1
|
Schons RF, Vitt S, Thünken T. Resource heterogeneity but not inbreeding affects growth and grouping behaviour in socially foraging juvenile cichlid fish. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rieke F. Schons
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
| | - Simon Vitt
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
| | - Timo Thünken
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Georgopoulou DG, King AJ, Brown RM, Fürtbauer I. Emergence and repeatability of leadership and coordinated motion in fish shoals. Behav Ecol 2021; 33:47-54. [PMID: 35197806 PMCID: PMC8857939 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of self-organizing groups like schools of fish or flocks of birds have sought to uncover the behavioral rules individuals use (local-level interactions) to coordinate their motion (global-level patterns). However, empirical studies tend to focus on short-term or one-off observations where coordination has already been established or describe transitions between different coordinated states. As a result, we have a poor understanding of how behavioral rules develop and are maintained in groups. Here, we study the emergence and repeatability of coordinated motion in shoals of stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Shoals were introduced to a simple environment, where their spatio-temporal position was deduced via video analysis. Using directional correlation between fish velocities and wavelet analysis of fish positions, we demonstrate how shoals that are initially uncoordinated in their motion quickly transition to a coordinated state with defined individual leader-follower roles. The identities of leaders and followers were repeatable across two trials, and coordination was reached more quickly during the second trial and by groups of fish with higher activity levels (tested before trials). The rapid emergence of coordinated motion and repeatability of social roles in stickleback fish shoals may act to reduce uncertainty of social interactions in the wild, where individuals live in a system with high fission-fusion dynamics and non-random patterns of association.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dimitra G Georgopoulou
- College of Engineering, Swansea University, SA1 8EN Swansea, UK
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Swansea, UK
| | - Andrew J King
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Swansea, UK
| | - Rowan M Brown
- College of Engineering, Swansea University, SA1 8EN Swansea, UK
| | - Ines Fürtbauer
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Swansea, UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bailey JD, King AJ, Codling EA, Short AM, Johns GI, Fürtbauer I. "Micropersonality" traits and their implications for behavioral and movement ecology research. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3264-3273. [PMID: 33841782 PMCID: PMC8019044 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animal personality traits have implicit movement-based definitions and can directly or indirectly influence ecological and evolutionary processes. It has therefore been proposed that animal movement studies could benefit from acknowledging and studying consistent interindividual differences (personality), and, conversely, animal personality studies could adopt a more quantitative representation of movement patterns.Using high-resolution tracking data of three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we examined the repeatability of four movement parameters commonly used in the analysis of discrete time series movement data (time stationary, step length, turning angle, burst frequency) and four behavioral parameters commonly used in animal personality studies (distance travelled, space use, time in free water, and time near objects).Fish showed repeatable interindividual differences in both movement and behavioral parameters when observed in a simple environment with two, three, or five shelters present. Moreover, individuals that spent less time stationary, took more direct paths, and less commonly burst travelled (movement parameters), were found to travel farther, explored more of the tank, and spent more time in open water (behavioral parameters).Our case study indicates that the two approaches-quantifying movement and behavioral parameters-are broadly equivalent, and we suggest that movement parameters can be viewed as "micropersonality" traits that give rise to broad-scale consistent interindividual differences in behavior. This finding has implications for both personality and movement ecology research areas. For example, the study of movement parameters may provide a robust way to analyze individual personalities in species that are difficult or impossible to study using standardized behavioral assays.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph D. Bailey
- Department of Mathematical SciencesUniversity of EssexColchesterUK
| | - Andrew J. King
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | | | - Ashley M. Short
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Gemma I. Johns
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Ines Fürtbauer
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Dubois F, Richard‐Dionne É. Consequences of multiple simultaneous opportunities to exploit others' efforts on free riding. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:4343-4351. [PMID: 32489601 PMCID: PMC7246214 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals within a group do not all act in the same way: Typically, the investors (or producers) put efforts into producing resources while the free riders (or scroungers) benefit from these resources without contributing. In behavioral ecology, the prevalence of free riders can be predicted by a well-known game-theoretical model-the producer-scrounger (PS) model-where group members have the options to either search for resources (producers) or exploit the efforts of others (scroungers). The PS model has received some empirical support, but its predictions, surprisingly, are based on the strict assumption that only one resource can be exploited at a time. Yet, multiple simultaneous opportunities to exploit others' efforts should frequently occur in nature. Here, we combine analytic and simulation approaches to explore the effect of multiple simultaneous scrounging opportunities on tactic use. Our analyses demonstrate that scrounging rates should increase with the number of simultaneous opportunities. As such, the amount and spatial distribution (i.e., clumped vs. dispersed) of resources as well as the risk of predation are key predictors of scrounging behavior. Because scroungers contribute to reducing the speed of resource exploitation, the model proposed here has direct relevance to the exploitation and sustainability of renewable resources.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frédérique Dubois
