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Rowe ZW, Robins JH, Rands SA. Red deer Cervus elaphus blink more in larger groups. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9908. [PMID: 36937074 PMCID: PMC10015368 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Most animals need to spend time being vigilant for predators, at the expense of other activities such as foraging. Group-living animals can benefit from the shared vigilance effort of other group members, with individuals reducing personal vigilance effort as group size increases. Behaviors like active scanning or head lifting are usually used to quantify vigilance but may not be accurate measures of this. We suggest that measuring an animal's blinking rate gives a meaningful measure of vigilance: increased blinking implies reduced vigilance, as the animal cannot detect predators when its eyes are closed. We describe an observational study of a captive population of red deer, where we measured the blinking rates of individual deer from groups of differing sizes (where mean group size ranged between 1 and 42.7 individuals). We demonstrate that as group size increases in red deer, individuals increase their blink rate, confirming the prediction that vigilance should decrease. Blinking is a simple non-invasive measure and offers a useful metric for assessing the welfare of animals experiencing an increase in perceived predation risk or other stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeke W. Rowe
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
- Department of Ecological SciencesVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | | | - Sean A. Rands
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
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2
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Personality variation is eroded by simple social behaviours in collective foragers. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1010908. [PMID: 36862622 PMCID: PMC9980820 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The movement of groups can be heavily influenced by 'leader' individuals who differ from the others in some way. A major source of differences between individuals is the repeatability and consistency of their behaviour, commonly considered as their 'personality', which can influence both position within a group as well as the tendency to lead. However, links between personality and behaviour may also depend upon the immediate social environment of the individual; individuals who behave consistently in one way when alone may not express the same behaviour socially, when they may be conforming with the behaviour of others. Experimental evidence shows that personality differences can be eroded in social situations, but there is currently a lack of theory to identify the conditions where we would expect personality to be suppressed. Here, we develop a simple individual-based framework considering a small group of individuals with differing tendencies to perform risky behaviours when travelling away from a safe home site towards a foraging site, and compare the group behaviours when the individuals follow differing rules for aggregation behaviour determining how much attention they pay to the actions of their fellow group-members. We find that if individuals pay attention to the other members of the group, the group will tend to remain at the safe site for longer, but then travel faster towards the foraging site. This demonstrates that simple social behaviours can result in the repression of consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, giving the first theoretical consideration of the social mechanisms behind personality suppression.
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Novčić I, Mlakar MM, Vidović Z, Hauber ME. Black‐headed gulls synchronize vigilance with their nearest neighbor irrespective of the neighbor's relative position. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Novčić
- Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia
| | | | - Zoran Vidović
- Teacher Education Faculty University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology University of Illinois Urbana‐Champaign Illinois USA
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Behavioural synchrony between fallow deer Dama dama is related to spatial proximity. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:79. [PMID: 33957862 PMCID: PMC8101042 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01814-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animals living in social groups can benefit from conducting the same behaviour as other group members. If this synchronisation is achieved by copying the behaviour of other individuals, we would expect synchrony to be more likely when pairs of individuals are close together. RESULTS By comparing the behaviour of a focal individual with its nearest, second nearest and third nearest neighbour and a control individual, we show that pairings of fallow deer Dama dama are more likely to be active or inactive at the same moment in time if they are closer together. We also demonstrate that synchronisation in the group happens more often than would be expected by chance. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that there is a relationship between the synchronisation of behaviour and the spatial proximity of individuals. Spatial proximity is likely to be an important influence on how likely individuals are to be synchronised, although care needs to be taken to separate social and environmental influences on individual behaviour.
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Briard L, Deneubourg JL, Petit O. Group behaviours and individual spatial sorting before departure predict the dynamics of collective movements in horses. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Fourie B, Berezina E, Giljov A, Karenina K. Visual lateralization in artiodactyls: A brief summary of research and new evidence on saiga antelope. Laterality 2021; 26:106-129. [PMID: 33593226 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2020.1852245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The visual system and lifestyle characteristics make the even-toed ungulates an excellent model for the studies of behavioural lateralization. Recent research has focused on these mammals providing evidence of lateralization in a wide range of behaviours. This provides an opportunity for the collation of the current theoretical assumptions and the existing empirical evidence for visual lateralization in artiodactyls. In the present study, we aim first to gain a fuller picture of hemispheric specializations in saiga antelopes by investigating the lateralization of vigilance and novel object inspection in the wild. Second, we summarized the results of the research into visual lateralization in even-toed ungulates and attempted to assess the applicability of two popular hypotheses about the division of hemispheric roles. The results on saigas show a significant preference for head turns to the right visual field during vigilance which was more robust in individuals in larger groups. When an unfamiliar artificial object was placed in their natural setting, saigas preferentially viewed it predominantly with the right eye. These results, together with the cumulative evidence in artiodactyls, do not follow either the approach-withdrawal or positivity-negativity dichotomous patterns widely used to explain the division of functions between the hemispheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babette Fourie
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Ekaterina Berezina
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Andrey Giljov
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Karina Karenina
