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Sommaro LV, Martínez JJ, Chiappero MB, Steinmann AR, Gardenal CN, Priotto JW. Relatedness dynamics and sex-biased dispersal in a seasonal cycle of corn mice from intensively managed agroecosystems. Curr Zool 2024; 70:1-12. [PMID: 38476139 PMCID: PMC10926262 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The sex-biased dispersal and kinship dynamics are important factors shaping the spatial distribution of individuals and are key parameters affecting a variety of ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we studied the spatial distribution of related individuals within a population of corn mice Calomys musculinus in a seasonal cycle to infer dispersal patterns. The sampling was carried out from spring 2005 to winter 2006 in field borders of intensively managed agroecosystems. Genotyping data from 346 individuals with 9 microsatellites showed spatial genetic structure was weak for males, but not for females. The results indicate a complex spatial kinship dynamic of related females across all seasons. Which, contrary to our expectations, dispersal distances decrease with the increase of the population abundance. Meanwhile, male dispersal distances were greater when population abundance increased and thus the availability of active females. Males disperse greater distances to mate and sire offspring with distant females as a possible inbreeding avoidance mechanism. This study shows that C. musculinus is capable of much greater scattering distances than previously reported and that dispersal occurs fluidly and without barriers across the agroecosystem. The indirect benefit of dispersal on individual fitness could be related to relaxing the competition in the natal area and increasing the mating rate. Our study highlights the value of combining genetic relatedness, fieldwork observations, and behavioral data to estimate dispersal at a fine geographical scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia V Sommaro
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva y Biogeografía, Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA), Universidad Nacional de Jujuy - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Juan J Martínez
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva y Biogeografía, Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA), Universidad Nacional de Jujuy - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Marina B Chiappero
- Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Cátedra de Genética de Poblaciones y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Andrea R Steinmann
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Ecología Poblacional y Comportamental (GIEPCO), Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Biodiversidad y Ambiente (ICBIA), Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Cristina N Gardenal
- Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Cátedra de Genética de Poblaciones y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - José W Priotto
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Ecología Poblacional y Comportamental (GIEPCO), Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Biodiversidad y Ambiente (ICBIA), Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
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2
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Post-mating parental behavior trajectories differ across four species of deer mice. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276052. [PMID: 36251655 PMCID: PMC9576063 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Among species, parental behaviors vary in their magnitude, onset relative to reproduction, and sexual dimorphism. In deer mice (genus Peromyscus), while most species are promiscuous with low paternal care, monogamy and biparental care have evolved at least twice under different ecological conditions. Here, in a common laboratory setting, we monitored parental behaviors of males and females of two promiscuous (eastern deer mouse P. maniculatus and white-footed mouse P. leucopus) and two monogamous (oldfield mouse P. polionotus and California mouse P. californicus) species from before mating to after giving birth. In the promiscuous species, females showed parental behaviors largely after parturition, while males showed little parental care. In contrast, both sexes of monogamous species performed parental behaviors. However, while oldfield mice began to display parental behaviors before mating, California mice showed robust parental care behaviors only postpartum. These different parental-care trajectories in the two monogamous species align with their socioecology. Oldfield mice have overlapping home ranges with relatives, so infants they encounter, even if not their own, are likely to be closely related. By contrast, California mice disperse longer distances into exclusive territories with possibly unrelated neighbors, decreasing the inclusive fitness benefits of caring for unfamiliar pups before parenthood. Together, we find that patterns of parental behaviors in Peromyscus are consistent with predictions from inclusive fitness theory.
