1
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Sagot M, Rose N, Chaverri G. Group vocal composition and decision-making during roost finding in Spix's disk-winged bats. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230187. [PMID: 38768206 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Theoretical work suggests that having many informed individuals within social groups can promote efficient resource location. However, it may also give rise to group fragmentation if members fail to reach consensus on their direction of movement. In this study, we investigate whether the number of informed individuals, exemplified by bats emitting calls from different roosts, influences group cohesion in Spix's disk-winged bats (Thyroptera tricolor). Additionally, we explore the role of signal reliability, quantified through signalling rates, in group consensus on where to roost. These bats use contact calls to announce the location of a roost site and recruit conspecifics. The groups they form exhibit high levels of cohesion and consist of both vocal and non-vocal bats, with vocal behaviour being consistent over time. Our findings revealed that an increase in the number of roosts broadcasting calls is strongly associated with the likelihood of groups fragmenting among multiple roosts. Additionally, we found that a majority of group members enter the roost with higher calling rates. This phenomenon can mitigate the risk of group fragmentation, as bats emitting more calls may contribute to greater group consensus on roosting locations, thereby reducing the likelihood of individuals separating and enhancing overall group cohesion. Our results highlight the potential costs of having too many information producers for group coordination, despite their established role in finding critical resources. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Sagot
- Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Oswego , Oswego, NY 13126, USA
| | - Nicole Rose
- Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Oswego , Oswego, NY 13126, USA
| | - Gloriana Chaverri
- Sede del Sur, Universidad de Costa Rica , Golfito 60701, Costa Rica
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Ancón, Panamá 0843-03092, Panama
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2
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Mezey D, Deffner D, Kurvers RHJM, Romanczuk P. Visual social information use in collective foraging. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012087. [PMID: 38701082 PMCID: PMC11095736 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012087] [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: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Collective dynamics emerge from individual-level decisions, yet we still poorly understand the link between individual-level decision-making processes and collective outcomes in realistic physical systems. Using collective foraging to study the key trade-off between personal and social information use, we present a mechanistic, spatially-explicit agent-based model that combines individual-level evidence accumulation of personal and (visual) social cues with particle-based movement. Under idealized conditions without physical constraints, our mechanistic framework reproduces findings from established probabilistic models, but explains how individual-level decision processes generate collective outcomes in a bottom-up way. In clustered environments, groups performed best if agents reacted strongly to social information, while in uniform environments, individualistic search was most beneficial. Incorporating different real-world physical and perceptual constraints profoundly shaped collective performance, and could even buffer maladaptive herding by facilitating self-organized exploration. Our study uncovers the mechanisms linking individual cognition to collective outcomes in human and animal foraging and paves the way for decentralized robotic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Mezey
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence Excellence Cluster, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dominik Deffner
- Science of Intelligence Excellence Cluster, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralf H. J. M. Kurvers
- Science of Intelligence Excellence Cluster, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence Excellence Cluster, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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3
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Respicio JMV, Dela Cruz KC, Hughes AC, Tanalgo KC. The behavioural costs of overcrowding for gregarious cave-dwelling bats. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:619-631. [PMID: 38556757 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14072] [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: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Bats are known for their gregarious social behaviour, often congregating in caves and underground habitats, where they play a pivotal role in providing various ecosystem services. Studying bat behaviour remains an underexplored aspect of bat ecology and conservation despite its ecological importance. We explored the costs and impacts of overcrowding on bat social behaviour. This study examined variations in bat behavioural patterns between two distinct groups, aggregated and non-aggregated male Rousettus amplexicaudatus, within the Monfort Bat Cave Sanctuary on Mindanao Island, Philippines. We found significant variations in the incident frequencies of various bat behavioural activities, particularly aggression and movement, between these two groups. The increase in aggregation was closely related to negative social behaviour among bats. In contrast, sexual behaviour was significantly related to the positive behaviour of individual bats and was headed in less crowded areas. The disparities in bat behaviour with an apparent decline in bat social behaviour because of overcrowding, with more aggressive behaviours emerging, align with the 'behavioural sink' hypothesis. Our study underscores the importance of considering habitat quality and resource availability in the management and conservation of bat colonies, as these factors can reduce the occurrence of aggressive and negative social behaviours in colonies with high population density by providing alternative habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeaneth Magelen V Respicio
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
| | - Kier C Dela Cruz
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
| | - Alice C Hughes
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Krizler C Tanalgo
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
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4
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Vacus R, Korman A. Abundant resources can trigger reduced consumption: Unveiling the paradox of excessive scrounging. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2322955121. [PMID: 38502696 PMCID: PMC10990140 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2322955121] [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: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
In ecological contexts, it is conventionally expected that increased food availability would boost consumption, particularly when animals prioritize maximizing their food intake. This paper challenges this conventional wisdom by conducting an in-depth game-theoretic analysis of a basic foraging model, in which animals must choose between intensive food searching as producers or moderate searching while relying on group members as scroungers. Our study reveals that, under certain circumstances, increasing food availability can amplify the inclination to scrounge to such an extent that it leads to a reduction in animals' food consumption compared to scenarios with limited food availability. We further illustrate a similar phenomenon in a model capturing free-riding dynamics among workers in a company. We demonstrate that, under certain reward mechanisms, enhancing workers' production capacities can inadvertently trigger a surge in free-riding behavior, leading to both diminished group productivity and reduced individual payoffs. Our findings provide intriguing insights into the complex relationships between individual and group performances, as well as the intricate mechanisms underlying the emergence of free-riding behavior in competitive environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Vacus
- The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Research Institute on the Foundations of Computer Science, 75013Paris, France
| | - Amos Korman
- Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa, Haifa3303221, Israel
- The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), French-Israeli Laboratory on Foundations of Computer Science, Tel-Aviv6329907, Israel
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5
