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Hakataya S, Katsu N, Okanoya K, Toya G. An exploratory study of behavioral traits and the establishment of social relationships in female laboratory rats. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295280. [PMID: 38048339 PMCID: PMC10695365 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that social relationships influence individual fitness through various effects. Clarifying individual differences in social interaction patterns and determinants for such differences will lead to better understanding of sociality and its fitness consequences for animals. Behavioral traits are considered one of the determining factors of social interaction. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of individual behavioral traits on social relationship building in laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus), a highly social species. Initially, the following behavioral characteristics were measured in individuals: tameness (glove test), activity (open field test), exploration (novel object test), sociability (three-chamber test), and boldness (elevated plus maze test). We then used DeepLabCut to behaviorally track three groups of four individuals (12 total) and analyze social behaviors such as approach and avoidance behaviors. Principal component analysis based on behavioral test results detected behavioral traits interpreted as related to exploration, boldness, activity, and tameness, but not sociability. In addition, behavioral tracking results showed consistent individual differences in social behavior indices such as isolation time and partner preference. Furthermore, we found that different components were correlated with different phases of social behavior; exploration and boldness were associated with the early stages of group formation, whereas activity was associated with later stages of relationship building. From these results, we derived hypothesize that personality traits related to the physical and social environment have a larger influence in the relationship formation phase, and the behavioral trait of activity becomes important in the maintenance phase of relationships. Future studies should examine this hypothesis by testing larger group sizes and ensuring there is less bias introduced into group composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiomi Hakataya
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
- Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Teikyo University, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Noriko Katsu
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
- Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Teikyo University, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Genta Toya
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
- Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Teikyo University, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan
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2
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Sokołowski J, Janicka K, Zięba G, Junkuszew A, Rozempolska-Rucińska I. Effect of gentle physical contact on behavioural indicators in sheep. Animal 2023; 17:100924. [PMID: 37611436 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2023.100924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The available literature provides ample evidence for the importance of gentle treatment and handling of farm animals for the establishment of relationships with humans. The present study is an attempt to verify the assumption that massage can be a tool for building sheep-human relationships and to determine the impact of this technique on the behaviour of lambs. In total, 40 3-week-old lambs (20 ewes of the synthetic prolific-meat line (BCP) and 20 Świniarka breed ewes) were assigned to two control groups (BCP, Świniarka) and two experimental groups (BCP, Świniarka). The lambs from the experimental groups received modified Shantala massage. During each session, the zoophysiotherapists massaged the chest, forelimbs, abdomen, hindlimbs, back, and face always in the same way and the same order. The massage was applied three times a day (at fixed times) for 21 consecutive days. Based on the behaviour manifested by the lambs during the massage sessions, a 2-point scale was developed for assessment of the animals from the research groups. After the massage, behavioural tests with the participation of a human, a dog, and a novel object were carried out for three consecutive days. Behaviours indicating curiosity (frequency of interaction, time of direct contact, latency) and fear (frequency of climbing and attempts to escape, duration of vocalisation) were assessed. The behavioural tests revealed significant differences in the behaviour of massaged and non-massaged lambs of both breeds, which confirms that the massage has a modifying effect on the behaviour of these animals. The influence of the applied technique was reflected by an increase in curiosity and a reduced level of fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Sokołowski
- Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13 Street, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
| | - K Janicka
- Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13 Street, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
| | - G Zięba
- Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13 Street, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
| | - A Junkuszew
- Department of Animal Breeding and Agricultural Consulting, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13 Street, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
| | - I Rozempolska-Rucińska
- Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13 Street, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
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de Groot C, Wijnhorst RE, Ratz T, Murray M, Araya-Ajoy YG, Wright J, Dingemanse NJ. The importance of distinguishing individual differences in 'social impact' versus 'social responsiveness' when quantifying indirect genetic effects on the evolution of social plasticity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104996. [PMID: 36526032 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Social evolution and the dynamics of social interactions have previously been studied under the frameworks of quantitative genetics and behavioural ecology. In quantitative genetics, indirect genetic effects of social partners on the socially plastic phenotypes of focal individuals typically lack crucial detail already included in treatments of social plasticity in behavioural ecology. Specifically, whilst focal individuals (e.g. receivers) may show variation in their 'responsiveness' to the social environment, individual social partners (e.g. signallers) may have a differential 'impact' on focal phenotypes. Here we propose an integrative framework, that highlights the distinction between responsiveness versus impact in indirect genetic effects for a range of behavioural traits. We describe impact and responsiveness using a reaction norm approach and provide statistical models for the assessment of these effects of focal and social partner identity in different types of social interactions. By providing such a framework, we hope to stimulate future quantitative research investigating the causes and consequences of social interactions on phenotypic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corné de Groot
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), 82152 Planegg, Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Rori E Wijnhorst
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), 82152 Planegg, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Tom Ratz
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), 82152 Planegg, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Myranda Murray
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Yimen G Araya-Ajoy
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jonathan Wright
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), 82152 Planegg, Martinsried, Germany
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4
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Rajagopal S, Brockmann A, George EA. Environment-dependent benefits of interindividual variation in honey bee recruitment. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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Moreno García CA, Zhou H, Altimira D, Dynes R, Gregorini P, Jayathunga S, Maxwell TMR, Hickford J. The glutamate metabotropic receptor 5 (GRM5) gene is associated with beef cattle home range and movement tortuosity. J Anim Sci Biotechnol 2022; 13:111. [PMID: 36104821 PMCID: PMC9476267 DOI: 10.1186/s40104-022-00755-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The grazing behaviour of herbivores and their grazing personalities might in part be determined genetically, but there are few studies in beef cattle illustrating this. In this study, we investigated for first time the genetic variation within a candidate ‘grazing gene’, the glutamate metabotropic receptor 5 gene (GRM5), and tested associations between variation in that gene and variation in grazing personality behaviours (GP-behaviours) displayed by free-ranging cows during winter grazing in the steep and rugged rangelands of New Zealand. Mature beef cows (n = 303, from 3 to 10 years of age) were tracked with global positioning system (GPS) and, with 5-minutes (min) relocation frequency, various GP-behaviours were calculated. These included horizontal and vertical distances travelled, mean elevation, elevation range, elevation gain, slope, home range and movement tortuosity, variously calculated using daily relocation trajectories with repeated measurements (i.e., 7 to 24 days (d)) and satellite-derived digital elevation models (DEM). The different GP-behaviours were fitted into mixed models to ascertain their associations with variant sequences and genotypes of GRM5. Results We discovered three GRM5 variants (A, B and C) and identified the six possible genotypes in the cattle studied. The mixed models revealed that A was significantly associated with elevation range, home range and movement tortuosity. Similarly, GRM5 genotypes were associated (P < 0.05) to home range and movement tortuosity, while trends suggesting association (P < 0.1) were also revealed for elevation range and horizontal distance travelled. Most GP-behaviour models were improved by correcting for cow age-class as a fixed factor. The analysis of GP-behaviours averaged per cow age-class suggests that grazing personality is fully established as beef cows reached 4 years of age. Home range and movement tortuosity were not only associated with GRM5 variation, but also negatively correlated with each other (r = − 0.27, P < 0.001). Conclusions There seems to be a genetically determined trade-off between home range and movement tortuosity that may be useful in beef cattle breeding programmes aiming to improve the grazing distribution and utilisation of steep and rugged rangelands. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40104-022-00755-7.
