis A, Samuni L, Crockford C, Wittig RM. Group dominance increases territory size and reduces neighbour pressure in wild chimpanzees. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:200577. [PMID: 32537232 PMCID: PMC7277268 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Territorial social species, including humans, compete between groups over key resources. This between-group competition has evolutionary implications on adaptations like in-group cooperation even with non-kin. An emergent property of between-group competition is group dominance. Mechanisms of group dominance in wild animal populations are difficult to study, as they require long-term data on several groups within a population. Here, using long-term data on four neighbouring groups of wild western chimpanzees, we test the hypothesis that group dominance impacts the costs and benefits of between-group competition, measured by territory size and the pressure exerted by neighbouring groups. Larger groups had larger territories and suffered less neighbour pressure compared with smaller groups. Within-group increase in the number of males led to territory increase, suggesting the role of males in territory acquisition. However, variation in territory sizes and neighbour pressure was better explained by group size. This suggests that the bisexually-bonded social system of western chimpanzees, where females participate in territorial behaviour, confers a competitive advantage to larger groups and that group dominance acts through group size in this population. Considering variation in social systems offers new insights on how group dominance acts in territorial species and its evolutionary implications on within-group cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Lemoine
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taї Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taї Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taї Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taї Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taї Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
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74
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Guindre-Parker S, Rubenstein DR. Survival Benefits of Group Living in a Fluctuating Environment. Am Nat 2020; 195:1027-1036. [PMID: 32469654 DOI: 10.1086/708496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Group living is predicted to arise only when the fitness benefits outweigh the costs of sociality. Group-living species-including cooperatively breeding and family-living birds and mammals-occur most frequently in environments where climatic conditions fluctuate unpredictably from year to year. The fitness consequences of group living are thus expected to vary with changing environmental conditions, though few studies have examined this possibility. We examined whether living in large social groups improves adult survivorship in cooperatively breeding superb starlings (Lamprotornis superbus). We also tested the hypothesis that larger groups buffer against harsh conditions by increasing survivorship most under periods of low rainfall. We found that group size was positively correlated with adult survival but in a sex-specific manner: female survival increased with group size across all environmental conditions, whereas male survival increased with group size only in wet years. Together with previous work in this system, our results suggest that larger groups confer survival benefits by reducing predation, rather than by improving access to food or buffering against physiological stress. Although group living does not appear to buffer against harsh conditions in adult starlings living in a fluctuating environment, living in larger groups does confer a survival advantage.
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75
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Ferreira SM, Beukes BO, Haas TC, Radloff FGT. Lion (
Panthera leo
) demographics in the south‐western Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Afr J Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - B. Otto Beukes
- Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences Cape Peninsula University of Technology Cape Town South Africa
| | - Tim C. Haas
- Lubar School of Business University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Milwaukee Wisconsin
| | - Frans G. T. Radloff
- Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences Cape Peninsula University of Technology Cape Town South Africa
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76
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Scarry CJ. Against all odds: Numerical assessment by tufted capuchin monkeys. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23094. [PMID: 31961003 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
When competitors are able to assess the asymmetry in the resource holding potential before interacting, individuals or groups should avoid interacting with stronger opponents, thereby avoiding the energy costs and risk of injury associated with aggressive intergroup encounters. Thus, escalated aggression is expected only between closely matched competitors. Among Argentine tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus), intergroup dominance is decided by the asymmetry in male group size. Using playback experiments, I simulated intergroup encounters with neighboring groups, manipulating both the apparent numerical asymmetry and the resource context. During experimental trials, I recorded the approach behavior of the focal individual, as well as changes in neighbor density and individual travel speed following the presentation of the playback stimulus, to assess whether individual willingness to participate in resource defense was affected by the probability of winning the encounter. In spite of the competitive disadvantage, neither males nor females showed a decreased probability of approach when the numerical odds strongly favored the opposing group. Instead decisions regarding whether to participate appear to be driven primarily by the resource context. Nevertheless, changes in individual behavior during approaches suggest that tufted capuchin monkeys are sensitive to the relative odds. Individuals accelerated less when approaching a larger group, although no changes in neighbor density were apparent. The absence of an effect of the numerical asymmetry on willingness to approach the playback speaker suggests that subordinate groups benefit from engaging in intergroup aggression with larger neighbors, despite the high probability of losing. These encounters may serve to assess the current subjective resource valuation of the neighboring group or limit territorial expansion by large groups by decreasing the marginal value of home range exclusivity. Because these encounters are riskier, however, individuals appear to alter their approaches, becoming more tentative as the numerical odds increasingly favor the opposing group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara J Scarry
