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Chaudhary N, Page AE, Salali GD, Dyble M, Major-Smith D, Migliano AB, Vinicius L, Thompson J, Viguier S. Hunter-Gatherer children's close-proximity networks: Similarities and differences with cooperative and communal breeding systems. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2024; 6:e11. [PMID: 38516373 PMCID: PMC10955362 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Among vertebrates, allomothering (non-maternal care) is classified as cooperative breeding (help from sexually mature non-breeders, usually close relatives) or communal breeding (shared care between multiple breeders who are not necessarily related). Humans have been described with both labels, most frequently as cooperative breeders. However, few studies have quantified the relative contributions of allomothers according to whether they are (a) sexually mature and reproductively active and (b) related or unrelated. We constructed close-proximity networks of Agta and BaYaka hunter-gatherers. We used portable remote-sensing devices to quantify the proportion of time children under the age of 4 spent in close proximity to different categories of potential allomother. Both related and unrelated, and reproductively active and inactive, campmates had substantial involvement in children's close-proximity networks. Unrelated campmates, siblings and subadults were the most involved in both populations, whereas the involvement of fathers and grandmothers was the most variable between the two populations. Finally, the involvement of sexually mature, reproductively inactive adults was low. Where possible, we compared our findings with studies of other hunter-gatherer societies, and observed numerous consistent trends. Based on our results we discuss why hunter-gatherer allomothering cannot be fully characterised as cooperative or communal breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikhil Chaudhary
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1QH, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Abigail E. Page
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical and Medicine, LondonWC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Gul Deniz Salali
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Mark Dyble
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1QH, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Daniel Major-Smith
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 2BN, UK
| | - Andrea B. Migliano
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lucio Vinicius
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057Zürich, Switzerland
| | - James Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Sylvain Viguier
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, UK
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2
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Brown TJ, Spurgin LG, Dugdale HL, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS. Causes and consequences of telomere lengthening in a wild vertebrate population. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5933-5945. [PMID: 34219315 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres have been advocated to be important markers of biological age in evolutionary and ecological studies. Telomeres usually shorten with age and shortening is frequently associated with environmental stressors and increased subsequent mortality. Telomere lengthening - an apparent increase in telomere length between repeated samples from the same individual - also occurs. However, the exact circumstances, and consequences, of telomere lengthening are poorly understood. Using longitudinal data from the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we tested whether telomere lengthening - which occurs in adults of this species - is associated with specific stressors (reproductive effort, food availability, malarial infection and cooperative breeding) and predicts subsequent survival. In females, telomere shortening was observed under greater stress (i.e., low food availability, malaria infection), while telomere lengthening was observed in females experiencing lower stress (i.e., high food availability, assisted by helpers, without malaria). The telomere dynamics of males were not associated with the key stressors tested. These results indicate that, at least for females, telomere lengthening occurs in circumstances more conducive to self-maintenance. Importantly, both females and males with lengthened telomeres had improved subsequent survival relative to individuals that displayed unchanged, or shortened, telomeres - indicating that telomere lengthening is associated with individual fitness. These results demonstrate that telomere dynamics are bidirectionally responsive to the level of stress that an individual faces, but may poorly reflect the accumulation of stress over an individuals lifetime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Brown
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
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3
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Begging is an honest signal of hunger in a communally nesting bird with low genetic relatedness. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03252-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Brown TJ, Dugdale HL, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Seychelles warblers with silver spoons: Juvenile body mass is a lifelong predictor of annual survival, but not annual reproduction or senescence. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9049. [PMID: 35813920 PMCID: PMC9251861 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9049] [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: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The environment experienced during development, and its impact on intrinsic condition, can have lasting outcomes for individual phenotypes and could contribute to variation in adult senescence trajectories. However, the nature of this relationship in wild populations remains uncertain, owing to the difficulties in summarizing natal conditions and in long-term monitoring of individuals from free-roaming long-lived species. Utilizing a closely monitored, closed population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we determine whether juvenile body mass is associated with natal socioenvironmental factors, specific genetic traits linked to fitness in this system, survival to adulthood, and senescence-related traits. Juveniles born in seasons with higher food availability and into smaller natal groups (i.e., fewer competitors) were heavier. In contrast, there were no associations between juvenile body mass and genetic traits. Furthermore, size-corrected mass-but not separate measures of natal food availability, group size, or genetic traits-was positively associated with survival to adulthood, suggesting juvenile body mass is indicative of natal condition. Heavier juveniles had greater body mass and had higher rates of annual survival as adults, independent of age. In contrast, there was no association between juvenile mass and adult telomere length attrition (a measure of somatic stress) nor annual reproduction. These results indicate that juvenile body mass, while not associated with senescence trajectories, can influence the likelihood of surviving to old age, potentially due to silver-spoon effects. This study shows that measures of intrinsic condition in juveniles can provide important insights into the long-term fitness of individuals in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. Brown
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichUK
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichUK
- Nature SeychellesVictoria, MahéSeychelles
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5
