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Tamura M, Akomo-Okoue EF, Mangama-Koumba LB, Wilfried EEG, Mindonga-Nguelet FL. Does kinship with the silverback matter? Intragroup social relationships of immature wild western lowland gorillas after social upheaval. Primates 2024:10.1007/s10329-024-01149-1. [PMID: 39126443 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-024-01149-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
In primates living in one-male groups, the sole resident male is often an important social partner for group immatures. For such groups, however, replacement of the male and subsequent disruptions of their relationships are almost inevitable. Here, we described social relationships of immature wild western lowland gorillas within a habituated group, where two natal and eight immigrant immatures lived with the resident silverback. We recorded 5 m proximities among group members as an indicator of social closeness. We found that natal immatures spent more time within 5 m of the silverback than immigrant ones. The social closeness between the silverback and the younger immigrant immatures sharply increased after 1 year, but these values were still below those of the natal immatures. Regarding the development of independence from the mother, we found no significant difference between natal and immigrant immatures. The socially preferred nonmother mature for natal immatures was the silverback, whereas many immigrant immatures preferred a paternal adult sister who had previously co-resided with them in a previous group. Our results suggest that familiarity may be an important determinant of the social closeness between the silverback and immatures, but 1 year of co-residence might be too short to construct sufficient familiarity. The paternal sister may have played a pivotal role in the assimilation of immigrant immatures into the non-natal group. Nonetheless, it is not negligible that the silverback and immigrant immatures formed day-to-day close proximities. His tolerance toward co-residence with immigrant immatures can be considered a reproductive tactic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaya Tamura
- Laboratory of Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.
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2
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Brooks J, Maeda T, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S. Oxytocin homogenizes horse group organization. iScience 2024; 27:110356. [PMID: 39071893 PMCID: PMC11277748 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The oxytocinergic system has been suggested to make up an important part of the endocrine basis of group cohesion. However, controlled studies in open-group settings have not been performed. We here investigated the impact of exogenous intranasal oxytocin on the group-level social organization of 5 groups of horses (N = 58; 12 mares and 46 geldings) through GPS tracking and social network analysis. We find oxytocin flattened social differentiation across levels. Most strikingly, oxytocin did not simply reinforce existing bonds but selectively shifted social preferences toward homogenization - individuals and pairs who otherwise rarely associated spent more time close together, while individuals and pairs with the highest baseline association instead spent more time further apart. This resulted in a more distributed structure and lower clustering coefficient at the network level. These effects reinforce and extend oxytocin's role in collective behavior, social organization, and the evolution of group-based sociality across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Brooks
- Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tamao Maeda
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University of Advanced Science (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Monamie Ringhofer
- Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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3
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Chereskin E, Allen SJ, Connor RC, Krützen M, King SL. In pop pursuit: social bond strength predicts vocal synchrony during cooperative mate guarding in bottlenose dolphins. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230194. [PMID: 38768196 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication is an emblematic feature of group-living animals, used to share information and strengthen social bonds. Vocalizations are also used to coordinate group-level behaviours in many taxa, but little is known of the factors that may influence vocal behaviour during cooperative acts. Allied male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) use the 'pop' vocalization as a coercive signal when working together to herd single oestrous females. Using long-term association and acoustic data, we examined the influence of social and non-social factors on pop use by allied male dolphins in this context. Neither pop rate nor pop bout duration were influenced by any of the factors examined. However, allied males with stronger social bonds engaged in higher rates of vocal synchrony; whereby they actively matched the timing of their pop production. Hence, social bond strength influenced pop use in a cooperative context, suggesting dual functions of pop use: to induce the female to remain close, and to promote social bond maintenance and cooperation among males. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Chereskin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Simon J Allen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich , Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Richard C Connor
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth , North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University , North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Michael Krützen
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich , Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Stephanie L King
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Crawley WA 6009, Australia
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4
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Paulet J, Molina A, Beltzung B, Suzumura T, Yamamoto S, Sueur C. Deep learning for automatic facial detection and recognition in Japanese macaques: illuminating social networks. Primates 2024; 65:265-279. [PMID: 38758427 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-024-01137-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Individual identification plays a pivotal role in ecology and ethology, notably as a tool for complex social structures understanding. However, traditional identification methods often involve invasive physical tags and can prove both disruptive for animals and time-intensive for researchers. In recent years, the integration of deep learning in research has offered new methodological perspectives through the automatisation of complex tasks. Harnessing object detection and recognition technologies is increasingly used by researchers to achieve identification on video footage. This study represents a preliminary exploration into the development of a non-invasive tool for face detection and individual identification of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) through deep learning. The ultimate goal of this research is, using identification done on the dataset, to automatically generate a social network representation of the studied population. The current main results are promising: (i) the creation of a Japanese macaques' face detector (Faster-RCNN model), reaching an accuracy of 82.2% and (ii) the creation of an individual recogniser for the Kōjima Island macaque population (YOLOv8n model), reaching an accuracy of 83%. We also created a Kōjima population social network by traditional methods, based on co-occurrences on videos. Thus, we provide a benchmark against which the automatically generated network will be assessed for reliability. These preliminary results are a testament to the potential of this approach to provide the scientific community with a tool for tracking individuals and social network studies in Japanese macaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Paulet
- Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, France
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Axel Molina
- Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université PCL, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, IPHC UMR7178, CNRS, Strasbourg, France.
- ANTHROPO-LAB, ETHICS EA 7446, Université Catholique de Lille, Lille, France.