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Keshavarzi H, Lee C, Dyall T, Johnson M, Abbott D, Belson S, Ni W, Campbell DLM. Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices to Show a Limited Effect of Boldness and Fearfulness on Social Proximity in Sheep Grazing at Pasture. FRONTIERS IN ANIMAL SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2022.872132] [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
Sheep are gregarious animals that can form close inter-individual relationships. Social bonds are affected by environmental and within-animal factors, but there is limited understanding of individual factors that influence social relationships, in part due to the challenges of accurately measuring individual social proximity within a group. This study used geospatially precise RTK-GNSS localization devices (Real-Time-Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System) to evaluate social proximity between individuals with different personality traits in small sheep flocks. First, unsupervised clustering algorithms were used to categorize 78 individual Merino sheep (from a research flock of 108 grazed together for 11 months prior) based on their behavior measured in four behavioral tests: arena, novel object, flight speed, and isolation box. Sixty-five sheep were then categorized into five cohorts of 13 individuals each (clustered into three bold, six bold/fearful, and four fearful animals per cohort). Bold/fearful animals were bold toward a novel object but fearful of a human. Sheep within a single cohort were released into a 0.70 Ha test paddock with RTK-GNSS devices attached to their backs for 3 days to monitor relative positions. All cohorts were tested sequentially over a 5-week period. Social network analyses of GNSS locational data with a distance threshold of up to 30 m for all cohorts together showed no significant effect of personality traits (P = 0.11). There were, however, some significant but inconsistent differences in distances based on personality traits within separate cohorts [i.e., cohorts 1, 3, 4 (P ≤ 0.02), cohorts 2, 5 (P ≥ 0.44)]. When GNSS locational data were analyzed with a distance threshold of up to 2 m (day 2 excluded from all cohorts due to missing values), there was a significant effect of personality traits (P = 0.01) across all cohorts combined. The bold animals showed greater distances from each other relative to their distances from fearful or bold/fearful individuals. Additionally, regardless of personality traits, the average distance between animals decreased 2.2 m over the 3 test days. Social interactions in sheep flocks may be influenced by personality traits of fearfulness and boldness, but further research with larger numbers of sheep across varying environments is needed.
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Nicolis SC, Deneubourg JL. The effect of idiosyncrasy on aggregation in group-living organisms. J Theor Biol 2022; 542:111120. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Ramos A, Robin JP, Manizan L, Audroin C, Rodriguez E, Kemp YJM, Sueur C. Glucocorticoids of European Bison in Relation to Their Status: Age, Dominance, Social Centrality and Leadership. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:849. [PMID: 35405836 PMCID: PMC8996974 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is the body's response to cope with the environment and generally better survive unless too much chronic stress persists. While some studies suggest that it would be more stressful to be the dominant individual of the group, others support the opposite hypothesis. Several variables can actually affect this relationship, or even cancel it. This study therefore aims to make the link between social status and the basal level of stress of 14 wild European bison (Bison bonasus, L. 1758) living together. We collected faeces and measured the faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). We showed that FGM is linked to different variables of social status of European bison, specifically age, dominance rank, eigenvector centrality but also to interactions between the variables. Preferential leaders in bison, i.e., the older and more dominant individuals which are more central ones, are less stressed compared to other group members. Measurement of such variables could thus be a valuable tool to follow and improve the conservation of species by collecting data on FGM and other social variables and adapt group composition or environmental conditions (e.g., supplement in food) according to the FGM concentration of herd individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandine Ramos
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.R.); (J.-P.R.); (L.M.); (C.A.)
| | - Jean-Patrice Robin
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.R.); (J.-P.R.); (L.M.); (C.A.)
| | - Lola Manizan
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.R.); (J.-P.R.); (L.M.); (C.A.)
| | - Cyril Audroin
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.R.); (J.-P.R.); (L.M.); (C.A.)
| | - Esther Rodriguez
- PWN Waterleidingbedrijf Noord-Holland, Postbus 2113, 1990 AC Velserbroek, The Netherlands; (E.R.); (Y.J.M.K.)
| | - Yvonne J. M. Kemp
- PWN Waterleidingbedrijf Noord-Holland, Postbus 2113, 1990 AC Velserbroek, The Netherlands; (E.R.); (Y.J.M.K.)
- ARK Nature, Molenveldlaan 43, 6523 RJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.R.); (J.-P.R.); (L.M.); (C.A.)
