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Montgomery TM, Lehmann KDS, Gregg S, Keyser K, McTigue LE, Beehner JC, Holekamp KE. Determinants of hyena participation in risky collective action. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231390. [PMID: 38018101 PMCID: PMC10685128 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective action problems arise when cooperating individuals suffer costs of cooperation, while the benefits of cooperation are received by both cooperators and defectors. We address this problem using data from spotted hyenas fighting with lions. Lions are much larger and kill many hyenas, so these fights require cooperative mobbing by hyenas for them to succeed. We identify factors that predict when hyena groups engage in cooperative fights with lions, which individuals choose to participate and how the benefits of victory are distributed among cooperators and non-cooperators. We find that cooperative mobbing is better predicted by lower costs (no male lions, more hyenas) than higher benefits (need for food). Individual participation is facilitated by social factors, both over the long term (close kin, social bond strength) and the short term (greeting interactions prior to cooperation). Finally, we find some direct benefits of participation: after cooperation, participants were more likely to feed at contested carcasses than non-participants. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that, when animals face dangerous cooperative dilemmas, selection favours flexible strategies that are sensitive to dynamic factors emerging over multiple time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M. Montgomery
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, Bücklestraße 5a, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kenna D. S. Lehmann
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Human Biology Program, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Samantha Gregg
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Kathleen Keyser
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Leah E. McTigue
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, Colorado State University, 240 W Prospect St, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | - Jacinta C. Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kay E. Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
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2
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Smith EA, Smith JE, Codding BF. Toward an evolutionary ecology of (in)equality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220287. [PMID: 37381851 PMCID: PMC10291428 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Inequality is increasingly recognized as a major problem in contemporary society. The causes and consequences of inequality in wealth and power have long been central concerns in the social sciences, whereas comparable research in biology has focused on dominance and reproductive skew. This theme issue builds on these existing research traditions, exploring ways they might enrich each other, with evolutionary ecology as a possibly unifying framework. Contributors investigate ways in which inequality is resisted or avoided and developed or imposed in societies of past and contemporary humans, as well as a variety of social mammals. Particular attention is paid to systematic, socially driven inequality in wealth (defined broadly) and the effects this has on differential power, health, survival and reproduction. Analyses include field studies, simulations, archaeological and ethnographic case studies, and analytical models. The results reveal similarities and divergences between human and non-human patterns in wealth, power and social dynamics. We draw on these insights to present a unifying conceptual framework for analysing the evolutionary ecology of (in)equality, with the hope of both understanding the past and improving our collective future. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Alden Smith
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jennifer E Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, 105 Garfield Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54702, USA
| | - Brian F Codding
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeological Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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3
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David-Barrett T. Human group size puzzle: why it is odd that we live in large societies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230559. [PMID: 37593705 PMCID: PMC10427830 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Human groups tend to be much larger than those of non-human primates. This is a puzzle. When ecological factors do not limit primate group size, the problem of coordination creates an upper threshold even when cooperation is guaranteed. This paper offers a model of group coordination towards behavioural synchrony to spell out the mechanics of group size limits, and thus shows why it is odd that humans live in large societies. The findings suggest that many of our species' evolved social behaviours and culturally maintained social technologies emerged as solutions to this problem.
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4
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Zhang KM, Shen Y, Jia CH, Wang H, Bi GQ, Lau PM. A new paradigm of learned cooperation reveals extensive social coordination and specific cortical activation in mice. Mol Brain 2023; 16:40. [PMID: 37170174 PMCID: PMC10176944 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-023-01032-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperation is a social behavior crucial for the survival of many species, including humans. Several experimental paradigms have been established to study cooperative behavior and related neural activity in different animal species. Although mice exhibit limited cooperative capacity in some behavioral paradigms, it is still interesting to explore their cooperative behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we developed a new paradigm for training and testing cooperative behavior in mice based on coordinated lever-pressing and analyzed social interactions between the animals during cooperation. We observed extensive social contact and waiting behavior in cooperating animals, with the number of such events positively correlated with the success of cooperation. Using c-Fos immunostaining and a high-speed volumetric imaging with synchronized on-the-fly scan and readout (VISoR) system, we further mapped whole-brain neuronal activity trace following cooperation. Significantly higher levels of c-Fos expression were observed in cortical areas including the frontal pole, motor cortex, anterior cingulate area, and prelimbic area. These observations highlight social interaction and coordination in cooperative behavior and provide clues for further study of the underlying neural circuitry mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Ming Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China
| | - Yan Shen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China
- Interdisciplinary Center for Brain Information, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Chun-Hui Jia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China
| | - Hao Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology and Application, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China
| | - Guo-Qiang Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China.
