1
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Harrison RA, Dongre P, van Schaik CP, van de Waal E. The forgotten adaptive social benefits of social learning in animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1638-1651. [PMID: 38666404 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13086] [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: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024]
Abstract
Theoretical and empirical scholars of cultural evolution have traditionally studied social learning strategies, such as conformity, as adaptive strategies to obtain accurate information about the environment, whereas within social psychology there has been a greater focus upon the social consequences of such strategies. Although these two approaches are often used in concert when studying human social learning, we believe the potential social benefits of conformity, and of social learning more broadly, have been overlooked in studies of non-humans. We review evidence from studies of homophily, imitation, and rapid facial mimicry that suggests that behaving like others affords social benefits to non-human animals and that behaviour matching may be deployed strategically to increase affiliation. Furthermore, we review studies of conformity in dispersers, and suggest that forgoing personal information or preferences in favour of those of the new group during immigration may be a strategy to facilitate social integration. We therefore propose that the informational and social functions of conformity apply to humans and animals alike. We use this perspective to generate several interesting research questions to inspire work in this field. For example, under what conditions do animals use informational or social conformity and what role does uncertainty play in social learning in immigrant individuals?
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A Harrison
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Le Biophore, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
- The Sense Innovation and Research Center, Avenue de Provence 82, Lausanne, CH-1007, Switzerland
| | - Pooja Dongre
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Le Biophore, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zürich, CH-8057, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, Zurich, CH-8050, Switzerland
| | - Erica van de Waal
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Le Biophore, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
- The Sense Innovation and Research Center, Avenue de Provence 82, Lausanne, CH-1007, Switzerland
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2
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Chimento M, Aplin LM. Understanding the Role of Naive Learners in Cultural Change. Am Nat 2024; 203:695-712. [PMID: 38781528 DOI: 10.1086/730110] [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] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
AbstractA change to a population's social network is a change to the substrate of cultural transmission, affecting behavioral diversity and adaptive cultural evolution. While features of network structure such as population size and density have been well studied, less is understood about the influence of social processes such as population turnover-or the repeated replacement of individuals by naive individuals. Experimental data have led to the hypothesis that naive learners can drive cultural evolution by better assessing the relative value of behaviors, although this hypothesis has been expressed only verbally. We conducted a formal exploration of this hypothesis using a generative model that concurrently simulated its two key ingredients: social transmission and reinforcement learning. We simulated competition between high- and low-reward behaviors while varying turnover magnitude and tempo. Variation in turnover influenced changes in the distributions of cultural behaviors, irrespective of initial knowledge-state conditions. We found optimal turnover regimes that amplified the production of higher reward behaviors through two key mechanisms: repertoire composition and enhanced valuation by agents that knew both behaviors. These effects depended on network and learning parameters. Our model provides formal theoretical support for, and predictions about, the hypothesis that naive learners can shape cultural change through their enhanced sampling ability. By moving from experimental data to theory, we illuminate an underdiscussed generative process that can lead to changes in cultural behavior, arising from an interaction between social dynamics and learning.
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3
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van Leeuwen EJC, DeTroy SE, Haun DBM, Call J. Chimpanzees use social information to acquire a skill they fail to innovate. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:891-902. [PMID: 38448718 PMCID: PMC11132989 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01836-5] [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: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Cumulative cultural evolution has been claimed to be a uniquely human phenomenon pivotal to the biological success of our species. One plausible condition for cumulative cultural evolution to emerge is individuals' ability to use social learning to acquire know-how that they cannot easily innovate by themselves. It has been suggested that chimpanzees may be capable of such know-how social learning, but this assertion remains largely untested. Here we show that chimpanzees use social learning to acquire a skill that they failed to independently innovate. By teaching chimpanzees how to solve a sequential task (one chimpanzee in each of the two tested groups, n = 66) and using network-based diffusion analysis, we found that 14 naive chimpanzees learned to operate a puzzle box that they failed to operate during the preceding three months of exposure to all necessary materials. In conjunction, we present evidence for the hypothesis that social learning in chimpanzees is necessary and sufficient to acquire a new, complex skill after the initial innovation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edwin J C van Leeuwen
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Sarah E DeTroy
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniel B M Haun
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Josep Call
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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4
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Judson K, Sanz C, Ebombi TF, Massamba JM, Teberd P, Abea G, Mbebouti G, Matoumona JKB, Nkoussou EG, Zambarda A, Brogan S, Stephens C, Morgan D. Socioecological factors influencing intraspecific variation in ranging dynamics of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Ndoki Forest. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23586. [PMID: 38151775 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23586] [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: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Ranging dynamics are physical and behavioral representations of how different socioecological factors affect an organism's spatial decisions and space use strategies. Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are a model species to investigate the drivers of spatial dynamics based on both the natural variation in socioecological factors within the species and compared with their mountain gorilla counterparts. In this study, we evaluate the influences of resource seasonality and social dynamics on variation in home range size, utilization, and intergroup overlap among multiple gorilla groups over an 8-year study period in the northern Republic of Congo. This study shows that western lowland gorillas can have small home ranges comparable to mountain gorillas, rather than universally larger home ranges as previously supposed, and that home ranges are stable through time. The largest source of variation in space use was the degree of intergroup home range overlap. The study groups did not demonstrate intraspecific variation in range size nor changes in intergroup overlap with respect to seasonality of fruit resources, but all groups demonstrated expansion of monthly range and core area with group size, matching predictions of intragroup feeding competition. These findings highlight the potential impact of intergroup relationships on space use and prompt further research on the role of social dynamics in ranging strategies. In this study, we reveal a greater degree of variability and flexibility in gorilla ranging behavior than previously realized which is relevant to improving comparative studies and informing conservation strategies on behalf of these endangered primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Judson
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Crickette Sanz
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | - Jean Marie Massamba
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Prospère Teberd
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Gaston Abea
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Gaeton Mbebouti
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | | | - Alice Zambarda
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Sean Brogan
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Colleen Stephens
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - David Morgan
- Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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5
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Whitehead H. Sperm whale clans and human societies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231353. [PMID: 38204796 PMCID: PMC10776220 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Sperm whale society is structured into clans that are primarily distinguished by vocal dialects, which may be symbolic markers of clan identity. However, clans also differ in non-vocal behaviour. These distinctive behaviours, as well as clan membership itself, are learned socially, largely within matrilines. The clans can contain thousands of whales and span thousands of kilometres. Two or more clans typically use an area, but the whales only socialize with members of their own clan. In many respects the closest parallel may be the ethno-linguistic groups of humans. Patterns and processes of human prehistory that may be instructive in studying sperm whale clans include: the extreme variability of human societies; no clear link between modes of resource acquisition and social structure; that patterns of vocalizations may not map well onto other behavioural distinctions; and that interacting societies may deliberately distinguish their behaviour (schismogenesis). Conversely, while the two species and their societies are very different, the existence of very large-scale social structures in both sperm whales and humans supports some primary drivers of the phenomenon that are common to both species (such as cognition, cooperation, culture and mobility) and contraindicates others (e.g. tool-making and syntactic language).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hal Whitehead
- Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
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6
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Roscoe P. Social Substitutability and the Emergence of War and Segmental, Multilevel Society. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2023; 34:621-643. [PMID: 38008887 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-023-09465-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/28/2023]
Abstract
Raymond Kelly's widely cited Warless Societies and the Origin of War (University of Michigan Press, 2000) seeks to explain the origins of two central signatures of human society: war and segmented-i.e., multilevel-societies. Both, he argues, arose with the emergence of a social-substitutability principle, a rule that establishes a collective identity among a set of individuals such that any one member becomes equivalent to, and responsible for the actions of, the others. This principle emerged during the Holocene, when population increase gave rise to the first lethal ambushes. By its nature, ambush obscures attackers' identities. Those attempting to retaliate for the ambush were therefore obliged to target members of the ambushers' group indiscriminately-i.e., based on a social-substitutability principle. Kelly's proposals draw welcome attention to a widespread, deeply influential, and unsettling human behavior, the disposition to hold everyone in a group culpable for the actions of a few, a proclivity that all too often results in mass slaughter. His general argument, however, is logically and empirically deficient, and cross-cultural evidence on ambush in contact-era New Guinea undermines his anonymity-of-ambush hypothesis. What then accounts for war and multilevel society? The New Guinea evidence strongly supports a contention that social-substitutability behavior arose not from offensive military action (i.e., ambush) but from the defensive military response to ambush. These findings render the social-substitutability argument's unconventional definition of war superfluous, undermine its chronology for the emergence of war, and underwrite an alternative scenario for the origins of multilevel, segmented society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Roscoe
- Department of Anthropology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
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7
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Farina A, Villa AEP. On the semantics of ecoacoustic codes. Biosystems 2023; 232:105002. [PMID: 37625513 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105002] [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: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Ecological codes have been defined as every biological code integrated by factors originated by the environmental context that participates in the codepoiesis process. Ecological codes create a strict relationship between the inner world of organsims and the external relational world, and represent the mechanism with which the vivo-scape is realized. Acoustic codes are used in nature to decode acoustic signals between individuals of the same or different species and belong to the category of biological codes. Ecoacoustic codes are the outcome of the evolution of acoustic codes, and results as the interplay between acoustic codes and environmental factors. Soundtope codes represent the results of emerging properties of the acoustic communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almo Farina
- Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, The University of Urbino, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", 61029, Urbino, Italy.
| | - Alessandro E P Villa
- Neuroheuristic Research Group, Faculty of Business and Economics HEC, University of Lausanne, CH, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
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8
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Nöbel S, Jacquet A, Isabel G, Pocheville A, Seabright P, Danchin E. Conformity in mate choice, the overlooked social component of animal and human culture. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:132-149. [PMID: 36173001 PMCID: PMC10087591 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12899] [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: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Although conformity as a major driver for human cultural evolution is a well-accepted and intensely studied phenomenon, its importance for non-human animal culture has been largely overlooked until recently. This limited for decades the possibility of studying the roots of human culture. Here, we provide a historical review of the study of conformity in both humans and non-human animals. We identify gaps in knowledge and propose an evolutionary route towards the sophisticated cultural processes that characterize humanity. A landmark in the study of conformity is Solomon Asch's famous experiment on humans in 1955. By contrast, interest in conformity among evolutionary biologists has only become salient since the turn of the new millennium. A striking result of our review is that, although studies of conformity have examined many biological contexts, only one looked at mate choice. This is surprising because mate choice is probably the only context in which conformity has self-reinforcing advantages across generations. Within a metapopulation, i.e. a group of subpopulations connected by dispersing individuals, dispersers able to conform to the local preference for a given type of mate have a strong and multigenerational fitness advantage. This is because once females within one subpopulation locally show a bias for one type of males, immigrant females who do not conform to the local trend have sons, grandsons, etc. of the non-preferred phenotype, which negatively and cumulatively affects fitness over generations in a process reminiscent of the Fisher runaway process. This led us to suggest a sex-driven origin of conformity, indicating a possible evolutionary route towards animal and human culture that is rooted in the basic, and thus ancient, social constraints acting on mating preferences within a metapopulation. In a generic model, we show that dispersal among subpopulations within a metapopulation can effectively maintain independent Fisher runaway processes within subpopulations, while favouring the evolution of social learning and conformity at the metapopulation scale; both being essential for the evolution of long-lasting local traditions. The proposed evolutionary route to social learning and conformity casts surprising light on one of the major processes that much later participated in making us human. We further highlight several research avenues to define the spectrum of conformity better, and to account for its complexity. Future studies of conformity should incorporate experimental manipulation of group majority. We also encourage the study of potential links between conformity and mate copying, animal aggregations, and collective actions. Moreover, validation of the sex-driven origin of conformity will rest on the capacity of human and evolutionary sciences to investigate jointly the origin of social learning and conformity. This constitutes a stimulating common agenda and militates for a rapprochement between these two currently largely independent research areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Nöbel
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Antoine Jacquet
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Guillaume Isabel
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Arnaud Pocheville
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Paul Seabright
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Etienne Danchin
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
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9
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Garaï ME, Boult VL, Zitzer HR. Identifying the Effects of Social Disruption through Translocation on African Elephants ( Loxodonta africana), with Specifics on the Social and Ecological Impacts of Orphaning. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:483. [PMID: 36766373 PMCID: PMC9913331 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030483] [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: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) exhibit a long developmental period during which they acquire complex social and ecological knowledge through social networks. Central to this is that matriarchs and older individuals play an important role as repositories of information gained through experience. Anthropogenic interventions-including poaching, culling, translocation, and hunting-can disrupt elephants' social networks, with implications for individual fitness and potential long-term population viability. Here, we draw on a unique long-running, individual-based dataset to examine the impacts of translocation on a population of elephants in South Africa, taking into consideration demographic rates, social dynamics, and ecological decision-making. Specifically, we compared two translocated groups: a group of unrelated culling Orphans and a family herd. We found that the Orphan group experienced accelerated reproductive rates when compared with the family herd. The Orphan group also fissioned more frequently and for longer periods of time, suggesting lower cohesiveness, and were less decisive in their large-scale movement decisions. These results add to the growing body of literature on the downstream impacts of social disruption for elephants. Whilst the translocation of culling Orphans is no longer practised in South Africa, we encourage careful consideration of any elephant translocation and the resulting social disruption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion E. Garaï
- Elephant Reintegration Trust, Port Alfred 6170, South Africa
| | - Victoria L. Boult
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading RG6 7BE, UK
| | - Heike R. Zitzer
- Elephant Reintegration Trust, Port Alfred 6170, South Africa
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10
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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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11
