1
|
Hooper R, Meekins E, McIvor GE, Thornton A. Wild jackdaws respond to their partner's distress, but not with consolation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210253. [PMID: 34234956 PMCID: PMC8242836 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Individuals are expected to manage their social relationships to maximize fitness returns. For example, reports of some mammals and birds offering unsolicited affiliation to distressed social partners (commonly termed 'consolation') are argued to illustrate convergent evolution of prosocial traits across divergent taxa. However, most studies cannot discriminate between consolation and alternative explanations such as self-soothing. Crucially, no study that controls for key confounds has examined consolation in the wild, where individuals face more complex and dangerous environments than in captivity. Controlling for common confounds, we find that male jackdaws (Corvus monedula) respond to their mate's stress-states, but not with consolation. Instead, they tended to decrease affiliation and partner visit rate in both experimental and natural contexts. This is striking because jackdaws have long-term monogamous relationships with highly interdependent fitness outcomes, which is precisely where theory predicts consolation should occur. Our findings challenge common conceptions about where consolation should evolve, and chime with concerns that current theory may be influenced by anthropomorphic expectations of how social relationships should be managed. To further our understanding of the evolution of such traits, we highlight the need for our current predictive frameworks to incorporate the behavioural trade-offs inherent to life in the wild.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Hooper
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Ella Meekins
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Guillam E. McIvor
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Horn L, Bugnyar T, Griesser M, Hengl M, Izawa EI, Oortwijn T, Rössler C, Scheer C, Schiestl M, Suyama M, Taylor AH, Vanhooland LC, von Bayern AMP, Zürcher Y, Massen JJM. Sex-specific effects of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting on prosociality in corvids. eLife 2020; 9:e58139. [PMID: 33079060 PMCID: PMC7609055 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The investigation of prosocial behavior is of particular interest from an evolutionary perspective. Comparisons of prosociality across non-human animal species have, however, so far largely focused on primates, and their interpretation is hampered by the diversity of paradigms and procedures used. Here, we present the first systematic comparison of prosocial behavior across multiple species in a taxonomic group outside the primate order, namely the bird family Corvidae. We measured prosociality in eight corvid species, which vary in the expression of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting. We show that cooperative breeding is positively associated with prosocial behavior across species. Also, colonial nesting is associated with a stronger propensity for prosocial behavior, but only in males. The combined results of our study strongly suggest that both cooperative breeding and colonial nesting, which may both rely on heightened social tolerance at the nest, are likely evolutionary pathways to prosocial behavior in corvids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Horn
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Michael Griesser
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Department of Biology, University of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Marietta Hengl
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Eulen- und Greifvogelstation HaringseeHaringseeAustria
| | | | - Tim Oortwijn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Christiane Rössler
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Clara Scheer
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Faculty of Psychology, Education and Sports, University of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
| | - Martina Schiestl
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryJenaGermany
| | - Masaki Suyama
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Hokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - Alex H Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | | | | | - Yvonne Zürcher
- Department of Anthropology, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Jorg JM Massen
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Animal Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht UniversityUtrechtNetherlands
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Noleto-Filho EM, Pennino MG, Gauy ACDS, Bolognesi MC, Gonçalves-de-Freitas E. The Bias of combining variables on fish's aggressive behavior studies. Behav Processes 2019; 164:65-77. [PMID: 31022507 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 03/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Quantifying animal aggressive behavior by behavioral units, either displays or attacks, is a common practice in animal behavior studies. However, this practice can generate a bias in data analysis, especially when the variables have different temporal patterns. This study aims to use Bayesian Hierarchical Linear Models (B-HLMs) to analyze the feasibility of pooling the aggressive behavior variables of four cichlids species. Additionally, this paper discusses the feasibility of combining variables by examining the usage of different sample sizes and family distributions to aggressive behaviour variables. The subject species were: the angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), the tiger oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), the Cichlasoma paranaense and the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). For each species, 15 groups of 3 individuals were assigned to daily observations (10-min recordings) for 5 days. Aggressive behavior data was labeled according to its aggressive intensity. The variables chase (C), tail beating (TB), push (P), lateral attack (LA) and bite (B) were classified as high intensity. The variables undulation (U), lateral threat (LT) and frontal displays (FD) were classified as low intensity. These behaviors, however, were not present in all species. Model parameters were estimated by Monte Carlo Markov chains using non-informative priors. B-HLMs were performed to assess the impact probability of each variable in the analysis. Results revealed that when combining variables, the resulting distribution is strongly influenced by only one variable in each category. Moreover, in some cases the aggregate values altered the results, which changed the probabilities of the main variables. Species with low aggressive behavior frequencies, such as A. ocellatus, are more sensitive to this bias. LT was the main low intensity variable for all species, while B was the main high intensity variable for the P. scalare and the O. niloticus. LA was the high intensity category variable that was the most relevant for the C. paranaense and A. ocellatus. Moreover, combining the variables did not impact the feasibility of reducing the sample size when compared to using the most quantitative variable. For all species a sample size of 12 did not change the study conclusions. With respect to family distribution, based on DIC values the Gaussian model is more suitable for most of the studied species. However, caution should be taken, because the Gaussian posterior probability distribution overlapped 0 in some cases, which is biologically impossible in aggressive behaviors. The only exception is the A. ocellatus, which, based on DIC values, was the only species better modeled by a Poisson distribution. Bayesian analysis can be therefore considered a strong tool for analyzing aggressive behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eurico Mesquita Noleto-Filho
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP/IBILCE), Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Aquaculture Center UNESP (CAUNESP), R. Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Maria Grazia Pennino
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Subida a Radio Faro, 50-52, 36390, Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain; Fishing Ecology Management and Economics (FEME) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN, Depto. de Ecologia, Natal, RN, Brazil; Statistical Modeling Ecology Group (SMEG), Departament d'Estadística i Investigació Operativa, Universitat de València, C/Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, 46100, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Ana Carolina Dos Santos Gauy
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP/IBILCE), Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Aquaculture Center UNESP (CAUNESP), R. Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Marcela Cesar Bolognesi
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP/IBILCE), Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Aquaculture Center UNESP (CAUNESP), R. Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Eliane Gonçalves-de-Freitas
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP/IBILCE), Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Aquaculture Center UNESP (CAUNESP), R. Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Sima MJ, Matzinger T, Bugnyar T, Pika S. Reconciliation and third-party affiliation in carrion crows. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Jennifer Sima
- Humboldt Research Group “Evolution of Communication”; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology; Seewiesen Germany
| | - Theresa Matzinger
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna; Vienna Austria
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna; Vienna Austria
- Haidlhof Research Station; University of Vienna and University of Veterinary Medicine; Vienna Austria
| | - Simone Pika
- Humboldt Research Group “Evolution of Communication”; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology; Seewiesen Germany
- Humboldt Research Group; Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History; Jena Germany
| |
Collapse
|