- Interdisciplinary Center for Brain Information, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China.
| | - Pak-Ming Lau
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026, Hefei, China.
- Interdisciplinary Center for Brain Information, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China.
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5
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The current state of carnivore cognition. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:37-58. [PMID: 36333496 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01709-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The field of animal cognition has advanced rapidly in the last 25 years. Through careful and creative studies of animals in captivity and in the wild, we have gained critical insights into the evolution of intelligence, the cognitive capacities of a diverse array of taxa, and the importance of ecological and social environments, as well as individual variation, in the expression of cognitive abilities. The field of animal cognition, however, is still being influenced by some historical tendencies. For example, primates and birds are still the majority of study species in the field of animal cognition. Studies of diverse taxa improve the generalizability of our results, are critical for testing evolutionary hypotheses, and open new paths for understanding cognition in species with vastly different morphologies. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge of cognition in mammalian carnivores. We discuss the advantages of studying cognition in Carnivorans and the immense progress that has been made across many cognitive domains in both lab and field studies of carnivores. We also discuss the current constraints that are associated with studying carnivores. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in studies of carnivore cognition.
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Bangerter A, Genty E, Heesen R, Rossano F, Zuberbühler K. Every product needs a process: unpacking joint commitment as a process across species. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210095. [PMID: 35876205 PMCID: PMC9310187 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Joint commitment, the feeling of mutual obligation binding participants in a joint action, is typically conceptualized as arising by the expression and acceptance of a promise. This account limits the possibilities of investigating fledgling forms of joint commitment in actors linguistically less well-endowed than adult humans. The feeling of mutual obligation is one aspect of joint commitment (the product), which emerges from a process of signal exchange. It is gradual rather than binary; feelings of mutual obligation can vary in strength according to how explicit commitments are perceived to be. Joint commitment processes are more complex than simple promising, in at least three ways. They are affected by prior joint actions, which create precedents and conventions that can be embodied in material arrangements of institutions. Joint commitment processes also arise as solutions to generic coordination problems related to opening up, maintaining and closing down joint actions. Finally, during joint actions, additional, specific commitments are made piecemeal. These stack up over time and persist, making it difficult for participants to disengage from joint actions. These complexifications open up new perspectives for assessing joint commitment across species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Revisiting the human 'interaction engine': comparative approaches to social action coordination'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Bangerter
- Institute of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Emilie Genty
- Institute of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | | | - Federico Rossano
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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7
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Liu S, Lever G, Wang Z, Merel J, Eslami SMA, Hennes D, Czarnecki WM, Tassa Y, Omidshafiei S, Abdolmaleki A, Siegel NY, Hasenclever L, Marris L, Tunyasuvunakool S, Song HF, Wulfmeier M, Muller P, Haarnoja T, Tracey B, Tuyls K, Graepel T, Heess N. From motor control to team play in simulated humanoid football. Sci Robot 2022; 7:eabo0235. [PMID: 36044556 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abo0235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Learning to combine control at the level of joint torques with longer-term goal-directed behavior is a long-standing challenge for physically embodied artificial agents. Intelligent behavior in the physical world unfolds across multiple spatial and temporal scales: Although movements are ultimately executed at the level of instantaneous muscle tensions or joint torques, they must be selected to serve goals that are defined on much longer time scales and that often involve complex interactions with the environment and other agents. Recent research has demonstrated the potential of learning-based approaches applied to the respective problems of complex movement, long-term planning, and multiagent coordination. However, their integration traditionally required the design and optimization of independent subsystems and remains challenging. In this work, we tackled the integration of motor control and long-horizon decision-making in the context of simulated humanoid football, which requires agile motor control and multiagent coordination. We optimized teams of agents to play simulated football via reinforcement learning, constraining the solution space to that of plausible movements learned using human motion capture data. They were trained to maximize several environment rewards and to imitate pretrained football-specific skills if doing so led to improved performance. The result is a team of coordinated humanoid football players that exhibit complex behavior at different scales, quantified by a range of analysis and statistics, including those used in real-world sport analytics. Our work constitutes a complete demonstration of learned integrated decision-making at multiple scales in a multiagent setting.
