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Sampaio E, Sridhar VH, Francisco FA, Nagy M, Sacchi A, Strandburg-Peshkin A, Nührenberg P, Rosa R, Couzin ID, Gingins S. Multidimensional social influence drives leadership and composition-dependent success in octopus-fish hunting groups. Nat Ecol Evol 2024:10.1038/s41559-024-02525-2. [PMID: 39313585 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02525-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Collective behaviour, social interactions and leadership in animal groups are often driven by individual differences. However, most studies focus on same-species groups, in which individual variation is relatively low. Multispecies groups, however, entail interactions among highly divergent phenotypes, ranging from simple exploitative actions to complex coordinated networks. Here we studied hunting groups of otherwise-solitary Octopus cyanea and multiple fish species, to unravel hidden mechanisms of leadership and associated dynamics in functional nature and complexity, when divergence is maximized. Using three-dimensional field-based tracking and field experiments, we found that these groups exhibit complex functional dynamics and composition-dependent properties. Social influence is hierarchically distributed over multiscale dimensions representing role specializations: fish (particularly goatfish) drive environmental exploration, deciding where, while the octopus decides if, and when, the group moves. Thus, 'classical leadership' can be insufficient to describe complex heterogeneous systems, in which leadership instead can be driven by both stimulating and inhibiting movement. Furthermore, group composition altered individual investment and collective action, triggering partner control mechanisms (that is, punching) and benefits for the de facto leader, the octopus. This seemingly non-social invertebrate flexibly adapts to heterospecific actions, showing hallmarks of social competence and cognition. These findings expand our current understanding of what leadership is and what sociality is.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Sampaio
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Vivek H Sridhar
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Fritz A Francisco
- Science of Intelligence (SCIoI), Technische University, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Máté Nagy
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- MTA-ELTE 'Lendület' Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ada Sacchi
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Paul Nührenberg
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Rui Rosa
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Cascais, Portugal
| | - Iain D Couzin
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Simon Gingins
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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2
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Camerlenghi E, Nolazco S, Farine DR, Magrath RD, Peters A. Social restructuring during harsh environmental conditions promotes cooperative behaviour in a songbird. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232427. [PMID: 38628131 PMCID: PMC11022012 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Cooperation may emerge from intrinsic factors such as social structure and extrinsic factors such as environmental conditions. Although these factors might reinforce or counteract each other, their interaction remains unexplored in animal populations. Studies on multilevel societies suggest a link between social structure, environmental conditions and individual investment in cooperative behaviours. These societies exhibit flexible social configurations, with stable groups that overlap and associate hierarchically. Structure can be seasonal, with upper-level units appearing only during specific seasons, and lower-level units persisting year-round. This offers an opportunity to investigate how cooperation relates to social structure and environmental conditions. Here, we study the seasonal multilevel society of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), observing individual responses to experimental playback of conspecific distress calls. Individuals engaged more in helping behaviour and less in aggressive/territorial song during the harsher non-breeding season compared to the breeding season. The increase in cooperation was greater for breeding group members than for members of the same community, the upper social unit, comprised of distinct breeding groups in association. Results suggest that the interaction between social structure and environmental conditions drives the seasonal switch in cooperation, supporting the hypothesis that multilevel societies can emerge to increase cooperation during harsh environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Camerlenghi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Sergio Nolazco
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Robert D. Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan's Creek Road, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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3
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Montgomery TM, Lehmann KDS, Gregg S, Keyser K, McTigue LE, Beehner JC, Holekamp KE. Determinants of hyena participation in risky collective action. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231390. [PMID: 38018101 PMCID: PMC10685128 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective action problems arise when cooperating individuals suffer costs of cooperation, while the benefits of cooperation are received by both cooperators and defectors. We address this problem using data from spotted hyenas fighting with lions. Lions are much larger and kill many hyenas, so these fights require cooperative mobbing by hyenas for them to succeed. We identify factors that predict when hyena groups engage in cooperative fights with lions, which individuals choose to participate and how the benefits of victory are distributed among cooperators and non-cooperators. We find that cooperative mobbing is better predicted by lower costs (no male lions, more hyenas) than higher benefits (need for food). Individual participation is facilitated by social factors, both over the long term (close kin, social bond strength) and the short term (greeting interactions prior to cooperation). Finally, we find some direct benefits of participation: after cooperation, participants were more likely to feed at contested carcasses than non-participants. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that, when animals face dangerous cooperative dilemmas, selection favours flexible strategies that are sensitive to dynamic factors emerging over multiple time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M. Montgomery
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, Bücklestraße 5a, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kenna D. S. Lehmann
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Human Biology Program, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Samantha Gregg
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Kathleen Keyser
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Leah E. McTigue
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, Colorado State University, 240 W Prospect St, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | - Jacinta C. Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kay E. Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and behavior, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, PO Box 164-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