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Frère CH, Class B, Potvin DA, Ilany A. Social inheritance of avoidances shapes the structure of animal social networks. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arad088. [PMID: 38193013 PMCID: PMC10773302 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Social structure can have significant effects on selection, affecting both individual fitness traits and population-level processes. As such, research into its dynamics and evolution has spiked in the last decade, where theoretical and computational advances in social network analysis have increased our understanding of its ecological and inheritance underpinnings. Yet, the processes that shape the formation of structure within social networks are poorly understood and the role of social avoidances unknown. Social avoidances are an alternate of social affiliation in animal societies, which, although invisible, likely play a role in shaping animal social networks. Assuming social avoidances evolve under similar constraints as affiliative behavior, we extended a previous model of social inheritance of affiliations to investigate the impact of social inheritance of avoidances on social network structure. We modeled avoidances as relationships that individuals can copy from their mothers or from their mother's social environment and varied the degrees to which individuals inherit social affiliates and avoidances to test their combined influence on social network structure. We found that inheriting avoidances via maternal social environments made social networks less dense and more modular, thereby demonstrating how social avoidance can shape the evolution of animal social networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine H Frère
- School of the Environment, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Barbara Class
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Petrie, QLD 4502, Australia
- Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Munich, Germany
| | - Dominique A Potvin
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Petrie, QLD 4502, Australia
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 590002, Israel
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6
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Blersch R, Vandeleest JJ, Nathman AC, Pósfai M, D'Souza R, McCowan B, Beisner BA. What you have, not who you know: food-enhanced social capital and changes in social behavioural relationships in a non-human primate. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231460. [PMID: 38234443 PMCID: PMC10791527 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Social network position in non-human primates has far-reaching fitness consequences. Critically, social networks are both heterogeneous and dynamic, meaning an individual's current network position is likely to change due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, our understanding of the drivers of changes in social network position is largely confined to opportunistic studies. Experimental research on the consequences of in situ, controlled network perturbations is limited. Here we conducted a food-based experiment in rhesus macaques to assess whether allowing an individual the ability to provide high-quality food to her group changed her social behavioural relationships. We considered both her social network position across five behavioural networks, as well as her dominance and kin interactions. We found that gaining control over a preferential food resource had far-reaching social consequences. There was an increase in both submission and aggression centrality and changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of her agonistic interaction partners. Further, we found that her grooming balance shifted in her favour as she received more grooming than she gave. Together, these results provide a novel, preliminary insight into how in situ, experimental manipulations can modify social network position and point to broader network-level shifts in both social capital and social power.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary Blersch
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jessica J. Vandeleest
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Amy C. Nathman
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Márton Pósfai
- Dept. of Network and Data Science, Central European University, Budapest, Nadoru 13104, Hungary
| | - Raissa D'Souza
- University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- The Sante Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Brianne A. Beisner
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 2409 Taylor Rd, Suwanee, GA 30024, USA
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7
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Cram DL, Lloyd-Jones DJ, van der Wal JEM, Lund J, Buanachique IO, Muamedi M, Nanguar CI, Ngovene A, Raveh S, Boner W, Spottiswoode CN. Guides and cheats: producer-scrounger dynamics in the human-honeyguide mutualism. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20232024. [PMID: 37935365 PMCID: PMC10645085 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Foraging animals commonly choose whether to find new food (as 'producers') or scavenge from others (as 'scroungers'), and this decision has ecological and evolutionary consequences. Understanding these tactic decisions is particularly vital for naturally occurring producer-scrounger systems of economic importance, because they determine the system's productivity and resilience. Here, we investigate how individuals' traits predict tactic decisions, and the consistency and pay-offs of these decisions, in the remarkable mutualism between humans (Homo sapiens) and greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator). Honeyguides can either guide people to bees' nests and eat the resulting beeswax (producing), or scavenge beeswax (scrounging). Our results suggest that honeyguides flexibly switched tactics, and that guiding yielded greater access to the beeswax. Birds with longer tarsi scrounged more, perhaps because they are more competitive. The lightest females rarely guided, possibly to avoid aggression, or because genetic matrilines may affect female body mass and behaviour in this species. Overall, aspects of this producer-scrounger system probably increase the productivity and resilience of the associated human-honeyguide mutualism, because the pay-offs incentivize producing, and tactic-switching increases the pool of potential producers. Broadly, our findings suggest that even where tactic-switching is prevalent and producing yields greater pay-offs, certain phenotypes may be predisposed to one tactic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic L. Cram
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - David J. Lloyd-Jones
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Jessica E. M. van der Wal
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Jess Lund
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EJ, UK
| | | | | | | | - Antonio Ngovene
- EO Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
| | - Shirley Raveh
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Winnie Boner
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Claire N. Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EJ, UK
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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8
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Dubois F. Skill trade-offs promote persistent individual differences and specialized tactics. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10578. [PMID: 37809359 PMCID: PMC10550786 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals generally differ in their ability to perform challenging behaviours, but the causes of such variability remain incompletely understood. Because animals can usually use different behavioural tactics to achieve their goals, we might expect individual differences in skill to be maintained when the available tactics require different abilities to perform well. To explore this idea, I used the producer-scrounger (PS) paradigm, which considers interactions between foragers that may either invest effort in searching for resources (i.e. produce) or exploit others' discoveries (i.e. scrounge). Specifically, I tested whether individual differences in cognitive traits (i.e. the ability to find food) might result from a trade-off with competitiveness (i.e. the ability to steal food) that would exert disruptive selection pressure and, as such, might explain the coexistence of condition-dependent foraging tactics. If individuals differ in their competitiveness, with strong contestants being better able to monopolize food resources (and hence to scrounge), the model predicts that strong and weak competitors should rely more on scrounging and producing, respectively, especially when the finder's advantage is low. These findings indicate that the existence of individual differences in competitive abilities may be sufficient to explain short-term individual foraging tactic specialization. Yet, the degree of behavioural specialization is expected to depend on both the social and ecological context. Furthermore, persistent phenotypic differences, that are necessary for stable individual specialization, require the existence of a trade-off between competitive abilities that enable greater success as scroungers and cognitive abilities that are associated with better efficiency to detect and/or capture prey and, as such, enable greater success as producers. Therefore, this study further highlights the importance of considering the existence of alternative tactics to measure and predict the evolution of traits, including cognitive traits, within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédérique Dubois
- Département de Sciences BiologiquesUniversité de MontréalMontrealQuebecCanada
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9