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8
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Cooperation and cognition in wild canids. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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9
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Johnson-Ulrich L, Johnson-Ulrich Z, Holekamp KE. Natural conditions and adaptive functions of problem-solving in the Carnivora. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Daujeard C, Prat S. What Are the “Costs and Benefits” of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution? The Challenging Contribution of Behavioral Ecology to Archeology. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.834638] [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
Despite the omnivorous diet of most human populations, meat foraging gradually increased during the Paleolithic, in parallel with the development of hunting capacities. There is evidence of regular meat consumption by extinct hominins from 2 Ma onward, with the first occurrence prior to 3 Ma in Eastern Africa. The number of sites with cut-marked animal remains and stone tools increased after 2 Ma. In addition, toolkits became increasingly complex, and various, facilitating carcass defleshing and marrow recovery, the removal of quarters of meat to avoid carnivore competition, and allowing the emergence of cooperative (i.e., social) hunting of large herbivores. How can we assess the energy costs and benefits of meat and fat acquisition and consumption for hunter-gatherers in the past, and is it possible to accurately evaluate them? Answering this question would provide a better understanding of extinct hominin land use, food resource management, foraging strategies, and cognitive abilities related to meat and fat acquisition, processing, and consumption. According to the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT), resources may be chosen primarily on the basis of their efficiency rank in term of calories. But, could other factors, and not only calorific return, prevail in the choice of prey, such as the acquisition of non-food products, like pelts, bone tools or ornaments, or symbolic or traditional uses? Our main goal here is to question the direct application of behavioral ecology data to archeology. For this purpose, we focus on the issue of animal meat and fat consumption in human evolution. We propose a short review of available data from energetics and ethnographic records, and provide examples of several various-sized extant animals, such as elephants, reindeer, or lagomorphs, which were some of the most common preys of Paleolithic hominins.
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11
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Smith JE, Natterson-Horowitz B, Alfaro ME. The nature of privilege: intergenerational wealth in animal societies. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Wealth inequality is widespread across human societies, from pastoral and small-scale agricultural groups to large modern social structures. The intergenerational transfer of wealth privileges some individuals over others through the transmission of resources external to an individual organism. Privileged access to household wealth (e.g., land, shelter, silver) positively influences the destinies of some (and their descendants) over others in human societies. Strikingly parallel phenomena exist in animal societies. Inheritance of nongenetic commodities (e.g., a nest, territory, tool) external to an individual also contributes greatly to direct fitness in animals. Here, we illustrate the evolutionary diversity of privilege and its disparity-generating effects on the evolutionary trajectories of lineages across the Tree of Life. We propose that integration of approaches used to study these patterns in humans may offer new insights into a core principle from behavioral ecology—differential access to inherited resources—and help to establish a broad, comparative framework for studying inequality in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - B Natterson-Horowitz
- School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael E Alfaro
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Abstract
Conflicts are ubiquitous between individuals as well as between groups. Effective conflict resolution is essential for individual well-being and group functioning and often involves leadership dynamics. The evolutionary human sciences have suggested that conflict resolution is shaped by psychological heuristics, norms and ecology. There are limited empirical data, however, on conflict resolution across cultures. Using a cross-cultural database of 109 leadership dimensions coded from over 1200 text records from the eHRAF ethnographic database, exploratory analyses investigated correlates of conflict resolution. The results revealed greater evidence of conflict resolution among kin groups than political groups and greater evidence of within-group conflict resolution than between-group, which did not vary across subsistence strategies or group contexts, with two exceptions - military group conflicts were biased towards between-group contexts and religious groups biased towards within-group contexts. The strongest predictors of conflict-resolution services were other prosocial functions and included group representation and providing counsel, protection and punishment, as well as qualities of interpersonal skills and fairness. Followers received social service benefits and reduced risk of harm. For leaders who resolve conflicts, status and social benefits were potential negative predictors. These results provide a comparative view of the correlates of conflict resolution suggesting diversity across social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary H. Garfield