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3
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Rice MA, Wong GH, Ophir AG. Impacts of spatial learning on male prairie vole mating tactics in seminatural field enclosures are context dependent. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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4
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Batsuren E, Zhang X, Song M, Wan X, Li G, Liu J, Huang S, Zhang Z. Density‐dependent changes of mating system and family structure in Brandt's voles (
Lasiopodomys brandtii
). Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Erdenetuya Batsuren
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Institute of Plant Protection Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
| | - Xin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Mingjing Song
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Comparative Medicine Centre, Ministry of Health Peking Union Medical College Beijing China
| | - Xinru Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Guoliang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Jing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Shuli Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Life Science University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Zhibin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
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5
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Schneeberger K, Eccard JA. Experience of social density during early life is associated with attraction to conspecific odour in the common vole (
Microtus arvalis
). Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karin Schneeberger
- Animal Ecology group University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
- Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology group University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
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6
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Ebensperger LA, Quirici V, Bunster V, León C, Ramírez‐Estrada J, Hayes LD. Effects of Radio‐Collars are not Contingent on Socioecological Conditions in Degus. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luis A. Ebensperger
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
| | - Verónica Quirici
- Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, República 440 Santiago Chile
| | - Valentina Bunster
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
| | - Cecilia León
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
| | - Juan Ramírez‐Estrada
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
| | - Loren D. Hayes
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Sciences University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga 37403 TN USA
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7
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Luna Á, Lois NA, Rodríguez-Martinez S, Palma A, Sanz-Aguilar A, Tella JL, Carrete M. Urban life promotes delayed dispersal and family living in a non-social bird species. Sci Rep 2021; 11:107. [PMID: 33420201 PMCID: PMC7794495 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80344-8] [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] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In some vertebrate species, family units are typically formed when sexually mature individuals delay dispersal and independent breeding to remain as subordinates in a breeding group. This behaviour has been intensively studied in gregarious species but has also been described in non-social species where ecological and evolutionary drivers are less known. Here, we explore factors that favour delayed dispersal and family living and potential benefits associated with this strategy in a non-social, monogamous species (the burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia) occupying urban and rural habitats. Our results show that family units arise when first-year individuals, mainly males, delay their dispersal to stay in their natal nests with their parents. This delayed dispersal, while still uncommon, was more prevalent in urban (7%) than in rural (3%) habitats, and in areas with high conspecific density and productivity. Birds delaying dispersal contributed to the genetic pool of the offspring in 25% of the families analysed, but did not increase the productivity of the nests where they remained. However, their presence was related to an improvement in the body condition of chicks, which was ultimately linked to a slightly positive effect in offspring future survival probabilities. Finally, delayed dispersers were recruited as breeders in high-quality urban territories and closer to their natal nests than individuals dispersing during their first year of life. Thus, our results suggest that delaying dispersal may be mainly related to opportunities to inheriting a good quality territory, especially for males. Our study contributes to understanding the role played by habitat quality in promoting delayed dispersal and family living, not only in social but also non-social species, highlighting its impact in the ecology and evolution of animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Álvaro Luna
- grid.418875.70000 0001 1091 6248Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Nicolás A. Lois
- grid.7345.50000 0001 0056 1981Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina ,grid.423606.50000 0001 1945 2152Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sol Rodríguez-Martinez
- grid.418875.70000 0001 1091 6248Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Antonio Palma
- grid.418875.70000 0001 1091 6248Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Ana Sanz-Aguilar
- grid.466857.e0000 0000 8518 7126Animal Demography and Ecology Unit, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain ,grid.9563.90000 0001 1940 4767Applied Zoology and Conservation Group, University of Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
| | - José L. Tella
- grid.418875.70000 0001 1091 6248Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Martina Carrete
- grid.15449.3d0000 0001 2200 2355Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
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8
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Schradin C, Drouard F, Lemonnier G, Askew R, Olivier CA, Pillay N. Geographic intra-specific variation in social organization is driven by population density. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02896-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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9
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10