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
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5
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Holmes KG, Krützen M, Ridley AR, Allen SJ, Connor RC, Gerber L, Flaherty Stamm C, King SL. Juvenile social play predicts adult reproductive success in male bottlenose dolphins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2305948121. [PMID: 38857400 PMCID: PMC11194510 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305948121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
For over a century, the evolution of animal play has sparked scientific curiosity. The prevalence of social play in juvenile mammals suggests that play is a beneficial behavior, potentially contributing to individual fitness. Yet evidence from wild animals supporting the long-hypothesized link between juvenile social play, adult behavior, and fitness remains limited. In Western Australia, adult male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) form multilevel alliances that are crucial for their reproductive success. A key adult mating behavior involves allied males using joint action to herd individual females. Juveniles of both sexes invest significant time in play that resembles adult herding-taking turns in mature male (actor) and female (receiver) roles. Using a 32-y dataset of individual-level association patterns, paternity success, and behavioral observations, we show that juvenile males with stronger social bonds are significantly more likely to engage in joint action when play-herding in actor roles. Juvenile males also monopolized the actor role and produced an adult male herding vocalization ("pops") when playing with females. Notably, males who spent more time playing in the actor role as juveniles achieved more paternities as adults. These findings not only reveal that play behavior provides male dolphins with mating skill practice years before they sexually mature but also demonstrate in a wild animal population that juvenile social play predicts adult reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn G. Holmes
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
| | - Michael Krützen
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
| | - Amanda R. Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
| | - Simon J. Allen
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Richard C. Connor
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA02747
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL33181
| | - Livia Gerber
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
- Australian National Wildlife Collection, National Research Collections Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, ACT2601, Australia
| | | | - Stephanie L. King
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA6009, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
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6
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Speechley EM, Ashton BJ, Thornton A, King SL, Simmons LW, Woodiss-Field SL, Ridley AR. Aggressive interactions influence cognitive performance in Western Australian magpies. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240435. [PMID: 38835280 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Extensive research has investigated the relationship between the social environment and cognition, suggesting that social complexity may drive cognitive evolution and development. However, evidence for this relationship remains equivocal. Group size is often used as a measure of social complexity, but this may not capture intraspecific variation in social interactions. Social network analysis can provide insight into the cognitively demanding challenges associated with group living at the individual level. Here, we use social networks to investigate whether the cognitive performance of wild Western Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis) is related to group size and individual social connectedness. We quantified social connectedness using four interaction types: proximity, affiliative, agonistic and vocal. Consistent with previous research on this species, individuals in larger groups performed better on an associative learning task. However, social network position was also related to cognitive performance. Individuals receiving aggressive interactions performed better, while those involved in aggressive interactions with more group members performed worse. Overall, this suggests that cognitive performance is related to specific types of social interaction. The findings from this study highlight the value of considering fine-grained metrics of sociality that capture the challenges associated with social life when testing the relationship between the social environment and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Speechley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Ashton
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Stephanie L King
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Sarah L Woodiss-Field
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Amanda R Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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7
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Yan JL, Rosenbaum JR, Esteves S, Dobbin ML, Dukas R. Sexual conflict and social networks in bed bugs: effects of social experience. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae030. [PMID: 38690087 PMCID: PMC11059254 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Living in groups can provide essential experience that improves sexual performance and reproductive success. While the effects of social experience have drawn considerable scientific interest, commonly used behavioral assays often do not capture the dynamic nature of interactions within a social group. Here, we conducted 3 experiments using a social network framework to test whether social experience during early adulthood improves the sexual competence of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) when placed in a complex and competitive group environment. In each experiment, we observed replicate groups of bed bugs comprising previously socialized and previously isolated individuals of the same sex, along with an equal number of standardized individuals of the opposite sex. Regardless of whether we controlled for their insemination history, previously isolated males mounted and inseminated females at significantly higher rates than previously socialized males. However, we found no evidence of social experience influencing our other measures of sexual competence: proportion of mounts directed at females, ability to overcome female resistance, and strength of opposite-sex social associations. We similarly did not detect effects of social experience on our female sexual competence metrics: propensity to avoid mounts, rate of successfully avoiding mounts, opposite-sex social association strength, and rate of receiving inseminations. Our findings indicate that early social experience does not improve sexual competence in male and female bed bugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice L Yan
- Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Jack R Rosenbaum
- Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Selena Esteves
- Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Maggie L Dobbin
- Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Reuven Dukas
- Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
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8
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Auguin E, Guinet C, Mourier J, Clua E, Gasco N, Tixier P. Behavioural heterogeneity across killer whale social units in their response to feeding opportunities from fisheries. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11448. [PMID: 38799391 PMCID: PMC11116761 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Intra-population heterogeneity in the behavioural response of predators to changes in prey availability caused by human activities can have major evolutionary implications. Among these activities, fisheries, while extracting resources, also provide new feeding opportunities for marine top predators. However, heterogeneity in the extent to which individuals have responded to these opportunities within populations is poorly understood. Here, we used 18 years of photo-identification data paired with statistical models to assess variation in the way killer whale social units within a subantarctic population (Crozet Islands) interact with fisheries to feed on fish caught on fishing gear (i.e., depredation behaviour). Our results indicate large heterogeneity in both the spatial and temporal extents of depredation across social units. While some frequently depredated on fishery catches over large areas, others sporadically did so and in small areas consistently over the years. These findings suggest that killer whale social units are exposed to varying levels of impacts of depredation, both negative (potential retaliation from fishers) and positive (food provisioning), on their life history traits, and may explain the contrasted demographic patterns observed within the declining population at Crozet but also potentially within the many other killer whale populations documented depredating on fisheries catches worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwan Auguin
- UMR MARBECUniversité de Montpellier‐CNRS‐IFREMER‐IRDSèteFrance
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC)UMR 7372 CNRS‐La Rochelle Université – CNRSVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Christophe Guinet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC)UMR 7372 CNRS‐La Rochelle Université – CNRSVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Johann Mourier
- UMR MARBECUniversité de Montpellier‐CNRS‐IFREMER‐IRDSèteFrance
| | - Eric Clua
- Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL), CRIOBE USR3278, EPHE‐CNRS‐UPVDUniversité de PerpignanPerpignanFrance
- Laboratoire D'Excellence LabEX CORAILCRIOBE, Baie OpunohuPapetoaiFrench Polynesia
| | - Nicolas Gasco
- Laboratoire de Biologie Des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA)UMR 8067 – MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Su, UCN, UAParisFrance
| | - Paul Tixier
- UMR MARBECUniversité de Montpellier‐CNRS‐IFREMER‐IRDSèteFrance
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9
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Camerlenghi E, Nolazco S, Farine DR, Magrath RD, Peters A. Social restructuring during harsh environmental conditions promotes cooperative behaviour in a songbird. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232427. [PMID: 38628131 PMCID: PMC11022012 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Cooperation may emerge from intrinsic factors such as social structure and extrinsic factors such as environmental conditions. Although these factors might reinforce or counteract each other, their interaction remains unexplored in animal populations. Studies on multilevel societies suggest a link between social structure, environmental conditions and individual investment in cooperative behaviours. These societies exhibit flexible social configurations, with stable groups that overlap and associate hierarchically. Structure can be seasonal, with upper-level units appearing only during specific seasons, and lower-level units persisting year-round. This offers an opportunity to investigate how cooperation relates to social structure and environmental conditions. Here, we study the seasonal multilevel society of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), observing individual responses to experimental playback of conspecific distress calls. Individuals engaged more in helping behaviour and less in aggressive/territorial song during the harsher non-breeding season compared to the breeding season. The increase in cooperation was greater for breeding group members than for members of the same community, the upper social unit, comprised of distinct breeding groups in association. Results suggest that the interaction between social structure and environmental conditions drives the seasonal switch in cooperation, supporting the hypothesis that multilevel societies can emerge to increase cooperation during harsh environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Camerlenghi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Sergio Nolazco