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université de Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
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13
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Smith JE, von Rueden CR, van Vugt M, Fichtel C, Kappeler PM. An Evolutionary Explanation for the Female Leadership Paradox. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.676805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social influence is distributed unequally between males and females in many mammalian societies. In human societies, gender inequality is particularly evident in access to leadership positions. Understanding why women historically and cross-culturally have tended to be under-represented as leaders within human groups and organizations represents a paradox because we lack evidence that women leaders consistently perform worse than men. We also know that women exercise overt influence in collective group-decisions within small-scale human societies, and that female leadership is pervasive in particular contexts across non-human mammalian societies. Here, we offer a transdisciplinary perspective on this female leadership paradox. Synthesis of social science and biological literatures suggests that females and males, on average, differ in why and how they compete for access to political leadership in mixed-gender groups. These differences are influenced by sexual selection and are moderated by socioecological variation across development and, particularly in human societies, by culturally transmitted norms and institutions. The interplay of these forces contributes to the emergence of female leaders within and across species. Furthermore, females may regularly exercise influence on group decisions in less conspicuous ways and different domains than males, and these underappreciated forms of leadership require more study. We offer a comprehensive framework for studying inequality between females and males in access to leadership positions, and we discuss the implications of this approach for understanding the female leadership paradox and for redressing gender inequality in leadership in humans.
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14
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Are free-ranging Kune Kune pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) able to solve a cooperative task? Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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15
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Lélias ML, Lemasson A, Lodé T. Social organization of otters in relation to their ecology. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Otter species are known to fluctuate intraspecifically from a solitary lifestyle to group-living arrangements. By examining what is known about habitat use and foraging style in otters of 13 different species, based on 93 studied sites, we assessed (1) the relationship between social habits and preferred habitats, (2) the relationship between species and prey preferences, and (3) the effect of predator avoidance on their social organization in order to assess the socio-ecological factors influencing otters. Females remain the core of their social stability. We show the major influence of habitats and feeding strategies (i.e. socio-ecology) of otters. The different species of solitary otters most often inhabit linear environments, such as freshwater ecosystems or wave-exposed marine coasts, and their habitat is often subject to disturbances that fragment their functional continuity. Social otters are more often found in extensive habitats with high plant cover, regular food resources and in areas with large predators compared to solitary species. The maintenance of regular resources and the fact that the main trophic resources are replenished rapidly might be determining factors driving sociality. Group-living and bachelor congregations among otters can also respond to pressure from large predators. This suggests that foraging, habitat use and the presence of large predators may be the drivers of sociality in otters. We conclude that most otters have a greater social potential than previously assumed, which is confirmed by their various vocalizations recently described.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alban Lemasson
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552, Rennes, France
| | - Thierry Lodé
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552, Rennes, France
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Ben-Dor M, Sirtoli R, Barkai R. The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:27-56. [PMID: 33675083 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve, explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and culture. Previous attempts to reconstruct the HTL have relied heavily on an analogy with recent hunter-gatherer groups' diets. In addition to technological differences, recent findings of substantial ecological differences between the Pleistocene and the Anthropocene cast doubt regarding that analogy's validity. Surprisingly little systematic evolution-guided evidence served to reconstruct HTL. Here, we reconstruct the HTL during the Pleistocene by reviewing evidence for the impact of the HTL on the biological, ecological, and behavioral systems derived from various existing studies. We adapt a paleobiological and paleoecological approach, including evidence from human physiology and genetics, archaeology, paleontology, and zoology, and identified 25 sources of evidence in total. The evidence shows that the trophic level of the Homo lineage that most probably led to modern humans evolved from a low base to a high, carnivorous position during the Pleistocene, beginning with Homo habilis and peaking in Homo erectus. A reversal of that trend appears in the Upper Paleolithic, strengthening in the Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic and Neolithic, and culminating with the advent of agriculture. We conclude that it is possible to reach a credible reconstruction of the HTL without relying on a simple analogy with recent hunter-gatherers' diets. The memory of an adaptation to a trophic level that is embedded in modern humans' biology in the form of genetics, metabolism, and morphology is a fruitful line of investigation of past HTLs, whose potential we have only started to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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17