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Olazábal DE, Sandberg NY. Variation in the density of oxytocin receptors in the brain as mechanism of adaptation to specific social and reproductive strategies. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 286:113337. [PMID: 31734142 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Most species have predominant forms of social and reproductive behavior driven by many years of selection pressures and evolution. For example, rodent species can live in small or large groups, behave more tolerant or aggressively toward conspecifics (including newborns), and form or not bonds with other members of the group (including sexual partners). Any of those behavioral adaptations could result in good fitness for the species, but could also require compromises such as sharing resources, greater parental investment, increased risk of predation, etc. We propose that the oxytocin (OXT) system, among others neuroendocrine peptides, is at the basis of a neural mechanism that adapts and predisposes species to a particular social and reproductive form of living. In this review we will show evidence that the variability in the density of receptors for OXT (OXTR) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the lateral septum (LS) predisposes species to adopt at least 4 different social and reproductive strategies in rodents. Large or medium size groups with lower conspecific spacing (preferred separation distance maintained by adult conspecifics), and high levels of promiscuity are characterized by low levels of OXTR in the NAc and LS (e.g. Ratus norvegicus, Ctenomys sociabilis, Scotinomys teguina, Cavia porcellus); small size groups with higher conspecific spacing and low levels of promiscuity are characterized by high OXTR in the NAc and the LS (e.g. Peromyscus californicus); large or medium groups with lower conspecific spacing and low levels of promiscuity characterized by high levels of OXTR in the NAc but low levels in the LS (e.g. Microtus ochrogaster, Heterocephalus glaber, Microtus kikuchii); and small or medium size groups with higher conspecific spacing and high levels of promiscuity characterized by low levels of OXTR in the NAc and high OXTR in the LS (e.g. Mus musculus, Ctenomys haigi, Peromyscus maniculatus, Microtus pennsylvanicus, Microtus montanus). Careful analysis of the distribution of OXTR, and other peptides receptors, in the brain can contribute to understand its function but also to predict reproductive and social strategies of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Olazábal
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Natalia Y Sandberg
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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11
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12
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Socias-Martínez L, Kappeler PM. Catalyzing Transitions to Sociality: Ecology Builds on Parental Care. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
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13
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Shuster SM, Willen RM, Keane B, Solomon NG. Alternative Mating Tactics in Socially Monogamous Prairie Voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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14
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Communal breeding affects offspring behaviours associated with a competitive social environment. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16850. [PMID: 30443002 PMCID: PMC6237865 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35089-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Communal breeding is characterised by shared care of offspring produced by more than one female, and can affect the behavioural development of young. The decision to care communally can vary according to local conditions, and has been hypothesised to occur more frequently when social competition is intense. However, it is unknown whether communal rearing of young influences adult behaviours likely to be adaptive under competitive conditions. Here, using a controlled experimental approach, we investigate effects of communal rearing on competitive and exploratory behaviours of adult male house mice. In tests of competitive scent marking, only communally-reared subjects discriminated between related and unrelated rivals, depositing more scent marks in close proximity to unrelated males. Communally-reared subjects also displayed higher exploratory tendencies, with an increased probability of crossing a water barrier, while not exhibiting higher activity levels in an open field test. Since exploration tendencies and discrimination between kin and non-kin are likely to be advantageous when dispersing from the natal territory or in a high density population, our findings suggest that communal rearing prepares male house mice for a competitive social environment. Our results add to growing evidence that the early social environment influences development of important behavioural competences to cope with social challenges later in life.
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15
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Sabol AC, Solomon NG, Dantzer B. How to Study Socially Monogamous Behavior in Secretive Animals? Using Social Network Analyses and Automated Tracking Systems to Study the Social Behavior of Prairie Voles. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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16
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Repeated cyclone events reveal potential causes of sociality in coral-dwelling Gobiodon fishes. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202407. [PMID: 30183723 PMCID: PMC6124712 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Social organization is a key factor influencing a species' foraging and reproduction, which may ultimately affect their survival and ability to recover from catastrophic disturbance. Severe weather events such as cyclones can have devastating impacts to the physical structure of coral reefs and on the abundance and distribution of its faunal communities. Despite the importance of social organization to a species' survival, relatively little is known about how major disturbances such as tropical cyclones may affect social structures or how different social strategies affect a species' ability to cope with disturbance. We sampled group sizes and coral sizes of group-forming and pair-forming species of the Gobiid genus Gobiodon at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, before and after two successive category 4 tropical cyclones. Group sizes of group-forming species decreased after each cyclone, but showed signs of recovery four months after the first cyclone. A similar increase in group sizes was not evident in group-forming species after the second cyclone. There was no change in mean pair-forming group size after either cyclone. Coral sizes inhabited by both group- and pair-forming species decreased throughout the study, meaning that group-forming species were forced to occupy smaller corals on average than before cyclone activity. This may reduce their capacity to maintain larger group sizes through multiple processes. We discuss these patterns in light of two non-exclusive hypotheses regarding the drivers of sociality in Gobiodon, suggesting that benefits of philopatry with regards to habitat quality may underpin the formation of social groups in this genus.