- Department of Anthropology, California State University, Sacramento, California.,Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
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77
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Lucchesi S, Cheng L, Janmaat K, Mundry R, Pisor A, Surbeck M. Beyond the group: how food, mates, and group size influence intergroup encounters in wild bonobos. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In social-living animals, interactions between groups are frequently agonistic, but they can also be tolerant and even cooperative. Intergroup tolerance and cooperation are regarded as a crucial step in the formation of highly structured multilevel societies. Behavioral ecological theory suggests that intergroup tolerance and cooperation can emerge either when the costs of hostility outweigh the benefits of exclusive resource access or when both groups gain fitness benefits through their interactions. However, the factors promoting intergroup tolerance are still unclear due to the paucity of data on intergroup interactions in tolerant species. Here, we examine how social and ecological factors affect the onset and termination of intercommunity encounters in two neighboring communities of wild bonobos, a species exhibiting flexible patterns of intergroup interactions, at Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We recorded the timing and location of intercommunity encounters and measured fruit abundance and distribution, groups’ social characteristics, and space-use dynamics over a 19-month period. We found that intercommunity tolerance was facilitated by a decrease in feeding competition, with high fruit abundance increasing the likelihood of communities to encounter, and high clumpiness of fruit patches increasing the probability to terminate encounters likely due to increased contest. In addition, the possibility for extra-community mating, as well as the potential benefits of more efficient foraging in less familiar areas, reduced the probability that the communities terminated encounters. By investigating the factors involved in shaping relationships across groups, this study contributes to our understanding of how animal sociality can extend beyond the group level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Lucchesi
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Leveda Cheng
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Karline Janmaat
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Roger Mundry
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anne Pisor
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Martin Surbeck
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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78
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Lemoine S, Preis A, Samuni L, Boesch C, Crockford C, Wittig RM. Between-Group Competition Impacts Reproductive Success in Wild Chimpanzees. Curr Biol 2020; 30:312-318.e3. [PMID: 31902731 PMCID: PMC6971690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Between-group competition in social animals appears to be a prominent selective pressure shaping the evolution of territoriality and cooperation [1-4]. Evidence for an effect of between-group competition on fitness in territorial species, however, is mostly lacking because of difficulty in measuring between-group competition and its long-term impact [5]. Between-group competition corresponds to a complex set of interactions between neighboring groups, and its intensity seems to depend on the competitive abilities of each interacting group [6, 7]. We tested whether the competitive ability of groups and the pressure exerted by neighboring groups affected the reproductive success of wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Using long-term data on four neighboring groups in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, collected over the course of 54 observation years, we measured the competitive ability of habituated groups using the number of mature males and the pressure exerted by non-habituated neighbors with an index of neighbor pressure that combined the frequency of neighboring encounters and related spatial information. Importantly, we found that experiencing low neighbor pressure provides fitness benefits through increased offspring survival and shorter inter-birth intervals. Also, many males in a group are associated with shorter inter-birth intervals. We conclude that high between-group competition hampers fast reproduction and offspring survival when exposure is during the prenatal period. Our findings suggest that having many males in a group results in fitness benefits and that between-group competition should be considered as a potential selective pressure that shaped key social adaptations in the hominoid lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Lemoine
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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79
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Socially tolerant lions (Panthera leo) solve a novel cooperative problem. Anim Cogn 2019; 23:327-336. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01336-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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80
