High-Ranking Geladas Protect and Comfort Others After Conflicts

Migration of a harem in search of a new leader following the loss of the former adult male leader from a one-male unit of geladas (Theropithecus gelada)

Geladas (Theropithecus gelada) live in social groups consisting of one-male units (sometimes referred to as "harems"), bands, and all-male units. Takeover by a new male affects the reproductive success and mating strategies of the individuals in a harem. However, to the best of my knowledge, there is no information available on the fate of the females in a one-male unit whose leader dies or disappears and is not replaced by another adult male. In 2017, I observed the migration of a male-less unit into the home range of my study group at Kosheme, in Wollo, Ethiopia. The unit consisted of 14 individuals. I observed the harem leader of my study group desert his unit and join the new unit, which appeared to peacefully accept him as their leader. These observations are in agreement with information from local residents, who told me that if the leader male of a unit dies, the male-less group (the "survivors") will soon migrate in search of a new adult male leader. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first documented case of the migration of a gelada harem in search of an adult male leader after the loss of the unit's former leader. This report contributes toward a better understanding of the reproductive behavior of geladas in particular, and of primates in general.

The Embodiment of Insult: A Theory of Biobehavioral Response to Workplace Incivility

This article builds a broad theory to explain how people respond, both biologically and behaviorally, when targeted with incivility in organizations. Central to our theorizing is a multifaceted framework that yields four quadrants of target response: reciprocation, retreat, relationship repair, and recruitment of support. We advance the novel argument that these behaviors not only stem from biological change within the body but also stimulate such change. Behavioral responses that revolve around affiliation and produce positive social connections are most likely to bring biological benefits. However, social and cultural features of an organization can stand in the way of affiliation, especially for employees holding marginalized identities. When incivility persists over time and employees lack access to the resources needed to recover, we theorize, downstream consequences can include harms to their physical health. Like other aspects of organizational life, this biobehavioral theory of incivility response is anything but simple. But it may help explain how seemingly "small" insults can sometimes have large effects, ultimately undermining workforce well-being. It may also suggest novel sites for incivility intervention, focusing on the relational and inclusive side of work. The overarching goal of this article is to motivate new science on workplace incivility, new knowledge, and ultimately, new solutions.

The face never lies: facial expressions and mimicry modulate playful interactions in wild geladas

Abstract

Play fighting, the most common form of social play in mammals, is a fertile field to investigate the use of visual signals in animals’ communication systems. Visual signals can be exclusively emitted during play (e.g. play faces, PF, context-dependent signals), or they can be released under several behavioural domains (e.g. lip-smacking, LS, context-independent signals). Rapid facial mimicry (RFM) is the involuntary rapid facial congruent response produced after perceiving others’ facial expressions. RFM leads to behavioural and emotional synchronisation that often translates into the most balanced and longest playful interactions. Here, we investigate the role of playful communicative signals in geladas (Theropithecus gelada). We analysed the role of PF and LS produced by wild immature geladas during play fighting. We found that PFs, but not LS, were particularly frequent during the riskiest interactions such as those including individuals from different groups. Furthermore, we found that RFM (PF→PF) was highest when playful offensive patterns were not biased towards one of the players and when the session was punctuated by LS. Under this perspective, the presence of context-independent signals such as LS may be useful in creating an affiliative mood that enhances communication and facilitates most cooperative interactions. Indeed, we found that sessions punctuated by the highest frequency of RFM and LS were also the longest ones. Whether the complementary use of PF and LS is strategically guided by the audience or is the result of the emotional arousal experienced by players remains to be investigated.

Significance Statement

Facial expressions and their rapid replication by an observer are fundamental communicative tools during social contacts in human and non-human animals. Play fighting is one of the most complex forms of social interactions that can easily lead to misunderstanding if not modulated through an accurate use of social signals. Wild immature geladas are able to manage their play sessions thus limiting the risk of aggressive escalation. While playing with unfamiliar subjects belonging to other groups, they make use of a high number of play faces. Moreover, geladas frequently replicate others’ play faces and emit facial expressions of positive intent (i.e. lip-smacking) when engaging in well-balanced long play sessions. In this perspective, this “playful facial chattering” creates an affiliative mood that enhances communication and facilitates most cooperative interactions.