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of MontrealMontrealQuebecCanada
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Fürtbauer I, Brown MR, Heistermann M. Collective action reduces androgen responsiveness with implications for shoaling dynamics in stickleback fish. Horm Behav 2020; 119:104636. [PMID: 31765656 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Androgens, traditionally viewed as hormones that regulate secondary sexual characteristics and reproduction in male vertebrates, are often modulated by social stimuli. High levels of the 'social hormone' testosterone (T) are linked to aggression, dominance, and competition. Low T levels, in contrast, promote sociopositive behaviours such as affiliation, social tolerance, and cooperation, which can be crucial for group-level, collective behaviours. Here, we test the hypothesis that - in a collective context - low T levels should be favourable, using non-reproductive male and female stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and non-invasive waterborne hormone analysis. In line with our predictions, we show that the fishes' T levels were significantly lower during shoaling compared to when alone, with high-T individuals showing the largest decrease. Ruling out stress-induced T suppression and increased T conversion into oestradiol, we find evidence that shoaling directly affects androgen responsiveness. We also show that groups characterized by lower mean T exhibit less hierarchical leader-follower dynamics, suggesting that low T promotes egalitarianism. Overall, we show that collective action results in lower T levels, which may serve to promote coordination and group performance. Our study, together with recent complementary findings in humans, emphasizes the importance of low T for the expression of sociopositive behaviour across vertebrates, suggesting similarities in endocrine mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ines Fürtbauer
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Swansea, UK; Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa.
| | - M Rowan Brown
- College of Engineering, Swansea University, SA1 8EN Swansea, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Risk-taking and locomotion in foraging threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus): the effect of nutritional stress is dependent on social context. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2795-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
7
|
Hirsch BT, Malpass E, Di Blanco YE. Interindividual spacing affects the finder’s share in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua). Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Social foraging models are often used to explain how group size can affect an individual’s food intake rate and foraging strategies. The proportion of food eaten before the arrival of conspecifics, the finder’s share, is hypothesized to play a major role in shaping group geometry, foraging strategy, and feeding competition. The variables that affect the finder’s share in ring-tailed coatis were tested using a series of food trials. The number of grapes in the food trials had a strong negative effect on the finder’s share and the probability that the finder was joined. The effect of group size on the finder’s share and foraging success was not straightforward and was mediated by sociospatial factors. The finder’s share increased when the time to arrival of the next individual was longer, the group was more spread out, and the finder was in the back of the group. Similarly, the total amount of food eaten at a trial was higher when more grapes were placed, arrival time was longer, and the number of joiners was smaller. Individuals at the front edge of the group found far more food trials, but foraging success was higher at the back of the group where there were fewer conspecifics to join them. This study highlights the importance of social spacing strategies and group geometry on animal foraging tactics and the costs and benefits of sociality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ben T Hirsch
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, College of Science and Engineering, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Erica Malpass
- Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS), Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni, Puerto Iguazú (N3370BFA), Misiones, Argentina
| | - Yamil E Di Blanco
- Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS), Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni, Puerto Iguazú (N3370BFA), Misiones, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Forestales-UNaM, Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico (CeIBA), Bertoni 85, Puerto Iguazú (N3370BFA), Misiones, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Whiting MJ, Xu F, Kar F, Riley JL, Byrne RW, Noble DWA. Evidence for Social Learning in a Family Living Lizard. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
9
|
Aplin LM, Morand-Ferron J. Stable producer-scrounger dynamics in wild birds: sociability and learning speed covary with scrounging behaviour. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20162872. [PMID: 28404775 PMCID: PMC5394662 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2016] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
There has been extensive game-theoretic modelling of conditions leading to equilibria of producer-scrounger dichotomies in groups. However there is a surprising paucity of experimental evidence in wild populations. Here, we examine producer-scrounger games in five subpopulations of birds feeding at a socially learnt foraging task. Over four weeks, a bimodal distribution of producers and scroungers emerged in all areas, with pronounced and consistent individual tactic specialization persisting over 3 years. Tactics were unrelated to exploratory personality, but correlated with latency to contact and learn the foraging task, with the late arrivers and slower learners more likely to adopt the scrounging role. Additionally, the social environment was also important: at the broad scale, larger subpopulations with a higher social density contained proportionally more scroungers, while within subpopulations scroungers tended to be central in the social network and be observed in larger foraging flocks. This study thus provides a rare example of a stable, dimorphic distribution of producer-scrounger tactics in a wild population. It further gives support across multiple scales for a major prediction of social foraging theory; that the frequency of scroungers increases with group size.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L M Aplin
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - J Morand-Ferron
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Beauchamp G. The spatial distribution of foragers and food patches can influence antipredator vigilance. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
|