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Forli A, Yartsev MM. Hippocampal representation during collective spatial behaviour in bats. Nature 2023; 621:796-803. [PMID: 37648869 PMCID: PMC10533399 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06478-7] [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: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Social animals live and move through spaces shaped by the presence, motion and sensory cues of multiple other individuals1-6. Neural activity in the hippocampus is known to reflect spatial behaviour7-9 yet its study is lacking in such dynamic group settings, which are ubiquitous in natural environments. Here we studied hippocampal activity in groups of bats engaged in collective spatial behaviour. We find that, under spontaneous conditions, a robust spatial structure emerges at the group level whereby behaviour is anchored to specific locations, movement patterns and individual social preferences. Using wireless electrophysiological recordings from both stationary and flying bats, we find that many hippocampal neurons are tuned to key features of group dynamics. These include the presence or absence of a conspecific, but not typically of an object, at landing sites, shared spatial locations, individual identities and sensory signals that are broadcasted in the group setting. Finally, using wireless calcium imaging, we find that social responses are anatomically distributed and robustly represented at the population level. Combined, our findings reveal that hippocampal activity contains a rich representation of naturally emerging spatial behaviours in animal groups that could in turn support the complex feat of collective behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo Forli
- Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michael M Yartsev
- Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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10
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Avila-Chauvet L, Mejía Cruz D, García-Leal Ó, Kluwe-Schiavon B. To produce or not to produce? Contrasting the effect of substance abuse in social decision-making situations. Heliyon 2023; 9:e19714. [PMID: 37809835 PMCID: PMC10559002 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19714] [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: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorders (SUD) have been related to high criminal justice costs, expensive healthcare, social impairment, and decision-making deficits. In non-social decision-making tasks, people with SUD tend to take more risks and choose small immediate rewards than controls. However, few studies have explored how people with SUD behave in social decision-making situations where the resources and profits depend directly on participants' real-time interaction, i.e., social foraging situations. To fulfill this gap, we developed a real-time interaction task to (a) compare the proportion of producers (individuals who tend to search for food sources) and scroungers (individuals who tend to steal or join previously discovered food sources) among participants with SUD and controls with respect to the optimal behavior predicted by the Rate Maximization Model, and (b) explore the relationship between social foraging strategies, prosocial behavior, and impulsivity. Here participants with SUD (n = 20) and a non-user control group (n = 20) were exposed to the Guaymas Foraging task (GFT), the Social Discounting task (SD), and the Delay Discounting task (DD). We found that participants in the control group tended to produce more and obtain higher profits in contrast to substance abuser groups. Additionally, SD and DD rates were higher for scroungers than producers regardless of the group. Our results suggest that producers tend to be more altruistic and less impulsive than scroungers. Knowing more about social strategies and producers' characteristics could help develop substance abuse prevention programs.
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11
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Heinen VK, Pitera AM, Sonnenberg BR, Branch CL, Benedict LM, Welklin JF, Whitenack LE, Bridge ES, Pravosudov VV. Food-caching chickadees with specialized spatial cognition do not use scrounging as a stable strategy when learning a spatial task. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230900. [PMID: 37434529 PMCID: PMC10336377 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0900] [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: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social animals may use alternative strategies when foraging, with producer-scrounger being one stable dichotomy of strategies. While 'producers' search and discover new food sources, 'scroungers' obtain food discovered by producers. Previous work suggests that differences in cognitive abilities may influence tendencies toward being either a producer or a scrounger, but scrounging behaviour in the context of specialized cognitive abilities is less understood. We investigated whether food-caching mountain chickadees, which rely on spatial cognition to retrieve food caches, engage in scrounging when learning a spatial task. We analysed data from seven seasons of spatial cognition testing, using arrays of radio frequency identification-enabled bird feeders, to identify and quantify potential scrounging behaviour. Chickadees rarely engaged in scrounging, scrounging was not repeatable within individuals and nearly all scrounging events occurred before the bird learned the 'producer' strategy. Scrounging was less frequent in harsher winters, but adults scrounged more than juveniles, and birds at higher elevations scrounged more than chickadees at lower elevations. There was no clear association between spatial cognitive abilities and scrounging frequency. Overall, our study suggests that food-caching species with specialized spatial cognition do not use scrounging as a stable strategy when learning a spatial task, instead relying on learning abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia K. Heinen
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Angela M. Pitera
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Benjamin R. Sonnenberg
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Carrie L. Branch
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2
| | - Lauren M. Benedict
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Joseph F. Welklin
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Lauren E. Whitenack
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | | | - Vladimir V. Pravosudov
- Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Nevada, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, Reno, NV 89557, USA
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12
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Tarnovsky YC, Taiber S, Nissan Y, Boonman A, Assaf Y, Wilkinson GS, Avraham KB, Yovel Y. Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:e202201847. [PMID: 36997281 PMCID: PMC10067528 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201847] [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: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hearing loss is a hallmark of aging, typically initially affecting the higher frequencies. In echolocating bats, the ability to discern high frequencies is essential. However, nothing is known about age-related hearing loss in bats, and they are often assumed to be immune to it. We tested the hearing of 47 wild Egyptian fruit bats by recording their auditory brainstem response and cochlear microphonics, and we also assessed the cochlear histology in four of these bats. We used the bats' DNA methylation profile to evaluate their age and found that bats exhibit age-related hearing loss, with more prominent deterioration at the higher frequencies. The rate of the deterioration was ∼1 dB per year, comparable to the hearing loss observed in humans. Assessing the noise in the fruit bat roost revealed that these bats are exposed to continuous immense noise-mostly of social vocalizations-supporting the assumption that bats might be partially resistant to loud noise. Thus, in contrast to previous assumptions, our results suggest that bats constitute a model animal for the study of age-related hearing loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifat Chaya Tarnovsky
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Shahar Taiber
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yomiran Nissan
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Arjan Boonman
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yaniv Assaf
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Karen B Avraham
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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13
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Parthasarathy B, Dumke M, Herberstein ME, Schneider JM. Male cooperation improves their own and kin-group productivity in a group-foraging spider. Sci Rep 2023; 13:366. [PMID: 36611080 PMCID: PMC9825364 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-27282-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperation should only evolve if the direct and/or indirect benefits exceed the costs. Hence, cooperators are expected to generate selective benefits for themselves and the kin-group while defectors will impose costs. The subsocial spider, Australomisidia ergandros, shows consistent cooperation and defection tactics while foraging. Cooperative individuals are consistently likely to share prey with other group members whereas defector spiders rarely share the prey they acquired. Here, we assess costs and benefits of cooperation, and the causal determinants behind cooperative and defective phenotypes. We constructed experimental kin-colonies of A. ergandros composed of pure cooperative or defector foragers and show that pure cooperative groups had higher hunting success as they acquired prey more quickly with greater joint participation than pure defector groups. Importantly, defectors suffered higher mortality than cooperators and lost considerable weight. A social network approach using subadult spiders revealed that foraging tactic is sex dependent with males cooperating more frequently than females. Our results provide a rare empirical demonstration of sex-specific male cooperation that confer individual and kin-group benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bharat Parthasarathy