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Kea, Nestor notabilis, achieve cooperation in dyads, triads, and tetrads when dominants show restraint. Learn Behav 2021; 49:36-53. [PMID: 33532988 PMCID: PMC7979628 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-021-00462-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Animal cooperation in the wild often involves multiple individuals that must tolerate each other in close proximity. However, most cooperation experiments in the lab are done with two animals, that are often also physically separated. Such experiments are useful for answering some pertinent questions, for example about the understanding of the role of the partner and strategies of partner control, but say little about factors determining successful cooperation with multiple partners in group settings. We explored the influence of dominance, rank distance, tolerance, affiliation, and coordination by testing kea parrots with a box requiring two, three, or four chains to be pulled simultaneously to access food rewards. The reward could be divided unevenly, but not monopolized completely. Eventually dyadic, triadic, and tetradic cooperation tasks were solved, showing that non-human animals are capable of tetradic cooperation in an experimental setup. Starting with two chains, we found that in a dyad monopolization of the box by the highest-ranking bird was the largest obstacle preventing successful cooperation. High-ranking birds learned to restrain themselves from monopolizing the box during a single session in which monopolization was hindered by the presence of a large number of birds. Thereafter, restraint by dominants remained the strongest factor determining success in the first trial in dyadic, triadic, and tetradic setups. The probability of success increased with the degree of restraint shown by all dominant subjects present. Previous experience with the task contributed to success in subsequent sessions, while increasing rank distance reduced success notably in the four-chain setup.
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19
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Duguid S, Melis AP. How animals collaborate: Underlying proximate mechanisms. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2020; 11:e1529. [PMID: 32342659 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Collaboration or social interactions in which two or more individuals coordinate their behavior to produce outcomes from which both individuals benefit are common in nature. Individuals from many species hunt together, defend their territory, and form coalitions in intragroup competition. However, we still know very little about the proximate mechanisms underlying these behaviors. Recent theories of human cognitive evolution have emphasized the role collaboration may have played in the selection of socio-cognitive skills. It has been argued that the capacity to form shared goals and joint intentions with others, is what allows humans to collaborate so flexibly and efficiently. Although there is no evidence that nonhuman animals are capable of shared intentionality, there is conceivably a wide range of proximate mechanisms that support forms of, potentially flexible, collaboration in other species. We review the experimental literature with the aim of evaluating what we know about how other species achieve collaboration; with a particular focus on chimpanzees. We structure the review with a new categorization of collaborative behavior that focuses on whether individuals intentionally coordinate actions with others. We conclude that for a wider comparative perspective we need more data from other species but the findings so far suggest that chimpanzees, and possibly other great apes, are capable of understanding the causal role of a partner in collaboration. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Psychology > Comparative Psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shona Duguid
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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Schwing R, Reuillon L, Conrad M, Noë R, Huber L. Paying attention pays off: Kea improve in loose‐string cooperation by attending to partner. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Schwing
- Comparative Cognition Unit Messerli Research Institute University of Veterinary Medicine Medical University Vienna University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Haidlhof Research Station University of Veterinary Medicine University of Vienna Bad Vöslau Austria
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria
| | - Laurine Reuillon
- Haidlhof Research Station University of Veterinary Medicine University of Vienna Bad Vöslau Austria
- Psychologie University of Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Mareike Conrad
- Haidlhof Research Station University of Veterinary Medicine University of Vienna Bad Vöslau Austria
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria
| | - Ronald Noë