- Institut Universitaire de France, 75231 Paris, France
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DeSantis LRG, Pardi MI, Du A, Greshko MA, Yann LT, Hulbert RC, Louys J. Global long-term stability of individual dietary specialization in herbivorous mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211839. [PMID: 35135353 PMCID: PMC8826132 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dietary variation within species has important ecological and evolutionary implications. While theoreticians have debated the consequences of trait variance (including dietary specialization), empirical studies have yet to examine intraspecific dietary variability across the globe and through time. Here, we use new and published serial sampled δ13Cenamel values of herbivorous mammals from the Miocene to the present (318 individuals summarized, 4134 samples) to examine how dietary strategy (i.e. browser, mixed-feeder, grazer) affects individual isotopic variation. We find that almost all herbivores, regardless of dietary strategy, are composed of individual specialists. For example, Cormohipparion emsliei (Equidae) from the Pliocene of Florida (approx. 5 Ma) exhibits a δ13Cenamel range of 13.4‰, but all individuals sampled have δ13Cenamel ranges of less than or equal to 2‰ (mean = 1.1‰). Most notably, this pattern holds globally and through time, with almost all herbivorous mammal individuals exhibiting narrow δ13Cenamel ranges (less than or equal to 3‰), demonstrating that individuals are specialized and less representative of their overall species' dietary breadth. Individual specialization probably reduces intraspecific competition, increases carrying capacities, and may have stabilizing effects on species and communities over time. Individual specialization among species with both narrow and broad dietary niches is common over space and time-a phenomenon not previously well recognized or documented empirically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa R G DeSantis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 1210 BSB/MRBIII 465 21st Avenue S., Nashville, TN 37232, USA.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 7th floor, Science and Engineering Building, 5726 Stevenson Center, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Melissa I Pardi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 7th floor, Science and Engineering Building, 5726 Stevenson Center, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.,Research and Collections Center, Illinois State Museum, 1011 E. Ash St., Springfield, IL 62703, USA
| | - Andrew Du
- Research and Collections Center, Illinois State Museum, 1011 E. Ash St., Springfield, IL 62703, USA
| | - Michael A Greshko
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 1210 BSB/MRBIII 465 21st Avenue S., Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Lindsey T Yann
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 7th floor, Science and Engineering Building, 5726 Stevenson Center, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.,Waco Mammoth National Monument, 6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive, Waco, TX 76708, USA
| | - Richard C Hulbert
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
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11
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Pedernera M, Vulliez A, Villalba JJ. The influence of prior experience on food preference by sheep exposed to unfamiliar feeds and flavors. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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12
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Gartland LA, Firth JA, Laskowski KL, Jeanson R, Ioannou CC. Sociability as a personality trait in animals: methods, causes and consequences. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:802-816. [PMID: 34894041 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Within animal populations there is variation among individuals in their tendency to be social, where more sociable individuals associate more with other individuals. Consistent inter-individual variation in 'sociability' is considered one of the major axes of personality variation in animals along with aggressiveness, activity, exploration and boldness. Not only is variation in sociability important in terms of animal personalities, but it holds particular significance for, and can be informed by, two other topics of major interest: social networks and collective behaviour. Further, knowledge of what generates inter-individual variation in social behaviour also holds applied implications, such as understanding disorders of social behaviour in humans. In turn, research using non-human animals in the genetics, neuroscience and physiology of these disorders can inform our understanding of sociability. For the first time, this review brings together insights across these areas of research, across animal taxa from primates to invertebrates, and across studies from both the laboratory and field. We show there are mixed results in whether and how sociability correlates with other major behavioural traits. Whether and in what direction these correlations are observed may differ with individual traits such as sex and body condition, as well as ecological conditions. A large body of evidence provides the proximate mechanisms for why individuals vary in their social tendency. Evidence exists for the importance of genes and their expression, chemical messengers, social interactions and the environment in determining an individual's social tendency, although the specifics vary with species and other variables such as age, and interactions amongst these proximate factors. Less well understood is how evolution can maintain consistent variation in social tendencies within populations. Shifts in the benefits and costs of social tendencies over time, as well as the social niche hypothesis, are currently the best supported theories for how variation in sociability can evolve and be maintained in populations. Increased exposure to infectious diseases is the best documented cost of a greater social tendency, and benefits include greater access to socially transmitted information. We also highlight that direct evidence for more sociable individuals being safer from predators is lacking. Variation in sociability is likely to have broad ecological consequences, but beyond its importance in the spread of infectious diseases, direct evidence is limited to a few examples related to dispersal and invasive species biology. Overall, our knowledge of inter-individual variation in sociability is highly skewed towards the proximate mechanisms. Our review also demonstrates, however, that considering research from social networks and collective behaviour greatly enriches our understanding of sociability, highlighting the need for greater integration of these approaches into future animal personality research to address the imbalance in our understanding of sociability as a personality trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizzy A Gartland
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, U.K
| | - Josh A Firth
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, U.K
| | - Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, U.S.A
| | - Raphael Jeanson
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (UMR5169), Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS, UPS, Université de Toulouse, 31062, Toulouse, France
| | - Christos C Ioannou
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, U.K
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Spontaneous emergence of leadership patterns drives synchronization in complex human networks. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18379. [PMID: 34526559 PMCID: PMC8443630 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97656-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Synchronization of human networks is fundamental in many aspects of human endeavour. Recently, much research effort has been spent on analyzing how motor coordination emerges in human groups (from rocking chairs to violin players) and how it is affected by coupling structure and strength. Here we uncover the spontaneous emergence of leadership (based on physical signaling during group interaction) as a crucial factor steering the occurrence of synchronization in complex human networks where individuals perform a joint motor task. In two experiments engaging participants in an arm movement synchronization task, in the physical world as well as in the digital world, we found that specific patterns of leadership emerged and increased synchronization performance. Precisely, three patterns were found, involving a subtle interaction between phase of the motion and amount of influence. Such patterns were independent of the presence or absence of physical interaction, and persisted across manipulated spatial configurations. Our results shed light on the mechanisms that drive coordination and leadership in human groups, and are consequential for the design of interactions with artificial agents, avatars or robots, where social roles can be determinant for a successful interaction.
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Herath APHM, Wat KKY, Banks PB, McArthur C. Animal personality drives individual dietary specialisation across multiple dimensions in a mammalian herbivore. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Katie K. Y. Wat
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Peter B. Banks
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Clare McArthur
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia
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Fisher DN, Kilgour RJ, Siracusa ER, Foote JR, Hobson EA, Montiglio PO, Saltz JB, Wey TW, Wice EW. Anticipated effects of abiotic environmental change on intraspecific social interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2661-2693. [PMID: 34212487 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom. A variety of ecological and evolutionary processes are dependent on social interactions, such as movement, disease spread, information transmission, and density-dependent reproduction and survival. Social interactions, like any behaviour, are context dependent, varying with environmental conditions. Currently, environments are changing rapidly across multiple dimensions, becoming warmer and more variable, while habitats are increasingly fragmented and contaminated with pollutants. Social interactions are expected to change in response to these stressors and to continue to change into the future. However, a comprehensive understanding of the form and magnitude of the effects of these environmental changes on social interactions is currently lacking. Focusing on four major forms of rapid environmental change currently occurring, we review how these changing environmental gradients are expected to have immediate effects on social interactions such as communication, agonistic behaviours, and group formation, which will thereby induce changes in social organisation including mating systems, dominance hierarchies, and collective behaviour. Our review covers intraspecific variation in social interactions across environments, including studies in both the wild and in laboratory settings, and across a range of taxa. The expected responses of social behaviour to environmental change are diverse, but we identify several general themes. First, very dry, variable, fragmented, or polluted environments are likely to destabilise existing social systems. This occurs as these conditions limit the energy available for complex social interactions and affect dissimilar phenotypes differently. Second, a given environmental change can lead to opposite responses in social behaviour, and the direction of the response often hinges on the natural history of the organism in question. Third, our review highlights the fact that changes in environmental factors are not occurring in isolation: multiple factors are changing simultaneously, which may have antagonistic or synergistic effects, and more work should be done to understand these combined effects. We close by identifying methodological and analytical techniques that might help to study the response of social interactions to changing environments, highlight consistent patterns among taxa, and predict subsequent evolutionary change. We expect that the changes in social interactions that we document here will have consequences for individuals, groups, and for the ecology and evolution of populations, and therefore warrant a central place in the study of animal populations, particularly in an era of rapid environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Fisher
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, U.K
| | - R Julia Kilgour
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, U.S.A
| | - Erin R Siracusa
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4PY, U.K
| | - Jennifer R Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2G4, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 318 College Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, U.S.A
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, 141 Avenue Président-Kennedy, Montréal, QC, H2X 3X8, Canada
| | - Julia B Saltz
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
| | - Tina W Wey
- Maelstrom Research, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada
| | - Eric W Wice
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