Bridging Captive and Wild Studies: Behavioral Plasticity and Social Complexity in Theropithecus gelada

Cognitive ethology explores the ability of animals to flexibly adapt their behavior to rapid physical and social environment fluctuations. Although there is a historical dichotomy between field and captive studies, recently, a growing interest in questions that sit at the intersection of cognitive and adaptive perspectives has helped bridge this divide. By focusing on Theropithecus gelada, we discuss the three main reasons why this hybrid approach is extremely successful. First, captive and wild studies provide data at different social, spatial, and temporal scales that can be synthesized to give a fuller picture of the behavior. Secondly, apparently conflicting results from captive and wild settings are powerful tools to explore behavioral flexibility and latent behavioral tendencies. Third, the different settings provide ways of validating and exploring behaviors that are noticed in the other setting. Although we were able to bring together our captive and wild research to demonstrate these ideas, we could have obtained a more integrated vision on the proximate and ultimate gelada behavioral and cognitive strategies if we had considered this hybrid approach from the beginning. We hope that this manuscript stimulates scholars in designing their studies by taking into account the incredible potential of a complementary captive-wild research approach.

Anxiety Behavior in Pigs (Sus scrofa) Decreases Through Affiliation and May Anticipate Threat

Anxiety is a physio-psychological state anticipating an imminent threat. In social mammals it is behaviorally expressed via displacement activities and buffered via affiliation. Anxiety research on domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) has mostly focused on abnormal/stereotypic behavior associated with intensive farming. We investigated how anxiety is expressed and modulated in semi-free ranging pigs, in natural habitats. Owing to pigs' socio-cognitive complexity, we posited that displacement activities, if such, would increase after a (stressful) intra-group aggression (Prediction 1), be reduced by affiliation (Prediction 2) and influenced by individual/contextual factors (Prediction 3). From 224 videos recorded on adult individuals (Mean ± SD/subject: 4.84 ± 1.85 h) at the “Ethical Farm Parva Domus” (Turin, Italy), we extracted possible displacement activities (vacuum-chewing, scratching/body-rubbing, head/body-shaking, and yawning) in four 3-min conditions: before (BA) and after aggression events, in the absence (AA) or presence (AP) of post-aggression affiliation, and a matched-control (no event; MC). We conducted a minute-by-minute analysis in AE/AA and assessed the effect of subjects' involvement in a conflict (aggressor, aggression's recipient, bystander). All activities were higher in AA than in BA condition—thus being anxiety markers—and all of them decreased to baseline levels in AP, faster compared to AE. Hence, anxiety behavior in pigs was socially buffered. Intriguingly, anxiety behavior was expressed significantly more by bystanders than opponents, which suggests that pigs may be able to anticipate imminent threats. By highlighting how anxiety is managed under extensive farming, this study contributes to the understanding of pig welfare and biology.

Let's unite in play! Play modality and group membership in wild geladas

Two of the main hypotheses put forth to explain the function of immature social play are the Social Skill Hypothesis and the Motor Training Hypothesis focussing on whether play can improve social competence to develop cooperative social networks or physical abilities to outcompete others, respectively. Here, we tested these hypotheses on a monkey species, the wild gelada (Theropithecus gelada) from the Kundi plateau, Ethiopia. This species is organized in bands divided in One-Male Units (OMUs), united only via social play. Immatures form 'play units' in which individuals from the same and different OMUs interact. We analysed the potential differences between inter- and intra-OMU play to verify which of the two hypotheses (Social Skill or Motor Training Hypothesis) best explains the function of play in geladas. We analysed 527 video-recorded social play sessions and found mixed support for both hypotheses. In agreement with the Social Skill Hypothesis, we found that play in geladas shows scarce social canalization being similarly distributed across age, sex and group membership. In line with the Motor Training Hypothesis, we detected higher levels of competition (shorter and more unbalanced sessions) in inter-OMU compared to intra-OMU play. Hence, in geladas play can be a tool for both the development of social relationships and the improvement of the physical skills necessary to cope with either future mates or competitors. In conclusion, neither hypothesis can be discarded and both hypotheses concur in explaining why immature geladas peculiarly form 'play units' embracing both ingroup and outgroup members.