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17
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Solomon NG, Keane B. Dispatches from the field: sociality and reproductive success in prairie voles. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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18
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Gersick AS, Rubenstein DI. Physiology modulates social flexibility and collective behaviour in equids and other large ungulates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0241. [PMID: 28673917 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Though morphologically very similar, equids across the extant species occupy ecological niches that are surprisingly non-overlapping. Occupancy of these distinct niches appears related to subtle physiological and behavioural adaptations which, in turn, correspond to significant differences in the social behaviours and emergent social systems characterizing the different species. Although instances of intraspecific behavioural variation in equids demonstrate that the same body plan can support a range of social structures, each of these morphologically similar species generally shows robust fidelity to its evolved social system. The pattern suggests a subtle relationship between physiological phenotypes and behavioural flexibility. While environmental conditions can vary widely within relatively short temporal or spatial scales, physiological changes and changes to the behaviours that regulate physiological processes, are constrained to longer cycles of adaptation. Physiology is then the limiting variable in the interaction between ecological variation and behavioural and socio-structural flexibility. Behavioural and socio-structural flexibility, in turn, will generate important feedbacks that will govern physiological function, thus creating a coupled web of interactions that can lead to changes in individual and collective behaviour. Longitudinal studies of equid and other large-bodied ungulate populations under environmental stress, such as those discussed here, may offer the best opportunities for researchers to examine, in real time, the interplay between individual behavioural plasticity, socio-structural flexibility, and the physiological and genetic changes that together produce adaptive change.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Gersick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Daniel I Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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19
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Tanaka H, Frommen JG, Engqvist L, Kohda M. Task-dependent workload adjustment of female breeders in a cooperatively breeding fish. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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20
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Why come back home? Breeding-site fidelity varies with group size and parasite load in a colonial bird. Anim Behav 2017; 132:167-180. [PMID: 29662246 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Fidelity to a past breeding site is widespread among animals and may confer both costs and benefits. Colonial species occur at specific sites that can accommodate multiple breeders, and the choice of whether to return to last year's site or disperse elsewhere can affect colony site use, the colony size distribution and individual fitness. For the colonial cliff swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, which occupies colonies of widely different sizes, we used a 30-year field study in western Nebraska to investigate how the extent of infestation by ectoparasites and colony size affected breeders' colony site fidelity between years. We compared philopatry at colonies where parasitic swallow bugs, Oeciacus vicarius, had been removed by fumigation with that at nonfumigated sites exposed to natural levels of ectoparasites. About 25% of birds at nonfumigated colonies returned to their previous year's site, whereas about 69% of birds at fumigated colonies did so. Site fidelity was greatest at nonfumigated sites that changed the least in size between years. Birds were less likely to return to a nonfumigated site as the colony there became increasingly larger. Individuals philopatric to both nonfumigated and fumigated sites resided in colonies more similar in size between years than did dispersing birds. Most cliff swallows settled within 6 km of their previous year's site, indicating that many nonphilopatric birds still may have had some familiarity with the local landscape surrounding the site to which they moved. Removal of ectoparasites at a site allows large colonies to persist there perennially, probably contributing to higher philopatry because such large colonies are rare and would have been difficult to find had the residents dispersed. Cliff swallows are likely to be sensitive to both colony size and general familiarity with a given site or landscape region, and probably integrate these with other cues to select breeding colonies.
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21
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Hing ML, Klanten OS, Dowton M, Wong MYL. The Right Tools for the Job: Cooperative Breeding Theory and an Evaluation of the Methodological Approaches to Understanding the Evolution and Maintenance of Sociality. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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22
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Keane B, Castelli FR, Davis H, Crist TO, Solomon NG. Effects of
avpr1a
length polymorphism on male social behavior and reproduction in semi‐natural populations of prairie voles (
Microtus ochrogaster
). Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian Keane
- Department of Biology Center for Animal Behavior Miami University‐Hamilton Hamilton OH USA
| | - Frank R. Castelli
- Department of Biology Center for Animal Behavior Miami University Oxford OH USA
| | - Haley Davis
- Department of Biology Center for Animal Behavior Miami University Oxford OH USA
| | - Thomas O. Crist
- Department of Biology Center for Animal Behavior Miami University Oxford OH USA
| | - Nancy G. Solomon
- Department of Biology Center for Animal Behavior Miami University Oxford OH USA
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23
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The Bruce effect revisited: is pregnancy termination in female rodents an adaptation to ensure breeding success after male turnover in low densities? Oecologia 2017; 185:81-94. [PMID: 28791488 PMCID: PMC5596041 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3904-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Pregnancy termination after encountering a strange male, the Bruce effect, is regarded as a counterstrategy of female mammals towards anticipated infanticide. While confirmed in caged rodent pairs, no verification for the Bruce effect existed from experimental field populations of small rodents. We suggest that the effect may be adaptive for breeding rodent females only under specific conditions related to populations with cyclically fluctuating densities. We investigated the occurrence of delay in birth date after experimental turnover of the breeding male under different population composition in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in large outdoor enclosures: one-male-multiple-females (n = 6 populations/18 females), multiple-males-multiple-females (n = 15/45), and single-male-single-female (MF treatment, n = 74/74). Most delays were observed in the MF treatment after turnover. Parallel we showed in a laboratory experiment (n = 205 females) that overwintered and primiparous females, the most abundant cohort during population lows in the increase phase of cyclic rodent populations, were more likely to delay births after turnover of the male than year-born and multiparous females. Taken together, our results suggest that the Bruce effect may be an adaptive breeding strategy for rodent females in cyclic populations specifically at low densities in the increase phase, when isolated, overwintered animals associate in MF pairs. During population lows infanticide risk and inbreeding risk may then be higher than during population highs, while also the fitness value of a litter in an increasing population is higher. Therefore, the Bruce effect may be adaptive for females during annual population lows in the increase phases, even at the costs of delaying reproduction.