- Psychologie University of Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Comparative Cognition Unit Messerli Research Institute University of Veterinary Medicine Medical University Vienna University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Haidlhof Research Station University of Veterinary Medicine University of Vienna Bad Vöslau Austria
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria
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Freeberg TM, Gentry KE, Sieving KE, Lucas JR. On understanding the nature and evolution of social cognition: a need for the study of communication. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Holekamp KE, Sawdy MA. The evolution of matrilineal social systems in fissiped carnivores. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180065. [PMID: 31303158 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We review matrilineal relationships in the societies of fissiped mammalian carnivores, focusing on how the most complex of these may have evolved from simpler systems. Although competition for food is very intense at the trophic level occupied by most carnivores, and although most species of extant fissiped carnivores therefore lead solitary lives, some species show at least rudimentary clustering of maternal kin and matrilineal resource-sharing or transmission of critical resources between generations. The resources shared or transmitted range from individual food items and territories to entire networks of potential allies. The greatest elaboration of matrilineal relationships has occurred in two large carnivores, lions and spotted hyenas, which occur sympatrically throughout much of Africa. The societies of both these species apparently evolved in response to a shared suite of ecological conditions. The highly matrilineal societies of spotted hyenas are unique among carnivores and closely resemble the societies of many cercopithecine primates. The conditions favouring the evolution of matrilineal societies in carnivores include male-biased dispersal, female philopatry, the need for assistance in protecting or provisioning offspring, reliance on large or abundant prey, particularly in open habitat, high population density and kin-structured cooperative interactions that have strong positive effects on fitness. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay E Holekamp
- 1 Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA.,2 Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA
| | - Maggie A Sawdy
- 1 Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA.,2 Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT. With a little help from her friends (and family) part I: the ecology and evolution of non-maternal care in mammals. Physiol Behav 2019; 193:1-11. [PMID: 29933836 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In the class Mammalia, most young are cared for exclusively by their mothers. In species where mothers receive help, however, non-maternal caregivers may play a crucial role in development and life history trajectories. In turn, recipients of such care may have important impacts on caregivers of all types. In Part I of this overview, we briefly review the evolutionary barriers to widespread non-maternal care in mammals, and explain why the exceptions are of particular theoretical importance. We also summarize the current understanding of the selective forces leading to non-maternal care, and the taxa and types of caretakers amongst which it occurs. Finally, we argue for a fresh look at the categorization schemes that have traditionally been used to separate various types of mammalian non-maternal caregivers. This two-part introduction is aimed at scientists from multiple disciplines who study diverse organismal systems. It draws from the social and biological sciences literatures to provide an overview of this special issue of Physiology and Behavior's suite of methodological offerings and theoretical underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States; The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
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Abstract
The evolution in animals of a first possession convention, in which individuals retain what they are the first to acquire, has often been taken as a foundation for the evolution of human ownership institutions. However, among humans, individuals actually only seldom retain an item they have acquired from the environment, instead typically transferring what they possess to other members of the community, to those in command, or to those who hold a contractual title. This paper presents a novel game-theoretic model of the evolution of ownership institutions as rules governing resource transfers. Integrating existing findings, the model contributes a new perspective on the emergence of communal transfers among hominin large game hunters around 200,000 years ago, of command ownership among sedentary humans in the millennia prior to the transition to agriculture, and of titled property ownership around 5,500 years ago. Since today's property institutions motivate transfers through the promise of future returns, the analysis presented here suggests that these institutions may be placed under considerable pressure should resources become significantly constrained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tilman Hartley
- School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Jacobs LF. The navigational nose: a new hypothesis for the function of the human external pyramid. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:222/Suppl_1/jeb186924. [PMID: 30728230 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.186924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
