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Vargas-Vargas IL, Pérez-Hernández E, González D, Rosetti MF, Contreras-Galindo J, Roldán-Roldán G. Evidence of long-term allocentric spatial memory in the Terrestrial Hermit Crab Coenobita compressus. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293358. [PMID: 37883496 PMCID: PMC10602228 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293358] [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: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial learning is a complex cognitive skill and ecologically important trait scarcely studied in crustaceans. We investigated the ability of the Pacific (Ecuadorian) hermit crab Coenobita compressus, to learn an allocentric spatial task using a palatable novel food as reward. Crabs were trained to locate the reward in a single session of eleven consecutive trials and tested subsequently, for short- (5 min) and long-term memory 1, 3 and 7 days later. Our results indicate that crabs were able to learn the location of the reward as they showed a reduction in the time required to find the food whenever it was present, suggesting a visuo-spatial and olfactory cue-guided task resolution. Moreover, crabs also remember the location of the reward up to 7 days after training using spatial cues only (without the food), as evidenced by the longer investigation time they spent in the learned food location than in any other part of the experimental arena, suggesting a visuo-spatial memory formation. This study represents the first description of allocentric spatial long-term memory in a terrestrial hermit crab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilse Lorena Vargas-Vargas
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Estefany Pérez-Hernández
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Daniel González
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Marcos Francisco Rosetti
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Instituto National de Psiquiatría, Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Gabriel Roldán-Roldán
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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2
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Elwood RW. Behavioural Indicators of Pain and Suffering in Arthropods and Might Pain Bite Back? Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2602. [PMID: 37627393 PMCID: PMC10451332 DOI: 10.3390/ani13162602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain in response to tissue damage functions to change behaviour so that further damage is minimised whereas healing and survival are promoted. This paper focuses on the behavioural criteria that match the function to ask if pain is likely in the main taxa of arthropods. There is evidence consistent with the idea of pain in crustaceans, insects and, to a lesser extent, spiders. There is little evidence of pain in millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs but there have been few investigations of these groups. Alternative approaches in the study of pain are explored and it is suggested that studies on traumatic mating, agonistic interactions, and defensive venoms might provide clues about pain. The evolution of high cognitive ability, sensory systems, and flexible decision-making is discussed as well as how these might influence the evolution of pain-like states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Elwood
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
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Elwood RW. Hermit crabs, shells, and sentience. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1241-1257. [PMID: 35199235 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01607-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Hermit crabs have an intimate relationship with gastropod shells and show numerous activities by which they locate, select, and change shells in different contexts. They gather information about new shells and update information about their existing shells. This involves integration of different sensory modalities, memory-formation, and comparison of the overall value of each shell. Crabs also fight to get shells from other crabs, and again they gather information about the shell qualities and the opponent. Attacking crabs monitor their fight performance, and defenders are influenced by attacker activities, and both crabs are influenced by the gain or loss that might be made by swapping shells. Swapping shells involves the defender being naked for a short period. Leaving a shell also occurs if the shell is experimentally fixed in place or buried in sand or if small electric shocks are applied to the abdomen, and the quality of the current shell is traded-off against escaping possible asphyxiation or the aversive shocks. Hermit crabs show remarkable abilities, involving future planning, with respect to recognizing the shape and size of shells, and how they limit their passage through environmental obstructions. They also assess if shells might become available and wait for that to happen. Groups of crabs arrange themselves in size order so that orderly transfer of shells might occur down a line of crabs. These observations are discussed in the light of complex perceptual and cognitive abilities, and the possibility of sentience and awareness is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Elwood
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK.
