1
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Montazeaud G, Keller L. Greenbeards in plants? New Phytol 2024; 242:870-877. [PMID: 38403933 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19599] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Greenbeards are selfish genetic elements that make their bearers behave either altruistically towards individuals bearing similar greenbeard copies or harmfully towards individuals bearing different copies. They were first proposed by W. D. Hamilton over 50 yr ago, to illustrate that kin selection may operate at the level of single genes. Examples of greenbeards have now been reported in a wide range of taxa, but they remain undocumented in plants. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical likelihood of greenbeard existence in plants. We then question why the greenbeard concept has never been applied to plants and speculate on how hypothetical greenbeards could affect plant-plant interactions. Finally, we point to different research directions to improve our knowledge of greenbeards in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germain Montazeaud
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- AGAP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, 34000, France
| | - Laurent Keller
- Social Evolution Unit, Cornuit 8, BP 855, Chesières, Switzerland
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2
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Allen B, Khwaja AR, Donahue JL, Kelly TJ, Hyacinthe SR, Proulx J, Lattanzio C, Dementieva YA, Sample C. Nonlinear social evolution and the emergence of collective action. PNAS Nexus 2024; 3:pgae131. [PMID: 38595801 PMCID: PMC11002786 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae131] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Organisms from microbes to humans engage in a variety of social behaviors, which affect fitness in complex, often nonlinear ways. The question of how these behaviors evolve has consequences ranging from antibiotic resistance to human origins. However, evolution with nonlinear social interactions is challenging to model mathematically, especially in combination with spatial, group, and/or kin assortment. We derive a mathematical condition for natural selection with synergistic interactions among any number of individuals. This result applies to populations with arbitrary (but fixed) spatial or network structure, group subdivision, and/or mating patterns. In this condition, nonlinear fitness effects are ascribed to collectives, and weighted by a new measure of collective relatedness. For weak selection, this condition can be systematically evaluated by computing branch lengths of ancestral trees. We apply this condition to pairwise games between diploid relatives, and to dilemmas of collective help or harm among siblings and on spatial networks. Our work provides a rigorous basis for extending the notion of "actor", in the study of social evolution, from individuals to collectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Allen
- Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - James L Donahue
- Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Theodore J Kelly
- Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Jacob Proulx
- Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | | | - Christine Sample
- Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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3
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Pyenson BC, Rehan SM. Gene regulation supporting sociality shared across lineages and variation in complexity. Genome 2024; 67:99-108. [PMID: 38096504 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2023-0054] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Across evolutionary lineages, insects vary in social complexity, from those that exhibit extended parental care to those with elaborate divisions of labor. Here, we synthesize the sociogenomic resources from hundreds of species to describe common gene regulatory mechanisms in insects that regulate social organization across phylogeny and levels of social complexity. Different social phenotypes expressed by insects can be linked to the organization of co-expressing gene networks and features of the epigenetic landscape. Insect sociality also stems from processes like the emergence of parental care and the decoupling of ancestral genetic programs. One underexplored avenue is how variation in a group's social environment affects the gene expression of individuals. Additionally, an experimental reduction of gene expression would demonstrate how the activity of specific genes contributes to insect social phenotypes. While tissue specificity provides greater localization of the gene expression underlying social complexity, emerging transcriptomic analysis of insect brains at the cellular level provides even greater resolution to understand the molecular basis of social insect evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra M Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
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4