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Robert D. Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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10
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Hartman CRA, Wilkinson GS, Razik I, Hamilton IM, Hobson EA, Carter GG. Hierarchically embedded scales of movement shape the social networks of vampire bats. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232880. [PMID: 38654645 PMCID: PMC11040254 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Social structure can emerge from hierarchically embedded scales of movement, where movement at one scale is constrained within a larger scale (e.g. among branches, trees, forests). In most studies of animal social networks, some scales of movement are not observed, and the relative importance of the observed scales of movement is unclear. Here, we asked: how does individual variation in movement, at multiple nested spatial scales, influence each individual's social connectedness? Using existing data from common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus), we created an agent-based model of how three nested scales of movement-among roosts, clusters and grooming partners-each influence a bat's grooming network centrality. In each of 10 simulations, virtual bats lacking social and spatial preferences moved at each scale at empirically derived rates that were either fixed or individually variable and either independent or correlated across scales. We found that numbers of partners groomed per bat were driven more by within-roost movements than by roost switching, highlighting that co-roosting networks do not fully capture bat social structure. Simulations revealed how individual variation in movement at nested spatial scales can cause false discovery and misidentification of preferred social relationships. Our model provides several insights into how nonsocial factors shape social networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Raven A. Hartman
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | | | - Imran Razik
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Ian M. Hamilton
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Gerald G. Carter
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama
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11
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Jourdain E, Karoliussen R, Fordyce Martin SL, Langangen Ø, Robeck T, Borgå K, Ruus A, Foote AD. Social and genetic connectivity despite ecological variation in a killer whale network. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240524. [PMID: 38628123 PMCID: PMC11022014 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Philopatric kin-based societies encourage a narrow breadth of conservative behaviours owing to individuals primarily learning from close kin, promoting behavioural homogeneity. However, weaker social ties beyond kin, and across a behaviourally diverse social landscape, could be sufficient to induce variation and a greater ecological niche breadth. We investigated a network of 457 photo-identified killer whales from Norway (548 encounters in 2008-2021) with diet data available (46 mixed-diet individuals feeding on both fish and mammals, and 411 exclusive fish-eaters) to quantify patterns of association within and between diet groups, and to identify underlying correlates. We genotyped a subset of 106 whales to assess patterns of genetic differentiation. Our results suggested kinship as main driver of social bonds within and among cohesive social units, while diet was most likely a consequence reflective of cultural diffusion, rather than a driver. Flexible associations within and between ecologically diverse social units led to a highly connected network, reducing social and genetic differentiation between diet groups. Our study points to a role of social connectivity, in combination with individual behavioural variation, in influencing population ecology in killer whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eve Jourdain
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Orca Survey, 8480 Andenes, Norway
| | | | - Sarah L. Fordyce Martin
- Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technologies (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Todd Robeck
- Zoological Operations, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Orlando, FL 32819, USA
| | - Katrine Borgå
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders Ruus
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Institute of Water Research, 32821 Oslo, Norway
| | - Andrew D. Foote
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
- Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technologies (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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12
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Sassi Y, Nouzières B, Scacco M, Tremblay Y, Duriez O, Robira B. The use of social information in vulture flight decisions. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20231729. [PMID: 38471548 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals rely on a balance of personal and social information to decide when and where to move next in order to access a desired resource. The benefits from cueing on conspecifics to reduce uncertainty about resource availability can be rapidly overcome by the risks of within-group competition, often exacerbated toward low-ranked individuals. Being obligate soarers, relying on thermal updraughts to search for carcasses around which competition can be fierce, vultures represent ideal models to investigate the balance between personal and social information during foraging movements. Linking dominance hierarchy, social affinities and meteorological conditions to movement decisions of eight captive vultures, Gyps spp., released for free flights in natural soaring conditions, we found that they relied on social information (i.e. other vultures using/having used the thermals) to find the next thermal updraught, especially in unfavourable flight conditions. Low-ranked individuals were more likely to disregard social cues when deciding where to go next, possibly to minimize the competitive risk of social aggregation. These results exemplify the architecture of decision-making during flight in social birds. It suggests that the environmental context, the context of risk and the social system as a whole calibrate the balance between personal and social information use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan Sassi
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Martina Scacco
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Yann Tremblay
- Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France
| | - Olivier Duriez
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Benjamin Robira
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
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13
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Wild S, Alarcón-Nieto G, Aplin LM. The ontogeny of social networks in wild great tits ( Parus major). Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae011. [PMID: 38495730 PMCID: PMC10941318 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Sociality impacts many biological processes and can be tightly linked to an individual's fitness. To maximize the advantages of group living, many social animals prefer to associate with individuals that provide the most benefits, such as kin, familiar individuals, or those of similar phenotypes. Such social strategies are not necessarily stable over time but can vary with changing selection pressures. In particular, young individuals transitioning to independence should continuously adjust their social behavior in light of developmental changes. However, social strategies exhibited during adolescence in animals are understudied, and the factors underlying social network formation during ontogeny remain elusive. Here, we tracked associations of wild great tits (Parus major) during the transition to independence and across their first year of life. Both spatial and social factors predicted dyadic associations. During the transition to independence in spring, fledglings initially preferred to associate with siblings and peers over non-parent adults. We found no evidence for preferred associations among juveniles of similar age or fledge weight during that time but weak evidence for some potential inheritance of the parental social network. By autumn, after juveniles had reached full independence, they exhibited social strategies similar to those of adults by establishing stable social ties based on familiarity that persisted through winter into the next spring. Overall, this research demonstrates dynamic changes in social networks during ontogeny in a species with a fast life history and limited parental care, which likely reflect changes in selective pressures. It further highlights the importance of long-term social bonds based on familiarity in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Wild
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA-95616, USA
| | - Gustavo Alarcón-Nieto
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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14
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Catitti B, Grüebler MU, Farine DR, Kormann UG. Natal legacies cause social and spatial marginalization during dispersal. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14366. [PMID: 38332501 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Early-life experiences can drive subsequent variation in social behaviours, but how differences among individuals emerge remains unknown. We combined experimental manipulations with GPS-tracking to investigate the pathways through which developmental conditions affect social network position during the early dispersal of wild red kites (Milvus milvus). Across 211 juveniles from 140 broods, last-hatched chicks-the least competitive-had the fewest number of peer encounters after fledging. However, when food supplemented, they had more encounters than all others. Using 4425 bird-days of GPS data, we revealed that this was driven by differential responses to competition, with less competitive individuals naturally spreading out into marginal areas, and clustering in central foraging areas when food supplemented. Our results suggest that early-life adversities can cause significant natal legacies on individual behaviour beyond independence, with potentially far-reaching consequences on the social and spatial structure of animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetta Catitti
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Urs G Kormann
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
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15
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Borthwick Z, Quiring K, Griffith SC, Leu ST. Heat stress conditions affect the social network structure of free-ranging sheep. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10996. [PMID: 38352202 PMCID: PMC10862161 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Extreme weather conditions, like heatwave events, are becoming more frequent with climate change. Animals often modify their behaviour to cope with environmental changes and extremes. During heat stress conditions, individuals change their spatial behaviour and increase the use of shaded areas to assist with thermoregulation. Here, we suggest that for social species, these behavioural changes and ambient conditions have the potential to influence an individual's position in its social network, and the social network structure as a whole. We investigated whether heat stress conditions (quantified through the temperature humidity index) and the resulting use of shaded areas, influence the social network structure and an individual's connectivity in it. We studied this in free-ranging sheep in the arid zone of Australia, GPS-tracking all 48 individuals in a flock. When heat stress conditions worsened, individuals spent more time in the shade and the network was more connected (higher density) and less structured (lower modularity). Furthermore, we then identified the behavioural change that drove the altered network structure and showed that an individual's shade use behaviour affected its social connectivity. Interestingly, individuals with intermediate shade use were most strongly connected (degree, strength, betweenness), indicating their importance for the connectivity of the social network during heat stress conditions. Heat stress conditions, which are predicted to increase in severity and frequency due to climate change, influence resource use within the ecological environment. Importantly, our study shows that these heat stress conditions also affect the animal's social environment through the changed social network structure. Ultimately, this could have further flow on effects for social foraging and individual health since social structure drives information and disease transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Borthwick