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Halliwell B, Uller T, Chapple DG, Gardner MG, Wapstra E, While GM. Habitat saturation promotes delayed dispersal in a social reptile. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Arias Del Razo R, Bales KL. Exploration in a dispersal task: Effects of early experience and correlation with other behaviors in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Behav Processes 2016; 132:66-75. [PMID: 27720755 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) display remarkable individual variation in social behaviors, which has been associated with differences in early life experience and neuropeptide receptor densities. These differences are also seen in the wild, where approximately 70% of young voles remain in their natal group as non-breeding alloparents, while the other 30% disperse. We investigated whether natural variation in early parental care could contribute to offspring's willingness to "disperse" (willingness to explore) in a laboratory context. Behavioral differences between dispersers and residents could also provide a way to interpret individual variation in other behaviors commonly observed under laboratory conditions. Breeder pairs ranked as high, medium or low-contact, according to the amount of early parental care they provided to offspring, were used to produce and rear experimental subjects. Effects of early parental care on the offspring's willingness to disperse were seen at post-natal day 21, with high-contact offspring spending more time in the start cage and low-contact offspring spending more time exploring. Variations in parental care were also associated with differences in juvenile and adult behaviors that could potentially encourage philopatry or dispersal behavior in the wild. High-contact offspring displayed less anxiety-like behavior compared to low-contact animals. Low-contact offspring displayed the lowest amount of alloparental care. High-contact offspring spent more time in side-by-side contact with a potential partner compared to medium and low-contact offspring. These results suggest that variations in early parental care can impact weanlings' exploratory behavior, but that philopatry is not driven by high anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karen L Bales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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Tanaka H, Frommen JG, Takahashi T, Kohda M. Predation risk promotes delayed dispersal in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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García-Navas V, Bonnet T, Waldvogel D, Camenisch G, Postma E. Consequences of natal philopatry for reproductive success and mate choice in an Alpine rodent. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Davis GT, Vásquez RA, Poulin E, Oda E, Bazán-León EA, Ebensperger LA, Hayes LD. Octodon degus
kin and social structure. J Mammal 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
A growing body of evidence showing that individuals of some social species live in non-kin groups suggests kin selection is not required in all species for sociality to evolve. Here, we investigate 2 populations of Octodon degus , a widespread South American rodent that has been shown to form kin and non-kin groups. We quantified genetic relatedness among individuals in 23 social groups across 2 populations as well as social network parameters (association, strength, and clustering coefficient) in order to determine if these aspects of sociality were driven by kinship. Additionally, we analyzed social network parameters relative to ecological conditions at burrow systems used by groups, to determine if ecological characteristics within each population could explain variation in sociality. We found that genetic relatedness among individuals within social groups was not significantly higher than genetic relatedness among randomly selected individuals in both populations, suggesting that non-kin structure of groups is common in degus. In both populations, we found significant relationships between the habitat characteristics of burrow systems and the social network characteristics of individuals inhabiting those burrow systems. Our results suggest that degu sociality is non-kin based and that degu social networks are influenced by local conditions.
Es creciente la evidencia que apoya la ocurrencia de especies sociales donde los individuos no están emparentados genéticamente, lo que sugiere que la selección de parentesco no es indispensable para la evolución de la sociabilidad. En este estudio se examinaron dos poblaciones de Octodon degus , un roedor sudamericano donde los grupos sociales pueden o no incluir individuos cercanamente emparentados. Se cuantificó el parentesco genético entre individuos en 23 grupos sociales y en redes sociales de dos poblaciones para determinar si estos aspectos de la sociabilidad dependen del grado de parentesco. Además, se examinaron asociaciones entre los parámetros cuantificados de las redes sociales (asociación, fuerza, coeficiente de anidamiento) y las condiciones ecológicas a nivel de los sistemas de madriguera usados por cada grupo. El grado de parentesco genético dentro de los grupos no fue distinto del grado de parentesco entre individuos de la población tomados al azar, lo que apoya que una estructura de grupos no emparentada es la regla en Octodon degus . En ambas poblaciones se registró una asociación entre características ecológicas de los sistemas de madriguera y atributos de las redes sociales de los individuos que usan estas estructuras. Nuestros resultados indican que la sociabilidad en Octodon degus no está basada en relaciones de parentesco y que las redes sociales de estos animales dependen de las condiciones ecológicas.