- Institute for Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Marlis Dumke
- Institute for Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marie E Herberstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Jutta M Schneider
- Institute for Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
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14
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Harding CD, Yovel Y, Peirson SN, Hackett TD, Vyazovskiy VV. Re-examining extreme sleep duration in bats: implications for sleep phylogeny, ecology, and function. Sleep 2022; 45:6547911. [PMID: 35279722 PMCID: PMC9366634 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Bats, quoted as sleeping for up to 20 h a day, are an often used example of extreme sleep duration amongst mammals. Given that duration has historically been one of the primary metrics featured in comparative studies of sleep, it is important that species specific sleep durations are well founded. Here, we re-examined the evidence for the characterization of bats as extreme sleepers and discuss whether it provides a useful representation of the sleep behavior of Chiroptera. Although there are a wealth of activity data to suggest that the diurnal cycle of bats is dominated by rest, estimates of sleep time generated from electrophysiological analyses suggest considerable interspecific variation, ranging from 83% to a more moderate 61% of the 24 h day spent asleep. Temperature-dependent changes in the duration and electroencephalographic profile of sleep suggest that bats represent a unique model for investigating the relationship between sleep and torpor. Further sources of intra-specific variation in sleep duration, including the impact of artificial laboratory environments and sleep intensity, remain unexplored. Future studies conducted in naturalistic environments, using larger sample sizes and relying on a pre-determined set of defining criteria will undoubtedly provide novel insights into sleep in bats and other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian D Harding
- Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Oxford, UK
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Stuart N Peirson
- The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Oxford, UK.,Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Vladyslav V Vyazovskiy
- Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Oxford, UK
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15
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Leimar O, Dall SRX, Houston AI, McNamara JM. Behavioural specialization and learning in social networks. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220954. [PMID: 35946152 PMCID: PMC9363987 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0954] [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] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions in social groups can promote behavioural specialization. One way this can happen is when individuals engage in activities with two behavioural options and learn which option to choose. We analyse interactions in groups where individuals learn from playing games with two actions and negatively frequency-dependent payoffs, such as producer-scrounger, caller-satellite, or hawk-dove games. Group members are placed in social networks, characterized by the group size and the number of neighbours to interact with, ranging from just a few neighbours to interactions between all group members. The networks we analyse include ring lattices and the much-studied small-world networks. By implementing two basic reinforcement-learning approaches, action-value learning and actor-critic learning, in different games, we find that individuals often show behavioural specialization. Specialization develops more rapidly when there are few neighbours in a network and when learning rates are high. There can be learned specialization also with many neighbours, but we show that, for action-value learning, behavioural consistency over time is higher with a smaller number of neighbours. We conclude that frequency-dependent competition for resources is a main driver of specialization. We discuss our theoretical results in relation to experimental and field observations of behavioural specialization in social situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Leimar
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sasha R. X. Dall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | - John M. McNamara
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
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16
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Kohles JE, O'Mara MT, Dechmann DKN. A conceptual framework to predict social information use based on food ephemerality and individual resource requirements. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:2039-2056. [PMID: 35932159 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12881] [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: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Environmental variability poses a range of challenges to foraging animals trying to meet their energetic needs. Where food patches are unpredictable but shareable, animals can use social information to locate patches more efficiently or reliably. However, resource unpredictability can be heterogeneous and complex. The behavioural strategies animals employ to exploit such resources also vary, particularly if, when, and where animals use available social information. We reviewed the literature on social information use by foraging animals and developed a novel framework that integrates four elements - (1) food resource persistence; (2) the relative value of social information use; (3) behavioural context (opportunistic or coordinated); and (4) location of social information use - to predict and characterize four strategies of social information use - (1) local enhancement; (2) group facilitation; (3) following; and (4) recruitment. We validated our framework by systematically reviewing the growing empirical literature on social foraging in bats, an ideal model taxon because they exhibit extreme diversity in ecological niche and experience low predation risk while foraging but function at high energy expenditures, which selects for efficient foraging behaviours. Our framework's predictions agreed with the observed natural behaviour of bats and identified key knowledge gaps for future studies. Recent advancements in technology, methods, and analysis will facilitate additional studies in bats and other taxa to further test the framework and our conception of the ecological and evolutionary forces driving social information use. Understanding the links between food distribution, social information use, and foraging behaviour will help elucidate social interactions, group structure, and the evolution of sociality for species across the animal kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna E Kohles
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - M Teague O'Mara
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama.,Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, 808 N. Pine Street, Hammond, LA, 70402, USA
| | - Dina K N Dechmann
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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17
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Todd CM, Westcott DA, Martin JM, Rose K, McKeown A, Hall J, Welbergen JA. Body-size dependent foraging strategies in the Christmas Island flying-fox: implications for seed and pollen dispersal within a threatened island ecosystem. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:19. [PMID: 35410304 PMCID: PMC8996557 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00315-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animals are important vectors for the dispersal of a wide variety of plant species, and thus play a key role in maintaining the health and biodiversity of natural ecosystems. On oceanic islands, flying-foxes are often the only seed dispersers or pollinators. However, many flying-fox populations are currently in decline, particularly those of insular species, and this has consequences for the ecological services they provide. Knowledge of the drivers and the scale of flying-fox movements is important in determining the ecological roles that flying-foxes play on islands. This information is also useful for understanding the potential long-term consequences for forest dynamics resulting from population declines or extinction, and so can aid in the development of evidence-based ecological management strategies. To these ends, we examined the foraging movements, floral resource use, and social interactions of the Critically Endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis). METHODS Utilization distributions, using movement-based kernel estimates (MBKE) were generated to determine nightly foraging movements of GPS-tracked P. natalis (n = 24). Generalized linear models (GLMs), linear mixed-effect models (LMMs), and Generalized linear mixed-effects model (GLMMs) were constructed to explain how intrinsic factors (body mass, skeletal size, and sex) affected the extent of foraging movements. In addition, we identified pollen collected from facial and body swabs of P. natalis (n = 216) to determine foraging resource use. Direct observations (n = 272) of foraging P. natalis enabled us to assess the various behaviors used to defend foraging resources. RESULTS Larger P. natalis individuals spent more time foraging and less time traveling between foraging patches, traveled shorter nightly distances, and had smaller overall foraging ranges than smaller conspecifics. Additionally, larger individuals visited a lower diversity of floral resources. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that smaller P. natalis individuals are the primary vectors of long-distance dispersal of pollen and digested seeds in this species, providing a vital mechanism for maintaining the flow of plant genetic diversity across Christmas Island. Overall, our study highlights the need for more holistic research approaches that incorporate population demographics when assessing a species' ecological services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M. Todd
- The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
| | - David A. Westcott
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 47-67 Maunds St, Atherton, QLD 4883 Australia
- Atherton, Australia
| | - John M. Martin
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088 Australia
| | - Karrie Rose
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088 Australia
| | - Adam McKeown
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Waite Rd, Urrbrae, SA 5064 Australia
| | - Jane Hall
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman, NSW 2088 Australia
| | - Justin A. Welbergen
- The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
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18
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Zhang W, Rose MC, Yartsev MM. A unifying mechanism governing inter-brain neural relationship during social interactions. eLife 2022; 11:70493. [PMID: 35142287 PMCID: PMC8947764 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70493] [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] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A key goal of social neuroscience is to understand the inter-brain neural relationship-the relationship between the neural activity of socially interacting individuals. Decades of research investigating this relationship have focused on the similarity in neural activity across brains. Here, we instead asked how neural activity differs between brains, and how that difference evolves alongside activity patterns shared between brains. Applying this framework to bats engaged in spontaneous social interactions revealed two complementary phenomena characterizing the inter-brain neural relationship: fast fluctuations of activity difference across brains unfolding in parallel with slow activity covariation across brains. A model reproduced these observations and generated multiple predictions that we confirmed using experimental data involving pairs of bats and a larger social group of bats. The model suggests that a simple computational mechanism involving positive and negative feedback could explain diverse experimental observations regarding the inter-brain neural relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wujie Zhang
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Maimon C Rose
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Michael M Yartsev
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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19
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Murtazina EP, Buyanova IS, Ginzburg-Shik YA. Experimental Models of the Dyadic Operant Behavior of Rats in Different Social Contexts. BIOL BULL+ 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359021090144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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20
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Goldshtein A, Harten L, Yovel Y. Mother bats facilitate pup navigation learning. Curr Biol 2021; 32:350-360.e4. [PMID: 34822768 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Learning where to forage and how to navigate to foraging sites are among the most essential skills that infants must acquire. How they do so is poorly understood. Numerous bat species carry their young in flight while foraging. This behavior is costly, and the benefits for the offspring are not fully clear. Using GPS tracking of both mothers and bat pups, we documented the pups' ontogeny from being non-volant to foraging independently. Our results suggest that mothers facilitate learning of navigation, assisting their pups with future foraging, by repeatedly placing them on specific trees and by behaving in a manner that seemed to encourage learning. Once independent, pups first flew alone to the same sites that they were carried to by their mothers, following similar routes used by their mothers, after which they began exploring new sites. Notably, in our observations, pups never independently followed their mothers in flight but were always carried by them, suggesting that learning occurred while passively being transported upside down.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Goldshtein
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Lee Harten
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin 14193, Germany.
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21
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Rose MC, Styr B, Schmid TA, Elie JE, Yartsev MM. Cortical representation of group social communication in bats. Science 2021; 374:eaba9584. [PMID: 34672724 PMCID: PMC8775406 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba9584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions occur in group settings and are mediated by communication signals that are exchanged between individuals, often using vocalizations. The neural representation of group social communication remains largely unexplored. We conducted simultaneous wireless electrophysiological recordings from the frontal cortices of groups of Egyptian fruit bats engaged in both spontaneous and task-induced vocal interactions. We found that the activity of single neurons distinguished between vocalizations produced by self and by others, as well as among specific individuals. Coordinated neural activity among group members exhibited stable bidirectional interbrain correlation patterns specific to spontaneous communicative interactions. Tracking social and spatial arrangements within a group revealed a relationship between social preferences and intra- and interbrain activity patterns. Combined, these findings reveal a dedicated neural repertoire for group social communication within and across the brains of freely communicating groups of bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maimon C. Rose
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Boaz Styr
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Tobias A. Schmid
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Julie E. Elie
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael M. Yartsev
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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22
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Lourie E, Schiffner I, Toledo S, Nathan R. Memory and Conformity, but Not Competition, Explain Spatial Partitioning Between Two Neighboring Fruit Bat Colonies. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.732514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial partitioning between neighboring colonies is considered a widespread phenomenon in colonial species, reported mainly in marine birds. Partitioning is suspected to emerge due to various processes, such as competition, diet specialization, memory, information transfer, or even “foraging cultures.” Yet, empirical evidence from other taxa, and studies that tease apart the relative contribution of the processes underlying partitioning, remain scarce, mostly due to insufficiently detailed movement data. Here, we used high-resolution movement tracks (at 0.125 Hz) of 107 individuals belonging to two neighboring colonies of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), a highly gregarious central-place forager, using the ATLAS reverse-GPS system in the Hula Valley, Israel. Based on comparisons between agent-based mechanistic models and observed spatial partitioning patterns, we found high levels of partitioning of both area and tree resources (<11% overlap) that were stable across different fruiting seasons. Importantly, partitioning could not have emerged if the bats’ movement was only limited by food availability and travel distances, as most commonly hypothesized. Rather than density-dependent or between-colony competition, memory, and, to a lesser extent, conformity in tree-use explain how partitioning develops. Elucidating the mechanisms that shape spatial partitioning among neighboring colonies in the wild under variable resource conditions is important for understanding the ecology and evolution of inter-group coexistence, space use patterns and sociality.