- School of Animal and Veterinary SciencesThe University of AdelaideRoseworthySouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Katrin Quiring
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Department of Behavioural EcologyUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Simon C. Griffith
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Stephan T. Leu
- School of Animal and Veterinary SciencesThe University of AdelaideRoseworthySouth AustraliaAustralia
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
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16
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Albery GF, Bansal S, Silk MJ. Comparative approaches in social network ecology. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14345. [PMID: 38069575 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Social systems vary enormously across the animal kingdom, with important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes such as infectious disease dynamics, anti-predator defence, and the evolution of cooperation. Comparing social network structures between species offers a promising route to help disentangle the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape this diversity. Comparative analyses of networks like these are challenging and have been used relatively little in ecology, but are becoming increasingly feasible as the number of empirical datasets expands. Here, we provide an overview of multispecies comparative social network studies in ecology and evolution. We identify a range of advancements that these studies have made and key challenges that they face, and we use these to guide methodological and empirical suggestions for future research. Overall, we hope to motivate wider publication and analysis of open social network datasets in animal ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Shweta Bansal
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Matthew J Silk
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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17
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Montgomery TM, Lehmann KDS, Gregg S, Keyser K, McTigue LE, Beehner JC, Holekamp KE. Determinants of hyena participation in risky collective action. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231390. [PMID: 38018101 PMCID: PMC10685128 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective action problems arise when cooperating individuals suffer costs of cooperation, while the benefits of cooperation are received by both cooperators and defectors. We address this problem using data from spotted hyenas fighting with lions. Lions are much larger and kill many hyenas, so these fights require cooperative mobbing by hyenas for them to succeed. We identify factors that predict when hyena groups engage in cooperative fights with lions, which individuals choose to participate and how the benefits of victory are distributed among cooperators and non-cooperators. We find that cooperative mobbing is better predicted by lower costs (no male lions, more hyenas) than higher benefits (need for food). Individual participation is facilitated by social factors, both over the long term (close kin, social bond strength) and the short term (greeting interactions prior to cooperation). Finally, we find some direct benefits of participation: after cooperation, participants were more likely to feed at contested carcasses than non-participants. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that, when animals face dangerous cooperative dilemmas, selection favours flexible strategies that are sensitive to dynamic factors emerging over multiple time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M. Montgomery
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, Bücklestraße 5a, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kenna D. S. Lehmann
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Human Biology Program, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Samantha Gregg
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Kathleen Keyser
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Leah E. McTigue
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, Colorado State University, 240 W Prospect St, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | - Jacinta C. Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kay E. Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
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18
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Ogino M, Maldonado-Chaparro AA, Aplin LM, Farine DR. Group-level differences in social network structure remain repeatable after accounting for environmental drivers. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230340. [PMID: 37476518 PMCID: PMC10354494 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Individuals show consistent between-individual behavioural variation when they interact with conspecifics or heterospecifics. Such patterns might underlie emergent group-specific behavioural patterns and between-group behavioural differences. However, little is known about (i) how social and non-social drivers (external drivers) shape group-level social structures and (ii) whether animal groups show consistent between-group differences in social structure after accounting for external drivers. We used automated tracking to quantify daily social interactions and association networks in 12 colonies of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We quantified the effects of five external drivers (group size, group composition, ecological factors, physical environments and methodological differences) on daily interaction and association networks and tested whether colonies expressed consistent differences in day-to-day network structure after controlling for these drivers. Overall, we found that external drivers contribute significantly to network structure. However, even after accounting for the contribution of external drivers, there remained significant support for consistent between-group differences in both interaction (repeatability R: up to 0.493) and association (repeatability R: up to 0.736) network structures. Our study demonstrates how group-level differences in social behaviour can be partitioned into different drivers of variation, with consistent contributions from both social and non-social factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Ogino
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
| | - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Cra 26 # 63B – 48, Colombia
| | - Lucy M. Aplin
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
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19
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Beck KB, Sheldon BC, Firth JA. Social learning mechanisms shape transmission pathways through replicate local social networks of wild birds. eLife 2023; 12:85703. [PMID: 37128701 PMCID: PMC10154030 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence and spread of novel behaviours via social learning can lead to rapid population-level changes whereby the social connections between individuals shape information flow. However, behaviours can spread via different mechanisms and little is known about how information flow depends on the underlying learning rule individuals employ. Here, comparing four different learning mechanisms, we simulated behavioural spread on replicate empirical social networks of wild great tits and explored the relationship between individual sociality and the order of behavioural acquisition. Our results reveal that, for learning rules dependent on the sum and strength of social connections to informed individuals, social connectivity was related to the order of acquisition, with individuals with increased social connectivity and reduced social clustering adopting new behaviours faster. However, when behavioural adoption depends on the ratio of an individuals' social connections to informed versus uninformed individuals, social connectivity was not related to the order of acquisition. Finally, we show how specific learning mechanisms may limit behavioural spread within networks. These findings have important implications for understanding whether and how behaviours are likely to spread across social systems, the relationship between individuals' sociality and behavioural acquisition, and therefore for the costs and benefits of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina B Beck
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Josh A Firth
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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20
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Baker CJ, Frère CH, Franklin CE, Campbell HA, Irwin TR, Dwyer RG. Long-term tracking reveals a dynamic crocodylian social system. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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21
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Roatti V, Cowlishaw G, Huchard E, Carter A. Social network inheritance and differentiation in wild baboons. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230219. [PMID: 37234491 PMCID: PMC10206475 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Immatures' social development may be fundamental to understand important biological processes, such as social information transmission through groups, that can vary with age and sex. Our aim was to determine how social networks change with age and differ between sexes in wild immature baboons, group-living primates that readily learn socially. Our results show that immature baboons inherited their mothers' networks and differentiated from them as they aged, increasing their association with partners of similar age and the same sex. Males were less bonded to their matriline and became more peripheral with age compared to females. Our results may pave the way to further studies testing a new hypothetical framework: in female-philopatric societies, social information transmission may be constrained at the matrilineal level by age- and sex-driven social clustering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Roatti
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Elise Huchard
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Alecia Carter
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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22
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Ogino M, Strauss ED, Farine DR. Challenges of mismatching timescales in longitudinal studies of collective behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220064. [PMID: 36802775 PMCID: PMC9939264 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
How individuals' prior experience and population evolutionary history shape emergent patterns in animal collectives remains a major gap in the study of collective behaviour. One reason for this is that the processes that can shape individual contributions to collective actions can happen over very different timescales from each other and from the collective actions themselves, resulting in mismatched timescales. For example, a preference to move towards a specific patch might arise from phenotype, memory or physiological state. Although providing critical context to collective actions, bridging different timescales remains conceptually and methodologically challenging. Here, we briefly outline some of these challenges, and discuss existing approaches that have already generated insights into the factors shaping individual contributions in animal collectives. We then explore a case study of mismatching timescales-defining relevant group membership-by combining fine-scaled GPS tracking data and daily field census data from a wild population of vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). We show that applying different temporal definitions can produce different assignments of individuals into groups. These assignments can then have consequences when determining individuals' social history, and thus the conclusions we might draw on the impacts of the social environment on collective actions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Ogino