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Keane B, Ross S, Crist TO, Solomon NG. Fine-scale spatial patterns of genetic relatedness among resident adult prairie voles. J Mammal 2015; 96:1194-1202. [PMID: 26989264 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the spatial arrangement of related individuals within populations can convey information about opportunities for the evolution of kin-selected social behaviors, the potential for inbreeding, and the geographic distribution of genetic variation. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are socially monogamous rodents that sometimes breed cooperatively. Individuals of both sexes are highly philopatric, and among natal dispersers, the average dispersal distance is about 30 m. Such limited natal dispersal can result in the spatial clustering of kin and we used microsatellite data to estimate genetic relatedness among resident adult prairie voles in 2 natural populations to test the hypothesis that limited natal dispersal of male and female prairie voles results in the spatial clustering of kin. Spatial autocorrelation analyses of nest residency and microsatellite data indicated that proximate same-sex adult residents of both sexes were significantly more related than more spatially distant resident same-sex adults in Kansas. In Indiana, adult female voles residing less than 20 m apart were also significantly more related than more spatially distant resident adult females but spatial clustering of kin was not detected among resident adult males. The spatial clustering of kin indicates that opportunities for kin-selected behaviors exist in both populations, especially among females. Differences in the patterns of spatial genetic structure among resident males between the Kansas and Indiana populations may be due to population differences in factors such as demography and mating system, as well as in the extent of natal philopatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Keane
- Department of Biology, Miami University , 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, OH 45011 , USA (BK)
| | - Shavonne Ross
- Department of Biology, Miami University , 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, OH 45011 , USA (BK)
| | - Thomas O Crist
- Department of Biology, Miami University , 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, OH 45011 , USA (BK)
| | - Nancy G Solomon
- Department of Biology, Miami University , 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, OH 45011 , USA (BK)
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Olazábal DE. Comparative analysis of oxytocin receptor density in the nucleus accumbens: an adaptation for female and male alloparental care? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 108:213-20. [PMID: 25446893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2014.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Parental behavior is commonly displayed by progenitors. However, other individuals, genetically related (e.g. siblings, aunts, uncles) or not with the newborns, also display parental behavior (commonly called alloparental, or adoptive behavior). I hypothesize that species that live in family or social groups where other non-reproductive members (males and females) take care of infants, have brain adaptations to promote or facilitate that behavioral response. The present work revises the evidence supporting the hypothesis that high density of oxytocin receptors (OXTR) in the nucleus accumbens (NA) is one of those adaptations. All species known to have high NA OXTR show not only female, but also male alloparental care. Therefore, I predict that high NA OXTR could be present in all species in which juvenile and adult male alloparental behavior have been observed. Strategies to test this and other alternative working hypothesis and its predictions are presented.
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Avila P, Fromhage L. No synergy needed: ecological constraints favor the evolution of eusociality. Am Nat 2015; 186:31-40. [PMID: 26098336 DOI: 10.1086/681637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In eusocial species, some individuals sacrifice their own reproduction for the benefit of others. It has been argued that the evolution of sterile helpers in eusocial insects requires synergistic efficiency gains through cooperation that are uncommon in cooperatively breeding vertebrates and that this precludes a universal ecological explanation of social systems with alloparental care. In contrast, using a model that incorporates realistic ecological mechanisms of population regulation, we show here that constraints on independent breeding (through nest-site limitation and dispersal mortality) eliminate any need for synergistic efficiency gains: sterile helpers may evolve even if they are relatively inefficient at rearing siblings, reducing their colony's per-capita productivity. Our approach connects research fields by using hypotheses developed for cooperative breeding to explain the evolution of eusociality. The results suggest that these hypotheses may apply more generally than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piret Avila
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, FI-40014, Finland
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Lucia-Simmons KE, Keane B. Behavioral plasticity in nest residency compensates for inbreeding depression in male prairie voles. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Hofmann HA, Beery AK, Blumstein DT, Couzin ID, Earley RL, Hayes LD, Hurd PL, Lacey EA, Phelps SM, Solomon NG, Taborsky M, Young LJ, Rubenstein DR. An evolutionary framework for studying mechanisms of social behavior. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:581-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2013] [Revised: 07/13/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Length polymorphism at the avpr1a locus is correlated with male reproductive behavior in a natural population of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1801-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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35
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Communal nesting is explained by subsequent mating rather than kinship or thermoregulation in the Siberian flying squirrel. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1709-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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36
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Delayed dispersal in the Zaisan mole vole (Ellobius tancrei): helping or extended parental investment? J ETHOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-013-0392-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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37
