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Erlandsson R, Hasselgren M, Norén K, Macdonald D, Angerbjörn A. Resources and predation: drivers of sociality in a cyclic mesopredator. Oecologia 2022; 198:381-392. [PMID: 35112174 PMCID: PMC8858920 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05107-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In socially flexible species, the tendency to live in groups is expected to vary through a trade-off between costs and benefits, determined by ecological conditions. The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis predicts that group size changes in response to patterns in resource availability. An additional dimension is described in Hersteinsson’s model positing that sociality is further affected by a cost–benefit trade-off related to predation pressure. In the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), group-living follows a regional trade-off in resources’ availability and intra-guild predation pressure. However, the effect of local fluctuations is poorly known, but offers an unusual opportunity to test predictions that differ between the two hypotheses in systems where prey availability is linked to intra-guild predation. Based on 17-year monitoring of arctic fox and cyclic rodent prey populations, we addressed the Resource Dispersion Hypothesis and discuss the results in relation to the impact of predation in Hersteinsson’s model. Group-living increased with prey density, from 7.7% (low density) to 28% (high density). However, it remained high (44%) despite a rodent crash and this could be explained by increased benefits from cooperative defence against prey switching by top predators. We conclude that both resource abundance and predation pressure are factors underpinning the formation of social groups in fluctuating ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasmus Erlandsson
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Arctic Ecology-Tromsø, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Malin Hasselgren
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin Norén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, OX13 5QL UK
| | - Anders Angerbjörn
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Salena MG, Singh A, Weller O, Fang XX, Balshine S. Rapid spatial learning in cooperative and non-cooperative cichlids. Behav Processes 2021; 194:104550. [PMID: 34826584 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The number, duration and depth of social relationships that an individual maintains can impact social cognition, but the connection between sociality and other aspects of cognition has hardly been explored. To date, the link between social living and intelligence has been mainly supported by studies on primates, and far fewer tests connecting sociality to cognitive abilities have used other taxa. Here, we present the first comparative study in fishes that examines whether complex social living is associated with better performance on a cognitively demanding spatial task. Using three cooperative, group-living cichlid fish species and three of their non-cooperative, more solitary close relatives, we studied maze learning and employed a new statistical extension for the 'lme4' and 'glmmTMB' packages in R that allows phylogeny to be included as a random effect term. Across trials, the three cooperative and the three non-cooperative species completed the maze faster, made fewer mistakes, and improved their inhibitory control. Although fish improved their performance, we did not detect any differences in the extent of improvement between cooperative and non-cooperative species. Both the cooperative species and the non-cooperative species took similar amounts of time to complete the maze, had comparable numbers of mistakes, and exhibited similar inhibitory control while in the maze. Our results suggest that living and breeding in complex social groups does not necessarily imply enhancement of other forms of cognition nor, more specifically, an enhanced spatial learning capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada.
| | - Angad Singh
- Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Olivia Weller
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Xiang Xiang Fang
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
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Nishikawa M, Suzuki M, Sprague DS. Activity synchrony and travel direction synchrony in wild female Japanese macaques. Behav Processes 2021; 191:104473. [PMID: 34363911 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The degree of behavioural synchrony of animals within a group can be considered a reflection of how individuals adjust their behaviours to manage the costs/benefits accompanying group-living. In this study, we focused on activity synchrony and travel direction synchrony as behavioural synchrony. We aimed to quantify the degree of behavioural synchrony and identify which factors can affect the synchrony in wild females of Japanese macaques. Japanese macaques live in female philopatric multi-female and multi-male groups and have a linear dominance hierarchy. The groups are characterized by changing spatio-temporal cohesiveness among group members. Two observers conducted simultaneous focal animal sampling on adult females using global positioning system devices to record locations. The overall degree of activity synchrony was positive compared with random, and the degree was highest when macaques were located within visual range of each other. Both activity synchrony and travel direction synchrony were influenced by spatial cohesion, i.e. interindividual distance, which shows that the probabilities of synchrony were higher with individuals located closer. Activity synchrony was also influenced by activity type, showing that the probabilities of synchrony were higher when individuals engaged in foraging. These results suggest that synchronized foraging may be caused by enhanced feeding with other group members when they are closer to each other. Our approach to quantitatively measure spatial dispersal while observing group members simultaneously revealed the roles of spatial cohesion and activity types for determining the degree of behavioral synchrony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mari Nishikawa
- Kyoto University, Kitashirakawaoiwake, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan; Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41-2, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan.
| | - Mariko Suzuki
- Amami Wildlife Conservation Center, Koshinohata 551, Ongachi, Yamato, Oshima, Kagoshima 894-3104, Japan
| | - David S Sprague
- National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Kannondai 3-1-3, Tsukuba, 305-8604, Japan
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Abstract
Although widely thought to be aggressive, solitary, and potentially cannibalistic, some spider species have evolved group-living behaviors. The distinct transition provides the framework to uncover group-living evolution. Here, we conducted a comparative transcriptomic study and examined patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved group-living spiders and twelve solitary species. We report that positively selected genes among group-living spider lineages are significantly enriched in nutrient metabolism and autophagy pathways. We also show that nutrient-related genes of group-living spiders convergently experience amino acid substitutions and accelerated relative evolutionary rates. These results indicate adaptive convergence of nutrient metabolism that may ensure energy supply in group-living spiders. The decelerated evolutionary rate of autophagy-related genes in group-living lineages is consistent with an increased constraint on energy homeostasis as would be required in a group-living environment. Together, the results show that energy metabolic pathways play an important role in the transition to group-living in spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bin Lyu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Hai-Qiang Yin
- College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China. E-mail:
| | - Shu-Qiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. E-mail:
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Finkenwirth C, van Schaik C, Ziegler TE, Burkart JM. Strongly bonded family members in common marmosets show synchronized fluctuations in oxytocin. Physiol Behav 2015; 151:246-51. [PMID: 26232089 PMCID: PMC5916785 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2015] [Revised: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin is a key regulator of social bonding and is positively linked to affiliation and prosocial behavior in several mammal species. In chimpanzees, this link is dyad-specific as affiliative interactions only elicit high oxytocin release if they involve strongly bonded individuals. These studies involved isolated dyads and sampling events. Little is known about the role of oxytocin in affiliation and social bonding, and about potential long-term patterns of bonding-related and dyad-specific oxytocin effects within highly affiliative and cooperative social groups. Our aim was to investigate whether bonding-related oxytocin signatures linked to dyadic affiliation are present in family groups of cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) that show high levels of cohesion and cooperation. In 30 dyads from four family groups and one pair, we measured urinary baseline oxytocin over six weeks and analyzed the link to bond strength (mean dyadic affiliation). Strongly bonded dyads showed synchronized longitudinal fluctuations of oxytocin, indicating that dyad-specific oxytocin effects can also be traced in the group context and in an interdependent species. We discuss these results in light of the potential function of differentiated relationships between marmoset dyads other than the breeding pair, and the role of oxytocin as a mediator for social bonding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christa Finkenwirth
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Carel van Schaik
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Toni E Ziegler
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, USA
| | - Judith M Burkart
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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