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16
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Planas-Sitjà I, Deneubourg JL, Cronin AL. Variation in personality can substitute for social feedback in coordinated animal movements. Commun Biol 2021; 4:469. [PMID: 33850250 PMCID: PMC8044162 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01991-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective movements are essential for the effective function of animal societies, but are complicated by the need for consensus among group members. Consensus is typically assumed to arise via feedback mechanisms, but this ignores inter-individual variation in behavioural tendency ('personality'), which is known to underpin the successful function of many complex societies. In this study, we use a theoretical approach to examine the relative importance of personality and feedback in the emergence of collective movement decisions in animal groups. Our results show that variation in personality dramatically influences collective decisions and can partially or completely replace feedback depending on the directionality of relationships among individuals. The influence of personality increases with the exaggeration of differences among individuals. While it is likely that both feedback and personality interact in nature, our findings highlight the potential importance of personality in driving collective processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jean-Louis Deneubourg
- Center of Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (CENOLI) - CP 231, Université libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Adam L Cronin
- Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
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17
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Loftus JC, Perez AA, Sih A. Task syndromes: linking personality and task allocation in social animal groups. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:1-17. [PMID: 33708004 PMCID: PMC7937036 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of eusocial insects have extensively investigated two components of task allocation: how individuals distribute themselves among different tasks in a colony and how the distribution of labor changes to meet fluctuating task demand. While discrete age- and morphologically-based task allocation systems explain much of the social order in these colonies, the basis for task allocation in non-eusocial organisms and within eusocial castes remains unknown. Building from recent advances in the study of among-individual variation in behavior (i.e., animal personalities), we explore a potential mechanism by which individuality in behaviors unrelated to tasks can guide the developmental trajectories that lead to task specialization. We refer to the task-based behavioral syndrome that results from the correlation between the antecedent behavioral tendencies and task participation as a task syndrome. In this review, we present a framework that integrates concepts from a long history of task allocation research in eusocial organisms with recent findings from animal personality research to elucidate how task syndromes and resulting task allocation might manifest in animal groups. By drawing upon an extensive and diverse literature to evaluate the hypothesized framework, this review identifies future areas for study at the intersection of social behavior and animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Loftus
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA.,Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - A A Perez
- Department of Entomology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - A Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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18
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Hasenjager MJ, Hoppitt W, Dugatkin LA. Personality composition determines social learning pathways within shoaling fish. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201871. [PMID: 33023411 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In shaping how individuals explore their environment and interact with others, personality may mediate both individual and social learning. Yet increasing evidence indicates that personality expression is contingent on social context, suggesting that group personality composition may be key in determining how individuals learn about their environment. Here, we used recovery latency following simulated predator attacks to identify Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) that acted in a consistently bold or shy manner. We then employed network-based diffusion analysis to track the spread of a novel foraging behaviour through groups containing different proportions of bold and shy fish. Informed associates promoted learning to a greater extent in bold individuals, but only within groups composed predominately of bold fish. As the proportion of shy fish within groups increased, bold individuals instead emerged as especially effective demonstrators that facilitated learning in others. Individuals were also more likely to learn overall within shy-dominated groups than in bold-dominated ones. We demonstrate that whether and how individuals learn is conditional on group personality composition, indicating that selection may favour traits enabling individuals to better match their behavioural phenotype to their social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Hasenjager
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK.,Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40208, USA
| | - William Hoppitt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Lee A Dugatkin
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40208, USA
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19
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DiNuzzo ER, Griffen BD. The effects of animal personality on the ideal free distribution. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201095. [PMID: 32873202 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The ideal free distribution (IFD) has been used to predict the distribution of foraging animals in a wide variety of systems. However, its predictions do not always match observed distributions of foraging animals. Instead, we often observe that there are more consumers than predicted in low-quality patches and fewer consumers than predicted in high-quality patches (i.e. undermatching). We examine the possibility that animal personality is one explanation for this undermatching. We first conducted a literature search to determine how commonly studies document the personality distribution of populations. Second, we created a simple individual-based model to conceptually demonstrate why knowing the distribution of personalities is important for studies of populations of foragers in context of the IFD. Third, we present a specific example where we calculate the added time to reach the IFD for a population of mud crabs that has a considerable number of individuals with relatively inactive personalities. We suggest that animal personality, particularly the prevalence of inactive personality types, may inhibit the ability of a population to track changes in habitat quality, therefore leading to undermatching of the IFD. This may weaken the IFD as a predictive model moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor R DiNuzzo
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Blaine D Griffen
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
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20
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Harpaz R, Schneidman E. Social interactions drive efficient foraging and income equality in groups of fish. eLife 2020; 9:e56196. [PMID: 32838839 PMCID: PMC7492088 DOI: 10.7554/elife.56196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The social interactions underlying group foraging and their benefits have been mostly studied using mechanistic models replicating qualitative features of group behavior, and focused on a single resource or a few clustered ones. Here, we tracked groups of freely foraging adult zebrafish with spatially dispersed food items and found that fish perform stereotypical maneuvers when consuming food, which attract neighboring fish. We then present a mathematical model, based on inferred functional interactions between fish, which accurately describes individual and group foraging of real fish. We show that these interactions allow fish to combine individual and social information to achieve near-optimal foraging efficiency and promote income equality within groups. We further show that the interactions that would maximize efficiency in these social foraging models depend on group size, but not on food distribution, and hypothesize that fish may adaptively pick the subgroup of neighbors they 'listen to' to determine their own behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Harpaz
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard UniversityCambridge MAUnited States
| | - Elad Schneidman
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
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21
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Rausch I, Simoens P, Khaluf Y. Adaptive Foraging in Dynamic Environments Using Scale-Free Interaction Networks. Front Robot AI 2020; 7:86. [PMID: 33501253 PMCID: PMC7805822 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2020.00086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Group interactions are widely observed in nature to optimize a set of critical collective behaviors, most notably sensing and decision making in uncertain environments. Nevertheless, these interactions are commonly modeled using local (proximity) networks, in which individuals interact within a certain spatial range. Recently, other interaction topologies have been revealed to support the emergence of higher levels of scalability and rapid information exchange. One prominent example is scale-free networks. In this study, we aim to examine the impact of scale-free communication when implemented for a swarm foraging task in dynamic environments. We model dynamic (uncertain) environments in terms of changes in food density and analyze the collective response of a simulated swarm with communication topology given by either proximity or scale-free networks. Our results suggest that scale-free networks accelerate the process of building up a rapid collective response to cope with the environment changes. However, this comes at the cost of lower coherence of the collective decision. Moreover, our findings suggest that the use of scale-free networks can improve swarm performance due to two side-effects introduced by using long-range interactions and frequent network regeneration. The former is a topological consequence, while the latter is a necessity due to robot motion. These two effects lead to reduced spatial correlations of a robot's behavior with its neighborhood and to an enhanced opinion mixing, i.e., more diversified information sampling. These insights were obtained by comparing the swarm performance in presence of scale-free networks to scenarios with alternative network topologies, and proximity networks with and without packet loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilja Rausch
- IDLab - Department of Information Technology, Ghent University—IMEC, Ghent, Belgium
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22
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Planas-Sitjà I. Personality variation improves collective decision-making in cockroaches. Behav Processes 2020; 177:104147. [PMID: 32454182 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many animals live in groups and engage in collective actions which can enhance their fitness. One common example is collective decision-making, which mainly arises from social interactions that modify the individual behaviour. Despite the widespread interest in animal personalities on the one hand and in social effects (such as social organisation, social learning or anti-predator behaviour) on the other, the question of how the amount of among-individual differences, coupled with social interactions, influence group cohesion has rarely been addressed. For this purpose, I used a modelling approach based on aggregation behaviour of cockroaches to explore the mechanisms underlying such context-dependent behaviour. The results of simulations considering different degrees (none, medium, high) of personality variation in a non-social and social context were compared to experimental patterns of aggregation dynamics in cockroaches. The comparison between the simulated and experimental data show that only a model that considers differences in individuals was able to reproduce the experimental patterns of individuals and groups. In addition, the comparison between models suggest that some individuals may play a keystone role during aggregation dynamics, influencing the behaviour of others and facilitating the collective decision. Finally, I show that personality variation amplifies the effects of social inter-attractions, thus increasing the speed of aggregation, shedding light on the mechanisms underpinning social modification of individual behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Planas-Sitjà
- Systematic Zoology Laboratory, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan.