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4
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Hotta T, Awata S, Jordan LA, Kohda M. Subordinate Fish Mediate Aggressiveness Using Recent Contest Information. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.685907] [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
Memorizing dominance relationships can help animals avoid unwinnable subsequent contests. However, when competitive ability changes over time—for example, as a function of condition—it may be adaptive to “forget” these dominance relationships and for subordinates to once again enter contests with previously dominant individuals. Here, we examined the behavior of pairs of male cichlid fish, Julidochromis transcriptus, in repeated contests separated by different time intervals. We found that the time taken to reach resolution of dominance relationships influenced subsequent aggressive behavior of the subordinate toward the dominant, with longer initial contests leading to higher subsequent aggression. Longer time intervals between contests also increased aggression from the subordinate toward the dominant. These results are consistent with increasing uncertainty due to ambiguous contest outcomes and increasing time intervals. Our results also show that a longer time was necessary to resolve contests between larger pairs, suggesting a self-assessment strategy, but not a mutual assessment strategy. Taken together, larger individuals appear to adaptively lose or ignore previously gathered social information because they have a higher fighting ability and better body condition. Therefore, we conclude that losing or ignoring unreliable information may be an adaptive strategy in the context of dominance relationships.
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Lord JP, Moser RM, Buonocore EM, Sylvester EE, Morales MJ, Granitz AP, Disipio A, Blakely E, O'Sullivan-Evangelista SL, Mateo TF, Chlebove GJ, Carey CM, Lucas O. Dominance Hierarchies in Marine Invertebrates. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2021; 240:2-15. [PMID: 33730537 DOI: 10.1086/712973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
AbstractDominance hierarchies have been well studied in myriad terrestrial animals, but surprisingly little is known about hierarchies in marine invertebrates; examples are limited to a few species of decapod crustaceans and cephalopods. Is the marine environment less conducive to the establishment of dominance hierarchy structures, or does this just underline the lack of detailed behavioral information about most marine invertebrates? In this review, we highlight the published information about marine invertebrate dominance hierarchies, which involve ranks established through fights or displays. We focus on the method of hierarchy formation, examine the ecological implications of this population structure, and compare the habitat and behavioral characteristics of species that exhibit this behavior. Because dominance hierarchies can influence habitat use, population distributions, energetics, mating, resource exploitation, and population genetic structure, it is crucial to understand how this trait evolves and which species are likely to exhibit it. A better understanding of marine invertebrate hierarchies could change the way we think about population dynamics of some species and could have important implications for fisheries, conservation, or even modeling of social and economic inequality.
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Doi K, Nakamaru M. The coevolution of transitive inference and memory capacity in the hawk-dove game. J Theor Biol 2018; 456:91-107. [PMID: 30077734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2017] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Transitive inference (TI) that uses known relationships to deduce unknown ones (using A > B and B > C to infer A > C given no direct interactions between A and C) to assess the opponent's strength, or resource-holding potential (RHP), is widely reported in animals living in a group. This sounds counter-intuitive because TI seems to require social cognition and larger memory capacity than other inference that does not require social cognition as much as TI; individuals need abilities to identify others, observe contests among others and keep the results in memory. We examine the coevolution of memory and transitive inference by the evolutionary simulations, using the asymmetric hawk-dove game. When a cost for losers is higher than a reward for winners, we found that the immediate inference strategy (II), which estimates the opponent's strength based on the past history of the direct fights, evolves with the large memory capacity, while the TI strategy, which estimates the unknown opponent's strength by transitive inference, evolves with the limited memory capacity. When a cost for losers is slightly higher than a reward for winners, the II strategy with the large memory capacity has an evolutionary advantage over the TI strategy with the limited memory capacity. It is because the direct fights are not so costly that more information about the fights leads to more accurate estimation of the opponent's strength and results in the accurate rank of the RHPs. When a cost for losers is much higher than a reward for winners, the TI strategy with the limited memory capacity has an evolutionary advantage. It is because a good way to avoid the costly fights is the prompt formation of the dominance hierarchy which does not necessarily reflect the actual rank of the RHPs; the TI strategy builds the dominance hierarchy much faster than the II strategy regardless of memory capacity, and the large amounts of information are not required for the TI strategy to form the dominance hierarchy promptly. Our study suggests that even smaller memory capacity is evolutionarily favored in TI. The TI strategy tends to reinforce the hierarchy once it is built, regardless of whether it is consistent with RHP or not, because results of direct fights are always counted. Smaller memory capacity allows players to adjust the hierarchy well if it does not represent RHP. These results prove that TI can evolve without a requirement for large memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuto Doi
- Department of Innovation Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, CIC-901S, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan.
| | - Mayuko Nakamaru
- Department of Innovation Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, CIC-901S, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan.