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Kapsetaki SE, Cisneros LH, Maley CC. Cell-in-cell phenomena across the tree of life. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7535. [PMID: 38553457 PMCID: PMC10980697 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57528-7] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Cells in obligately multicellular organisms by definition have aligned fitness interests, minimum conflict, and cannot reproduce independently. However, some cells eat other cells within the same body, sometimes called cell cannibalism. Such cell-in-cell events have not been thoroughly discussed in the framework of major transitions to multicellularity. We performed a systematic screening of 508 articles, from which we chose 115 relevant articles in a search for cell-in-cell events across the tree of life, the age of cell-in-cell-related genes, and whether cell-in-cell events are associated with normal multicellular development or cancer. Cell-in-cell events are found across the tree of life, from some unicellular to many multicellular organisms, including non-neoplastic and neoplastic tissue. Additionally, out of the 38 cell-in-cell-related genes found in the literature, 14 genes were over 2.2 billion years old, i.e., older than the common ancestor of some facultatively multicellular taxa. All of this suggests that cell-in-cell events may have originated before the origins of obligate multicellularity. Thus, our results show that cell-in-cell events exist in obligate multicellular organisms, but are not a defining feature of them. The idea of eradicating cell-in-cell events from obligate multicellular organisms as a way of treating cancer, without considering that cell-in-cell events are also part of normal development, should be abandoned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania E Kapsetaki
- Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
- Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
| | - Luis H Cisneros
- Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Carlo C Maley
- Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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5
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Bolton PE, Ryder TB, Dakin R, Houtz JL, Moore IT, Balakrishnan CN, Horton BM. Neurogenomic landscape associated with status-dependent cooperative behaviour. Mol Ecol 2024:e17327. [PMID: 38511765 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17327] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
The neurogenomic mechanisms mediating male-male reproductive cooperative behaviours remain unknown. We leveraged extensive transcriptomic and behavioural data on a neotropical bird species (Pipra filicauda) that performs cooperative courtship displays to understand these mechanisms. In this species, the cooperative display is modulated by testosterone, which promotes cooperation in non-territorial birds, but suppresses cooperation in territory holders. We sought to understand the neurogenomic underpinnings of three related traits: social status, cooperative display behaviour and testosterone phenotype. To do this, we profiled gene expression in 10 brain nuclei spanning the social decision-making network (SDMN), and two key endocrine tissues that regulate social behaviour. We associated gene expression with each bird's behavioural and endocrine profile derived from 3 years of repeated measures taken from free-living birds in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We found distinct landscapes of constitutive gene expression were associated with social status, testosterone phenotype and cooperation, reflecting the modular organization and engagement of neuroendocrine tissues. Sex-steroid and neuropeptide signalling appeared to be important in mediating status-specific relationships between testosterone and cooperation, suggesting shared regulatory mechanisms with male aggressive and sexual behaviours. We also identified differentially regulated genes involved in cellular activity and synaptic potentiation, suggesting multiple mechanisms underpin these genomic states. Finally, we identified SDMN-wide gene expression differences between territorial and floater males that could form the basis of 'status-specific' neurophysiological phenotypes, potentially mediated by testosterone and growth hormone. Overall, our findings provide new, systems-level insights into the mechanisms of cooperative behaviour and suggest that differences in neurogenomic state are the basis for individual differences in social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peri E Bolton
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - T Brandt Ryder
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Roslyn Dakin
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jennifer L Houtz
- Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Biology, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ignacio T Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Brent M Horton
- Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania, USA
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6
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Fromhage L, Jennions MD, Myllymaa L, Henshaw JM. Fitness as the organismal performance measure guiding adaptive evolution. Evolution 2024:qpae043. [PMID: 38477032 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae043] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
A long-standing problem in evolutionary theory is to clarify in what sense (if any) natural selection cumulatively improves the design of organisms. Various concepts, such as fitness and inclusive fitness, have been proposed to resolve this problem. In addition, there have been attempts to replace the original problem with more tractable questions such as whether a given gene or trait is favoured by selection. Here we ask what theoretical properties the concept fitness should possess to encapsulate the improvement criterion required to talk meaningfully about adaptive evolution. We argue that natural selection tends to shape phenotypes based on the causal properties of individuals, and that this tendency is therefore best captured by a fitness concept that focusses on these properties. We highlight a fitness concept which meets this role under broad conditions, but requires adjustments in our conceptual understanding of adaptive evolution. These adjustments combine elements of Dawkinsian gene selectionism and Egbert Leigh's "parliament of genes".