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Vachon F, Eguiguren A, Rendell L, Gero S, Whitehead H. Distinctive, fine-scale distribution of Eastern Caribbean sperm whale vocal clans reflects island fidelity rather than environmental variables. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9449. [PMID: 36349249 PMCID: PMC9631323 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental variables are often the primary drivers of species' distributions as they define their niche. However, individuals, or groups of individuals, may sometimes adopt a limited range within this larger suitable habitat as a result of social and cultural processes. This is the case for Eastern Caribbean sperm whales. While environmental variables are reasonably successful in describing the general distribution of sperm whales in the region, individuals from different cultural groups have distinct distributions around the Lesser Antilles islands. Using data collected over 2 years of dedicated surveys in the Eastern Caribbean, we conducted habitat modeling and habitat suitability analyses to investigate the mechanisms responsible for such fine-scale distribution patterns. Vocal clan-specific models were dramatically more successful at predicting distribution than general species models, showing how a failure to incorporate social factors can impede accurate predictions. Habitat variation between islands did not explain vocal clan distributions, suggesting that cultural group segregation in the Eastern Caribbean sperm whale is driven by traditions of site/island fidelity (most likely maintained through conformism and homophily) rather than habitat type specialization. Our results provide evidence for the key role of cultural knowledge in shaping habitat use of sperm whales within suitable environmental conditions and highlight the importance of cultural factors in shaping sperm whale ecology. We recommend that social and cultural information be incorporated into conservation and management as culture can segregate populations on fine spatial scales in the absence of environmental variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia Vachon
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Ana Eguiguren
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Luke Rendell
- School of BiologyUniversity of St. AndrewsSt. AndrewsUK
| | - Shane Gero
- Department of BiologyCarleton UniversityOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Hal Whitehead
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
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12
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Fichtel C, Kappeler PM. Coevolution of social and communicative complexity in lemurs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210297. [PMID: 35934963 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The endemic lemurs of Madagascar (Lemuriformes: Primates) exhibit great social and communicative diversity. Given their independent evolutionary history, lemurs provide an excellent opportunity to identify fundamental principles in the coevolution of social and communicative traits. We conducted comparative phylogenetic analyses to examine patterns of interspecific variation among measures of social complexity and repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality, while controlling for environmental factors such as habitat and number of sympatric species. We also examined potential trade-offs in signal evolution as well as coevolution between body mass or brain size and communicative complexity. Repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality correlated positively with group size, but not with environmental factors. Evolutionary changes in social complexity presumably antedated corresponding changes in communicative complexity. There was no trade-off in the evolution of signals in different modalities and neither body mass nor brain size correlated with any repertoire size. Hence, communicative complexity coevolved with social complexity across different modalities, possibly to service social relationships flexibly and effectively in pair- and group-living species. Our analyses shed light on the requirements and adaptive possibilities in the coevolution of core elements of social organization and social structure in a basal primate lineage. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter M Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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13
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Evidence from sperm whale clans of symbolic marking in non-human cultures. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2201692119. [PMID: 36074817 PMCID: PMC9478646 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201692119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Culture, a pillar of the remarkable ecological success of humans, is increasingly recognized as a powerful force structuring nonhuman animal populations. A key gap between these two types of culture is quantitative evidence of symbolic markers-seemingly arbitrary traits that function as reliable indicators of cultural group membership to conspecifics. Using acoustic data collected from 23 Pacific Ocean locations, we provide quantitative evidence that certain sperm whale acoustic signals exhibit spatial patterns consistent with a symbolic marker function. Culture segments sperm whale populations into behaviorally distinct clans, which are defined based on dialects of stereotyped click patterns (codas). We classified 23,429 codas into types using contaminated mixture models and hierarchically clustered coda repertoires into seven clans based on similarities in coda usage; then we evaluated whether coda usage varied with geographic distance within clans or with spatial overlap between clans. Similarities in within-clan usage of both "identity codas" (coda types diagnostic of clan identity) and "nonidentity codas" (coda types used by multiple clans) decrease as space between repertoire recording locations increases. However, between-clan similarity in identity, but not nonidentity, coda usage decreases as clan spatial overlap increases. This matches expectations if sympatry is related to a measurable pressure to diversify to make cultural divisions sharper, thereby providing evidence that identity codas function as symbolic markers of clan identity. Our study provides quantitative evidence of arbitrary traits, resembling human ethnic markers, conveying cultural identity outside of humans, and highlights remarkable similarities in the distributions of human ethnolinguistic groups and sperm whale clans.
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14
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Greenfield MR, Durden WN, Jablonski TA, Moreland LD, Fabry AC, Gemma LY, Clifford HH. Associates from infancy influence postweaning juvenile associations for common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus) in Florida. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In many long-lived mammalian species, association patterns between individuals have been found to influence sociality, behavioral traits, survival, and longevity. In common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), the early stages of development are of particular importance as associations experienced as dependent calves may influence future association patterns. While behavioral characteristics associated with the transition from a dependent calf state to an independent juvenile state have been documented, there are limited studies that examine associations between these time periods. This study aims to document association longevity for bottlenose dolphins as they transition from calves to juveniles and determine the extent to which kinship plays a role in the development of these associations. Using social network analysis, a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), and a tiered association scale, we found 53.7% of associations were retained from the calf to the juvenile phase. GLMM results indicated that preferred associates (half-weight index [HWI] > 0.178) from the calf state were 3.6 times more likely to associate in the juvenile state (0.178 > HWI > 0) and 5.67 times more likely to be preferred associates in the juvenile state compared to nonpreferred calf associates. The majority of juveniles, 76.92%, maintained a low–moderate to moderate level association (0.089–0.54) with their mother, and a few retained their mother as their top associate. Kin were preferred associates in 46.15% of cases and found to be the top juvenile associate in 26.92% of cases. Identifying continuity in associations, particularly from the calving state to the juvenile state, is imperative as mammalian association patterns may influence community structure, disease transmission, reproductive success, and predict survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle R Greenfield
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York , USA
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
| | - Wendy N Durden
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
| | | | - Lydia D Moreland
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute , Fort Pierce, Florida , USA
| | - Agatha C Fabry
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
| | - Lisa Y Gemma
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
| | - Heidy H Clifford
- Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute , Melbourne Beach, Florida , USA
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15
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Williams H, Scharf A, Ryba AR, Ryan Norris D, Mennill DJ, Newman AEM, Doucet SM, Blackwood JC. Cumulative cultural evolution and mechanisms for cultural selection in wild bird songs. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4001. [PMID: 35821243 PMCID: PMC9276793 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31621-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative cultural evolution, the accumulation of sequential changes within a single socially learned behaviour that results in improved function, is prominent in humans and has been documented in experimental studies of captive animals and managed wild populations. Here, we provide evidence that cumulative cultural evolution has occurred in the learned songs of Savannah sparrows. In a first step, "click trains" replaced "high note clusters" over a period of three decades. We use mathematical modelling to show that this replacement is consistent with the action of selection, rather than drift or frequency-dependent bias. Generations later, young birds elaborated the "click train" song form by adding more clicks. We show that the new songs with more clicks elicit stronger behavioural responses from both males and females. Therefore, we suggest that a combination of social learning, innovation, and sexual selection favoring a specific discrete trait was followed by directional sexual selection that resulted in naturally occurring cumulative cultural evolution in the songs of this wild animal population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Williams
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA.