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Who is the boss? Individual recognition memory and social hierarchy formation in crayfish. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 147:79-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2016] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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8
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de Souza AR, Teixeira GVM, do Nascimento FS. Individually distinctive facial patterning without a signal value: a case of ‘missing’ social knowledge in the paper wasp Polistes versicolor? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2388-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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9
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Resource availability and predation risk influence contest behavior and dominance hierarchies in crayfish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2139-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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10
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Sheehan MJ, Bergman TJ. Is there an evolutionary trade-off between quality signaling and social recognition? Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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11
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Information Retention During Competitive Interactions: Siblings Need to Constantly Repeat Vocal Displays. Evol Biol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-014-9299-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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12
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Tran MV, O’Grady M, Colborn J, Van Ness K, Hill RW. Aggression and food resource competition between sympatric hermit crab species. PLoS One 2014; 9:e91823. [PMID: 24632897 PMCID: PMC3954795 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2013] [Accepted: 02/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The vertical zonation patterns of intertidal organisms have been topics of interest to marine ecologists for many years, with interspecific food competition being implicated as a contributing factor to intertidal community organization. In this study, we used behavioral bioassays to examine the potential roles that interspecific aggression and food competition have on the structuring of intertidal hermit crab assemblages. We studied two ecologically similar, sympatric hermit crab species, Clibanarius digueti[1] and Paguristes perrieri[2], which occupy adjacent zones within the intertidal region of the Gulf of California. During the search phase of foraging, C. digueti showed higher frequencies of aggressive behaviors than P. perrieri. In competition assays, C. digueti gained increased access to food resources compared to P. perrieri. The results suggest that food competition may play an important role in structuring intertidal hermit crab assemblages, and that the zonation patterns of Gulf of California hermit crab species may be the result of geographical displacement by the dominant food competitor (C. digueti).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark V. Tran
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Matthew O’Grady
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Jeremiah Colborn
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Van Ness
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Richard W. Hill
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
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Sheehan MJ, Straub MA, Tibbetts EA. How Does Individual Recognition Evolve? Comparing Responses to Identity Information inPolistesSpecies with and Without Individual Recognition. Ethology 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Sheehan
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Michael A. Straub
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
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Katoh E, Sbragaglia V, Aguzzi J, Breithaupt T. Sensory biology and behaviour of Nephrops norvegicus. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2013; 64:65-106. [PMID: 23668588 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-410466-2.00003-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The Norway lobster is one of the most important commercial crustaceans in Europe. A detailed knowledge of the behaviour of this species is crucial in order to optimize fishery yields, improve sustainability of fisheries, and identify man-made environmental threats. Due to the cryptic life-style in burrows, the great depth and low-light condition of their habitat, studies of the behaviour of this species in its natural environment are challenging. Here, we first provide an overview of the sensory modalities (vision, chemoreception, and mechanoreception) of Nephrops norvegicus. We focus particularly on the role of the chemical and mechanical senses in eliciting and steering spatial orientation behaviours. We then concentrate on recent research in social behaviour and biological rhythms of Nephrops. A combination of laboratory approaches and newly developed tracking technologies has led to a better understanding of aggressive interactions, reproductive behaviours, activity cycles, and burrow-related behaviours. Gaps in our knowledge are identified and suggestions for future research are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emi Katoh