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23
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Valentini G, Masuda N, Shaffer Z, Hanson JR, Sasaki T, Walker SI, Pavlic TP, Pratt SC. Division of labour promotes the spread of information in colony emigrations by the ant Temnothorax rugatulus. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192950. [PMID: 32228408 PMCID: PMC7209055 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The fitness of group-living animals often depends on how well members share information needed for collective decision-making. Theoretical studies have shown that collective choices can emerge in a homogeneous group of individuals following identical rules, but real animals show much evidence for heterogeneity in the degree and nature of their contribution to group decisions. In social insects, for example, the transmission and processing of information is influenced by a well-organized division of labour. Studies that accurately quantify how this behavioural heterogeneity affects the spread of information among group members are still lacking. In this paper, we look at nest choices during colony emigrations of the ant Temnothorax rugatulus and quantify the degree of behavioural heterogeneity of workers. Using clustering methods and network analysis, we identify and characterize four behavioural castes of workers-primary, secondary, passive and wandering-covering distinct roles in the spread of information during an emigration. This detailed characterization of the contribution of each worker can improve models of collective decision-making in this species and promises a deeper understanding of behavioural variation at the colony level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Valentini
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Naoki Masuda
- Department of Mathematics, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
- Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering Program, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Zachary Shaffer
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Jake R. Hanson
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Takao Sasaki
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Sara Imari Walker
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- ASU–SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Theodore P. Pavlic
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- ASU–SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Stephen C. Pratt
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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24
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Moreno García CA, Maxwell TMR, Hickford J, Gregorini P. On the Search for Grazing Personalities: From Individual to Collective Behaviors. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:74. [PMID: 32158770 PMCID: PMC7051984 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While grazing lands can offer a diverse range of forages, individuals within herds prefer to graze some habitats and not others. They can have consistent differences in grazing patterns and occupy specific spatial domains, whilst developing tactics and strategies for foraging that are specific to their grazing personalities. In this review, we explore the development of our understanding of grazing personalities, as we move away from the search for an "optimal animal" toward designing behavior-customized herds with an arrangement of individual grazing personalities that enhance ecosystem services and productivity. We present a "grazing personality model" that accounts for the personality of individual animals and for collective behaviors of herds. We argue that grazing personalities of grazing ruminants and other large herbivores are in part genetically determined, and that they can act at the individual and collective level. The social and biophysical environments as well as the emotional state of animals regulate the expression of "grazing genes" that are observed phenotypically as distinct grazing personalities. The reproductive and sexual successes of individuals and herds filter for allele variants of grazing genes and in turn determines their relative frequency. While the selection of one grazing personality may be adequate for homogeneous pastoral systems, the design of herds with a range of grazing personalities that are matched to the habitat diversity may be a better approach to improving the distribution of grazing animals, enhancing ecosystem services, and maximizing productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian A Moreno García
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Thomas M R Maxwell
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Jonathan Hickford
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Pablo Gregorini
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
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25
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Quintavalle Pastorino G, Preziosi R, Faustini M, Curone G, Albertini M, Nicoll D, Moffat L, Pizzi R, Mazzola S. Comparative Personality Traits Assessment of Three Species of Communally Housed Captive Penguins. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9060376. [PMID: 31226801 PMCID: PMC6616866 DOI: 10.3390/ani9060376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding animal personalities has notable implications in the ecology and evolution of animal behavior, but personality studies can also be useful in optimizing animal management, with the aim of improving health and well-being, and optimizing reproductive success, a fundamental factor in the species threatened with extinction. Modern zoos are increasingly being structured with enclosures that host different species, which permanently share spaces. This condition has undeniable positive aspects, but, in some species, it could determine the appearance of collective or synchronized behaviors. The aim of this study was to verify, in a colony of three species of communally housed penguins (Pygoscelis papua, Aptenodytes patagonicus and Eudyptes moseleyi), through a trait-rating assessment, if interspecific group life impacts on the expression of personality traits, and if it is possible to highlight specie-specific expression of personality traits, despite the influence of forced cohabitation. For many of the personality traits we analyzed, we have observed that it was possible to detect an expression that differed, according to the species. From a practical point of view, these data could ameliorate the management of the animals, allowing to design animal life routines, according to the different behavioral characteristics of the cohabiting species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard Preziosi
- Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology, School of Science and the Environment, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK.
| | - Massimo Faustini
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
| | - Giulio Curone
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
| | - Mariangela Albertini
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
| | - Dawn Nicoll
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK.
| | - Lorna Moffat
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK.
| | - Romain Pizzi
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, UK.