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Dyble M, Houslay TM, Manser MB, Clutton-Brock T. Intergroup aggression in meerkats. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191993. [PMID: 31847765 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Violent conflicts between groups have been observed among many species of group living mammals and can have important fitness consequences, with individuals being injured or killed and with losing groups surrendering territory. Here, we explore between-group conflict among meerkats (Suricata suricatta), a highly social and cooperatively breeding mongoose. We show that interactions between meerkat groups are frequently aggressive and sometimes escalate to fighting and lethal violence and that these interactions have consequences for group territories, with losing groups moving to sleeping burrows closer to the centre of their territories following an intergroup interaction and with winning groups moving further away. We find that larger groups and groups with pups are significantly more likely to win contests, but that the location of the contest, adult sex ratio, and mean within-group genetic relatedness do not predict contest outcome. Our results suggest that intergroup competition may be a major selective force among meerkats, reinforcing the success of large groups and increasing the vulnerability of small groups to extinction. The presence of both within-group cooperation and between-group hostility in meerkats make them a valuable point of comparison in attempts to understand the ecological and evolutionary roots of human warfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Dyble
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Jesus College, Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BL, UK.,Department of Anthropology, UCL, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK.,Kalahari Research Centre, Kuruman River Reserve, Van Zylsrus 8467, South Africa
| | - Thomas M Houslay
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Kalahari Research Centre, Kuruman River Reserve, Van Zylsrus 8467, South Africa
| | - Marta B Manser
- Kalahari Research Centre, Kuruman River Reserve, Van Zylsrus 8467, South Africa.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tim Clutton-Brock
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Kalahari Research Centre, Kuruman River Reserve, Van Zylsrus 8467, South Africa
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81
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Rudolph K, Fichtel C, Schneider D, Heistermann M, Koch F, Daniel R, Kappeler PM. One size fits all? Relationships among group size, health, and ecology indicate a lack of an optimal group size in a wild lemur population. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2746-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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82
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Mbizah MM, Valeix M, Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ. Applying the resource dispersion hypothesis to a fission-fusion society: A case study of the African lion ( Panthera leo). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:9111-9119. [PMID: 31463008 PMCID: PMC6706213 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between the spatiotemporal distribution of resources and patterns of sociality is widely discussed. While the resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) was formulated to explain why animals sometimes live in groups from which they derive no obvious benefits, it has also been successfully applied to species that benefit from group living. Some empirical tests have supported the RDH, but others have not, so conclusions remain equivocal and further research is required to determine the extent to which RDH predictions hold in natural systems. Here, we test four predictions of the RDH in an African lion population in the context of their fission-fusion society. We analyzed data on group composition of GPS-collared lions and patterns of prey availability. Our results supported the first and second predictions of the RDH: Home range size (a) was independent of group size and (b) increased with distance between encounters with prey herds. Nonetheless, the third and fourth RDH predictions were not supported: (c) The measure of resource heterogeneity and (d) resource patch richness measured through prey herd size and body size had no significant effect on lion group size. However, regarding the fourth prediction, we added an adaptation to account for dynamics of fission-fusion society and found that the frequency of pride fission increased as group size increased. Our data set restricted us from going on to explore the effect of fission-fusion dynamics on the relationship between group size and patch richness. However, this should be investigated in future studies as including fission-fusion dynamics provides a more nuanced, realistic appreciation of lion society. Our study emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexity of a species' behavioral ecology within the framework of resource dispersion. Whatever larger theoretical framework may emerge to explain lion society, incorporating fission-fusion dynamics should allow the RDH to be refined and improved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moreangels M. Mbizah
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Marion Valeix
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 5558Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1VilleurbanneFrance
- CNRS HERD (Hwange Environmental Research Development) ProgramLTSER France, Zone Atelier “Hwange”DeteZimbabwe
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Andrew J. Loveridge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
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84