- School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK
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15
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Individual Recognition and the Evolution of Learning and Memory in Polistes Paper Wasps. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-415823-8.00042-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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16
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Palaoro AV, Ayres-Peres L, Santos S. Modulation of male aggressiveness through different communication pathways. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1448-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Gherardi F, Aquiloni L, Tricarico E. Revisiting social recognition systems in invertebrates. Anim Cogn 2012; 15:745-62. [PMID: 22639070 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0513-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2011] [Revised: 05/01/2012] [Accepted: 05/01/2012] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Since the 1970s, the ability of some invertebrate species to recognize individual conspecifics has attracted increased scientific interest. However, there is still confusion in the literature, possibly due to the lack of unambiguous criteria for classifying social recognition in its different forms. Here, we synthesize the results of studies on invertebrates and provide a framework with the purpose of identifying research needs and directions for future investigations. Following in part Sherman et al.'s (Behavioural ecology: an evolutionary approach. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 69-96, 1997) definition of 'recognition systems' and Tibbetts and Dale's (Trends Ecol Evol 22:529-537, 2007) classification of 'individual recognition,' we first discuss different case studies that exemplify the categories of 'familiar recognition' and 'class-level recognition.' Then, through the analysis of the invertebrate literature, we illustrate eight key properties that characterize 'true individual recognition' systems. We are confident that the proposed framework will provide opportunities for exciting discoveries of the cognitive abilities in invertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gherardi
- Department of Evolutionary Biology Leo Pardi, University of Florence, Via Romana 17, 50125, Florence, Italy.
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Klar NM, Crowley PH. Shelter Availability, Occupancy, and Residency in Size-Asymmetric Contests Between Rusty Crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Ethology 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01996.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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The combination of social and personal contexts affects dominance hierarchy development in shore crabs, Carcinus maenas. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Tricarico E, Borrelli L, Gherardi F, Fiorito G. I know my neighbour: individual recognition in Octopus vulgaris. PLoS One 2011; 6:e18710. [PMID: 21533257 PMCID: PMC3076440 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2010] [Accepted: 03/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Little is known about individual recognition (IR) in octopuses, although they have been abundantly studied for their sophisticated behaviour and learning capacities. Indeed, the ability of octopuses to recognise conspecifics is suggested by a number of clues emerging from both laboratory studies (where they appear to form and maintain dominance hierarchies) and field observations (octopuses of neighbouring dens display little agonism between each other). To fill this gap in knowledge, we investigated the behaviour of 24 size-matched pairs of Octopus vulgaris in laboratory conditions. Methodology/Principal Findings The experimental design was composed of 3 phases: Phase 1 (acclimatization): 12 “sight-allowed” (and 12 “isolated”) pairs were maintained for 3 days in contiguous tanks separated by a transparent (and opaque) partition to allow (and block) the vision of the conspecific; Phase 2 (cohabitation): members of each pair (both sight-allowed and isolated) were transferred into an experimental tank and were allowed to interact for 15 min every day for 3 consecutive days; Phase 3 (test): each pair (both sight-allowed and isolated) was subject to a switch of an octopus to form pairs composed of either familiar (“sham switches”) or unfamiliar conspecifics (“real switches”). Longer latencies (i.e. the time elapsed from the first interaction) and fewer physical contacts in the familiar pairs as opposed to the unfamiliar pairs were used as proxies for recognition. Conclusions Octopuses appear able to recognise conspecifics and to remember the individual previously met for at least one day. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study showing the occurrence of a form of IR in cephalopods. Future studies should clarify whether this is a “true” IR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Tricarico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Leo Pardi, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy.