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Affiliation(s)
- Lutz Fromhage
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Evolution & Ecology, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Lauri Myllymaa
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Jonathan M Henshaw
- Institute of Biology I (Zoology), University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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7
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Walton A, Herman JJ, Rueppell O. Social life results in social stress protection: a novel concept to explain individual life-history patterns in social insects. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024. [PMID: 38468146 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13074] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Resistance to and avoidance of stress slow aging and confer increased longevity in numerous organisms. Honey bees and other superorganismal social insects have two main advantages over solitary species to avoid or resist stress: individuals can directly help each other by resource or information transfer, and they can cooperatively control their environment. These benefits have been recognised in the context of pathogen and parasite stress as the concept of social immunity, which has been extensively studied. However, we argue that social immunity is only a special case of a general concept that we define here as social stress protection to include group-level defences against all biotic and abiotic stressors. We reason that social stress protection may have allowed the evolution of reduced individual-level defences and individual life-history optimization, including the exceptional aging plasticity of many social insects. We describe major categories of stress and how a colonial lifestyle may protect social insects, particularly against temporary peaks of extreme stress. We use the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to illustrate how patterns of life expectancy may be explained by social stress protection and how modern beekeeping practices can disrupt social stress protection. We conclude that the broad concept of social stress protection requires rigorous empirical testing because it may have implications for our general understanding of social evolution and specifically for improving honey bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Walton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jacob J Herman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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8
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Gavrilets S, Tverskoi D, Sánchez A. Modelling social norms: an integration of the norm-utility approach with beliefs dynamics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230027. [PMID: 38244599 PMCID: PMC10799741 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
We review theoretical approaches for modelling the origin, persistence and change of social norms. The most comprehensive models describe the coevolution of behaviours, personal, descriptive and injunctive norms while considering influences of various authorities and accounting for cognitive processes and between-individual differences. Models show that social norms can improve individual and group well-being. Under some conditions though, deleterious norms can persist in the population through conformity, preference falsification and pluralistic ignorance. Polarization in behaviour and beliefs can be maintained, even when societal advantages of particular behaviours or belief systems over alternatives are clear. Attempts to change social norms can backfire through cognitive processes including cognitive dissonance and psychological reactance. Under some conditions social norms can change rapidly via tipping point dynamics. Norms can be highly susceptible to manipulation, and network structure influences their propagation. Future models should incorporate network structure more thoroughly, explicitly study online norms, consider cultural variations and be applied to real-world processes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Social norm change: drivers and consequences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Denis Tverskoi
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Angel Sánchez
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Departamento de Matemáticas Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Madrid 28911, Spain
- Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50018, Spain
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9
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Ellis S, Franks DW, Nielsen MLK, Weiss MN, Croft DP. The evolution of menopause in toothed whales. Nature 2024; 627:579-585. [PMID: 38480878 PMCID: PMC10954554 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07159-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how and why menopause has evolved is a long-standing challenge across disciplines. Females can typically maximize their reproductive success by reproducing for the whole of their adult life. In humans, however, women cease reproduction several decades before the end of their natural lifespan1,2. Although progress has been made in understanding the adaptive value of menopause in humans3,4, the generality of these findings remains unclear. Toothed whales are the only mammal taxon in which menopause has evolved several times5, providing a unique opportunity to test the theories of how and why menopause evolves in a comparative context. Here, we assemble and analyse a comparative database to test competing evolutionary hypotheses. We find that menopause evolved in toothed whales by females extending their lifespan without increasing their reproductive lifespan, as predicted by the 'live-long' hypotheses. We further show that menopause results in females increasing their opportunity for intergenerational help by increasing their lifespan overlap with their grandoffspring and offspring without increasing their reproductive overlap with their daughters. Our results provide an informative comparison for the evolution of human life history and demonstrate that the same pathway that led to menopause in humans can also explain the evolution of menopause in toothed whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | | | | | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
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10
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De Dreu CKW, Gross J, Romano A. Group Formation and the Evolution of Human Social Organization. Perspect Psychol Sci 2024; 19:320-334. [PMID: 37450408 PMCID: PMC10913362 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231179156] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Humans operate in groups that are oftentimes nested in multilayered collectives such as work units within departments and companies, neighborhoods within cities, and regions within nation states. With psychological science mostly focusing on proximate reasons for individuals to join existing groups and how existing groups function, we still poorly understand why groups form ex nihilo, how groups evolve into complex multilayered social structures, and what explains fission-fusion dynamics. Here we address group formation and the evolution of social organization at both the proximate and ultimate level of analysis. Building on models of fitness interdependence and cooperation, we propose that socioecologies can create positive interdependencies among strangers and pave the way for the formation of stable coalitions and groups through reciprocity and reputation-based partner selection. Such groups are marked by in-group bounded, parochial cooperation together with an array of social institutions for managing the commons, allowing groups to scale in size and complexity while avoiding the breakdown of cooperation. Our analysis reveals how distinct group cultures can endogenously emerge from reciprocal cooperation, shows that social identification and group commitment are likely consequences rather than causes of group cooperation, and explains when intergroup relations gravitate toward peaceful coexistence, integration, or conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jörg Gross