| | - Silvia Mazzola
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
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26
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Nair GG, Senthilnathan A, Iyer SK, Guttal V. Fission-fusion dynamics and group-size-dependent composition in heterogeneous populations. Phys Rev E 2019; 99:032412. [PMID: 30999543 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.99.032412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Many animal groups are heterogeneous and may even consist of individuals of different species, called mixed-species flocks. Mathematical and computational models of collective animal movement behavior, however, typically assume that groups and populations consist of identical individuals. In this paper, using the mathematical framework of the coagulation-fragmentation process, we develop and analyze a model of merge and split group dynamics, also called fission-fusion dynamics, for heterogeneous populations that contain two types (or species) of individuals. We assume that more heterogeneous groups experience higher split rates than homogeneous groups, forming two daughter groups whose compositions are drawn uniformly from all possible partitions. We analytically derive a master equation for group size and compositions and find mean-field steady-state solutions. We predict that there is a critical group size below which groups are more likely to be homogeneous and contain the abundant type or species. Despite the propensity of heterogeneous groups to split at higher rates, we find that groups are more likely to be heterogeneous but only above the critical group size. Monte Carlo simulation of the model show excellent agreement with these analytical model results. Thus, our model makes a testable prediction that composition of flocks are group-size-dependent and do not merely reflect the population level heterogeneity. We discuss the implications of our results to empirical studies on flocking systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gokul G Nair
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560 012, India.,Center for Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Athmanathan Senthilnathan
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560 012, India.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916, USA
| | - Srikanth K Iyer
- Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560 012, India
| | - Vishwesha Guttal
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560 012, India
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27
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George EA, Brockmann A. Social modulation of individual differences in dance communication in honey bees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2649-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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28
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Sasaki T, Mann RP, Warren KN, Herbert T, Wilson T, Biro D. Personality and the collective: bold homing pigeons occupy higher leadership ranks in flocks. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0038. [PMID: 29581403 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
While collective movement is ecologically widespread and conveys numerous benefits on individuals, it also poses a coordination problem: who controls the group's movements? The role that animal 'personalities' play in this question has recently become a focus of research interest. Although many animal groups have distributed leadership (i.e. multiple individuals influence collective decisions), studies linking personality and leadership have focused predominantly on the group's single most influential individual. In this study, we investigate the relationship between personality and the influence of multiple leaders on collective movement using homing pigeons, Columba livia, a species known to display complex multilevel leadership hierarchies during flock flights. Our results show that more exploratory (i.e. 'bold') birds are more likely to occupy higher ranks in the leadership hierarchy and thus have more influence on the direction of collective movement than less exploratory (i.e. 'shy') birds during both free flights around their lofts and homing flights from a distant site. Our data also show that bold pigeons fly faster than shy birds during solo flights. We discuss our results in light of theories about the evolution of personality, with specific reference to the adaptive value of heterogeneity in animal groups.This article is part of the theme issue 'Collective movement ecology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takao Sasaki
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Richard P Mann
- Department of Statistics, School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Katherine N Warren
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Tristian Herbert
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Tara Wilson
- University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Dora Biro
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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29
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Social learning strategies regulate the wisdom and madness of interactive crowds. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 3:183-193. [PMID: 30944445 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-018-0518-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Why groups of individuals sometimes exhibit collective 'wisdom' and other times maladaptive 'herding' is an enduring conundrum. Here we show that this apparent conflict is regulated by the social learning strategies deployed. We examined the patterns of human social learning through an interactive online experiment with 699 participants, varying both task uncertainty and group size, then used hierarchical Bayesian model fitting to identify the individual learning strategies exhibited by participants. Challenging tasks elicit greater conformity among individuals, with rates of copying increasing with group size, leading to high probabilities of herding among large groups confronted with uncertainty. Conversely, the reduced social learning of small groups, and the greater probability that social information would be accurate for less-challenging tasks, generated 'wisdom of the crowd' effects in other circumstances. Our model-based approach provides evidence that the likelihood of collective intelligence versus herding can be predicted, resolving a long-standing puzzle in the literature.
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30
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Hollingdale E, Pérez-Barbería FJ, Walker DM. Inferring symmetric and asymmetric interactions between animals and groups from positional data. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208202. [PMID: 30540835 PMCID: PMC6291231 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between domestic and wild species has become a global problem of growing interest. Global Position Systems (GPS) allow collection of vast records of time series of animal spatial movement, but there is need for developing analytical methods to efficiently use this information to unravel species interactions. This study assesses different methods to infer interactions and their symmetry between individual animals, social groups or species. We used two data sets, (i) a simulated one of the movement of two grazing species under different interaction scenarios by-species and by-individual, and (ii) a real time series of GPS data on the movements of sheep and deer grazing a large moorland plot. Different time series transformations were applied to capture the behaviour of the data (convex hull area, kth nearest neighbour distance, distance to centre of mass, Voronoi tessellation area, distance to past position) to assess their efficiency in inferring the interactions using different techniques (cross correlation, Granger causality, network properties). The results indicate that the methods are more efficient assessing by-group interaction than by-individual interaction, and different transformations produce different outputs of the nature of the interaction. Both species maintained a consistent by-species grouping structure. The results do not provide clear evidence of inter-species interaction based on the traditional framework of niche partitioning in the guild of large herbivores. In view of the transformation-dependent results, it seems that in our experimental framework both species co-exist showing complex interactions. We provide guidelines for the use of the different transformations with respect to study aims and data quality. The study attempts to provide behavioural ecologists with tools to infer animal interactions and their symmetry based on positional data recorded by visual observation, conventional telemetry or GPS technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Hollingdale
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth, WA, Australia
| | | | - David McPetrie Walker