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Holekamp KE, Sawdy MA. The evolution of matrilineal social systems in fissiped carnivores. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180065. [PMID: 31303158 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We review matrilineal relationships in the societies of fissiped mammalian carnivores, focusing on how the most complex of these may have evolved from simpler systems. Although competition for food is very intense at the trophic level occupied by most carnivores, and although most species of extant fissiped carnivores therefore lead solitary lives, some species show at least rudimentary clustering of maternal kin and matrilineal resource-sharing or transmission of critical resources between generations. The resources shared or transmitted range from individual food items and territories to entire networks of potential allies. The greatest elaboration of matrilineal relationships has occurred in two large carnivores, lions and spotted hyenas, which occur sympatrically throughout much of Africa. The societies of both these species apparently evolved in response to a shared suite of ecological conditions. The highly matrilineal societies of spotted hyenas are unique among carnivores and closely resemble the societies of many cercopithecine primates. The conditions favouring the evolution of matrilineal societies in carnivores include male-biased dispersal, female philopatry, the need for assistance in protecting or provisioning offspring, reliance on large or abundant prey, particularly in open habitat, high population density and kin-structured cooperative interactions that have strong positive effects on fitness. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay E Holekamp
- 1 Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA.,2 Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA
| | - Maggie A Sawdy
- 1 Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA.,2 Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA
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85
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Track surveys do not provide accurate or precise lion density estimates in serengeti. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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86
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Feder JA, Lu A, Koenig A, Borries C. The costs of competition: injury patterns in 2 Asian colobine monkeys. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Aggression rarely escalates to physical conflict because doing so puts individuals at risk of injury. Escalation only pays off when the potential benefits outweigh the potential costs, that is, when resources critical to fitness are at stake. Here, we investigated the occurrence of injury in 2 Asian colobine species: Nepal gray langurs (Semnopithecus schistaceus) and Phayre’s leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus). In both species, younger individuals are higher-ranking and might have greater incentive to fight. However, Nepal gray langurs have a strict breeding season, which may magnify male mating competition, and Phayre’s leaf monkeys, unlike Nepal gray langurs, have female-biased dispersal, which may increase female injury risk during subadulthood. Using long-term data on observed injuries (Nepal gray langurs: n = 208; Phayre’s leaf monkeys: n = 225), we modeled the monthly occurrence of injury (Y/N) and found that males received more injuries than females in both species. Also, subadults generally experienced frequent injury, as young individuals likely face challenges when competing for group membership and/or establishing rank. In Nepal gray langurs, males received 3 times more injuries during the mating season, suggesting strong competition for mates during this period, and females experienced more injuries before conception, suggesting competition to meet the nutritional requirements for reproduction. Unexpectedly, females in smaller groups received more injuries in Nepal gray langurs. Overall, these results indicate that injuries are most likely when fighting may aid in establishing group membership, achieving high rank, and reproducing. Future research should investigate the influence of injuries on fitness outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Feder
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Amy Lu
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Andreas Koenig
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Carola Borries
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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87
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Ng'weno CC, Ford AT, Kibungei AK, Goheen JR. Interspecific prey neighborhoods shape risk of predation in a savanna ecosystem. Ecology 2019; 100:e02698. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline C. Ng'weno
- Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming 82071 USA
- Conservation Department Ol Pejeta Conservancy Private Bag‐10400 Nanyuki Kenya
| | - Adam T. Ford
- Department of Biology University of British Columbia Kelowna British Columbia V6T 1Z4 Canada
| | - Alfred K. Kibungei
- Conservation Department Ol Pejeta Conservancy Private Bag‐10400 Nanyuki Kenya
| | - Jacob R. Goheen
- Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming 82071 USA
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88
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Barve S, Koenig WD, Haydock J, Walters EL. Habitat Saturation Results in Joint-Nesting Female Coalitions in a Social Bird. Am Nat 2019; 193:830-840. [PMID: 31094599 DOI: 10.1086/703188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Joint nesting by females and cooperative polyandry-cooperatively breeding groups with a male-biased breeder sex ratio-are little-understood, rare breeding systems. We tested alternative hypotheses of factors potentially driving these phenomena in a population of joint-nesting acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). During periods of high population density and thus low independent breeding opportunities, acorn woodpecker females formed joint-nesting coalitions with close kin. Coalitions were typically associated with groups with a male bias. We found strong evidence for both inter- and intrasexual conflict, as joint nesting conferred a fitness benefit to some males, a significant fitness cost to females, and no gain in per capita reproductive output for either sex. Such conflict, particularly the cost to females, may be an important reason why joint nesting is rare among cooperatively breeding taxa.