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23
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Harten L, Gonceer N, Handel M, Dash O, Fokidis HB, Yovel Y. Urban bat pups take after their mothers and are bolder and faster learners than rural pups. BMC Biol 2021; 19:190. [PMID: 34493290 PMCID: PMC8422611 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01131-z] [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: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Urbanization is rapidly changing our planet and animals that live in urban environments must quickly adjust their behavior. One of the most prevalent behavioral characteristics of urban dwelling animals is an increased level of risk-taking. Here, we aimed to reveal how urban fruitbats become risk-takers, and how they differ behaviorally from rural bats, studying both genetic and non-genetic factors that might play a role in the process. We assessed the personality of newborn pups from both rural and urban colonies before they acquired experience outdoors, examining risk-taking, exploration, and learning rates. RESULTS Urban pups exhibited significantly higher risk-taking levels, they were faster learners, but less exploratory than their rural counterparts. A cross-fostering experiment revealed that pups were more similar to their adoptive mothers, thus suggesting a non-genetic mechanism and pointing towards a maternal effect. We moreover found that lactating urban mothers have higher cortisol levels in their milk, which could potentially explain the transmission of some personality traits from mother to pup. CONCLUSIONS Young bats seem to acquire environment suitable traits via post-birth non-genetic maternal effects. We offer a potential mechanism for how urban pups can acquire urban-suitable behavioral traits through hormonal transfer from their mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Harten
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nesim Gonceer
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Michal Handel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orit Dash
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - H Bobby Fokidis
- Department of Biology, Rollins College, P.O. Box 874601, Winter Park, Florida, 32708, USA
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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24
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Rodríguez-Ruiz G, Recio P, López P, Martín J. Foraging decisions of rock lizards may be dependent both on current rival assessment and dear enemy recognition. Behav Processes 2021; 192:104494. [PMID: 34481897 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104494] [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: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Foraging strategies aim to maximize the amount of food obtained while minimizing searching costs. To reduce these costs, animals use different strategies based on the use of personal or social information to exploit food patches. At the same time, the social attraction for food resources could increase competition intensity for them. Prior experiences of animals regarding social risk and the foreknowledge of the competitors might drive the foraging strategies. In this paper, we examined experimentally whether rock lizards used behavioural strategies to reduce the risks of foraging in presence of potential competitors. We measured the foraging behaviour of a lizard resident to a territory (i.e. terrarium), in the presence of both familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics (potential competitors). We considered whether foraging choices between two food sources of different value (i.e. quantity) are influenced by familiarity with the intruder and the evaluation of its competitive ability based on body size differences between lizards. We found differences in the number of attacks performed to the best food source, with more attacks when the intruder was unfamiliar. The results suggest evidence of both dear enemy recognition and current rival assessment modulate the foraging choices depending on the identity and the social relationship with the intruder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Rodríguez-Ruiz
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid, Spain.
| | - Pablo Recio
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar López
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid, Spain
| | - José Martín
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid, Spain
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25
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Crisp RJ, Brent LJN, Carter GG. Social dominance and cooperation in female vampire bats. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210266. [PMID: 34295524 PMCID: PMC8261227 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
When group-living animals develop individualized social relationships, they often regulate cooperation and conflict through a dominance hierarchy. Female common vampire bats have been an experimental system for studying cooperative relationships, yet surprisingly little is known about female conflict. Here, we recorded the outcomes of 1023 competitive interactions over food provided ad libitum in a captive colony of 33 vampire bats (24 adult females and their young). We found a weakly linear dominance hierarchy using three common metrics (Landau's h' measure of linearity, triangle transitivity and directional consistency). However, patterns of female dominance were less structured than in many other group-living mammals. Female social rank was not clearly predicted by body size, age, nor reproductive status, and competitive interactions were not correlated with kinship, grooming nor food sharing. We therefore found no evidence that females groomed or shared food up a hierarchy or that differences in rank explained asymmetries in grooming or food sharing. A possible explanation for such apparently egalitarian relationships among female vampire bats is the scale of competition. Female vampire bats that are frequent roostmates might not often directly compete for food in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel J. Crisp
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Gerald G. Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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26
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Egert-Berg K, Handel M, Goldshtein A, Eitan O, Borissov I, Yovel Y. Fruit bats adjust their foraging strategies to urban environments to diversify their diet. BMC Biol 2021; 19:123. [PMID: 34134697 PMCID: PMC8210355 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01060-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Urbanization is one of the most influential processes on our globe, putting a great number of species under threat. Some species learn to cope with urbanization, and a few even benefit from it, but we are only starting to understand how they do so. In this study, we GPS tracked Egyptian fruit bats from urban and rural populations to compare their movement and foraging in urban and rural environments. Because fruit trees are distributed differently in these two environments, with a higher diversity in urban environments, we hypothesized that foraging strategies will differ too. Results When foraging in urban environments, bats were much more exploratory than when foraging in rural environments, visiting more sites per hour and switching foraging sites more often on consecutive nights. By doing so, bats foraging in settlements diversified their diet in comparison to rural bats, as was also evident from their choice to often switch fruit species. Interestingly, the location of the roost did not dictate the foraging grounds, and we found that many bats choose to roost in the countryside but nightly commute to and forage in urban environments. Conclusions Bats are unique among small mammals in their ability to move far rapidly. Our study is an excellent example of how animals adjust to environmental changes, and it shows how such mobile mammals might exploit the new urban fragmented environment that is taking over our landscape. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-021-01060-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katya Egert-Berg
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Michal Handel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Aya Goldshtein
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ofri Eitan
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ivailo Borissov
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel. .,School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel. .,Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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27
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Be early or be tolerated: vervet monkey, Chlorocebus pygerythrus, foraging strategies in a dispersed resource. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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28