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Kings M, Arbon JJ, McIvor GE, Whitaker M, Radford AN, Lerner J, Thornton A. Wild jackdaws can selectively adjust their social associations while preserving valuable long-term relationships. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5103. [PMID: 37696804 PMCID: PMC10495349 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40808-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Influential theories of the evolution of cognition and cooperation posit that tracking information about others allows individuals to adjust their social associations strategically, re-shaping social networks to favour connections between compatible partners. Crucially, to our knowledge, this has yet to be tested experimentally in natural populations, where the need to maintain long-term, fitness-enhancing relationships may limit social plasticity. Using a social-network-manipulation experiment, we show that wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula) learned to favour social associations with compatible group members (individuals that provided greater returns from social foraging interactions), but resultant change in network structure was constrained by the preservation of valuable pre-existing relationships. Our findings provide insights into the cognitive basis of social plasticity and the interplay between individual decision-making and social-network structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kings
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
| | - Josh J Arbon
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Guillam E McIvor
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Martin Whitaker
- technologywithin, Chevron Business Park, Limekiln Lane, Holbury, Southampton, SO45 2QL, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Jürgen Lerner
- Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
- HumTec Institute, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
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5
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Bordes CNM, Beukeboom R, Goll Y, Koren L, Ilany A. High-resolution tracking of hyrax social interactions highlights nighttime drivers of animal sociality. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1378. [PMID: 36522486 PMCID: PMC9755157 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04317-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Network structure is a key driver of animal fitness, pathogen transmission, information spread, and population demographics in the wild. Although a considerable body of research applied network analysis to animal societies, only little effort has been devoted to separate daytime and nighttime sociality and explicitly test working hypotheses on social structures emerging at night. Here, we investigated the nighttime sociality of a wild population of rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) and its relation to daytime social structure. We recorded nearly 15,000 encounters over 27 consecutive days and nights using proximity loggers. Overall, we show that hyraxes are more selective of their social affiliates at night compared to daytime. We also show that hyraxes maintain their overall network topology while reallocating the weights of social relationships at the daily and monthly scales, which could help hyraxes maintain their social structure over long periods while adapting to local constraints and generate complex social dynamics. These results suggest that complex network dynamics can be a by-product of simple daily social tactics and do not require high cognitive abilities. Our work sheds light on the function of nighttime social interactions in diurnal social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille N. M. Bordes
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Rosanne Beukeboom
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Yael Goll
- grid.12136.370000 0004 1937 0546School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lee Koren
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- grid.22098.310000 0004 1937 0503Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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6
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Zhang L, Chen P, Schafer M, Zheng S, Chen L, Wang S, Liang Q, Qi Q, Zhang Y, Huang R. A specific brain network for a social map in the human brain. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1773. [PMID: 35110581 PMCID: PMC8810806 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05601-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals use social information to guide social interactions and to update relationships along multiple social dimensions. However, it is unclear what neural basis underlies this process of abstract "social navigation". In the current study, we recruited twenty-nine participants who performed a choose-your-own-adventure game in which they interacted with fictional characters during fMRI scanning. Using a whole-brain GLM approach, we found that vectors encoding two-dimensional information about the relationships predicted BOLD responses in the hippocampus and the precuneus, replicating previous work. We also explored whether these geometric representations were related to key brain regions previously identified in physical and abstract spatial navigation studies, but we did not find involvement of the entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus or the retrosplenial cortex. Finally, we used psychophysiological interaction analysis and identified a network of regions that correlated during participants' decisions, including the left posterior hippocampus, precuneus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the insula. Our findings suggest a brain network for social navigation in multiple abstract, social dimensions that includes the hippocampus, precuneus, dlPFC, and insula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Chen
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Matthew Schafer
- Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Senning Zheng
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Lixiang Chen
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuai Wang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Qunjun Liang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Qi
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Yichen Zhang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
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7
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Recognising the key role of individual recognition in social networks. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:1024-1035. [PMID: 34256987 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many aspects of sociality rely on individuals recognising one another. Understanding how, when, and if individuals recognise others can yield insights into the foundations of social relationships and behaviours. Through synthesising individual recognition research in different sensory and social domains, and doing so across various related social contexts, we propose that a social network perspective can help to uncover how individual recognition may vary across different settings, species, and populations. Specifically, combining individual recognition with social networks has unrecognised potential for determining the level and relative importance of individual recognition complexity. This will provide insights not only on the ecology and evolution of individual recognition itself, but also on social structure, social transmission, and social interactions such as cooperation.
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