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Maeda T, Yamamoto S. Drone Observation for the Quantitative Study of Complex Multilevel Societies. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1911. [PMID: 37370421 DOI: 10.3390/ani13121911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have recently been used in various behavioral ecology studies. However, their application has been limited to single groups, and most studies have not implemented individual identification. A multilevel society refers to a social structure in which small stable "core units" gather and make a larger, multiple-unit group. Here, we introduce recent applications of drone technology and individual identification to complex social structures involving multiple groups, such as multilevel societies. Drones made it possible to obtain the identification, accurate positioning, or movement of more than a hundred individuals in a multilevel social group. In addition, in multilevel social groups, drones facilitate the observation of heterogeneous spatial positioning patterns and mechanisms of behavioral propagation, which are different from those in a single-level group. Such findings may contribute to the quantitative definition and assessment of multilevel societies and enhance our understanding of mechanisms of multiple group aggregation. The application of drones to various species may resolve various questions related to multilevel societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamao Maeda
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8203, Japan
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University of Advanced Science (SOKENDAI), Hayama 240-0193, Japan
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Institute of Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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Wang T, Kong Y, Zhang H, Li Y, Hou R, Dunn DW, Hou X, Huang K, Li B. Do golden snub-nosed monkeys use deceptive alarm calls during competition for food? iScience 2023; 26:106098. [PMID: 36852160 PMCID: PMC9958509 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Tactical deception can be beneficial for social animals during intra-specific competition. However, the use of tactical deception in wild mammals is predicted to be rare. We tested whether a food-provisioned free-ranging band of golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) use alarm calls in a functionally deceptive manner to gain access to food resources, whether the rate of deceptive alarm calls varies among individuals, and whether there are any counter-deception behaviors. We used a hexagonal camera array consisting of 10 cameras to record videos during feeding, which allowed us to identify individual alarm callers. We found evidence that these monkeys use deceptive alarms and that adult females were more likely to use such calls than other individuals. The monkeys increased their rates of response to alarm calls when competition for food was high. However, we found no direct evidence of any counter-deception strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiantian Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China,Qingyang No.6 Middle School, Qingyang 745000, China
| | - Yuchen Kong
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - He Zhang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - Yuhang Li
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - Rong Hou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - Derek W. Dunn
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - Xiduo Hou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
| | - Kang Huang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China,Corresponding author
| | - Baoguo Li
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
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Williams L, Shultz S, Jensen K. The primate workplace: Cooperative decision-making in human and non-human primates. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.887187] [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
The success of group foraging in primates is not only determined by ecological and social factors. It is also influenced by cognition. Group foraging success is constrained, for instance, by the challenges of coordination, synchrony and decision-making, and it is enhanced by the ability to share, learn from others and coordinate actions. However, what we currently know about the cognition of individuals in groups comes primarily from experiments on dyads, and what we know of the effect of ecological factors on group dynamics comes from larger wild groups. Our current knowledge of primate group behaviour is thus incomplete. In this review, we identify a gap in our knowledge of primate group dynamics between the dyadic studies on primate cooperation and the large group observational studies of behavioural ecology. We highlight the potential for controlled experimental studies on coordination and cooperation in primate groups. Currently, these exist primarily as studies of dyads, and these do not go far enough in testing limits of group-level behaviours. Controlled studies on primate groups beyond the dyad would be highly informative regarding the bounds of non-human primate collaboration. We look to the literature on how humans behave in groups, specifically from organisational psychology, draw parallels between human and non-human group dynamics and highlight approaches that could be applied across disciplines. Organisational psychology is explicitly concerned with the interactions between individuals in a group and the emergent properties at the group-level of these decisions. We propose that some of the major shortfalls in our understanding of primate social cognition and group dynamics can be filled by using approaches developed by organisational psychologists, particularly regarding the effects of group size and composition on group-level cooperation. To illustrate the potential applications, we provide a list of research questions drawn from organisational psychology that could be applied to non-human primates.
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Montanari D, O’Hearn WJ, Hambuckers J, Fischer J, Zinner D. Coordination during group departures and progressions in the tolerant multi-level society of wild Guinea baboons (Papio papio). Sci Rep 2021; 11:21938. [PMID: 34754018 PMCID: PMC8578668 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01356-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective movement of social groups requires coordination between individuals. When cohesion is imperative, consensus must be reached, and specific individuals may exert disproportionate influence during decision-making. Animals living in multi-level societies, however, often split into consistent social subunits during travel, which may impact group coordination processes. We studied collective movement in the socially tolerant multi-level society of Guinea baboons (Papio papio). Using 146 group departures and 100 group progressions from 131 Guinea baboons ranging in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park, we examined individual success at initiating group departures and position within progressions. Two-thirds of attempted departures were initiated by adult males and one third by adult females. Both sexes were equally successful at initiating departures (> 80% of initiations). During group progressions, bachelor males were predominantly found in front, while reproductively active 'primary' males and females were observed with similar frequency across the whole group. The pattern of collective movement in Guinea baboons was more similar to those described for baboons living in uni-level societies than to hamadryas baboons, the only other multi-level baboon species, where males initiate and decide almost all group departures. Social organization alone therefore does not determine which category of individuals influence group coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Montanari
- grid.418215.b0000 0000 8502 7018Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - William J. O’Hearn
- grid.418215.b0000 0000 8502 7018Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julien Hambuckers
- grid.4861.b0000 0001 0805 7253HEC Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Julia Fischer
- grid.418215.b0000 0000 8502 7018Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany ,grid.7450.60000 0001 2364 4210Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany ,grid.511272.2Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- grid.418215.b0000 0000 8502 7018Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany ,grid.7450.60000 0001 2364 4210Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany ,grid.511272.2Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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