| | - Andrew Scharf
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
| | - Anna R Ryba
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
- The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, 10021, NY, USA
| | - D Ryan Norris
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1, ON, Canada
| | - Daniel J Mennill
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, N9B 3P4, ON, Canada
| | - Amy E M Newman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1, ON, Canada
| | - Stéphanie M Doucet
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, N9B 3P4, ON, Canada
| | - Julie C Blackwood
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
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16
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King SL, Jensen FH. Rise of the machines: Integrating technology with playback experiments to study cetacean social cognition in the wild. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13935] [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)
- Stephanie L. King
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol BS8 1TQ Bristol United Kingdom
| | - Frants H. Jensen
- Biology department, Syracuse University 107 College Place 13244 Syracuse NY USA
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17
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Vachon F, Hersh TA, Rendell L, Gero S, Whitehead H. Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211737. [PMID: 35619996 PMCID: PMC9114939 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is a deep-diving cetacean with a global distribution and a multi-leveled, culturally segregated, social structure. While sperm whales have previously been described as 'ocean nomads', this might not be universal. We conducted surveys of sperm whales along the Lesser Antilles to document the acoustic repertoires, movements and distributions of Eastern Caribbean (EC) sperm whale cultural groups (called vocal clans). In addition to documenting a potential third vocal clan in the EC, we found strong evidence of fine-scale habitat partitioning between vocal clans with scales of horizontal movements an order of magnitude smaller than from comparable studies on Eastern Tropical Pacific sperm whales. These results suggest that sperm whales can display cultural ecological specialization and habitat partitioning on flexible spatial scales according to local conditions and broadens our perception of the ecological flexibility of the species. This study highlights the importance of incorporating multiple temporal and spatial scales to understand the impact of culture on ecological adaptability, as well as the dangers of extrapolating results across geographical areas and cultural groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia Vachon
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Taylor A. Hersh
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Luke Rendell
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, School of Biology, St Andrews, UK
| | - Shane Gero
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, School of Biology, St Andrews, UK
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
- Department of Zoophysiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Hal Whitehead
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
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18
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Lee PC. Groups, grouping and networks: dynamic unanswered questions for primatologists. Primates 2022; 63:187-193. [PMID: 35412094 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-00988-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Phyllis C Lee
- Behaviour and Evolution Research Group and Scottish Primate Research Group, Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
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19
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Garg K, Padilla-Iglesias C, Restrepo Ochoa N, Knight VB. Hunter-gatherer foraging networks promote information transmission. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211324. [PMID: 34950494 PMCID: PMC8692955 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Central-place foraging (CPF), where foragers return to a central location (or home), is a key feature of hunter-gatherer social organization. CPF could have significantly changed hunter-gatherers' spatial use and mobility, altered social networks and increased opportunities for information-exchange. We evaluated whether CPF patterns facilitate information-transmission and considered the potential roles of environmental conditions, mobility strategies and population sizes. We built an agent-based model of CPF where agents moved according to a simple optimal foraging rule, and could encounter other agents as they moved across the environment. They either foraged close to their home within a given radius or moved the location of their home to new areas. We analysed the interaction networks arising under different conditions and found that, at intermediate levels of environmental heterogeneity and mobility, CPF increased global and local network efficiencies as well as the rate of contagion-based information-transmission. We also found that central-place mobility strategies can further improve information transmission in larger populations. Our findings suggest that the combination of foraging and movement strategies, as well as the environmental conditions that characterized early human societies, may have been a crucial precursor in our species' unique capacity to innovate, accumulate and rely on complex culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketika Garg
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
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20
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Evans JC, Hodgson DJ, Boogert NJ, Silk MJ. Group size and modularity interact to shape the spread of infection and information through animal societies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021; 75:163. [PMID: 34866760 PMCID: PMC8626757 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03102-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions between animals can provide many benefits, including the ability to gain useful environmental information through social learning. However, these social contacts can also facilitate the transmission of infectious diseases through a population. Animals engaging in social interactions therefore face a trade-off between the potential informational benefits and the risk of acquiring disease. Theoretical models have suggested that modular social networks, associated with the formation of groups or sub-groups, can slow spread of infection by trapping it within particular groups. However, these social structures will not necessarily impact the spread of information in the same way if its transmission follows a "complex contagion", e.g. through individuals disproportionally copying the majority (conformist learning). Here we use simulation models to demonstrate that modular networks can promote the spread of information relative to the spread of infection, but only when the network is fragmented and group sizes are small. We show that the difference in transmission between information and disease is maximised for more well-connected social networks when the likelihood of transmission is intermediate. Our results have important implications for understanding the selective pressures operating on the social structure of animal societies, revealing that highly fragmented networks such as those formed in fission-fusion social groups and multilevel societies can be effective in modulating the infection-information trade-off for individuals within them. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-021-03102-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian C. Evans
- Deparment of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - David J. Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Neeltje J. Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
- National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
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21
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Carouso-Peck S, Goldstein MH, Fitch WT. The many functions of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200235. [PMID: 34482721 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity to learn novel vocalizations has evolved convergently in a wide range of species. Courtship songs of male birds or whales are often treated as prototypical examples, implying a sexually selected context for the evolution of this ability. However, functions of learned vocalizations in different species are far more diverse than courtship, spanning a range of socio-positive contexts from individual identification, social cohesion, or advertising pair bonds, as well as agonistic contexts such as territorial defence, deceptive alarm calling or luring prey. Here, we survey the diverse usages and proposed functions of learned novel signals, to build a framework for considering the evolution of vocal learning capacities that extends beyond sexual selection. For each function that can be identified for learned signals, we provide examples of species using unlearned signals to accomplish the same goals. We use such comparisons to generate hypotheses concerning when vocal learning is adaptive, given a particular suite of socio-ecological traits. Finally, we identify areas of uncertainty where improved understanding would allow us to better test these hypotheses. Considering the broad range of potential functions of vocal learning will yield a richer appreciation of its evolution than a narrow focus on a few prototypical species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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22
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Romano V, Sueur C, MacIntosh AJJ. The tradeoff between information and pathogen transmission in animal societies. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Valéria Romano
- Univ. de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178 Strasbourg France
- Primate Research Inst., Kyoto Univ. Inuyama Japan
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Univ. de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178 Strasbourg France
- Inst. Univ. de France Paris France
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23
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Recognising the key role of individual recognition in social networks. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:1024-1035. [PMID: 34256987 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many aspects of sociality rely on individuals recognising one another. Understanding how, when, and if individuals recognise others can yield insights into the foundations of social relationships and behaviours. Through synthesising individual recognition research in different sensory and social domains, and doing so across various related social contexts, we propose that a social network perspective can help to uncover how individual recognition may vary across different settings, species, and populations. Specifically, combining individual recognition with social networks has unrecognised potential for determining the level and relative importance of individual recognition complexity. This will provide insights not only on the ecology and evolution of individual recognition itself, but also on social structure, social transmission, and social interactions such as cooperation.