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89
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Chakrabarti S, Jhala YV. Battle of the sexes: a multi-male mating strategy helps lionesses win the gender war of fitness. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In species exhibiting infanticide by males, females lose out with high stakes and should adopt preemptive mechanisms, pitching the genders in an evolutionary arms race for maximizing fitness. African lions remain a quintessential model of this gender war, with a coalition of males gaining temporary but exclusive breeding rights over a female group after killing all cubs of former males. However in Asiatic lions, now found as a single population in Gir forests, India, adults live in same-sex groups that interact primarily for mating. Intensive monitoring of 70 adult lions revealed that female groups (n = 9) used exclusive territories, whereas male ranges (n = 11 coalitions) overlapped at areas of intense female use. A social network of mating events (n = 76) indicated that lionesses mated with multiple rival coalitions before conceiving. These neighboring coalitions, although hostile to each other were tolerant toward the same litters, suggestive of confused paternity among them. Given a land-tenure system where lionesses encounter many males capable of killing unfamiliar cubs, multi-male mating buffers cub infanticide and likely diversifies paternal lineages in litters. Consequently, infanticide was observed only when “new” males invaded a female group’s territory. An age-based mate choice was observed in lionesses: maiden breeders chose males having highest range overlaps, whereas experienced females selected peripheral males. The intergender spacing patterns and resultant sexual strategies of lions differ in Asia and Africa probably because of contrasting resource availability, highlighting behavioral plasticity within species inhabiting diverse eco-regions. By mating with multiple males, lionesses safeguard their investments and outdo the males in the war of fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stotra Chakrabarti
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Yadvendradev V Jhala
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India
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90
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Fountain-Jones NM, Packer C, Jacquot M, Blanchet FG, Terio K, Craft ME. Endemic infection can shape exposure to novel pathogens: Pathogen co-occurrence networks in the Serengeti lions. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:904-913. [PMID: 30861289 PMCID: PMC7163671 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Pathogens are embedded in a complex network of microparasites that can collectively or individually alter disease dynamics and outcomes. Endemic pathogens that infect an individual in the first years of life, for example, can either facilitate or compete with subsequent pathogens thereby exacerbating or ameliorating morbidity and mortality. Pathogen associations are ubiquitous but poorly understood, particularly in wild populations. We report here on 10 years of serological and molecular data in African lions, leveraging comprehensive demographic and behavioural data to test if endemic pathogens shape subsequent infection by epidemic pathogens. We combine network and community ecology approaches to assess broad network structure and characterise associations between pathogens across spatial and temporal scales. We found significant non‐random structure in the lion‐pathogen co‐occurrence network and identified both positive and negative associations between endemic and epidemic pathogens. Our results provide novel insights on the complex associations underlying pathogen co‐occurrence networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Fountain-Jones
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, 1365 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55408, USA
| | - Maude Jacquot
- INRA, UMR346 EPIA, Epidémiologie des maladies Animales et zoonotiques, 63122, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
| | - F Guillaume Blanchet
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard Université, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada, J1K 2R1
| | - Karen Terio
- Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Meggan E Craft
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, 1365 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
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91
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92
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Mirville MO, Ridley AR, Samedi JPM, Vecellio V, Ndagijimana F, Stoinski TS, Grueter CC. Low familiarity and similar ‘group strength’ between opponents increase the intensity of intergroup interactions in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2592-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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93
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Yiu SW, Karczmarski L, Parrini F, Keith M. Resource selection in reintroduced lions and the influence of intergroup interactions. J Zool (1987) 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. W. Yiu
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science School of Biological Sciences The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Centre for African Ecology School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - L. Karczmarski
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science School of Biological Sciences The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management Mammal Research Institute Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - F. Parrini
- Centre for African Ecology School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - M. Keith
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management Mammal Research Institute Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
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94
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Strong MJ, Sherman BL, Riehl C. Home field advantage, not group size, predicts outcomes of intergroup conflicts in a social bird. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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95
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Micheletti AJC, Ruxton GD, Gardner A. Why war is a man's game. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0975. [PMID: 30111597 PMCID: PMC6111185 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Interest in the evolutionary origins and drivers of warfare in ancient and contemporary small-scale human societies has greatly increased in the last decade, and has been particularly spurred by exciting archaeological discoveries that suggest our ancestors led more violent lives than previously documented. However, the striking observation that warfare is an almost-exclusively male activity remains unexplained. Three general hypotheses have been proposed, concerning greater male effectiveness in warfare, lower male costs, and patrilocality. But while each of these factors might explain why warfare is more common in men, they do not convincingly explain why women almost never participate. Here, we develop a mathematical model to formally assess these hypotheses. Surprisingly, we find that exclusively male warfare may evolve even in the absence of any such sex differences, though sex biases in these parameters can make this evolutionary outcome more likely. The qualitative observation that participation in warfare is almost exclusive to one sex is ultimately explained by the fundamentally sex-specific nature of Darwinian competition—in fitness terms, men compete with men and women with women. These results reveal a potentially key role for ancestral conditions in shaping our species' patterns of sexual division of labour and violence-related adaptations and behavioural disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Graeme D Ruxton