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Eli D. Strauss
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitatsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 104 Natural Science Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1115, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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23
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Wice EW, Saltz JB. Indirect genetic effects for social network structure in Drosophila melanogaster. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220075. [PMID: 36802774 PMCID: PMC9939268 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The position an individual holds in a social network is dependent on both its direct and indirect social interactions. Because social network position is dependent on the actions and interactions of conspecifics, it is likely that the genotypic composition of individuals within a social group impacts individuals' network positions. However, we know very little about whether social network positions have a genetic basis, and even less about how the genotypic makeup of a social group impacts network positions and structure. With ample evidence indicating that network positions influence various fitness metrics, studying how direct and indirect genetic effects shape network positions is crucial for furthering our understanding of how the social environment can respond to selection and evolve. Using replicate genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, we created social groups that varied in their genotypic makeup. Social groups were videoed, and networks were generated using motion-tracking software. We found that both an individual's own genotype and the genotypes of conspecifics in its social group affect its position within a social network. These findings provide an early example of how indirect genetic effects and social network theory can be linked, and shed new light on how quantitative genetic variation shapes the structure of social groups. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Wesley Wice
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
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24
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Buchinger TJ, Hondorp DW, Krueger CC. Spatiotemporal segregation by migratory phenotype indicates potential for assortative mating in lake sturgeon. Oecologia 2023; 201:953-964. [PMID: 36995424 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05280-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Migratory diversity can promote population differentiation if sympatric phenotypes become temporally, spatially, or behaviorally segregated during breeding. In this study, the potential for spatiotemporal segregation was tested among three migratory phenotypes of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) that spawn in the St. Clair River of North America's Laurentian Great Lakes but differ in how often they migrate into the river and in which direction they move after spawning. Acoustic telemetry over 9 years monitored use of two major spawning sites by lake sturgeon that moved north to overwinter in Lake Huron or south to overwinter in Lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair migrants were further distinguished by whether they migrated into the St. Clair River each year (annual migrants) or intermittently (intermittent migrants). Social network analyses indicated lake sturgeon generally co-occurred with individuals of the same migratory phenotype more often than with different migratory phenotypes. A direct test for differences in space use revealed one site was almost exclusively visited by Lake St. Clair migrants whereas the other site was visited by Lake Huron migrants, intermittent Lake St. Clair migrants, and, to a lesser extent, annual Lake St. Clair migrants. Analysis of arrival and departure dates indicated opportunity for co-occurrence at the site visited by all phenotypes but showed Lake Huron migrants arrived approximately 2 weeks before Lake St. Clair migrants. Taken together, our results indicated partial spatiotemporal segregation of migratory phenotypes that may generate assortative mating and promote population differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Buchinger
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
- Great Lakes Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, 1451 Green Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA.
| | - Darryl W Hondorp
- Great Lakes Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, 1451 Green Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA
| | - Charles C Krueger
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
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Camerlenghi E, Nolazco S, Farine DR, Magrath RD, Peters A. Multilevel social structure predicts individual helping responses in a songbird. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1582-1587.e3. [PMID: 36898373 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Multilevel societies are formed when stable groups of individuals spatially overlap and associate preferentially with other groups, producing a hierarchical social structure.1 Once thought to be exclusive to humans and large mammals, these complex societies have recently been described in birds.2,3 However, it remains largely unclear what benefits individuals gain by forming multilevel societies.1 One hypothesis-based on food sharing in hunter-gatherers4-is that multilevel societies facilitate access to a range of cooperative relationships, with individual investment varying across the hierarchical levels of the society. We tested experimentally whether such graded cooperation occurs in the multilevel society of a songbird, the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). Specifically, we measured whether responses to playbacks of distress calls-used to recruit help when in extreme danger-varied according to the social level at which the focal individual is connected with the caller. We predicted that anti-predator responses should be highest within breeding groups (the core social unit), intermediate between groups from the same community, and lowest across groups from different communities. Our results confirm that birds exhibit the predicted hierarchical pattern of helping and that, within breeding groups, this pattern is independent of kinship. This pattern of graded helping responses supports the hypothesis that multilevel social structures can sustain stratified cooperative relationships and reveals similarity in cooperation in qualitatively different behaviors-anti-predator behavior and food sharing-in the multilevel societies of songbirds and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Camerlenghi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Rainforest Walk 25, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Sergio Nolazco
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Rainforest Walk 25, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany; Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Rainforest Walk 25, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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Chimpanzee communities differ in their inter- and intrasexual social relationships. Learn Behav 2023; 51:48-58. [PMID: 36725763 PMCID: PMC9971155 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00570-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Male and female human social bonding strategies are culturally shaped, in addition to being genetically rooted. Investigating nonhuman primate bonding strategies across sex groups allows researchers to assess whether, as with humans, they are shaped by the social environment or whether they are genetically predisposed. Studies of wild chimpanzees show that in some communities males have strong bonds with other males, whereas in others, females form particularly strong intrasex bonds, potentially indicative of cultural differences across populations. However, excluding genetic or ecological explanations when comparing different wild populations is difficult. Here, we applied social network analysis to examine male and female social bonds in two neighbouring semiwild chimpanzee groups of comparable ecological conditions and subspecies compositions, but that differ in demographic makeup. Results showed differences in bonding strategies across the two groups. While female-female party co-residence patterns were significantly stronger in Group 1 (which had an even distribution of males and females) than in Group 2 (which had a higher proportion of females than males), there were no such differences for male-male or male-female associations. Conversely, female-female grooming bonds were stronger in Group 2 than in Group 1. We also found that, in line with captive studies but contrasting research with wild chimpanzees, maternal kinship strongly predicted proximity and grooming patterns across the groups. Our findings suggest that, as with humans, male and female chimpanzee social bonds are influenced by the specific social group they live in, rather than predisposed sex-based bonding strategies.
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27
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Tits (Paridae sp.) use social information when locating and choosing nest lining material. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03289-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
As an important determinant of reproductive success, avian nest building is under strong selection and requires behavioral plasticity to optimize conditions in which offspring develop. Learning is a one form of plasticity that allows adaptation to the local environment. Birds may refine nest-building behavior with personal experience or use social information to guide their choices. While there is mounting evidence for an effect of experience-based learning on nest building and social information use when selecting nesting material in the laboratory, experimental evidence for social information use in wild birds is lacking. Here, we provided sources of two differently colored wool as nest lining material in a wild mixed-species community of tits (Paridae sp.) to investigate experimentally (i) whether females use social information to locate lining materials and (ii) whether preferences for specific materials (here color) are socially influenced. We investigated pathways of social transmission through a foraging association and a spatial breeding network using the time of arrival at the wool in a network-based diffusion analysis. Our results gave evidence that birds learned about the location of lining resources from foraging associates. Furthermore, we found significant non-random clustering of wool colors in nest boxes across the study area, suggestive of a social influence on selecting lining materials. Taken together, we provide quantitative evidence for a role of social information use in both finding and selecting lining material in wild tits and demonstrate that social information use constitutes an important factor towards behavioral plasticity in nest building in wild birds.
Significance statement
As vessels of reproduction, avian nests are under strong selection to provide optimized conditions for developing offspring. Learning is one mechanism that allows individuals to adapt to local environmental conditions. Previous work has shown that nest-building birds use both social information and personal experience to refine their nests. Yet, evidence for social information use for nest construction in the wild has been purely anecdotal and experimental evidence lacking. Here, we demonstrate for the first time experimentally that in wild tits (Paridae sp.), females rely on social information from their foraging associates to locate and choose material to line their nests. This research highlights the importance of social information use as a potential mechanism of behavioral plasticity in wild nest-building birds.