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Ribeiro TL, Chialvo DR, Plenz D. Scale-Free Dynamics in Animal Groups and Brain Networks. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 14:591210. [PMID: 33551759 PMCID: PMC7854533 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.591210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective phenomena fascinate by the emergence of order in systems composed of a myriad of small entities. They are ubiquitous in nature and can be found over a vast range of scales in physical and biological systems. Their key feature is the seemingly effortless emergence of adaptive collective behavior that cannot be trivially explained by the properties of the system's individual components. This perspective focuses on recent insights into the similarities of correlations for two apparently disparate phenomena: flocking in animal groups and neuronal ensemble activity in the brain. We first will summarize findings on the spontaneous organization in bird flocks and macro-scale human brain activity utilizing correlation functions and insights from critical dynamics. We then will discuss recent experimental findings that apply these approaches to the collective response of neurons to visual and motor processing, i.e., to local perturbations of neuronal networks at the meso- and microscale. We show how scale-free correlation functions capture the collective organization of neuronal avalanches in evoked neuronal populations in nonhuman primates and between neurons during visual processing in rodents. These experimental findings suggest that the coherent collective neural activity observed at scales much larger than the length of the direct neuronal interactions is demonstrative of a phase transition and we discuss the experimental support for either discontinuous or continuous phase transitions. We conclude that at or near a phase-transition neuronal information can propagate in the brain with similar efficiency as proposed to occur in the collective adaptive response observed in some animal groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago L Ribeiro
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dante R Chialvo
- Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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Honey bees increase their foraging performance and frequency of pollen trips through experience. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6778. [PMID: 31043647 PMCID: PMC6494865 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42677-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bee foragers must supply their colony with a balance of pollen and nectar to sustain optimal colony development. Inter-individual behavioural variability among foragers is observed in terms of activity levels and nectar vs. pollen collection, however the causes of such variation are still open questions. Here we explored the relationship between foraging activity and foraging performance in honey bees (Apis mellifera) by using an automated behaviour monitoring system to record mass on departing the hive, trip duration, presence of pollen on the hind legs and mass upon return to the hive, during the lifelong foraging career of individual bees. In our colonies, only a subset of foragers collected pollen, and no bee exclusively foraged for pollen. A minority of very active bees (19% of the foragers) performed 50% of the colony’s total foraging trips, contributing to both pollen and nectar collection. Foraging performance (amount and rate of food collection) depended on bees’ individual experience (amount of foraging trips completed). We argue that this reveals an important vulnerability for these social bees since environmental stressors that alter the activity and reduce the lifespan of foragers may prevent bees ever achieving maximal performance, thereby seriously compromising the effectiveness of the colony foraging force.
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Setsaas T, Hunninck L, Jackson C, May R, Røskaft E. The impacts of human disturbances on the behaviour and population structure of impala (Aepyceros melampus) in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania. Glob Ecol Conserv 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Evans MHR, Lihou KL, Rands SA. Black-headed gulls synchronise their activity with their nearest neighbours. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9978. [PMID: 29967446 PMCID: PMC6028586 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28378-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals in groups can benefit from synchronising their behaviour, where multiple individuals conduct similar activities at the same moment in time. Previous studies have demonstrated that some species show synchronisation of vigilance behaviour, but have not explored the mechanism driving this behaviour. Synchronisation could be driven by animals copying their closest neighbours, which would mean that close proximity should lead to increased synchronisation. We simultaneously observed the behaviour of multiple individual black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) within resting groups, and compared the activity of a focal individual with its two closest neighbours and a randomly selected control individual. Focal individuals were more likely to be synchronised with their closest neighbour. Synchronisation became less likely if individuals were not the closest neighbour. This suggests that synchronisation seen within groups is dependent upon the spatial positions of its members, and black-headed gulls pay more attention to their closest neighbours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine H R Evans
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, United Kingdom
| | - Katie L Lihou
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU, United Kingdom
| | - Sean A Rands
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom.
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Liu T, Green AR, Rodríguez LF, Ramirez BC, Shike DW. Effects of number of animals monitored on representations of cattle group movement characteristics and spatial occupancy. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0113117. [PMID: 25647571 PMCID: PMC4315582 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 10/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The number of animals required to represent the collective characteristics of a group remains a concern in animal movement monitoring with GPS. Monitoring a subset of animals from a group instead of all animals can reduce costs and labor; however, incomplete data may cause information losses and inaccuracy in subsequent data analyses. In cattle studies, little work has been conducted to determine the number of cattle within a group needed to be instrumented considering subsequent analyses. Two different groups of cattle (a mixed group of 24 beef cows and heifers, and another group of 8 beef cows) were monitored with GPS collars at 4 min intervals on intensively managed pastures and corn residue fields in 2011. The effects of subset group size on cattle movement characterization and spatial occupancy analysis were evaluated by comparing the results between subset groups and the entire group for a variety of summarization parameters. As expected, more animals yield better results for all parameters. Results show the average group travel speed and daily travel distances are overestimated as subset group size decreases, while the average group radius is underestimated. Accuracy of group centroid locations and group radii are improved linearly as subset group size increases. A kernel density estimation was performed to quantify the spatial occupancy by cattle via GPS location data. Results show animals among the group had high similarity of spatial occupancy. Decisions regarding choosing an appropriate subset group size for monitoring depend on the specific use of data for subsequent analysis: a small subset group may be adequate for identifying areas visited by cattle; larger subset group size (e.g. subset group containing more than 75% of animals) is recommended to achieve better accuracy of group movement characteristics and spatial occupancy for the use of correlating cattle locations with other environmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Liu
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Angela R. Green
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Luis F. Rodríguez
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Brett C. Ramirez
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Daniel W. Shike
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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