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Andy Gardner
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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96
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Benson-Amram S, Gilfillan G, McComb K. Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2016.0508. [PMID: 29292356 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies complement those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key roles that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The origins of numerical abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Benson-Amram
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA .,Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Geoff Gilfillan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Karen McComb
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9RH, UK
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97
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Kotze R, Keith M, Winterbach CW, Winterbach HEK, Marshal JP. The influence of social and environmental factors on organization of African lion (Panthera leo) prides in the Okavango Delta. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Robynne Kotze
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Mark Keith
- Eugène Marais Research Chair for Wildlife Management, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | | | | | - Jason P Marshal
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
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98
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Kirk J, Wascher CAF. Temporal modification of social interactions in response to changing group demographics and offspring maturation in African lions (Panthera leo). Behav Processes 2018; 157:519-527. [PMID: 29920302 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In group living animals, affiliative social interactions maintain cohesion between individuals. Involvement in these interactions is likely to differ between individuals, depending on their sex, age and life history stages. Here we investigated different social network measures to describe greeting interactions within two prides of captive-origin African lions (Panthera leo). We aimed to determine if the introduction of cubs to these prides altered the strength of greeting networks among female lions. We also tested if the strength of greeting interactions changed between the age classes as younger lions matured. We found that interactions amongst female lions decreased from the period before cubs were born (least square means [95% CIs] 15.3 [7.67-22.93]) compared to after their integration into a pride (5.63 [-1.99-13.26] χ21 = 210.03, p < 0.001). In contrast, greeting network strength increased as offspring matured, with adults directing more interactions towards younger lions from 30 months of age (12.89 [1.96-23.82]) compared to when offspring were cubs (-0.69 [-11.63--10.24] χ210 = 156.03, p < 0.001). We suggest that social interactions between age classes may mediate recruitment and dispersal in lion prides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqui Kirk
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biology, Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom.
| | - Claudia A F Wascher
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biology, Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom
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99
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Arseneau-Robar TJM, Müller E, Taucher AL, van Schaik CP, Bshary R, Willems EP. Male monkeys use punishment and coercion to de-escalate costly intergroup fights. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172323. [PMID: 29875293 PMCID: PMC6015864 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In numerous social species, males direct aggression towards female group members during intergroup fights, and this behaviour is commonly thought to function as mate guarding, even though males often target non-receptive females. In studying intergroup fights in a wild population of vervet monkeys, we found that male intragroup aggression was primarily directed towards individuals who had either just finished exhibiting, or were currently attempting to instigate intergroup aggression. Targeted females were less likely to instigate intergroup aggression in the future, indicating that male intragroup aggression functioned as coercion (when directed towards those who were currently trying to instigate a fight) and punishment (when directed towards those who had recently fought). These manipulative tactics effectively prevented intergroup encounters from escalating into fights and often de-escalated ongoing conflicts. Males who were likely sires were those most likely to use punishment/coercion, particularly when they were wounded, and, therefore, less able to protect vulnerable offspring should a risky intergroup fight erupt. This work, along with our previous finding that females use punishment and rewards to recruit males into participating in intergroup fights, highlights the inherent conflict of interest that exists between the sexes, as well as the role that social incentives can play in resolving this conflict. Furthermore, unlike other studies which have found punishment to be used asymmetrically between partners, these works represent a novel example of reciprocal punishment in a non-human animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Jean M Arseneau-Robar
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Eliane Müller
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Anouk L Taucher
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
- Department of Zoology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2007 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Erik P Willems
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
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100
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Snyman A, Raynor E, Chizinski C, Powell L, Carroll J. African Lion (Panthera leo) Space Use in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2018. [DOI: 10.3957/056.048.023001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Snyman
- Mashatu Research, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, P.O. Box 26, Lentswe Le Moriti, Botswana
| | - Edward Raynor
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, U.S.A
| | - Chris Chizinski
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, U.S.A
| | - Larkin Powell
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, U.S.A
| | - John Carroll
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, U.S.A
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