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Welklin JF, Lantz SM, Khalil S, Moody NM, Karubian J, Webster MS. Photoperiod and rainfall are associated with seasonal shifts in social structure in a songbird. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Seasonally breeding animals often exhibit different social structures during non-breeding and breeding periods that coincide with seasonal environmental variation and resource abundance. However, we know little about the environmental factors associated with when seasonal shifts in social structure occur. This lack of knowledge contrasts with our well-defined knowledge of the environmental cues that trigger a shift to breeding physiology in seasonally breeding species. Here, we identified some of the main environmental factors associated with seasonal shifts in social structure and initiation of breeding in the red-backed fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus), an Australian songbird. Social network analyses revealed that social groups, which are highly territorial during the breeding season, interact in social “communities” on larger home ranges during the non-breeding season. Encounter rates among non-breeding groups were related to photoperiod and rainfall, with shifting photoperiod and increased rainfall associated with a shift toward territorial breeding social structure characterized by reductions in home range size and fewer encounters among non-breeding social groups. Similarly, onset of breeding was highly seasonal and was also associated with non-breeding season rainfall, with greater rainfall leading to earlier breeding. These findings reveal that for some species, the environmental factors associated with the timing of shifts in social structure across seasonal boundaries can be similar to those that determine timing of breeding. This study increases our understanding of the environmental factors associated with seasonal variation in social structure and how the timing of these shifts may respond to changing climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Welklin
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University , 215 Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY 14853 , USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology , 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850 , USA
| | - Samantha M Lantz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University , 400 Lindy Boggs Center, New Orleans, LA 70118 , USA
| | - Sarah Khalil
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology , 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850 , USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University , 400 Lindy Boggs Center, New Orleans, LA 70118 , USA
| | - Nicole M Moody
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University , 400 Lindy Boggs Center, New Orleans, LA 70118 , USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University , 80 Waterman St, Providence, RI 02912 , USA
| | - Jordan Karubian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University , 400 Lindy Boggs Center, New Orleans, LA 70118 , USA
| | - Michael S Webster
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University , 215 Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY 14853 , USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology , 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850 , USA
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Bordes CNM, Beukeboom R, Goll Y, Koren L, Ilany A. High-resolution tracking of hyrax social interactions highlights nighttime drivers of animal sociality. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1378. [PMID: 36522486 PMCID: PMC9755157 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04317-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Network structure is a key driver of animal fitness, pathogen transmission, information spread, and population demographics in the wild. Although a considerable body of research applied network analysis to animal societies, only little effort has been devoted to separate daytime and nighttime sociality and explicitly test working hypotheses on social structures emerging at night. Here, we investigated the nighttime sociality of a wild population of rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) and its relation to daytime social structure. We recorded nearly 15,000 encounters over 27 consecutive days and nights using proximity loggers. Overall, we show that hyraxes are more selective of their social affiliates at night compared to daytime. We also show that hyraxes maintain their overall network topology while reallocating the weights of social relationships at the daily and monthly scales, which could help hyraxes maintain their social structure over long periods while adapting to local constraints and generate complex social dynamics. These results suggest that complex network dynamics can be a by-product of simple daily social tactics and do not require high cognitive abilities. Our work sheds light on the function of nighttime social interactions in diurnal social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille N. M. Bordes
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Rosanne Beukeboom
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Yael Goll
- grid.12136.370000 0004 1937 0546School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lee Koren
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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30
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Sunga J, Webber QM, Humber J, Rodrigues B, Broders HG. Roost fidelity partially explains maternity roosting association patterns in Myotis lucifugus. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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31
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Xu Z, MacIntosh AJ, Castellano-Navarro A, Macanás-Martínez E, Suzumura T, Duboscq J. Linking parasitism to network centrality and the impact of sampling bias in its interpretation. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14305. [PMID: 36420133 PMCID: PMC9677876 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Group living is beneficial for individuals, but also comes with costs. One such cost is the increased possibility of pathogen transmission because increased numbers or frequencies of social contacts are often associated with increased parasite abundance or diversity. The social structure of a group or population is paramount to patterns of infection and transmission. Yet, for various reasons, studies investigating the links between sociality and parasitism in animals, especially in primates, have only accounted for parts of the group (e.g., only adults), which is likely to impact the interpretation of results. Here, we investigated the relationship between social network centrality and an estimate of gastrointestinal helminth infection intensity in a whole group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We then tested the impact of omitting parts of the group on this relationship. We aimed to test: (1) whether social network centrality -in terms of the number of partners (degree), frequency of interactions (strength), and level of social integration (eigenvector) -was linked to parasite infection intensity (estimated by eggs per gram of faeces, EPG); and, (2) to what extent excluding portions of individuals within the group might influence the observed relationship. We conducted social network analysis on data collected from one group of Japanese macaques over three months on Koshima Island, Japan. We then ran a series of knock-out simulations. General linear mixed models showed that, at the whole-group level, network centrality was positively associated with geohelminth infection intensity. However, in partial networks with only adult females, only juveniles, or random subsets of the group, the strength of this relationship - albeit still generally positive - lost statistical significance. Furthermore, knock-out simulations where individuals were removed but network metrics were retained from the original whole-group network showed that these changes are partly a power issue and partly an effect of sampling the incomplete network. Our study indicates that sampling bias can thus hamper our ability to detect real network effects involving social interaction and parasitism. In addition to supporting earlier results linking geohelminth infection to Japanese macaque social networks, this work introduces important methodological considerations for research into the dynamics of social transmission, with implications for infectious disease epidemiology, population management, and health interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihong Xu
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan,Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Andrew J.J. MacIntosh
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan,Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Alba Castellano-Navarro
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Section, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Valencia, Valencia, Spain,Institute of Biology, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
| | - Emilio Macanás-Martínez
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Section, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Valencia, Valencia, Spain,Institute of Biology, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
| | | | - Julie Duboscq
- UMR7206 Eco-Anthropologie, CNRS-MNHN-Université de Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France,Department of Behavioural Ecology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
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32
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Marfurt SM, Allen SJ, Bizzozzero MR, Willems EP, King SL, Connor RC, Kopps AM, Wild S, Gerber L, Wittwer S, Krützen M. Association patterns and community structure among female bottlenose dolphins: environmental, genetic and cultural factors. Mamm Biol 2022; 102:1373-1387. [PMID: 36998433 PMCID: PMC10040398 DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00259-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSocial structuring from assortative associations may affect individual fitness, as well as population-level processes. Gaining a broader understanding of social structure can improve our knowledge of social evolution and inform wildlife conservation. We investigated association patterns and community structure of female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay, Western Australia, assessing the role of kinship, shared culturally transmitted foraging techniques, and habitat similarity based on water depth. Our results indicated that associations are influenced by a combination of uni- and biparental relatedness, cultural behaviour and habitat similarity, as these were positively correlated with a measure of dyadic association. These findings were matched in a community level analysis. Members of the same communities overwhelmingly shared the same habitat and foraging techniques, demonstrating a strong homophilic tendency. Both uni- and biparental relatedness between dyads were higher within than between communities. Our results illustrate that intraspecific variation in sociality in bottlenose dolphins is influenced by a complex combination of genetic, cultural, and environmental aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja M. Marfurt