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Blumstein DT. Yellow-bellied marmots: insights from an emergent view of sociality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120349. [PMID: 23569297 PMCID: PMC3638452 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological factors explain variation in sociality both within and between species of marmots-large alpine ground squirrels. Fifty years of study, by me and my colleagues, of the yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, near Crested Butte, CO, USA, has created opportunities to see how sociality changes with population and group size. Over the past decades, we have witnessed a natural experiment whereby the population tripled in size. If we view sociality as an emergent process, then demography acts as a constraint on interactions between individuals, and the threefold increase in population size should have consequences for group structure. We have used social network statistics to study the causes and consequences of social interactions by capitalizing on this demographic variation. Such an emergent view is ideally studied in an integrative Tinbergian way that focuses on both mechanism and function. We have determined that some social attributes are heritable, that social cohesion is established through age and kin structure, that well-embedded females (but not males) are less likely to disperse, and that there are fitness consequences of social attributes. Together, this integrative relationship-centred view expands on the traditional ecological model of sociality and offers a framework that can be applied to other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
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38
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Schradin C. Intraspecific variation in social organization by genetic variation, developmental plasticity, social flexibility or entirely extrinsic factors. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120346. [PMID: 23569294 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Previously, it was widely believed that each species has a specific social organization, but we know now that many species show intraspecific variation in their social organization. Four different processes can lead to intraspecific variation in social organization: (i) genetic variation between individuals owing to local adaptation (between populations) or evolutionarily stable strategies within populations; (ii) developmental plasticity evolved in long-term (more than one generation) unpredictable and short-term (one generation) predictable environments, which is mediated by organizational physiological effects during early ontogeny; (iii) social flexibility evolved in highly unpredictable environments, which is mediated by activational physiological effects in adults; (iv) entirely extrinsic factors such as the death of a dominant breeder. Variation in social behaviour occurs between individuals in the case of genetic variation and developmental plasticity, but within individuals in the case of social flexibility. It is important to study intraspecific variation in social organization to understand the social systems of species because it reveals the mechanisms by which species can adapt to changing environments, offers a useful tool to study the ultimate and proximate causes of sociality, and is an interesting phenomenon by itself that needs scientific explanation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Schradin
- Université de Strasbourg, IPHC-DEPE, 23 rue Becquerel, Strasbourg 67087, France.
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39
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Corriale MJ, Muschetto E, Herrera EA. Influence of group sizes and food resources in home-range sizes of capybaras from Argentina. J Mammal 2013. [DOI: 10.1644/12-mamm-a-030.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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40
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Andreassen HP, Glorvigen P, Rémy A, Ims RA. New views on how population-intrinsic and community-extrinsic processes interact during the vole population cycles. OIKOS 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2012.00238.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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41
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Messier GD, Garant D, Bergeron P, Réale D. Environmental conditions affect spatial genetic structures and dispersal patterns in a solitary rodent. Mol Ecol 2012; 21:5363-73. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2011] [Revised: 07/13/2012] [Accepted: 07/24/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Dubuc Messier
- Département des Sciences Biologiques; Université du Québec à Montréal; CP-8888 Succursale Centre-Ville; Montréal; QC; Canada; H3C 3P8
| | - Dany Garant
- Département de Biologie; Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke; QC; Canada; J1K 2R1
| | - Patrick Bergeron
- Département de Biologie; Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke; QC; Canada; J1K 2R1
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques; Université du Québec à Montréal; CP-8888 Succursale Centre-Ville; Montréal; QC; Canada; H3C 3P8
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Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Johnson PJ, Macdonald DW. Ecological bases of philopatry and cooperation in Ethiopian wolves. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1348-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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43
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Ebensperger LA, Rivera DS, Hayes LD. Direct fitness of group living mammals varies with breeding strategy, climate and fitness estimates. J Anim Ecol 2012; 81:1013-23. [PMID: 22384924 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2012.01973.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
1. Understanding how variation in fitness relates to variation in group living remains critical to determine whether this major aspect of social behaviour is currently adaptive. 2. Available evidence in social mammals aimed to examine this issue remains controversial. Studies show positive (i.e. potentially adaptive), neutral or even negative fitness effects of group living. 3. Attempts to explain this variation rely on intrinsic and extrinsic factors to social groups. Thus, relatively more positive fitness effects are predicted in singularly breeding as opposed to plural breeding species. Fitness effects of sociality in turn may depend on ecological conditions (i.e. extrinsic factors) that influence associated benefits and costs. 4. We used meta-analytic tools to review how breeding strategy or ecological conditions influence the effect size associated with direct fitness-sociality relationships reported in the mammalian literature. Additionally, we determined how taxonomic affiliation of species studied, different fitness and sociality measures used, and major climatic conditions of study sites explained any variation in direct fitness effect size. 5. We found group living had modest, yet positive effects on direct fitness. This generally adaptive scenario was contingent not only upon breeding strategy and climate of study sites, but also on fitness measures examined. Thus, positive and significant effects characterized singular as opposed to plural breeding strategies. 6. We found more positive fitness effects on studies conducted in tropical as opposed to temperate or arid climates. More positive and significant effects were noted on studies that relied on group fecundity, male fecundity and offspring survival as measures of fitness. 7. To conclude, direct fitness consequences of mammalian group living are driven by interspecific differences in breeding strategy and climate conditions. Other factors not examined in this study, namely individual variation in direct and indirect fitness benefits and potential interactions between social and ecological conditions, may be important and require further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Ebensperger
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ecología and Biodiversidad (CASEB), and Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile.