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24
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Sarano F, Girardet J, Sarano V, Vitry H, Preud'homme A, Heuzey R, Garcia-Cegarra AM, Madon B, Delfour F, Glotin H, Adam O, Jung JL. Kin relationships in cultural species of the marine realm: case study of a matrilineal social group of sperm whales off Mauritius island, Indian Ocean. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201794. [PMID: 33972866 PMCID: PMC8074673 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the organization and dynamics of social groups of marine mammals through the study of kin relationships is particularly challenging. Here, we studied a stable social group of sperm whales off Mauritius, using underwater observations, individual-specific identification, non-invasive sampling and genetic analyses based on mitochondrial sequencing and microsatellite profiling. Twenty-four sperm whales were sampled between 2017 and 2019. All individuals except one adult female shared the same mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype-one that is rare in the western Indian Ocean-thus confirming with near certainty the matrilineality of the group. All probable first- and second-degree kin relationships were depicted in the sperm whale social group: 13 first-degree and 27 second-degree relationships were identified. Notably, we highlight the likely case of an unrelated female having been integrated into a social unit, in that she presented a distinct mtDNA haplotype and no close relationships with any members of the group. Investigating the possible matrilineality of sperm whale cultural units (i.e. vocal clans) is the next step in our research programme to elucidate and better apprehend the complex organization of sperm whale social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justine Girardet
- Université de Brest, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, ISYEB, Brest, France
| | | | - Hugues Vitry
- Marine Megafauna Conservation Organisation, Mauritius
| | | | | | - Ana M. Garcia-Cegarra
- Centro de Investigación de Fauna Marina y Avistamiento de Cetáceos, CIFAMAC, Mejillones, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Santo Tomás, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - Bénédicte Madon
- Université de Brest, AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer, Plouzané, France
| | - Fabienne Delfour
- Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée EA 4443, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Hervé Glotin
- Toulon University, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LIS, DYNI Team, Marseille, France
| | - Olivier Adam
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, UMR 7190, Paris, France
- Institute of Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Bioacoustics Team, CNRS UMR 9197, Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
| | - Jean-Luc Jung
- Université de Brest, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, ISYEB, Brest, France
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26
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Cantor M, Maldonado‐Chaparro AA, Beck KB, Brandl HB, Carter GG, He P, Hillemann F, Klarevas‐Irby JA, Ogino M, Papageorgiou D, Prox L, Farine DR. The importance of individual‐to‐society feedbacks in animal ecology and evolution. J Anim Ecol 2020; 90:27-44. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maurício Cantor
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
- Centro de Estudos do Mar Universidade Federal do Paraná Pontal do Paraná Brazil
| | - Adriana A. Maldonado‐Chaparro
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Kristina B. Beck
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen Germany
| | - Hanja B. Brandl
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Gerald G. Carter
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
| | - Peng He
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Friederike Hillemann
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - James A. Klarevas‐Irby
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Department of Migration Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Konstanz Germany
| | - Mina Ogino
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Danai Papageorgiou
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Lea Prox
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology Johann‐Friedrich‐Blumenbach Institute of Zoology & Anthropology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
- Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit German Primate Center Göttingen Germany
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
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27
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Papageorgiou D, Christensen C, Gall GEC, Klarevas-Irby JA, Nyaguthii B, Couzin ID, Farine DR. The multilevel society of a small-brained bird. Curr Biol 2020; 29:R1120-R1121. [PMID: 31689393 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Animal societies can be organised in multiple hierarchical tiers [1]. Such multilevel societies, where stable groups move together through the landscape, overlapping and associating preferentially with specific other groups, are thought to represent one of the most complex forms of social structure in vertebrates. For example, hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) live in units consisting of one male and one or several females, or of several solitary males, that group into clans. These clans then come together with solitary bachelor males to form larger bands [2]. This social structure means that individuals have to track many different types of relationships at the same time [1,3]. Here, we provide detailed quantitative evidence for the presence of a multilevel society in a small-brained bird, the vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). We demonstrate that this species lives in large, multi-male, multi-female groups that associate preferentially with specific other groups, both during the day and at night-time communal roosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danai Papageorgiou
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department of Collective Behavior, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 40241-001000, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-001000, Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - Charlotte Christensen
- Swansea University, Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Gabriella E C Gall
- University of Zurich, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, 8057, Switzerland
| | - James A Klarevas-Irby
- University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 40241-001000, Nairobi, Kenya; Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department of Migration, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell, 78315, Germany
| | - Brendah Nyaguthii
- University of Eldoret, School of Natural Resource Management, Department of Wildlife, 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya; Mpala Research Center, P.O. Box 92, Nanyuki, 10400, Kenya
| | - Iain D Couzin
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department of Collective Behavior, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany
| | - Damien R Farine
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department of Collective Behavior, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; University of Konstanz, Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-001000, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
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Romano V, Lozano S, Fernández‐López de Pablo J. A multilevel analytical framework for studying cultural evolution in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1020-1035. [PMID: 32237025 PMCID: PMC7383820 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decade, a major debate has taken place on the underpinnings of cultural changes in human societies. A growing array of evidence in behavioural and evolutionary biology has revealed that social connectivity among populations and within them affects, and is affected by, culture. Yet the interplay between prehistoric hunter-gatherer social structure and cultural transmission has typically been overlooked. Interestingly, the archaeological record contains large data sets, allowing us to track cultural changes over thousands of years: they thus offer a unique opportunity to shed light on long-term cultural transmission processes. In this review, we demonstrate how well-developed methods for social structure analysis can increase our understanding of the selective pressures underlying cumulative culture. We propose a multilevel analytical framework that considers finer aspects of the complex social structure in which regional groups of prehistoric hunter-gatherers were embedded. We put forward predictions of cultural transmission based on local- and global-level network metrics of small-scale societies and their potential effects on cumulative culture. By bridging the gaps between network science, palaeodemography and cultural evolution, we draw attention to the use of the archaeological record to depict patterns of social interactions and transmission variability. We argue that this new framework will contribute to improving our understanding of social interaction patterns, as well as the contexts in which cultural changes occur. Ultimately, this may provide insights into the evolution of human behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valéria Romano
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico (INAPH)Universidad de Alicante, Edificio Institutos Universitarios03690San Vicente del RaspeigAlicanteSpain
- Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Edificio W3, Campus Sescelades URV, Zona Educacional 443007TarragonaSpain
| | - Sergi Lozano
- Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Edificio W3, Campus Sescelades URV, Zona Educacional 443007TarragonaSpain
- Departament d'Història Econòmica, Institucions, Política i Economia MundialUniversitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 69008034BarcelonaSpain
- Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS)Universitat de Barcelona, Martí Franqués 108028BarcelonaSpain
| | - Javier Fernández‐López de Pablo
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico (INAPH)Universidad de Alicante, Edificio Institutos Universitarios03690San Vicente del RaspeigAlicanteSpain
- Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Edificio W3, Campus Sescelades URV, Zona Educacional 443007TarragonaSpain
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Grueter CC, Qi X, Zinner D, Bergman T, Li M, Xiang Z, Zhu P, Migliano AB, Miller A, Krützen M, Fischer J, Rubenstein DI, Vidya TNC, Li B, Cantor M, Swedell L. Multilevel Organisation of Animal Sociality. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:834-847. [PMID: 32473744 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Multilevel societies (MLSs), stable nuclear social units within a larger collective encompassing multiple nested social levels, occur in several mammalian lineages. Their architectural complexity and size impose specific demands on their members requiring adaptive solutions in multiple domains. The functional significance of MLSs lies in their members being equipped to reap the benefits of multiple group sizes. Here, we propose a unifying terminology and operational definition of MLS. To identify new avenues for integrative research, we synthesise current literature on the selective pressures underlying the evolution of MLSs and their implications for cognition, intersexual conflict, and sexual selection. Mapping the drivers and consequences of MLS provides a reference point for the social evolution of many taxa, including our own species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril C Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Xiaoguang Qi
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, College of Life Sciences, Xi'an, 710069, China.