Back to the Future: A Glance Over Wolf Social Behavior to Understand Dog-Human Relationship

Simple Summary

Wolves, the ancestors of dogs, are one of the most cooperative canine species. This cooperative propensity derives from the fact that each subject needs other group members to obtain resources and increase survival. The pack functions as a unit in which each individual collaborates in territory defence, hunting, and rearing of offspring. For this reason, even though a clear hierarchy exists among wolves, subordinates can provide help to dominants to obtain social tolerance in a sort of commodity exchange. Wolves can make peace after aggression, console victims of a conflict, and calm down the aggressors. This set of behaviors, also called post-conflict strategies, requires a social attentiveness towards others’ emotional state and the ability to coordinate appropriate reactions. Adult wolves also play. They engage in play fighting, which strongly resembles real fighting, by finely modulating their motor actions and quickly interpreting playmates’ intentions, thus maintaining the non-serious playful mood. All these cognitive and social skills were a fertile ground for the artificial selection operated by humans to redirect the cooperative propensity of wolves towards dog–human affective relationship.

Abstract

This review focuses on wolf sociobiology to delineate the traits of cooperative baggage driven by natural selection (wolf-wolf cooperation) and better understand the changes obtained by artificial selection (dog-human cooperation). We selected some behaviors of the dog’s ancestors that provide the basis for the expression of a cooperative society, such as dominance relationships, leverage power, post-aggressive strategies, and playful dynamics between pack members. When possible, we tried to compare the data on wolves with those coming from the dog literature. Wolves can negotiate commodities when the interacting subjects occupy different ranking positions by bargaining social tolerance with helping and support. They are able to manage group disruption by engaging in sophisticated post-conflict maneuvers, thus restoring the relationship between the opponents and reducing the spreading of aggression in the group. Wolves engage in social play also as adults to manipulate social relationships. They are able to flexibly adjust their playful interactions to minimize the risk of escalation. Complex cognitive abilities and communicative skills are probably the main proximate causes for the evolution of inter-specific cooperation in wolves.

Fostering of a wild, injured, juvenile by a neighbouring group: implications for rehabilitation and release of Barbary macaques confiscated from illegal trade

Illegal live trade is one of the greatest threats to endangered Barbary macaques. Since trade focuses on young and Barbary macaques show extensive alloparental care, rehabilitation and release into wild foster groups is a promising strategy to free space in sanctuaries to allow continued confiscations, improve individual welfare, minimize captive care costs, and reinforce wild populations. However, little documentation exists on Barbary macaque releases and the age at which released macaques would be accepted by foster groups is unknown. Here, I report on a wild, nearly 3-year-old Barbary macaque male that was separated from his group after serious injury from a car collision. A neighbouring group found the distressed juvenile 2 days later, approached, groomed, and affiliated with him, and accepted him into the group. He remained with the foster group for 4 months until returning to his natal group. This observation challenges concerns that only infants and young juveniles may be accepted into non-natal groups, suggesting that even older confiscated juveniles could be candidates for release. This also adds to the literature on behavioural responses to distressed and injured individuals, demonstrating the capacity of wild monkeys to exhibit affiliative behaviours even towards unfamiliar distressed conspecifics, providing a rare example of potential consolation of an unknown individual. As so little documentation currently exists on the acceptance of Barbary macaques into wild foster groups, this observation provides valuable information for developing rehabilitation and release strategies for confiscated individuals, which can be critical for continuing to fight illegal trade of this endangered species.

The complexity of understanding others as the evolutionary origin of empathy and emotional contagion

Contagious yawning, emotional contagion and empathy are characterized by the activation of similar neurophysiological states or responses in an observed individual and an observer. For example, it is hard to keep one’s mouth closed when imagining someone yawning, or not feeling distressed while observing other individuals perceiving pain. The evolutionary origin of these widespread phenomena is unclear, since a direct benefit is not always apparent. We explore a game theoretical model for the evolution of mind-reading strategies, used to predict and respond to others’ behavior. In particular we explore the evolutionary scenarios favoring simulative strategies, which recruit overlapping neural circuits when performing as well as when observing a specific behavior. We show that these mechanisms are advantageous in complex environments, by allowing an observer to use information about its own behavior to interpret that of others. However, without inhibition of the recruited neural circuits, the observer would perform the corresponding downstream action, rather than produce the appropriate social response. We identify evolutionary trade-offs that could hinder this inhibition, leading to emotional contagion as a by-product of mind-reading. The interaction of this model with kinship is complex. We show that empathy likely evolved in a scenario where kin- and other indirect benefits co-opt strategies originally evolved for mind-reading, and that this model explains observed patterns of emotional contagion with kin or group members.