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Chase ID, Seitz K. Self-structuring properties of dominance hierarchies a new perspective. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2011; 75:51-81. [PMID: 22078477 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-380858-5.00001-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Using aggressive behavior, animals of many species establish dominance hierarchies in both nature and the laboratory. Rank in these hierarchies influences many aspects of animals' lives including their health, physiology, weight gain, genetic expression, and ability to reproduce and raise viable offspring. In this chapter, we define dominance relationships and dominance hierarchies, discuss several model species used in dominance studies, and consider factors that predict the outcomes of dominance encounters in dyads and small groups of animals. Researchers have shown that individual differences in attributes, as well as in states (recent behavioral experiences), influence the outcomes of dominance encounters in dyads. Attributes include physical, physiological, and genetic characteristics while states include recent experiences such as winning or losing earlier contests. However, surprisingly, we marshal experimental and theoretical evidence to demonstrate that these differences have significantly less or no ability to predict the outcomes of dominance encounters for animals in groups as small as three or four individuals. Given these results, we pose an alternative research question: How do animals of so many species form hierarchies with characteristic linear structures despite the relatively low predictability based upon individual differences? In answer to this question, we review the evidence for an alternative approach suggesting that dominance hierarchies are self-structuring. That is, we suggest that linear forms of organization in hierarchies emerge from several kinds of behavioral processes, or sequences of interaction, that are common across many different species of animals from ants to chickens and fish and even some primates. This new approach inspires a variety of further questions for research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan D Chase
- Department of Sociology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
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Haber M, Cerfeda S, Carbone M, Calado G, Gaspar H, Neves R, Maharajan V, Cimino G, Gavagnin M, Ghiselin MT, Mollo E. Coloration and defense in the nudibranch gastropod Hypselodoris fontandraui. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2010; 218:181-188. [PMID: 20413794 DOI: 10.1086/bblv218n2p181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The striking color patterns of chromodorid (and other) nudibranchs appear to be indicative of aposematism. In Müllerian mimicry, all the mimic species have a defense mechanism. It has been proposed that a group of blue, white, and yellow Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic species of the genus Hypselodoris form a Müllerian mimetic circle. One of these, H. fontandraui, lacks the mantle dermal formations (repugnatorial glands) that are typically found in other members of this circle and are reservoirs of feeding deterrent compounds. It therefore seemed possible that this animal lacks chemical defense and acts like a Batesian mimic. Within this study, we found that this nudibranch contains the furanosesquiterpenoid tavacpallescensin, most probably derived from sponges of the genus Dysidea, upon which it probably feeds. The metabolite concentrations were measured from samples of the mantle rim, other external parts, and internal organs. Concentrations were about 4 times higher in the mantle rim than in the other external parts, and more than 20 times higher in the mantle rim than in the internal organs, considerably exceeding the threshold value of concentration showing the maximum dose effect as feeding deterrent against the crustacean Palaemon elegans. In conclusion, the reported data clearly demonstrate that H. fontandraui is chemically defended in much the same way as its aposematic, co-occurring, and blue-colored congeners within the Müllerian mimetic circle and is not a Batesian mimic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Haber
- Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, CNR, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Naples, Italy
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Lindquist WB, Chase ID. Data-Based Analysis of Winner-Loser Models of Hierarchy Formation in Animals. Bull Math Biol 2009; 71:556-84. [DOI: 10.1007/s11538-008-9371-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2008] [Accepted: 11/07/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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27
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Fletcher N, Hardege JD. The cost of conflict: agonistic encounters influence responses to chemical signals in the European shore crab. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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28
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Cervo R, Dapporto L, Beani L, Strassmann JE, Turillazzi S. On status badges and quality signals in the paper wasp Polistes dominulus: body size, facial colour patterns and hierarchical rank. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 275:1189-96. [PMID: 18285281 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.1779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To establish a dominance order, social animals often rely on indicators of fighting to avoid costly aggressive encounters. In some species, individuals use colour patterns to signal their social status. Recent studies claimed that facial markings in the eusocial paper wasp Polistes dominulus are status badges that allow co-foundresses to form a linear hierarchy based on individual quality. Here, we evaluated facial patterns in natural populations of P. dominulus, in its native range, to observe whether the marks reflect overall wasp quality in different contexts. We used the same measures of clypeus patterns used by earlier studies, but did not find that they functioned as status badges. Our analyses showed no evidence that visual markers are related to: (i) size, (ii) probability of surviving winter, (iii) social rank in spring associations, or (iv) health status (assessed by the presence of strepsipteran endoparasites). Size, however, is important. Larger wasps are more likely to survive the winter and to acquire the dominant position in spring associations. Larvae infected with endoparasites become smaller adult wasps. These findings suggest that body size is a reliable quality indicator on which wasps build their social networks, and that clypeus patterning is not involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Cervo
- Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
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Formation of linear dominance relationship in captive jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos): Implications for individual recognition. Behav Processes 2008; 78:44-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2007.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2006] [Revised: 12/10/2007] [Accepted: 12/27/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Van der Velden J, Zheng Y, Patullo BW, Macmillan DL. Crayfish recognize the faces of fight opponents. PLoS One 2008; 3:e1695. [PMID: 18305823 PMCID: PMC2257977 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2007] [Accepted: 01/29/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity to associate stimuli underlies many cognitive abilities, including recognition, in humans and other animals. Vertebrates process different categories of information separately and then reassemble the distilled information for unique identification, storage and recall. Invertebrates have fewer neural networks and fewer neural processing options so study of their behavior may reveal underlying mechanisms still not fully understood for any animal. Some invertebrates form complex social colonies and are capable of visual memory–bees and wasps, for example. This ability would not be predicted in species that interact in random pairs without strong social cohesion; for example, crayfish. They have chemical memory but the extent to which they remember visual features is unknown. Here we demonstrate that the crayfish Cherax destructor is capable of visual recognition of individuals. The simplicity of their interactions allowed us to examine the behavior and some characteristics of the visual features involved. We showed that facial features are learned during face-to-face fights, that highly variable cues are used, that the type of variability is important, and that the learning is context-dependent. We also tested whether it is possible to engineer false identifications and for animals to distinguish between twin opponents.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ying Zheng
- Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Blair W. Patullo
- Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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Abstract
Remembering individual identities is part of our own everyday social life. Surprisingly, this ability has recently been shown in two social insects. While paper wasps recognize each other individually through their facial markings, the ant, Pachycondyla villosa, uses chemical cues. In both species, individual recognition is adaptive since it facilitates the maintenance of stable dominance hierarchies among individuals, and thus reduces the cost of conflict within these small societies. Here, we investigated individual recognition in Pachycondyla ants by quantifying the level of aggression between pairs of familiar or unfamiliar queens over time. We show that unrelated founding queens of P. villosa and Pachycondyla inversa store information on the individual identity of other queens and can retrieve it from memory after 24h of separation. Thus, we have documented for the first time that long-term memory of individual identity is present and functional in ants. This novel finding represents an advance in our understanding of the mechanism determining the evolution of cooperation among unrelated individuals.
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Hemsworth R, Villareal W, Patullo BW, MacMillan DL. Crustacean social behavioral changes in response to isolation. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2007; 213:187-195. [PMID: 17928525 DOI: 10.2307/25066634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Periods of isolation during which animals have no social contact are common in the design of behavioral experiments. They are used, for example, to test memory and recognition responses, or to ensure a baseline condition before experimental manipulations commence. We investigated the effect of isolation periods on the aggressive behavior of matched pairs of the crayfish Cherax destructor in two contexts. The first experiment tested the effects of a period of isolation between two encounters. The second experiment tested the effects of isolation before an encounter by pairing one crayfish from a communal living environment with another crayfish from an isolated one. Fight outcome and aggression levels were analyzed, resulting in three conclusions about the social biology of C. destructor. First, encounters between familiar opponents are influenced by the outcome of the familiarization fight for about 2 weeks. Second, the level of aggression and the outcome of an encounter are affected over different time frames. Third, individuals that are isolated before an encounter can be disadvantaged. These data suggest that isolation, or events that occur during periods of isolation, affect multiple elements of social behavior in C. destructor. This suggestion has implications for the interpretation of previous results and future studies in crustaceans and other taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Hemsworth
- Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Braithwaite J, Westbrook JI, Iedema RA. Health care participants’ dualism: are new sub-species evolving? Med Chir Trans 2007; 100:78-80. [PMID: 17277279 PMCID: PMC1790999 DOI: 10.1177/014107680710000222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Braithwaite
- Professor and Director, Centre for Clinical Governance Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
| | - Johanna I Westbrook
- Professor and Director, Health Informatics Research and Evaluation Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia E-mail:
| | - Rick A Iedema
- Professor and Deputy Director, Centre for Clinical Governance Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
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Tricarico E, Gherardi F. Shell acquisition by hermit crabs: which tactic is more efficient? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0191-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Johnson ME, Atema J. The olfactory pathway for individual recognition in the American lobster Homarus americanus. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006; 208:2865-72. [PMID: 16043591 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.01707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Individual recognition in the lobster Homarus americanus (Milne-Edwards), is based on detection of urine pheromones via chemoreceptors of the lateral antennular flagellum. The specific sensory pathway mediating this recognition is not known. Most of the chemoreceptor cells of this flagellum are found in the unimodal aesthetasc sensilla and project specifically to the glomeruli of the olfactory lobe in the brain. Additional chemoreceptor cells are located among mechanoreceptor cells in bimodal sensilla, including the guard hairs; they do not project to the olfactory lobe. This neuroanatomy suggested that aesthetascs were essential to all complex chemosensory tasks until it was shown that spiny lobsters Panulirus argus can still perform complex food odor discrimination and localization tasks without aesthetascs. Here, we demonstrate that the aesthetascs of H. americanus contain the chemoreceptors necessary for individual recognition of familiar opponents. In contrast to intact and guard hair-shaved animals, lobsters with aesthetascs removed did not recognize previous opponents as shown by second encounters statistically similar in length and aggression to first-encounter fights. Non-aesthetasc chemosensory pathways were incapable of rescuing opponent recognition. Subsequent lesion of all remaining chemoreceptor cells (by immersion in distilled water) abolished recognition and renewed fighting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meg E Johnson
- Boston University Marine Program, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) on a request from the Commission related to the aspects of the biology and welfare of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. EFSA J 2005. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2005.292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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Gherardi F, Tricarico E, Atema J. Unraveling the nature of individual recognition by odor in hermit crabs. J Chem Ecol 2005; 31:2877-96. [PMID: 16365711 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-005-8400-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2004] [Revised: 07/22/2005] [Accepted: 07/23/2005] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Individual recognition is a key element in the social life of many invertebrates. However, most studies conducted so far document that several species are capable of a "binary" discrimination among conspecifics, but not of a "true individual recognition." Our objective was to learn more about the mechanisms that underlie individual recognition by odor in hermit crabs by individuating some of its properties. Using Pagurus longicarpus Say 1817 as a model species, we conducted four series of experiments in which the response of every test crab (the "receiver") to the different odor treatments (emitted by a "sender") was evaluated from its investigative behavior toward an empty, high-quality shell. After having excluded the possibility that crabs chemically recognize familiar/unfamiliar shells and/or shells of high/low quality, we explored whether the receivers discriminate odors from two familiar senders and whether this discrimination also occurs with unfamiliar crabs. We also asked whether crabs form an association between the odor of a familiar sender and some of its relevant attributes, i.e., rank, size, and shell quality. Finally, the shells inhabited by familiar individuals were manipulated to modify the association between odor and shell quality. Results showed that: (1) there is no odor specific of a rank; (2) individual crabs discriminate their own odor from the odor of other individuals; (3) they can chemically discriminate between larger crabs inhabiting higher-quality shells and smaller crabs inhabiting lower-quality shells, provided that these crabs are familiar to them; (4) they associate the odor of an individual crab with the quality of the shell it inhabits; and (5) this association quickly changes when social partners switch to shells of different quality. These results indicate that the nature of chemical recognition in P. longicarpus is more refined than a simple binary system. The receiver appears able to associate a type of information from the sender with memories of past experiences, therefore suggesting the hermit crab's potential for relatively high-order knowledge about conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gherardi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50125 Florence, Italy.
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Gherardi F. Fighting behavior in hermit crabs: the combined effect of resource-holding potential and resource value in Pagurus longicarpus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2005. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-005-0074-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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