One of the outstanding questions in evolution is why Homo erectus became the first primate species to evolve the external pyramid, i.e. an external nose. The accepted hypothesis for this trait has been its role in respiration, to warm and humidify air as it is inspired. However, new studies testing the key assumptions of the conditioning hypothesis, such as the importance of turbulence to enhance heat and moisture exchange, have called this hypothesis into question. The human nose has two functions, however, respiration and olfaction. It is thus also possible that the external nose evolved in response to selection for olfaction. The genus Homo had many adaptations for long-distance locomotion, which allowed Homo erectus to greatly expand its species range, from Africa to Asia. Long-distance navigation in birds and other species is often accomplished by orientation to environmental odors. Such olfactory navigation, in turn, is enhanced by stereo olfaction, made possible by the separation of the olfactory sensors. By these principles, the human external nose could have evolved to separate olfactory inputs to enhance stereo olfaction. This could also explain why nose shape later became so variable: as humans became more sedentary in the Neolithic, a decreasing need for long-distance movements could have been replaced by selection for other olfactory functions, such as detecting disease, that would have been critical to survival in newly dense human settlements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia F Jacobs
- Department of Psychology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
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Physiological mechanisms mediating patterns of reproductive suppression and alloparental care in cooperatively breeding carnivores. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:167-178. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Revised: 10/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Burkart JM, van Schaik C, Griesser M. Looking for unity in diversity: human cooperative childcare in comparative perspective. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1184. [PMID: 29237848 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans engage in cooperative childcare, which includes some elements not found in other animals, such as the presence of post-reproductive helpers, extensive food sharing among adults and a pervasive sexual division of labour. In animals, cooperative offspring care has typically been studied in two different contexts. The first mainly involves helpers contributing care in cooperatively breeding family groups; the second context is allomaternal care in species usually not categorized as cooperative breeders (e.g. plural and communal breeders, often without male care). Comparative analyses suggest that cooperative breeding and allomaternal care in plural and communal breeders have distinct evolutionary origins, with humans fitting neither pathway entirely. Nevertheless, some critical proximate mechanisms of helping, including hormonal regulators, are likely to be shared across species. Other mechanisms may vary among species, such as social tolerance, proactive prosociality or conditional mother-infant bonding. These are presumably associated with specific details of the care system, such as whether all group members contribute, or whether mothers can potentially raise offspring alone. Thus, cooperative offspring care is seen in different contexts across animal lineages, but may nonetheless share several important psychological characteristics. We end by discussing how work on humans may play a unifying role in studying cooperative offspring care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith M Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carel van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Griesser
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, Krakow 30-387, Poland
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Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT. Introduction to the special column: communication, cooperation, and cognition in predators. Curr Zool 2017; 63:295-299. [PMID: 29491988 PMCID: PMC5804181 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zox027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
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Smith JE, Lehmann KDS, Montgomery TM, Strauss ED, Holekamp KE. Insights from long‐term field studies of mammalian carnivores. J Mammal 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyw194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
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Reisinger RR, Beukes (née Janse van Rensburg) C, Hoelzel AR, de Bruyn PN. Kinship and association in a highly social apex predator population, killer whales at Marion Island. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Behaviour of the Pleistocene marsupial lion deduced from claw marks in a southwestern Australian cave. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21372. [PMID: 26876952 PMCID: PMC4753435 DOI: 10.1038/srep21372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, was the largest-ever marsupial carnivore, and is one of the most iconic extinct Australian vertebrates. With a highly-specialised dentition, powerful forelimbs and a robust build, its overall morphology is not approached by any other mammal. However, despite >150 years of attention, fundamental aspects of its biology remain unresolved. Here we analyse an assemblage of claw marks preserved on surfaces in a cave and deduce that they were generated by marsupial lions. The distribution and skewed size range of claw marks within the cave elucidate two key aspects of marsupial lion biology: they were excellent climbers and reared young in caves. Scrutiny of >10,000 co-located Pleistocene bones reveals few if any marsupial lion tooth marks, which dovetails with the morphology-based interpretation of the species as a flesh specialist.