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Quque M, Paquet M, Zahn S, Théron F, Faivre B, Sueur C, Criscuolo F, Doutrelant C, Covas R. Contrasting associations between nestling telomere length and pre and postnatal helpers' presence in a cooperatively breeding bird. Oecologia 2021; 196:37-51. [PMID: 33864121 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04917-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Studies on cooperative breeders have addressed the effects of non-breeding 'helpers' on reproduction and parental care, but the consequences for offspring physiology and long-term survival are less understood. Helpers are expected to benefit offspring, but their presence can also lead to decreased pre- or post-natal parental reproductive effort. To examine whether prenatal and postnatal helpers influence offspring condition, we conducted a whole-clutch cross-fostering experiment in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) that altered the nestlings' social environment (presence/absence of helpers). We tested whether relative telomere length (rTL), an indicator of somatic maintenance, was influenced by prenatal and/or postnatal presence of helpers 9 and 17 days after hatching, and whether rTL predicted long-term survival. Nine days after hatching, we found an overall positive effect of postnatal helpers on rTL: for nestlings with prenatal helpers, a reduction in the number of helpers post-hatch was associated with shorter telomeres, while nestlings swapped from nests without helpers to nests with helpers had a larger rTL. However, when prenatal helpers were present, an increased number of helpers after hatching led to shorter telomeres. Nine-day old chicks with longer rTL tended to be more likely to survive over the 5 years following hatching. However, close to fledging, there was no detectable effect of the experiment on rTL and no link between rTL and survival. This experimental study of a wild cooperative breeder, therefore, presents partial support for the importance of the presence of helpers for offspring rTL and the link between early-life telomere length and long-term survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Quque
- CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Matthieu Paquet
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sandrine Zahn
- CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Frank Théron
- CNRS, CEFE UMR 5175, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Bruno Faivre
- Biogéosciences, CNRS UMR 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Cédric Sueur
- CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | | | - Claire Doutrelant
- CNRS, CEFE UMR 5175, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,Research Centre On Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, CIBIO-InBio, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Rita Covas
- Research Centre On Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, CIBIO-InBio, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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6
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Hammers M, Kingma SA, van Boheemen LA, Sparks AM, Burke T, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS, Komdeur J. Helpers compensate for age-related declines in parental care and offspring survival in a cooperatively breeding bird. Evol Lett 2021; 5:143-153. [PMID: 33868710 PMCID: PMC8045936 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring from elderly parents often have lower survival due to parental senescence. In cooperatively breeding species, where offspring care is shared between breeders and helpers, the alloparental care provided by helpers is predicted to mitigate the impact of parental senescence on offspring provisioning and, subsequently, offspring survival. We test this prediction using data from a long-term study on cooperatively breeding Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis). We find that the nestling provisioning rate of female breeders declines with their age. Further, the total brood provisioning rate and the first-year survival probability of offspring decline progressively with age of the female breeder, but these declines are mitigated when helpers are present. This effect does not arise because individual helpers provide more care in response to the lower provisioning of older dominant females, but because older female breeders have recruited more helpers, thereby receiving more overall care for their brood. We do not find such effects for male breeders. These results indicate that alloparental care can alleviate the fitness costs of senescence for breeders, which suggests an interplay between age and cooperative breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenCP9712The Netherlands
| | - Sjouke A. Kingma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenCP9712The Netherlands
- Department of Animal ScienceWageningen University & ResearchWageningenPB6708The Netherlands
| | - Lotte A. van Boheemen
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenCP9712The Netherlands
- School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityClaytonVIC3800Australia
| | | | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUnited Kingdom
| | | | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichNR4 7TJUnited Kingdom
- Nature SeychellesMahéRepublic of Seychelles
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenCP9712The Netherlands
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Barve S, Koenig WD, Haydock J, Walters EL. Habitat Saturation Results in Joint-Nesting Female Coalitions in a Social Bird. Am Nat 2019; 193:830-840. [PMID: 31094599 DOI: 10.1086/703188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Joint nesting by females and cooperative polyandry-cooperatively breeding groups with a male-biased breeder sex ratio-are little-understood, rare breeding systems. We tested alternative hypotheses of factors potentially driving these phenomena in a population of joint-nesting acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). During periods of high population density and thus low independent breeding opportunities, acorn woodpecker females formed joint-nesting coalitions with close kin. Coalitions were typically associated with groups with a male bias. We found strong evidence for both inter- and intrasexual conflict, as joint nesting conferred a fitness benefit to some males, a significant fitness cost to females, and no gain in per capita reproductive output for either sex. Such conflict, particularly the cost to females, may be an important reason why joint nesting is rare among cooperatively breeding taxa.
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8
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Hammers M, Kingma SA, Spurgin LG, Bebbington K, Dugdale HL, Burke T, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Breeders that receive help age more slowly in a cooperatively breeding bird. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1301. [PMID: 30899016 PMCID: PMC6428877 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09229-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Helping by group members is predicted to lead to delayed senescence by affecting the trade-off between current reproduction and future survival for dominant breeders. Here we investigate this prediction in the Seychelles warbler, Acrocephalus sechellensis, in which mainly female subordinate helpers (both co-breeders and non-breeding helpers) often help dominants raise offspring. We find that the late-life decline in survival usually observed in this species is greatly reduced in female dominants when a helper is present. Female dominants with a female helper show reduced telomere attrition, a measure that reflects biological ageing in this and other species. Finally, the probability of having female, but not male, helpers increases with dominant female age. Our results suggest that delayed senescence is a key benefit of cooperative breeding for elderly dominants and support the idea that sociality and delayed senescence are positively self-reinforcing. Such an effect may help explain why social species often have longer lifespans. Sociality explains substantial variation in ageing across species, but less is known about this relationship within species. Here, the authors show that female dominant Seychelles warblers with helpers at the nest have higher late-life survival and lower telomere attrition and the probability of having helpers increases with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Animal Science, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK
| | - Kat Bebbington
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK
| | | | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S102TN, UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
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