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus for Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Thore Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Ming Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Zuofu Xiang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410004, China
| | - Pingfen Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
| | | | - Alex Miller
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Michael Krützen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel I Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - T N C Vidya
- Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Bengaluru 560064, India
| | - Baoguo Li
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, College of Life Sciences, Xi'an, 710069, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Maurício Cantor
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88048-970, Brazil; Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Pontal do Paraná, 83255-000, Brazil; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
| | - Larissa Swedell
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 11367, USA; Anthropology, Biology and Psychology Programs, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
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30
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Kok ACM, van Kolfshoten L, Campbell JA, von Benda-Beckmann AM, Miller PJO, Slabbekoorn H, Visser F. Diving apart together: call propagation in diving long-finned pilot whales. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb207878. [PMID: 32321748 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.207878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Group-living animals must communicate to stay in contact. In long-finned pilot whales, there is a trade-off between the benefits of foraging individually at depth and the formation of tight social groups at the surface. Using theoretical modelling and empirical data of tagged pairs within a group, we examined the potential of pilot whale social calls to reach dispersed group members during foraging periods. Both theoretical predictions and empirical data of tag pairs showed a potential for communication between diving and non-diving group members over separation distances up to 385 m (empirical) and 1800 m (theoretical). These distances match or exceed pilot whale dive depths recorded across populations. Call characteristics and environmental characteristics were analysed to investigate determinants of call detectability. Longer calls with a higher sound pressure level (SPL) that were received in a quieter environment were more often detected than their shorter, lower SPL counterparts within a noisier environment. In a noisier environment, calls were louder and had a lower peak frequency, indicating mechanisms for coping with varying conditions. However, the vulnerability of pilot whales to anthropogenic noise is still of concern as the ability to cope with increasing background noise may be limited. Our study shows that combining propagation modelling and actual tag recordings provides new insights into the communicative potential for social calls in orientation and reunion with group members for deep-diving pilot whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annebelle C M Kok
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lisette van Kolfshoten
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - James A Campbell
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Patrick J O Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Hans Slabbekoorn
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Fleur Visser
- Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, IBED, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
- Kelp Marine Research, 1624 CJ Hoorn, The Netherlands
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31
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Miller A, Uddin S, Judge DS, Kaplin BA, Ndayishimiye D, Uwingeneye G, Grueter CC. Spatiotemporal association patterns in a supergroup of Rwenzori black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) are consistent with a multilevel society. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23127. [PMID: 32249977 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 03/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Primates display broad diversity in their social organization. The social groups of a few primate species are organized in a multilevel fashion, with large groups composed of multiple, core one-male units (OMUs). A characteristic of multilevel societies is that the higher levels can include hundreds of individuals. The Rwenzori black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in the montane forests of Rwanda form supergroups and have been suspected to exhibit multilevel social organization. Here we present the first data on the "anatomy" of a supergroup numbering 500+ individuals. We identified subgroups within the supergroup based on progression data, extracting the social network structure from the time-stamped spatiotemporal distribution of passing individuals identified to age-sex class, and selecting an optimal time window for each network using the two-step approach developed by Uddin, Choudhury, Farhad, and Rahman (2017). We detail the existence of core units-multi-male units (MMUs) with a mean of 1.7 adult males and 3.1 adult females, as well as OMUs, all-female units and bachelor units composed of adult and sub-adult males. More than two-thirds of units are MMUs. These grouping patterns conform to a multilevel society with predominantly multi-male core units, a social system that has recently also been described for a population of the same taxon in Uganda. Individual identification will be required to corroborate these interpretations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Miller
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Shahadat Uddin
- Complex Systems Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Debra S Judge
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Beth A Kaplin
- Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda, Huye, Rwanda.,School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Dieudonne Ndayishimiye
- Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda, Huye, Rwanda
| | - Grace Uwingeneye
- Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda, Huye, Rwanda
| | - Cyril C Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,UWA Africa Research & Engagement Centre, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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32
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Abstract
Human culture is unique among animals in its complexity, variability, and cumulative quality. This article describes the development and diversity of cumulative cultural learning. Children inhabit cultural ecologies that consist of group-specific knowledge, practices, and technologies that are inherited and modified over generations. The learning processes that enable cultural acquisition and transmission are universal but are sufficiently flexible to accommodate the highly diverse cultural repertoires of human populations. Children learn culture in several complementary ways, including through exploration, observation, participation, imitation, and instruction. These methods of learning vary in frequency and kind within and between populations due to variation in socialization values and practices associated with specific educational institutions, skill sets, and knowledge systems. The processes by which children acquire and transmit the cumulative culture of their communities provide unique insight into the evolution and ontogeny of human cognition and culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristine H Legare
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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33
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Abstract
Intergroup variation (IGV) refers to variation between different groups of the same species. While its existence in the behavioural realm has been expected and evidenced, the potential effects of IGV are rarely considered in studies that aim to shed light on the evolutionary origins of human socio-cognition, especially in our closest living relatives—the great apes. Here, by taking chimpanzees as a point of reference, we argue that (i) IGV could plausibly explain inconsistent research findings across numerous topics of inquiry (experimental/behavioural studies on chimpanzees), (ii) understanding the evolutionary origins of behaviour requires an accurate assessment of species' modes of behaving across different socio-ecological contexts, which necessitates a reliable estimation of variation across intraspecific groups, and (iii) IGV in the behavioural realm is increasingly likely to be expected owing to the progressive identification of non-human animal cultures. With these points, and by extrapolating from chimpanzees to generic guidelines, we aim to encourage researchers to explicitly consider IGV as an explanatory variable in future studies attempting to understand the socio-cognitive and evolutionary determinants of behaviour in group-living animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan P Kaufhold
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Edwin J C van Leeuwen
- Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, K. Astridplein 26, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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34
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Burns DDR, Pitchford JW, Parr CL, Franks DW, Robinson EJH. The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies. Behav Ecol 2019; 30:1700-1706. [PMID: 31723318 PMCID: PMC6838651 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A challenge faced by individuals and groups of many species is determining how resources and activities should be spatially distributed: centralized or decentralized. This distribution problem is hard to understand due to the many costs and benefits of each strategy in different settings. Ant colonies are faced by this problem and demonstrate two solutions: 1) centralizing resources in a single nest (monodomy) and 2) decentralizing by spreading resources across many nests (polydomy). Despite the possibilities for using this system to study the centralization/decentralization problem, the trade-offs associated with using either polydomy or monodomy are poorly understood due to a lack of empirical data and cohesive theory. Here, we present a dynamic network model of a population of ant nests which is based on observations of a facultatively polydomous ant species (Formica lugubris). We use the model to test several key hypotheses for costs and benefits of polydomy and monodomy and show that decentralization is advantageous when resource acquisition costs are high, nest size is limited, resources are clustered, and there is a risk of nest destruction, but centralization prevails when resource availability fluctuates and nest size is limited. Our model explains the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of polydomous ants, demonstrates several trade-offs of decentralization and centralization, and provides testable predictions for empirical work on ants and in other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic D R Burns