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Nagarajan-Radha V, Devaraj PSD. Sex differences in postprandial blood glucose and body surface temperature are contingent on flight in the fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx. Biol Open 2021; 10:bio.053926. [PMID: 33509836 PMCID: PMC7903995 DOI: 10.1242/bio.053926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The postprandial blood glucose level is very high for the body size in frugivorous bats. Like other homeotherms, bats release heat during digestion of dietary macronutrients. Despite males and females of the same species exhibiting different foraging behaviour, empirical support for sex differences in blood glucose and body surface temperature in fruit bats is poor. Moreover, while flight affects postprandial metabolism, whether such effects are different in each sex of fruit bats is unclear. Here, we studied these questions in the fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx. We first assessed whether there are sex differences in the postprandial level of blood glucose and body surface temperature over time in rested bats. We then assessed whether flight affects outcomes of sex differences in both traits. We found that the estimated marginal means of both traits were generally higher in females than males, in rested bats. Notably, the sex difference in both traits was only significant at specific sampling time of the assay. Further, the trait means significantly differed between the sexes only in the rested, but not active, bats, meaning that signals of sex difference in metabolic traits eroded when bats were active. Taken together, our findings suggest that in C. sphinx, the sex specificity in the expression of metabolic traits is significantly dependent on physical activity. Summary: The level of sex differences in metabolic traits is affected by flight in Cynopterus sphinx, a finding that has general implications for sex-specific life-history evolution in fruit bats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paramanantha Swami Doss Devaraj
- Centre for Behavioural and Immuno Ecology, Department of Zoology, St. John's College, Palayamkottai 627002, Tamil Nadu, India
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29
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30
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Alfaro L, Cabrera R. Effect of group size on producer-scrounger strategies of Wistar rats. Behav Processes 2020; 182:104280. [PMID: 33188845 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In a collective foraging situation, we assessed the distribution of search responses of Wistar rats relative to the size of the group. For both, small and large groups, the number of production opportunities per capita was equal. Foraging strategies were classified as either production (opening gates with food) or scrounging (following conspecifics). Small groups showed a higher proportion of producers than large groups and required less time to deplete the food. The proportion of producing and scrounging responses yields to equilibrium between their payoffs. Producing and scrounging were highly correlated with different prior responses. Also, the relative frequency of producing and scrounging associated activities correlated with the time spent consuming food procured by each activity. It is possible that a simple outcome-strategy feedback mechanism mediates the choice of prior activities and procurement responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Alfaro
- Universidad De Guadalajara (Cuvalles), Mexico
| | - Rosalva Cabrera
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Fes Iztacala), Mexico.
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31
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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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32
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Pacheco XP. How consistently do personality attributes relate to an individual’s position within a social network: a comparison across groups of captive meerkats. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02880-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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33
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Vickery WL. Producing and scrounging can have stabilizing effects at multiple levels of organization. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2969-2978. [PMID: 32211169 PMCID: PMC7083674 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6111] [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: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
This study shows, for the first time, that the evolution of a simple behavior, scrounging, at the individual level can have effects on populations, food chains, and community structure. In particular, the addition of scrounging in consumer populations can allow multiple consumers to coexist while exploiting a single prey. Also, scrounging in the top predator of a tritrophic food chain can stabilize interactions between the top predator, its prey, and its prey's prey. This occurs because the payoffs to scrounging for food in a population are negative frequency dependent, allowing scroungers to invade a population and to coexist with producers at a frequency which is density-dependent. The presence of scroungers, who do not search for resources but simply use those found by others (producers) reduces the total amount of resource acquired by the group. As scrounging increases with group size, this leads to less resource acquired per individual as the group grows. Ultimately, this limits the size of the group, its impact on its prey, and its ability to outcompete other species. These effects can promote stability and thus increase species diversity. I will further suggest that prey may alter their spatial distribution such that scrounging will be profitable among their predators thus reducing predation rate on the prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- William L Vickery
- Département des Sciences biologiques, et Groupe de recherche en écologie du comportement Université du Québec à Montréal Montreal QC Canada
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34
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Bachorec E, Horáček I, Hulva P, Konečný A, Lučan RK, Jedlička P, Shohdi WM, Řeřucha Š, Abi-Said M, Bartonička T. Spatial networks differ when food supply changes: Foraging strategy of Egyptian fruit bats. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229110. [PMID: 32097434 PMCID: PMC7041839 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals are faced with a range of ecological constraints that shape their behavioural decisions. Habitat features that affect resource abundance will also have an impact, especially as regards spatial distribution, which will in turn affect associations between the animals. Here we utilised a network approach, using spatial and genetic data, to describe patterns in use of space (foraging sites) by free-ranging Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) at the Dakhla Oasis in Egypt. We observed a decrease in home range size during spring, when food availability was lowest, which was reflected by differences in space sharing networks. Our data showed that when food was abundant, space sharing networks were less connected and more related individuals shared more foraging sites. In comparison, when food was scarce the bats had few possibilities to decide where and with whom to forage. Overall, both networks had high mean degree, suggesting communal knowledge of predictable food distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Bachorec
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Horáček
- Department of Zoology, Charles University in Prague, Viničná, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Hulva
- Department of Zoology, Charles University in Prague, Viničná, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Konečný
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radek K. Lučan
- Department of Zoology, Charles University in Prague, Viničná, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Jedlička
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ISI), Královopolská, Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | - Šimon Řeřucha
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ISI), Královopolská, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Mounir Abi-Said
- Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon
| | - Tomáš Bartonička
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská, Brno, Czech Republic
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35
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Decision making in foraging bats. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 60:169-175. [PMID: 31927435 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Foraging is a complex and cognitively demanding behavior. Although it is often regarded as a mundane task, foraging requires the continuous weighting and integration of many sources of information with varying levels of credence. Bats are extremely diverse in their ecology and behavior, and thus demonstrate a wide variety of foraging strategies. In this review, we examine the different factors influencing the decision process of bats during foraging. Technological developments of recent years will soon enable real-time tracking of environmental conditions, of the position and quality of food items, the location of conspecifics, and the bat's movement history. Monitoring these variables alongside the continuous movement of the bat will facilitate the testing of different decision-making theories such as the use of reinforcement learning in wild free ranging bats and other animals.