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth, WA, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Herbert-Read JE, Buechel SD, Romenskyy M, Rosén E, van der Bijl W, Pelckmans K, Kolm N, Sumpter DJ. Assortative interactions revealed by sorting of animal groups. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Pitonakova L, Crowder R, Bullock S. Information Exchange Design Patterns for Robot Swarm Foraging and Their Application in Robot Control Algorithms. Front Robot AI 2018; 5:47. [PMID: 33500932 PMCID: PMC7805751 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In swarm robotics, a design pattern provides high-level guidelines for the implementation of a particular robot behaviour and describes its impact on swarm performance. In this paper, we explore information exchange design patterns for robot swarm foraging. First, a method for the specification of design patterns for robot swarms is proposed that builds on previous work in this field and emphasises modular behaviour design, as well as information-centric micro-macro link analysis. Next, design pattern application rules that can facilitate the pattern usage in robot control algorithms are given. A catalogue of six design patterns is then presented. The patterns are derived from an extensive list of experiments reported in the swarm robotics literature, demonstrating the capability of the proposed method to identify distinguishing features of robot behaviour and their impact on swarm performance in a wide range of swarm implementations and experimental scenarios. Each pattern features a detailed description of robot behaviour and its associated parameters, facilitated by the usage of a multi-agent modeling language, BDRML, and an account of feedback loops and forces that affect the pattern’s applicability. Scenarios in which the pattern has been used are described. The consequences of each design pattern on overall swarm performance are characterised within the Information-Cost-Reward framework, that makes it possible to formally relate the way in which robots acquire, share and utilise information. Finally, the patterns are validated by demonstrating how they improved the performance of foraging e-puck swarms and how they could guide algorithm design in other scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Pitonakova
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Crowder
- Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Seth Bullock
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Del Mar Delgado M, Miranda M, Alvarez SJ, Gurarie E, Fagan WF, Penteriani V, di Virgilio A, Morales JM. The importance of individual variation in the dynamics of animal collective movements. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170008. [PMID: 29581393 PMCID: PMC5882978 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal collective movements are a key example of a system that links two clearly defined levels of organization: the individual and the group. Most models investigating collective movements have generated coherent collective behaviours without the inclusion of individual variability. However, new individual-based models, together with emerging empirical information, emphasize that within-group heterogeneity may strongly influence collective movement behaviour. Here we (i) review the empirical evidence for individual variation in animal collective movements, (ii) explore how theoretical investigations have represented individual heterogeneity when modelling collective movements and (iii) present a model to show how within-group heterogeneity influences the collective properties of a group. Our review underscores the need to consider variability at the level of the individual to improve our understanding of how individual decision rules lead to emergent movement patterns, and also to yield better quantitative predictions of collective behaviour.This article is part of the theme issue 'Collective movement ecology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Del Mar Delgado
- Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO-CSIC-PA), Oviedo University, Campus Mieres, 33600 Mieres, Spain
| | - Maria Miranda
- Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO-CSIC-PA), Oviedo University, Campus Mieres, 33600 Mieres, Spain
| | - Silvia J Alvarez
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Carrera 7 No. 82-66, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Eliezer Gurarie
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - William F Fagan
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Vincenzo Penteriani
- Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO-CSIC-PA), Oviedo University, Campus Mieres, 33600 Mieres, Spain
- Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE), CSIC, Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Agustina di Virgilio
- Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Camahue, Quintral 1250, Bariloche 8400, Argentina
| | - Juan Manuel Morales
- Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Camahue, Quintral 1250, Bariloche 8400, Argentina
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Ramos A, Manizan L, Rodriguez E, Kemp YJM, Sueur C. How can leadership processes in European bison be used to improve the management of free-roaming herds. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-018-1175-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Marshall JAR, Brown G, Radford AN. Individual Confidence-Weighting and Group Decision-Making. Trends Ecol Evol 2017; 32:636-645. [PMID: 28739079 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 06/05/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Group-living species frequently pool individual information so as to reach consensus decisions such as when and where to move, or whether a predator is present. Such opinion-pooling has been demonstrated empirically, and theoretical models have been proposed to explain why group decisions are more reliable than individual decisions. Behavioural ecology theory frequently assumes that all individuals have equal decision-making abilities, but decision theory relaxes this assumption and has been tested in human groups. We summarise relevant theory and argue for its applicability to collective animal decisions. We consider selective pressure on confidence-weighting in groups of related and unrelated individuals. We also consider which species and behaviours may provide evidence of confidence-weighting, paying particular attention to the sophisticated vocal communication of cooperative breeders.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A R Marshall
- Department of Computer Science, and Sheffield Robotics, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 211 Portobello, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK.
| | - Gavin Brown
- School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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36
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Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Herbert Read JE, Sumpter DJT, Kolm N, Pelckmans K. An efficient method for sorting and quantifying individual social traits based on group‐level behaviour. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alex Szorkovszky
- Mathematics DepartmentUppsala University Uppsala Sweden
- IT DepartmentUppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | | | | | | | - Niclas Kolm
- Zoology DepartmentStockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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37
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Moran NP, Wong BBM, Thompson RM. Weaving animal temperament into food webs: implications for biodiversity. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P. Moran
- School of Biological Science; Wellington Rd Clayton, Victoria 3800 Australia
| | - Bob B. M. Wong
- School of Biological Science; Wellington Rd Clayton, Victoria 3800 Australia
| | - Ross M. Thompson
- Thompson, Inst. for Applied Ecology, Univ. of Canberra; Bruce, ACT Australia
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38
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Tóth Z, Tuliozi B, Baldan D, Hoi H, Griggio M. The effect of social connections on the discovery of multiple hidden food patches in a bird species. Sci Rep 2017; 7:816. [PMID: 28400588 PMCID: PMC5429748 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00929-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Social foraging is thought to provide the possibility of information transmission between individuals, but this advantage has been proved only in a handful of species and contexts. We investigated how social connections in captive flocks of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) affected the discovery of (i.e. feeding for the first time from) two hidden food patches in the presence of informed flock-mates. At the first-discovered and most-exploited food patch social connections between birds affected the order of discovery and presumably contributed to a greater exploitation of this patch. However, social connections did not affect discovery at the second food patch despite its close spatial proximity. Males discovered the food sources sooner than females, while feeding activity was negatively related to patch discovery. Age had no effect on the order of discovery. Birds that first discovered and fed at the food patches were characterized by higher level of social indifference, i.e. followed others less frequently than other birds in an independent context. Our findings provide experimental evidence for the importance of variable social connections during social foraging in house sparrow flocks, and suggest that social attraction can contribute differently to the exploitation of different patches when multiple food sources are present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Tóth
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1022, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Beniamino Tuliozi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, 35121, Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Baldan
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Herbert Hoi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna, 1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matteo Griggio
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, 35121, Padova, Italy.