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon J. Allen
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ UK
| | - Manuela R. Bizzozzero
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erik P. Willems
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie L. King
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ UK
| | | | - Anna M. Kopps
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Sonja Wild
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78464 Constance, Germany
| | - Livia Gerber
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Samuel Wittwer
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Krützen
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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33
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Experimental manipulation of food distribution alters social networks and information transmission across environments in a food-caching bird. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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He P, Klarevas‐Irby JA, Papageorgiou D, Christensen C, Strauss ED, Farine DR. A guide to sampling design for
GPS
‐based studies of animal societies. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13999] [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]
Affiliation(s)
- Peng He
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Constance Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Constance Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - James A. Klarevas‐Irby
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Constance Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Department of Migration Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Mpala Research Centre Nanyuki Kenya
| | - Danai Papageorgiou
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Charlotte Christensen
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Mpala Research Centre Nanyuki Kenya
| | - Eli D. Strauss
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Constance Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Constance Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology Australian National University Canberra Australia
- Department of Ornithology National Museums of Kenya Nairobi Kenya
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35
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Yan JL, Dukas R. The social consequences of sexual conflict in bed bugs: social networks and sexual attraction. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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36
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Social responses to the natural loss of individuals in Barbary macaques. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00283-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn recent years, there has been considerable interest in investigating how animal social structure is affected by the loss of individuals. This is often achieved using simulations that generate predictions regarding how the removal of ‘key’ individuals from a group affects network structure. However, little is known about the effects of such removals in wild and free-ranging populations, particularly the extent to which naturally occurring mortality events and the loss of a large proportion of individuals from a social group affects the overall structure of a social network. Here, we used data from a population of wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) that was exposed to an exceptionally harsh winter, culminating in the death of 64% of the adults from two groups. We analysed how social interaction patterns among surviving individuals were affected by the natural loss of group members using social networks based on affiliative (i.e., grooming) and aggressive social interactions. We show that only the structure of the pre-decline grooming networks was conserved in the post-decline networks, suggesting that grooming, but not aggression networks are resilient against the loss of group members. Surviving group members were not significantly different from the non-survivors in terms of their affiliative and agonistic relationships, and did not form assorted communities in the pre-decline networks. Overall, our results suggest that in primates, patterns of affiliative interactions are more resilient to changes in group composition than aggressive interaction patterns, which tend to be used more flexibly in new conditions.
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37
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Szott EA, Brightwell K, Gibson Q. Assessment of social mixing and spatial overlap as a pathway for disease transmission in a northeast Florida estuarine dolphin community. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00282-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Strategic intergroup alliances increase access to a contested resource in male bottlenose dolphins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2121723119. [PMID: 36037370 PMCID: PMC9457541 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121723119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation between allied individuals is ubiquitous in human societies. Our capacity to build strategic cooperative relationships across multiple social levels, such as trade or military alliances both nationally and internationally, is thought to be unique to our species. Here, however, we show that male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multilevel alliance network outside humans, where the cooperative relationships between groups, rather than alliance size, increases male access to a contested resource. These results reveal that both dolphins and humans form strategic intergroup alliances between unrelated individuals, likely selecting for enhanced social cognition. This surprising case of convergence suggests that dolphin societies, as well as those of nonhuman primates, are valuable model systems for understanding human social and cognitive evolution. Efforts to understand human social evolution rely largely on comparisons with nonhuman primates. However, a population of bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia, combines a chimpanzee-like fission-fusion grouping pattern, mating system, and life history with the only nonhuman example of strategic multilevel male alliances. Unrelated male dolphins form three alliance levels, or “orders”, in competition over females: both within-group alliances (i.e., first- and second-order) and between-group alliances (third-order), based on cooperation between two or more second-order alliances against other groups. Both sexes navigate an open society with a continuous mosaic of overlapping home ranges. Here, we use comprehensive association and consortship data to examine fine-scale alliance relationships among 121 adult males. This analysis reveals the largest nonhuman alliance network known, with highly differentiated relationships among individuals. Each male is connected, directly or indirectly, to every other male, including direct connections with adult males outside of their three-level alliance network. We further show that the duration with which males consort females is dependent upon being well connected with third-order allies, independently of the effect of their second-order alliance connections, i.e., alliances between groups increase access to a contested resource, thereby increasing reproductive success. Models of human social evolution traditionally link intergroup alliances to other divergent human traits, such as pair bonds, but our study reveals that intergroup male alliances can arise directly from a chimpanzee-like, promiscuous mating system without one-male units, pair bonds, or male parental care.
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39
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Roose R, Oliver M, Haulsee D, Breece M, Carlisle A, Fox D. The sociality of Atlantic sturgeon and sand tiger sharks in estuarine environment. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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40
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Wanelik KM, Farine DR. A new method for characterising shared space use networks using animal trapping data. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022; 76:127. [PMID: 36042847 PMCID: PMC9418289 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03222-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Studying the social behaviour of small or cryptic species often relies on constructing networks from sparse point-based observations of individuals (e.g. live trapping data). A common approach assumes that individuals that have been detected sequentially in the same trapping location will also be more likely to have come into indirect and/or direct contact. However, there is very little guidance on how much data are required for making robust networks from such data. In this study, we highlight that sequential trap sharing networks broadly capture shared space use (and, hence, the potential for contact) and that it may be more parsimonious to directly model shared space use. We first use empirical data to show that characteristics of how animals use space can help us to establish new ways to model the potential for individuals to come into contact. We then show that a method that explicitly models individuals’ home ranges and subsequent overlap in space among individuals (spatial overlap networks) requires fewer data for inferring observed networks that are more strongly correlated with the true shared space use network (relative to sequential trap sharing networks). Furthermore, we show that shared space use networks based on estimating spatial overlap are also more powerful for detecting biological effects. Finally, we discuss when it is appropriate to make inferences about social interactions from shared space use. Our study confirms the potential for using sparse trapping data from cryptic species to address a range of important questions in ecology and evolution. Significance statement Characterising animal social networks requires repeated (co-)observations of individuals. Collecting sufficient data to characterise the connections among individuals represents a major challenge when studying cryptic organisms—such as small rodents. This study draws from existing spatial mark-recapture data to inspire an approach that constructs networks by estimating space use overlap (representing the potential for contact). We then use simulations to demonstrate that the method provides consistently higher correlations between inferred (or observed) networks and the true underlying network compared to current approaches and requires fewer observations to reach higher correlations. We further demonstrate that these improvements translate to greater network accuracy and to more power for statistical hypothesis testing. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-022-03222-5.