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich
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11
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Dewar AE, Belcher LJ, Scott TW, West SA. Genes for cooperation are not more likely to be carried by plasmids. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232549. [PMID: 38412971 PMCID: PMC10898968 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2549] [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] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Cooperation is prevalent across bacteria, but risks being exploited by non-cooperative cheats. Horizontal gene transfer, particularly via plasmids, has been suggested as a mechanism to stabilize cooperation. A key prediction of this hypothesis is that genes which are more likely to be transferred, such as those on plasmids, should be more likely to code for cooperative traits. Testing this prediction requires identifying all genes for cooperation in bacterial genomes. However, previous studies used a method which likely misses some of these genes for cooperation. To solve this, we used a new genomics tool, SOCfinder, which uses three distinct modules to identify all kinds of genes for cooperation. We compared where these genes were located across 4648 genomes from 146 bacterial species. In contrast to the prediction of the hypothesis, we found no evidence that plasmid genes are more likely to code for cooperative traits. Instead, we found the opposite-that genes for cooperation were more likely to be carried on chromosomes. Overall, the vast majority of genes for cooperation are not located on plasmids, suggesting that the more general mechanism of kin selection is sufficient to explain the prevalence of cooperation across bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna E Dewar
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | | | - Thomas W Scott
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Stuart A West
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
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12
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Kogay R, Zhaxybayeva O. Co-evolution of gene transfer agents and their alphaproteobacterial hosts. J Bacteriol 2024; 206:e0039823. [PMID: 38240570 PMCID: PMC10883770 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00398-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Gene transfer agents (GTAs) are enigmatic elements that resemble small viruses and are known to be produced during nutritional stress by some bacteria and archaea. The production of GTAs is regulated by quorum sensing, under which a small fraction of the population acts as GTA producers, while the rest becomes GTA recipients. In contrast to canonical viruses, GTAs cannot propagate themselves because they package pieces of the producing cell's genome. In alphaproteobacteria, GTAs are mostly vertically inherited and reside in their hosts' genomes for hundreds of millions of years. While GTAs' ability to transfer genetic material within a population and their long-term preservation suggest an increased fitness of GTA-producing microbes, the associated benefits and type of selection that maintains GTAs are poorly understood. By comparing rates of evolutionary change in GTA genes to the rates in gene families abundantly present across 293 alphaproteobacterial genomes, we detected 59 gene families that likely co-evolve with GTA genes. These gene families are predominantly involved in stress response, DNA repair, and biofilm formation. We hypothesize that biofilm formation enables the physical proximity of GTA-producing cells, limiting GTA-derived benefits only to a group of closely related cells. We further conjecture that the population structure of biofilm-forming sub-populations ensures that the trait of GTA production is maintained despite the inevitable rise of "cheating" genotypes. Because release of GTA particles kills the producing cell, maintenance of GTAs is an exciting example of social evolution in a microbial population.IMPORTANCEGene transfer agents (GTAs) are viruses domesticated by some archaea and bacteria as vehicles for carrying pieces of the host genome. Produced under certain environmental conditions, GTA particles can deliver DNA to neighboring, closely related cells. The function of GTAs remains uncertain. While making GTAs is suicidal for a cell, GTA-encoding genes are widespread in genomes of alphaproteobacteria. Such GTA persistence implies functional benefits but raises questions about how selection maintains this lethal trait. By showing that GTA genes co-evolve with genes involved in stress response, DNA repair, and biofilm formation, we provide support for the hypothesis that GTAs facilitate DNA exchange during the stress conditions and present a model for how GTAs persist in biofilm-forming bacterial populations despite being lethal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Kogay
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Olga Zhaxybayeva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
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13
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Mitrović D. Pre-electoral coalition agreement from the Black-Scholes point of view. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3227. [PMID: 38332229 PMCID: PMC10853233 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53674-0] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
A political party can be considered as a company whose value depends on the voters support i.e. on the percentage of population supporting the party. Dynamics of the support is thus as a stochastic process with a deterministic growth rate perturbed by a white noise modeled through the Wiener process. This is in an analogy with the option modeling where the stock price behaves similarly as the voters' support. While in the option theory we have the question of fair price of an option, the question that we ask here is what is a reasonable level of support that the coalition of a "major" party (safely above the election threshold) and a "minor" party (under or around the election threshold) should achieve in order for the "minor" party to get one more representative. We shall elaborate some of the conclusions in the case of recent elections in Montenegro (June, 2023) which are particularly interesting due to lots of political subjects entering the race.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Mitrović
- Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna, Oskar Morgenstern Platz-1, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put bb, 81000, Podgorica, Montenegro.