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36
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Vernes SC, Wilkinson GS. Behaviour, biology and evolution of vocal learning in bats. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 375:20190061. [PMID: 31735153 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalizations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Here, we apply this framework to the current state-of-the-art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology and genetics) and evolution of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C Vernes
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, PO Box 310, Nijmegen 6500 AH, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Kapittelweg 29, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands
| | - Gerald S Wilkinson
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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37
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Kitchenham L, Ervin K, Tigert M, Mason G, Choleris E. Does demonstrator relevance affect social preferences and the social transmission of food preferences in female mice (Mus musculus)? Behav Processes 2019; 169:103983. [PMID: 31622658 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103983] [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: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This study examined whether a history of beneficial social learning experiences affects social partner preferences in laboratory mice (Mus musculus) and whether observer mice acquire adaptive model-based social learning strategies through associative learning. We tested whether observers would come to socially prefer demonstrators who provide beneficial information through the social transmission of food preference (STFP), over demonstrators who do not; and whether they would preferentially attend to and learn from such demonstrators. Observers were given repeated exposures to two demonstrators who differed in whether or not they consistently provided beneficial information (which increased observers' ingestion of food via the STFP). After multiple social learning experiences with a "relevant demonstrator" (our CS+) whose demonstrated food was available for consumption (our US) by the observer and a "non-relevant demonstrator" whose demonstrated food was never encountered, neither demonstrator was preferred over the other. Furthermore, observers learned equally well from both relevant and non-relevant demonstrators. The present findings suggest that adaptive model-based social learning strategies are not followed in the STFP, although we recommend further testing of the social preference hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelsy Ervin
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Melissa Tigert
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Georgia Mason
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
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38
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Smalley I, Kim E, Li J, Spence P, Wyatt CJ, Eroglu Z, Sondak VK, Messina JL, Babacan NA, Maria-Engler SS, De Armas L, Williams SL, Gatenby RA, Chen YA, Anderson ARA, Smalley KSM. Leveraging transcriptional dynamics to improve BRAF inhibitor responses in melanoma. EBioMedicine 2019; 48:178-190. [PMID: 31594749 PMCID: PMC6838387 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Melanoma is a heterogeneous tumour, but the impact of this heterogeneity upon therapeutic response is not well understood. METHODS Single cell mRNA analysis was used to define the transcriptional heterogeneity of melanoma and its dynamic response to BRAF inhibitor therapy and treatment holidays. Discrete transcriptional states were defined in cell lines and melanoma patient specimens that predicted initial sensitivity to BRAF inhibition and the potential for effective re-challenge following resistance. A mathematical model was developed to maintain competition between the drug-sensitive and resistant states, which was validated in vivo. FINDINGS Our analyses showed melanoma cell lines and patient specimens to be composed of >3 transcriptionally distinct states. The cell state composition was dynamically regulated in response to BRAF inhibitor therapy and drug holidays. Transcriptional state composition predicted for therapy response. The differences in fitness between the different transcriptional states were leveraged to develop a mathematical model that optimized therapy schedules to retain the drug sensitive population. In vivo validation demonstrated that the personalized adaptive dosing schedules outperformed continuous or fixed intermittent BRAF inhibitor schedules. INTERPRETATION Our study provides the first evidence that transcriptional heterogeneity at the single cell level predicts for initial BRAF inhibitor sensitivity. We further demonstrate that manipulating transcriptional heterogeneity through personalized adaptive therapy schedules can delay the time to resistance. FUNDING This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The funder played no role in assembly of the manuscript.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inna Smalley
- The Department of Tumor Biology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Eunjung Kim
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jiannong Li
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Paige Spence
- The Department of Tumor Biology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Clayton J Wyatt
- The Department of Tumor Biology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Zeynep Eroglu
- Department of Cutaneous Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Vernon K Sondak
- Department of Cutaneous Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jane L Messina
- Department of Cutaneous Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA; Department of Anatomic Pathology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Nalan Akgul Babacan
- Department of Cutaneous Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Silvya Stuchi Maria-Engler
- Department of Clinical Analysis and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lesley De Armas
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Sion L Williams
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Y Ann Chen
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA.
| | - Alexander R A Anderson
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA.
| | - Keiran S M Smalley
- The Department of Tumor Biology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA; Department of Cutaneous Oncology, The Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, USA.
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39
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Page RA, Bernal XE. The challenge of detecting prey: Private and social information use in predatory bats. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ximena E. Bernal
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panamá
- Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
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40
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Snijders L, Kurvers RHJM, Krause S, Tump AN, Ramnarine IW, Krause J. Females facilitate male food patch discovery in a wild fish population. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1950-1960. [PMID: 31407342 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Responding to the information provided by others is an important foraging strategy in many species. Through social foraging, individuals can more efficiently find unpredictable resources and thereby increase their foraging success. When individuals are more socially responsive to particular phenotypes than others, however, the advantage they obtain from foraging socially is likely to depend on the phenotype composition of the social environment. We tested this hypothesis by performing experimental manipulations of guppy, Poecilia reticulata, sex compositions in the wild. Males found fewer novel food patches in the absence of females than in mixed-sex compositions, while female patch discovery did not differ regardless of the presence or absence of males. We argue that these results were driven by sex-dependent mechanisms of social association: Markov chain-based fission-fusion modelling revealed that less social individuals found fewer patches and that males reduced sociality when females were absent. In contrast, females were similarly social with or without males. Our findings highlight the relevance of considering how individual- and population-level traits interact in shaping the advantages of social foraging in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lysanne Snijders
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz-Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralf H J M Kurvers
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Alan N Tump
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Indar W Ramnarine
- Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universitӓt zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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41
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Zhang W, Yartsev MM. Correlated Neural Activity across the Brains of Socially Interacting Bats. Cell 2019; 178:413-428.e22. [PMID: 31230710 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions occur between multiple individuals, but what is the detailed relationship between the neural dynamics across their brains? To address this question across timescales and levels of neural activity, we used wireless electrophysiology to simultaneously record from pairs of bats engaged in a wide range of natural social interactions. We found that neural activity was remarkably correlated between their brains over timescales from seconds to hours. The correlation depended on a shared social environment and was most prominent in high frequency local field potentials (>30 Hz), followed by local spiking activity. Furthermore, the degree of neural correlation covaried with the extent of social interactions, and an increase in correlation preceded their initiation. These results show that inter-brain correlation is an inherent feature of natural social interactions, reveal the domain of neural activity where it is most prominent, and provide a foundation for studying its functional role in social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wujie Zhang
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael M Yartsev
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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42
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Harten L, Prat Y, Ben Cohen S, Dor R, Yovel Y. Food for Sex in Bats Revealed as Producer Males Reproduce with Scrounging Females. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1895-1900.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Revised: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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43
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Coordinated change at the colony level in fruit bat fur microbiomes through time. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 3:116-124. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0731-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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