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Fellner W, Harley HE, Losch BA. Observing the nature of relationships in male bottlenose dolphins. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1207-1217. [PMID: 36044157 PMCID: PMC9617963 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01672-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
As long-term studies reveal, bottlenose dolphin communities comprise a complex network of individual relationships. Individuals form strong bonds (e.g., mother-calf or male partnerships), transient relationships, and also compete against each other for resources. Evidence of bonded partnerships is typically revealed by the years-long study of associations with repeated sightings. However, quickly determining which individuals have close affiliations would benefit both field researchers working to describe individual behavior as they engage in cognitive activities such as cooperative foraging as well as caregivers in zoos who must decide which individuals should be housed together. Observations in aquariums are well-suited for collecting long-term, detailed information on how pairs interact because subjects can always be found and their behavior both above and below the water can be seen well. These are conditions that are rare for most (but not all) ocean-based studies. We used multiple measures to detect affiliated behavior across several dimensions of pairwise affiliation. Specifically, we used association indices to measure the frequency of affiliative behavior, the symmetry of the partnership, the tenor of interactions, and the stability of which partners were strongly affiliated from year to year. Synchronous behavior and reciprocity in proximity-seeking are two examples of potential markers of an affiliative relationship where individual choices–to join, to move together, and to leave–are visible to observers. We found that the combined measures were effective at identifying one pair that maintained a strong, stable relationship across years, one individual that formed a moderately strong trio relationship with both members of the most-affiliated pair, and one individual who was more variable in his relationships. These social markers provide a means of rapidly identifying bonded males in both aquarium and ocean settings, particularly when long-term knowledge of individual histories is not available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendi Fellner
- The Seas, Epcot®, Walt Disney World® Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830, USA.
| | - Heidi E Harley
- The Seas, Epcot®, Walt Disney World® Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830, USA
- Division of Social Sciences, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, 34243, USA
| | - Barbara A Losch
- The Seas, Epcot®, Walt Disney World® Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830, USA
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Finch D, Schofield H, Firth JA, Mathews F. Social networks of the greater horseshoe bat during the hibernation season: a landscape-scale case study. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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43
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Allan ATL, White AF, Hill RA. Intolerant baboons avoid observer proximity, creating biased inter-individual association patterns. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8077. [PMID: 35577907 PMCID: PMC9110335 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Social network analysis is an increasingly popular tool for behavioural ecologists exploring the social organisation of animal populations. Such analyses require data on inter-individual association patterns, which in wild populations are often collected using direct observations of habituated animals. This assumes observers have no influence on animal behaviour; however, our previous work showed that individuals in a habituated group of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) displayed consistent and individually distinct responses to observer approaches. We explored the implications of our previous findings by measuring the inter-individual association patterns of the same group of chacma baboons at different observer distances. We found a strong positive association between individual tolerance levels (towards observers) and how often an animal appeared as a neighbour to focal animals when observers were nearer, and a neutral relationship between the same variables when the observer was further away. Additionally, association matrices constructed from different observation distances were not comparable within any proximity buffer, and neither were the individual network metrics generated from these matrices. This appears to be the first empirical evidence that observer presence and behaviour can influence the association patterns of habituated animals and thus have potentially significant impacts on measured social networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T L Allan
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. .,Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa.
| | - Amy F White
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa
| | - Russell A Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.,Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa.,Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa
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Static and dynamic methods in social network analysis reveal the association patterns of desert-dwelling giraffe. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03167-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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45
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Senigaglia V, Christiansen F, Bejder L, Sprogis K, Cantor M. Human food provisioning impacts the social environment, home range and fitness of a marine top predator. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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46
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Allied male dolphins use vocal exchanges to "bond at a distance". Curr Biol 2022; 32:1657-1663.e4. [PMID: 35334229 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Vocal interactions are intrinsic features of social groups and can play a pivotal role in social bonding.1,2 Dunbar's social bonding hypothesis posits that vocal exchanges evolved to "groom at a distance" when social groups became too large or complex for individuals to devote time to physical bonding activities.1,3 Tests of this hypothesis in non-human primates, however, suggest that vocal exchanges occur between more strongly bonded individuals that engage in higher grooming rates4-7 and thus do not provide evidence for replacement of physical bonding. Here, we combine data on social bond strength, whistle exchange frequency, and affiliative contact behavior rates to test this hypothesis in wild male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, who form multi-level alliances that cooperate over access to females.8-10 We show that, although whistle exchanges are more likely to occur within the core alliance, they occur more frequently between those males that share weaker social bonds, i.e., between core allies that spend less time together, while the opposite occurs for affiliative physical contact behavior. This suggests that vocal exchanges function as a low-cost mechanism for male dolphins that spend less time in close proximity and engage in fewer affiliative contact behaviors to reinforce and maintain their valuable alliance relationships. Our findings provide new evidence outside of the primate lineage that vocal exchanges serve a bonding function and reveal that, as the social bonding hypothesis originally suggested, vocal exchanges can function as a replacement of physical bonding activities for individuals to maintain their important social relationships.
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Hundt PJ, White LA, Craft ME, Bajer PG. Social associations in common carp (
Cyprinus carpio
): Insights from induced feeding aggregations for targeted management strategies. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8666. [PMID: 35309746 PMCID: PMC8901867 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. Hundt
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
- Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Lauren A. White
- National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center University of Maryland Annapolis Maryland USA
| | - Meggan E. Craft
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Przemyslaw G. Bajer
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
- Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) St. Paul Minnesota USA
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48
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Wild S, Chimento M, McMahon K, Farine DR, Sheldon BC, Aplin LM. Complex foraging behaviours in wild birds emerge from social learning and recombination of components. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200307. [PMID: 34894740 PMCID: PMC8666913 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent well-documented cases of cultural evolution towards increasing efficiency in non-human animals have led some authors to propose that other animals are also capable of cumulative cultural evolution, where traits become more refined and/or complex over time. Yet few comparative examples exist of traits increasing in complexity, and experimental tests remain scarce. In a previous study, we introduced a foraging innovation into replicate subpopulations of great tits, the 'sliding-door puzzle'. Here, we track diffusion of a second 'dial puzzle', before introducing a two-step puzzle that combines both actions. We mapped social networks across two generations to ask if individuals could: (1) recombine socially-learned traits and (2) socially transmit a two-step trait. Our results show birds could recombine skills into more complex foraging behaviours, and naïve birds across both generations could learn the two-step trait. However, closer interrogation revealed that acquisition was not achieved entirely through social learning-rather, birds socially learned components before reconstructing full solutions asocially. As a consequence, singular cultural traditions failed to emerge, although subpopulations of birds shared preferences for a subset of behavioural variants. Our results show that while tits can socially learn complex foraging behaviours, these may need to be scaffolded by rewarding each component. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Wild
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - M. Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - K. McMahon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3SZ Oxford, UK
| | - D. R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Universitätstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - B. C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3SZ Oxford, UK
| | - L. M. Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Camerlenghi E, McQueen A, Delhey K, Cook CN, Kingma SA, Farine DR, Peters A. Cooperative breeding and the emergence of multilevel societies in birds. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:766-777. [PMID: 35000255 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Multilevel societies (MLSs), where social levels are hierarchically nested within each other, are considered one of the most complex forms of animal societies. Although thought to mainly occurs in mammals, it is suggested that MLSs could be under-detected in birds. Here, we propose that the emergence of MLSs could be common in cooperatively breeding birds, as both systems are favoured by similar ecological and social drivers. We first investigate this proposition by systematically comparing evidence for multilevel social structure in cooperative and non-cooperative birds in Australia and New Zealand, a global hotspot for cooperative breeding. We then analyse non-breeding social networks of cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) to reveal their structured multilevel society, with three hierarchical social levels that are stable across years. Our results confirm recent predictions that MLSs are likely to be widespread in birds and suggest that these societies could be particularly common in cooperatively breeding birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Camerlenghi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Alexandra McQueen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.,Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Carly N Cook
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Department of Animal Sciences, Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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