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Chesh AS, Mabry KE, Keane B, Noe DA, Solomon NG. Are body mass and parasite load related to social partnerships and mating inMicrotus ochrogaster? J Mammal 2012. [DOI: 10.1644/10-mamm-a-399.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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45
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Schoepf I, Schradin C. Better off alone! Reproductive competition and ecological constraints determine sociality in the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). J Anim Ecol 2012; 81:649-56. [PMID: 22220746 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01939.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Schoepf
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland.
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Le Galliard JF, Rémy A, Ims RA, Lambin X. Patterns and processes of dispersal behaviour in arvicoline rodents. Mol Ecol 2011; 21:505-23. [PMID: 22211403 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05410.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A good understanding of mammalian societies requires measuring patterns and comprehending processes of dispersal in each sex. We investigated dispersal behaviour in arvicoline rodents, a subfamily of mammals widespread in northern temperate environments and characterized by a multivoltine life cycle. In arvicoline rodents, variation in life history strategies occurs along a continuum from precocial to delayed maturation that reflects seasonal and ecological fluctuations. We compared dispersal across and within species focusing on the effects of external (condition-dependent) and internal (phenotype-dependent) factors. Our data revealed substantial, unexplained variation between species for dispersal distances and a strong variation within species for both dispersal distance and fraction. Some methodological aspects explained variation across studies, which cautions against comparisons that do not control for them. Overall, the species under consideration display frequent short-distance dispersal events and extremely flexible dispersal strategies, but they also have hitherto unexpected capacity to disperse long distances. Female arvicolines are predominantly philopatric relative to males, but we found no clear association between the mating system and the degree of sex bias in dispersal across species. Dispersal is a response to both various proximate and ultimate factors, including competition, inbreeding avoidance, mate searching and habitat quality. In particular, our review suggests that costs and benefits experienced during transience and settlement are prime determinants of condition dependence. Patterns of phenotype-dependent dispersal are idiosyncratic, except for a widespread association between an exploration/activity syndrome and natal dispersal. Consequences for population dynamics and genetic structures are discussed.
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Streatfeild CA, Mabry KE, Keane B, Crist TO, Solomon NG. Intraspecific variability in the social and genetic mating systems of prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Ecological drivers of group living in two populations of the communally rearing rodent, Octodon degus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011; 66:261-274. [PMID: 22344477 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1274-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Intraspecific variation in sociality is thought to reflect a trade-off between current fitness benefits and costs that emerge from individuals' decision to join or leave groups. Since those benefits and costs may be influenced by ecological conditions, ecological variation remains a major, ultimate cause of intraspecific variation in sociality. Intraspecific comparisons of mammalian sociality across populations facing different environmental conditions have not provided a consistent relationship between ecological variation and group-living. Thus, we studied two populations of the communally rearing rodent Octodon degus to determine how co-variation between sociality and ecology supports alternative ecological causes of group living. In particular, we examined how variables linked to predation risk, thermal conditions, burrowing costs, and food availability predicted temporal and population variation in sociality. Our study revealed population and temporal variation in total group size and group composition that covaried with population and yearly differences in ecology. In particular, predation risk and burrowing costs are supported as drivers of this social variation in degus. Thermal differences, food quantity and quality were not significant predictors of social group size. In contrast to between populations, social variation within populations was largely uncoupled from ecological differences.
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Meshriy MG, Randall JA, Parra L. Kinship associations of a solitary rodent, Dipodomys ingens, at fluctuating population densities. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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A field test of the effects of familiarity and relatedness on social associations and reproduction in prairie voles. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1247-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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