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Bradshaw JW, Blackwell EJ, Casey RA. Dominance in domestic dogs—A response to Schilder et al. (2014). J Vet Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2015.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Noonan MJ, Newman C, Buesching CD, Macdonald DW. Evolution and function of fossoriality in the Carnivora: implications for group-living. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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36
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Leroy F, Praet I. Meat traditions. The co-evolution of humans and meat. Appetite 2015; 90:200-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2014] [Revised: 03/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Holekamp KE, Dantzer B, Stricker G, Shaw Yoshida KC, Benson-Amram S. Brains, brawn and sociality: a hyaena's tale. Anim Behav 2015; 103:237-248. [PMID: 26160980 PMCID: PMC4493912 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Theoretically intelligence should evolve to help animals solve specific types of problems posed by the environment, but it remains unclear how environmental complexity or novelty facilitates the evolutionary enhancement of cognitive abilities, or whether domain-general intelligence can evolve in response to domain-specific selection pressures. The social complexity hypothesis, which posits that intelligence evolved to cope with the labile behaviour of conspecific group-mates, has been strongly supported by work on the sociocognitive abilities of primates and other animals. Here we review the remarkable convergence in social complexity between cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas, and describe our tests of predictions of the social complexity hypothesis in regard to both cognition and brain size in hyaenas. Behavioural data indicate that there has been remarkable convergence between primates and hyaenas with respect to their abilities in the domain of social cognition. Furthermore, within the family Hyaenidae, our data suggest that social complexity might have contributed to enlargement of the frontal cortex. However, social complexity failed to predict either brain volume or frontal cortex volume in a larger array of mammalian carnivores. To address the question of whether or not social complexity might be able to explain the evolution of domain-general intelligence as well as social cognition in particular, we presented simple puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species housed in zoos and found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more innovative and more successful at opening the boxes. However, social complexity failed to predict success in solving this problem. Overall our work suggests that, although social complexity enhances social cognition, there are no unambiguous causal links between social complexity and either brain size or performance in problem-solving tasks outside the social domain in mammalian carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay E. Holekamp
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A
| | - Gregory Stricker
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
| | | | - Sarah Benson-Amram
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, U.S.A
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, U.S.A
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Cofran Z, DeSilva JM. A neonatal perspective on Homo erectus brain growth. J Hum Evol 2015; 81:41-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Revised: 02/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Antón SC, Potts R, Aiello LC. Evolution of earlyHomo: An integrated biological perspective. Science 2014; 345:1236828. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1236828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Integration of evidence over the past decade has revised understandings about the major adaptations underlying the origin and early evolution of the genusHomo. Many features associated withHomo sapiens, including our large linear bodies, elongated hind limbs, large energy-expensive brains, reduced sexual dimorphism, increased carnivory, and unique life history traits, were once thought to have evolved near the origin of the genus in response to heightened aridity and open habitats in Africa. However, recent analyses of fossil, archaeological, and environmental data indicate that such traits did not arise as a single package. Instead, some arose substantially earlier and some later than previously thought. From ~2.5 to 1.5 million years ago, three lineages of earlyHomoevolved in a context of habitat instability and fragmentation on seasonal, intergenerational, and evolutionary time scales. These contexts gave a selective advantage to traits, such as dietary flexibility and larger body size, that facilitated survival in shifting environments.
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Swanson EM, Snell-Rood EC. A Molecular Signaling Approach to Linking Intraspecific Variation and Macro-evolutionary Patterns. Integr Comp Biol 2014; 54:805-21. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icu057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
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How to learn about teaching: An evolutionary framework for the study of teaching behavior in humans and other animals. Behav Brain Sci 2014; 38:e31. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x14000090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe human species is more reliant on cultural adaptation than any other species, but it is unclear how observational learning can give rise to the faithful transmission of cultural adaptations. One possibility is that teaching facilitates accurate social transmission by narrowing the range of inferences that learners make. However, there is wide disagreement about how to define teaching, and how to interpret the empirical evidence for teaching across cultures and species. In this article I argue that disputes about the nature and prevalence of teaching across human societies and nonhuman animals are based on a number of deep-rooted theoretical differences between fields, as well as on important differences in how teaching is defined. To reconcile these disparate bodies of research, I review the three major approaches to the study of teaching – mentalistic, culture-based, and functionalist – and outline the research questions about teaching that each addresses. I then argue for a new, integrated framework that differentiates between teaching types according to the specific adaptive problems that each type solves, and apply this framework to restructure current empirical evidence on teaching in humans and nonhuman animals. This integrative framework generates novel insights, with broad implications for the study of the evolution of teaching, including the roles of cognitive constraints and cooperative dilemmas in how and when teaching evolves. Finally, I propose an explanation for why some types of teaching are uniquely human, and discuss new directions for research motivated by this framework.
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Raymond B, Bonsall MB. Cooperation and the evolutionary ecology of bacterial virulence: TheBacillus cereusgroup as a novel study system. Bioessays 2013; 35:706-16. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201300028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ben Raymond
- School of Biological Sciences; Royal Holloway University of London; Egham UK
| | - Michael B. Bonsall
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
- St. Peter's College; Oxford UK
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44
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Van Arsdale AP. A Shifting Theoretical Framework for Biological Anthropology in 2012. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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45
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Plavcan JM. Body Size, Size Variation, and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Early Homo. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1086/667605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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