- Department of Biology, Wentworth Way, University of York, York, UK
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, UK
| | - Jon W Pitchford
- Department of Biology, Wentworth Way, University of York, York, UK
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York, UK
| | - Catherine L Parr
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Jane Herdman Building, Liverpool, UK
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria
| | - Daniel W Franks
- Department of Biology, Wentworth Way, University of York, York, UK
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, UK
- Department of Computer Science, Deramore Lane, University of York, York, UK
| | - Elva J H Robinson
- Department of Biology, Wentworth Way, University of York, York, UK
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, UK
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35
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Community through Culture: From Insects to Whales. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1900060. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201900060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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36
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Paxton KL, Sebastián-González E, Hite JM, Crampton LH, Kuhn D, Hart PJ. Loss of cultural song diversity and the convergence of songs in a declining Hawaiian forest bird community. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190719. [PMID: 31598249 PMCID: PMC6731710 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The effects of population decline on culturally transmitted behaviours in animals have rarely been described, but may have major implications to population viability. Learned vocal signals in birds are of critical importance to behaviours associated with reproduction, intrasexual interactions and group cohesion, and the complexity of vocal signals such as song can serve as an honest signal of an individual's quality as well as the viability of a population. In this study, we examined how rapid population declines recently experienced by Hawaiian honeycreepers on the island of Kaua'i (USA) may have influenced the diversity, complexity and similarity of learned honeycreeper songs. We analysed the acoustic characteristics of songs recorded during three time periods over a 40-year time frame for three species of declining Kaua'i honeycreepers. We detected a loss of song complexity and diversity over the 40-year time period that paralleled dramatic population declines. Concurrent with the loss of complexity, we also found that the acoustic characteristics of the three honeycreepers' songs became more similar to one another. To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of convergence of acoustic characteristics among rapidly declining species. The reduction in song complexity and diversity and convergence of songs not only signals a loss of culturally transmitted behaviours in these endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, but also potential challenges to the recovery of these rapidly declining species. Moreover, the present study highlights that there is a 'hidden' cost to declining populations beyond just the loss of individuals that is not often considered, the loss of culturally transmitted social behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Esther Sebastián-González
- Department of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida de la Universidad s/n 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Justin M. Hite
- Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Lisa H. Crampton
- Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - David Kuhn
- SoundsHawaiian, PO Box 1018, Waimea, HI 96796, USA
| | - Patrick J. Hart
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai‘i Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
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37
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Abstract
Understanding intraspecific variation in sociality is essential for characterizing the flexibility and evolution of social systems, yet its study in nonhuman animals is rare. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees exhibit population-level differences in sociality that cannot be easily explained by differences in genetics or ecology. We compared social proximity and grooming tendencies across four semiwild populations of chimpanzees living in the same ecological environment over three consecutive years, using both linear mixed models and social network analysis. Results indicated temporally stable, population-level differences in dyadic-level sociality. Moreover, group cohesion measures capturing network characteristics beyond dyadic interactions (clustering, modularity, and social differentiation) showed population-level differences consistent with the dyadic indices. Subsequently, we explored whether the observed intraspecific variation in sociality could be attributed to cultural processes by ruling out alternative sources of variation including the influences of ecology, genetics, and differences in population demographics. We conclude that substantial variation in social behavior exists across neighboring populations of chimpanzees and that this variation is in part shaped by cultural processes.
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38
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Machado AMS, Cantor M, Costa APB, Righetti BPH, Bezamat C, Valle-Pereira JVS, Simões-Lopes PC, Castilho PV, Daura-Jorge FG. Homophily around specialized foraging underlies dolphin social preferences. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20180909. [PMID: 30966897 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals often associate socially with those who behave the same way. This principle, homophily, could structure populations into distinct social groups. We tested this hypothesis in a bottlenose dolphin population that appeared to be clustered around a specialized foraging tactic involving cooperation with net-casting fishermen, but in which other potential drivers of such social structure have never been assessed. We measured and controlled for the contribution of sex, age, genetic relatedness, home range and foraging tactics on social associations to test for homophily effects. Dolphins tended to group with others having similar home ranges and frequency of using the specialized foraging tactic, but not other traits. Such social preferences were particularly clear when dolphins were not foraging, showing that homophily extends beyond simply participating in a specific tactic. Combined, these findings highlight the need to account for multiple drivers of group formation across behavioural contexts to determine true social affiliations. We suggest that homophily around behavioural specialization can be a major driver of social patterns, with implications for other social processes. If homophily based on specialized tactics underlies animal social structures more widely, then it may be important in modulating opportunities for social learning, and therefore influence patterns of cultural transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M S Machado
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
| | - M Cantor
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil.,3 Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná , Pontal do Paraná, PR , Brazil.,4 School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witswatersrand , Johannesburg , South Africa
| | - A P B Costa
- 5 Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette , Lafayette, LA , USA
| | - B P H Righetti
- 2 Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
| | - C Bezamat
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
| | - J V S Valle-Pereira
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
| | - P C Simões-Lopes
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
| | - P V Castilho
- 6 Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca e Ciências Biológicas, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina , Laguna, SC , Brazil
| | - F G Daura-Jorge
- 1 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis, SC , Brazil
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39
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Brakes P. Sociality and Wild Animal Welfare: Future Directions. Front Vet Sci 2019; 6:62. [PMID: 30941354 PMCID: PMC6433960 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Emergent evidence of aspects of sociality, such as social structure and social learning, across many vertebrate taxa, warrant more detailed consideration of their influence on welfare outcomes for wildlife. Sociality can be dynamic across organismal development, it can: provide protection through safety in numbers; may influence breeding outcomes via mate choice and alloparental care; can influence foraging success through transmission of social information and co-operation; and it can provide opportunities for the spread of novel behavior. Social learning itself provides an important mechanism for resilience in changing environments, but also has the potential to increase vulnerability or facilitate the spread of maladaptive behaviors. The welfare consequences of vertebrates living in social groups are explored using Wilson's 10 qualities of sociality as a framework, and the implications of human activities are discussed. Focus to date has been on the importance of social networks for the welfare of farmed or captive animals. Here I consider the importance of social networks and sociality more generally for the welfare of wildlife and explore Mellor's five domain model for animal welfare within the context of wildlife sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa Brakes
- Adaptive Rationality Group, Centre of Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, United Kingdom
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40