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Pruitt JN. Behavioural hypervolumes of spider communities predict community performance and disbandment. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20161409. [PMID: 27974515 PMCID: PMC5204141 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Trait-based ecology argues that an understanding of the traits of interactors can enhance the predictability of ecological outcomes. We examine here whether the multidimensional behavioural-trait diversity of communities influences community performance and stability in situ We created experimental communities of web-building spiders, each with an identical species composition. Communities contained one individual of each of five different species. Prior to establishing these communities in the field, we examined three behavioural traits for each individual spider. These behavioural measures allowed us to estimate community-wide behavioural diversity, as inferred by the multidimensional behavioural volume occupied by the entire community. Communities that occupied a larger region of behavioural-trait space (i.e. where spiders differed more from each other behaviourally) gained more mass and were less likely to disband. Thus, there is a community-wide benefit to multidimensional behavioural diversity in this system that might translate to other multispecies assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9610, USA
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40
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41
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Pogson M. Simulation of Invertebrate Aggregation Shows the Importance of Stable Personality over Diversity in Consensus Decision-Making. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165082. [PMID: 27755591 PMCID: PMC5068703 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of many species of invertebrate is an example of a consensus decision, the success of which is central to survival. Personality is a stable form of behavioural diversity which has been observed in the aggregation process, but neither the reasons for its stability nor its effects on consensus decisions are well understood. By using an agent-based model of invertebrate aggregation, it is found that diverse personalities have only limited benefits to the experimental consensus decision-making process, but may have a more valuable role in natural settings. Importantly, although certain personalities may ostensibly have potential drawbacks at the individual level, such as choosing to rest in unfavourable places, all individuals are likely to benefit from maintaining a constant personality, which promotes group stability. These findings help to improve understanding of consensus decision-making and the prevalence of stable personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Pogson
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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42
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Doyle RE, Broster JC, Barnes K, Browne WJ. Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock. Behav Processes 2016; 131:53-8. [PMID: 27542918 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Revised: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 08/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to investigate the social relationships between individual sheep, and factors that influence this, through the novel application of the statistical multiple membership multiple classification (MMMC) model. In study one 49 ewes (ranging between 1 and 8 years old) were fitted with data loggers, which recorded when pairs of sheep were within 4m or less of each other, within a social group, for a total of 6days. In study two proximity data were collected from 45 ewes over 17days, as were measures of ewe temperament, weight and weather. In study 1 age difference significantly influenced daily contact time, with sheep of the same age spending an average of 20min 43s together per day, whereas pairs with the greatest difference in age spent 16min 33s together. Maximum daily temperature also significantly affected contact time, being longer on hotter days (34min 40s hottest day vs. 18min 17s coolest day), as did precipitation (29min 33s wettest day vs. 10min 32s no rain). Vocalisation in isolation, as a measure of temperament, also affected contacts, with sheep with the same frequency of vocalisations spending more time together (27min 16s) than those with the greatest difference in vocalisations (19min 36s). Sheep behaviour in the isolation box test (IBT) was also correlated over time, but vocalisations and movement were not correlated. Influences of age, temperature and rain on social contact are all well-established and so indicate that MMMC modelling is a useful way to analyse social structures of the flock. While it has been demonstrated that personality factors affect social relationships in non-human animals, the finding that vocalisation in isolation influences pair social contact in sheep is a novel one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Doyle
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University) Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
| | - John C Broster
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University) Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia
| | - Kirsty Barnes
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University) Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia
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43
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Kelly EM. Counting on your friends: The role of social environment on quantity discrimination. Behav Processes 2016; 128:9-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2016] [Accepted: 03/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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44
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Goulet CT, Ingley SJ, Scharf I, Pruitt JN. Thermal effects on survival and reproductive performance vary according to personality type. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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45
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Delcourt J, Bode NWF, Denoël M. COLLECTIVE VORTEX BEHAVIORS: DIVERSITY, PROXIMATE, AND ULTIMATE CAUSES OF CIRCULAR ANIMAL GROUP MOVEMENTS. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2016; 91:1-24. [PMID: 27192777 DOI: 10.1086/685301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Ant mill, caterpillar circle, bat doughnut, amphibian vortex, duck swirl, and fish torus are different names for rotating circular animal formations, where individuals turn around a common center. These "collective vortex behaviors" occur at different group sizes from pairs to several million individuals and have been reported in a large number of organisms, from bacteria to vertebrates, including humans. However, to date, no comprehensive review and synthesis of the literature on vortex behaviors has been conducted. Here, we review the state of the art of the proximate and ultimate causes of vortex behaviors. The ubiquity of this behavioral phenomenon could suggest common causes or fundamental underlying principles across contexts. However, we find that a variety of proximate mechanisms give rise to vortex behaviors. We highlight the potential benefits of collective vortex behaviors to individuals involved in them. For example, in some species, vortices increase feeding efficiency and could give protection against predators. It has also been argued that vortices could improve collective decision-making and information transfer. We highlight gaps in our understanding of these ubiquitous behavioral phenomena and discuss future directions for research in vortex studies.
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Czaczkes TJ, Czaczkes B, Iglhaut C, Heinze J. Composite collective decision-making. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20142723. [PMID: 26019155 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Individual animals are adept at making decisions and have cognitive abilities, such as memory, which allow them to hone their decisions. Social animals can also share information. This allows social animals to make adaptive group-level decisions. Both individual and collective decision-making systems also have drawbacks and limitations, and while both are well studied, the interaction between them is still poorly understood. Here, we study how individual and collective decision-making interact during ant foraging. We first gathered empirical data on memory-based foraging persistence in the ant Lasius niger. We used these data to create an agent-based model where ants may use social information (trail pheromones), private information (memories) or both to make foraging decisions. The combined use of social and private information by individuals results in greater efficiency at the group level than when either information source was used alone. The modelled ants couple consensus decision-making, allowing them to quickly exploit high-quality food sources, and combined decision-making, allowing different individuals to specialize in exploiting different resource patches. Such a composite collective decision-making system reaps the benefits of both its constituent parts. Exploiting such insights into composite collective decision-making may lead to improved decision-making algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer J Czaczkes
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, Regensburg 93053, Germany
| | - Benjamin Czaczkes
- Programming Instruction Unit, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Carolin Iglhaut
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, Regensburg 93053, Germany
| | - Jürgen Heinze
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, Regensburg 93053, Germany
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48
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Czaczkes TJ, Salmane AK, Klampfleuthner FAM, Heinze J. Private information alone can trigger trapping of ant colonies in local feeding optima. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:744-51. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.131847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Ant colonies are famous for using trail pheromones to make collective decisions. Trail pheromone systems are characterised by positive feedback, which results in rapid decision making. However, in an iconic experiment ants were shown to become ‘trapped’ in exploiting a poor food source, if it was discovered earlier. This has conventionally been explained by the established pheromone trail becoming too strong for new trails to compete. However, many social insects have a well-developed memory, and private information often overrules conflicting social information. Thus, route memory could also explain this collective ‘trapping’ effect. Here we disentangle the effects of social and private information in two ‘trapping’ experiments; one in which ants are presented a good and poor food source, and one in which ants are presented a long and short path to the same food source. We find that private information is sufficient to trigger trapping in selecting the poorer of two food sources, and may be sufficient to cause it altogether. Memories did not trigger trapping in the shortest path experiment, likely as sufficiently detailed memories did not form. The fact that collective decisions can be triggered by private information alone may require other collective patterns previously attributed solely to social information use to be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer J. Czaczkes
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Anete K. Salmane
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas street 1, LV-1004, Riga, Latvia
| | | | - Jürgen Heinze
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
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49
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Halliday WD, Morris DW, Devito JA, Start DM. Male and female voles do not differ in their assessments of predation risk. ECOSCIENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.2980/21-1-3689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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50
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Briard L, Dorn C, Petit O. Personality and Affinities Play a Key Role in the Organisation of Collective Movements in a Group of Domestic Horses. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Léa Briard
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien; Strasbourg France
- Université de Strasbourg; Strasbourg France
- Service d'Écologie Sociale; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Bruxelles Belgium
| | | | - Odile Petit
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien; Strasbourg France
- Université de Strasbourg; Strasbourg France
- Service d'Écologie Sociale; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Bruxelles Belgium
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