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Forcina G, Vallet D, Le Gouar PJ, Bernardo-Madrid R, Illera G, Molina-Vacas G, Dréano S, Revilla E, Rodríguez-Teijeiro JD, Ménard N, Bermejo M, Vilà C. From groups to communities in western lowland gorillas. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182019. [PMID: 30963928 PMCID: PMC6408619 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social networks are the result of interactions between individuals at different temporal scales. Thus, sporadic intergroup encounters and individual forays play a central role in defining the dynamics of populations in social species. We assessed the rate of intergroup encounters for three western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) groups with daily observations over 5 years, and non-invasively genotyped a larger population over four months. Both approaches revealed a social system much more dynamic than anticipated, with non-aggressive intergroup encounters that involved social play by immature individuals, exchanges of members between groups likely modulated by kinship, and absence of infanticide evidenced by infants not fathered by the silverback of the group where they were found. This resulted in a community composed of groups that interacted frequently and not-aggressively, contrasting with the more fragmented and aggressive mountain gorilla ( G. beringei beringei) societies. Such extended sociality can promote the sharing of behavioural and cultural traits, but might also increase the susceptibility of western lowland gorillas to infectious diseases that have decimated their populations in recent times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Forcina
- Departments of Integrative Ecology and Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), 41092 Seville, Spain
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore
| | - Dominique Vallet
- UMR 6553 - EcoBio (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution), CNRS, Univ Rennes, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Pascaline J. Le Gouar
- UMR 6553 - EcoBio (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution), CNRS, Univ Rennes, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Rubén Bernardo-Madrid
- Departments of Integrative Ecology and Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Germán Illera
- Odzala-Lossi Conservation/Research Program, SPAC Foundation gGmbH, Berlin, Germany
| | - Guillem Molina-Vacas
- Odzala-Lossi Conservation/Research Program, SPAC Foundation gGmbH, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Stéphane Dréano
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, IGDR (Institut de génétique et développement de Rennes) - UMR 6290, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Eloy Revilla
- Departments of Integrative Ecology and Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), 41092 Seville, Spain
| | | | - Nelly Ménard
- UMR 6553 - EcoBio (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution), CNRS, Univ Rennes, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Magdalena Bermejo
- Odzala-Lossi Conservation/Research Program, SPAC Foundation gGmbH, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Vilà
- Departments of Integrative Ecology and Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), 41092 Seville, Spain
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Roberts AI, Chakrabarti A, Roberts SGB. Gestural repertoire size is associated with social proximity measures in wild chimpanzees. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e22954. [PMID: 30706956 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Studying the communication systems of primates can provide insights into the evolutionary origins of human language. Some theories propose that language evolved to help meet the demands of managing complex social relationships. Examining the associations between sociality and communication in the great apes can help to identify the specific selection pressures that may have been important for language evolution. In particular, gestural communication is believed to be important because it is a relatively recent trait seen only in primates and particularly in the great apes. However, the extent to which more complex gestural communication plays a role in managing social relationships, as compared to less complex gestural communication, is not well understood. Using social network analysis, we examined the association between complex gesturing (indexed as repertoire size) and complexity of social relationships indexed as proximity (the duration of time spent within 10 m, per hour spent in same party) in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Repertoire size (the total number of gesture types a focal subject produced toward other individuals) and dyadic repertoire size (the number of gesture types produced toward the dyad partner, per hour spent within 10 meters) were positively associated with proximity at the level of the group (centrality in the proximity network) and the dyad (proximity duration between dyads), respectively. Further, the repertoire size of visual and auditory short-range gestures was positively associated with proximity, while the repertoire size of tactile gesture was negatively associated with proximity. Overall these results suggest that gestural repertoire size has important implications for maintaining social relationships in wild chimpanzees and more broadly that gestural communication may have played an important role in language evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna I Roberts
- Department of Psychology, University of Chester, Chester, UK
| | - Anwesha Chakrabarti
- Department of Psychology, University Colleges of Science, Technology and Agriculture, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Sam G B Roberts
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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Morgan TJH, Acerbi A, van Leeuwen EJC. Copy-the-majority of instances or individuals? Two approaches to the majority and their consequences for conformist decision-making. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210748. [PMID: 30682728 PMCID: PMC6347471 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cultural evolution is the product of the psychological mechanisms that underlie individual decision making. One commonly studied learning mechanism is a disproportionate preference for majority opinions, known as conformist transmission. While most theoretical and experimental work approaches the majority in terms of the number of individuals that perform a behaviour or hold a belief, some recent experimental studies approach the majority in terms of the number of instances a behaviour is performed. Here, we use a mathematical model to show that disagreement between these two notions of the majority can arise when behavioural variants are performed at different rates, with different salience or in different contexts (variant overrepresentation) and when a subset of the population act as demonstrators to the whole population (model biases). We also show that because conformist transmission changes the distribution of behaviours in a population, how observers approach the majority can cause populations to diverge, and that this can happen even when the two approaches to the majority agree with regards to which behaviour is in the majority. We discuss these results in light of existing findings, ranging from political extremism on twitter to studies of animal foraging behaviour. We conclude that the factors we considered (variant overrepresentation and model biases) are plausibly widespread. As such, it is important to understand how individuals approach the majority in order to understand the effects of majority influence in cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. H. Morgan
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Alberto Acerbi
- Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen
- University of St Andrews, Westburn Lane, St Andrews, Scotland
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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Song variation of the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale population in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0208619. [PMID: 30668600 PMCID: PMC6342329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea noise collected over 2003 to 2017 from the Perth Canyon, Western Australia was analysed for variation in the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale song structure. The primary song-types were: P3, a three unit phrase (I, II and III) repeated with an inter-song interval (ISI) of 170-194 s; P2, a phrase consisting of only units II & III repeated every 84-96 s; and P1 with a phrase consisting of only unit II repeated every 45-49 s. The different ISI values were approximate multiples of each other within a season. When comparing data from each season, across seasons, the ISI value for each song increased significantly through time (all fits had p << 0.001), at 0.30 s/Year (95%CI 0.217-0.383), 0.8 s/Year (95%CI 0.655-1.025) and 1.73 s/Year (95%CI 1.264-2.196) for the P1, P2 and P3 songs respectively. The proportions of each song-type averaged at 21.5, 24.2 and 56% for P1, P2 and P3 occurrence respectively and these ratios could vary by up to ± 8% (95% CI) amongst years. On some occasions animals changed the P3 ISI to be significantly shorter (120-160 s) or longer (220-280 s). Hybrid song patterns occurred where animals combined multiple phrase types into a repeated song. In recent years whales introduced further complexity by splitting song units. This variability of song-type and proportions implies abundance measure for this whale sub population based on song detection needs to factor in trends in song variability to make data comparable between seasons. Further, such variability in song production by a sub population of pygmy blue whales raises questions as to the stability of the song types that are used to delineate populations. The high level of song variability may be driven by an increasing number of background whale callers creating 'noise' and so forcing animals to alter song in order to 'stand out' amongst the crowd.
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Van Cise AM, Mahaffy SD, Baird RW, Mooney TA, Barlow J. Song of my people: dialect differences among sympatric social groups of short-finned pilot whales in Hawai’i. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2596-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Konrad CM, Frasier TR, Rendell L, Whitehead H, Gero S. Kinship and association do not explain vocal repertoire variation among individual sperm whales or social units. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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49
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Using multiplex networks to capture the multidimensional nature of social structure. Primates 2018; 60:277-295. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0686-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Sueur C, Romano V, Sosa S, Puga-Gonzalez I. Mechanisms of network evolution: a focus on socioecological factors, intermediary mechanisms, and selection pressures. Primates 2018; 60:167-181. [PMID: 30206778 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0682-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC, UMR 7178, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Valéria Romano
- Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Sebastian Sosa
- Primates and Evolution Anthropology Laboratory, Anthropology Department, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ivan Puga-Gonzalez
- Institute for Religion, Philosophy and History, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
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