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14
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Thomson L, Espinosa DP, Brandvain Y, Van Cleve J. Linked selection and the evolution of altruism in family-structured populations. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10980. [PMID: 38371869 PMCID: PMC10870336 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10980] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Much research on the evolution of altruism via kin selection, group selection, and reciprocity focuses on the role of a single locus or quantitative trait. Very few studies have explored how linked selection, or selection at loci neighboring an altruism locus, impacts the evolution of altruism. While linked selection can decrease the efficacy of selection at neighboring loci, it might have other effects including promoting selection for altruism by increasing relatedness in regions of low recombination. Here, we used population genetic simulations to study how negative selection at linked loci, or background selection, affects the evolution of altruism. When altruism occurs between full siblings, we found that background selection interfered with selection on the altruistic allele, increasing its fixation probability when the altruistic allele was disfavored and reducing its fixation when the allele was favored. In other words, background selection has the same effect on altruistic genes in family-structured populations as it does on other, nonsocial, genes. This contrasts with prior research showing that linked selective sweeps can favor the evolution of cooperation, and we discuss possibilities for resolving these contrasting results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lia Thomson
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMinnesotaUSA
| | | | - Yaniv Brandvain
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMinnesotaUSA
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15
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Abstract
Repeated interactions provide an evolutionary explanation for one-shot human cooperation that is counterintuitive but orthodox1-3. Intergroup competition4-7 provides an explanation that is intuitive but heterodox. Here, using models and a behavioural experiment, we show that neither mechanism reliably supports cooperation. Ambiguous reciprocity, a class of strategies that is generally ignored in models of reciprocal altruism, undermines cooperation under repeated interactions. This finding challenges repeated interactions as an evolutionary explanation for cooperation in general, which further challenges the claim that repeated interactions in the past can explain one-shot cooperation in the present. Intergroup competitions also do not reliably support cooperation because groups quickly become extremely similar, which limits scope for group selection. Moreover, even if groups vary, group competitions may generate little group selection for multiple reasons. Cooperative groups, for example, may tend to compete against each other8. Whereas repeated interactions and group competitions do not support cooperation by themselves, combining them triggers powerful synergies because group competitions constrain the corrosive effect of ambiguous reciprocity. Evolved strategies often consist of cooperative reciprocity with ingroup partners and uncooperative reciprocity with outgroup partners. Results from a behavioural experiment in Papua New Guinea fit exactly this pattern. They thus suggest neither an evolutionary history of repeated interactions without group competition nor a history of group competition without repeated interactions. Instead, our results suggest social motives that evolved under the joint influence of both mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Efferson
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Helen Bernhard
- Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Urs Fischbacher
- Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Thurgau Institute of Economics, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
| | - Ernst Fehr
- Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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16
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Murray M, Wright J, Araya-Ajoy YG. Evolutionary rescue from climate change: male indirect genetic effects on lay-dates and their consequences for population persistence. Evol Lett 2024; 8:137-148. [PMID: 38487362 PMCID: PMC10939382 DOI: 10.1093/evlett/qrad022] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Changes in avian breeding phenology are among the most apparent responses to climate change in free-ranging populations. A key question is whether populations will be able to keep up with the expected rates of environmental change. There is a large body of research on the mechanisms by which avian lay-dates track temperature change and the consequences of (mal)adaptation on population persistence. Often overlooked is the role of males, which can influence the lay-date of their mate through their effect on the prelaying environment. We explore how social plasticity causing male indirect genetic effects can help or hinder population persistence when female genes underpinning lay-date and male genes influencing female's timing of reproduction both respond to climate-mediated selection. We extend quantitative genetic moving optimum models to predict the consequences of social plasticity on the maximum sustainable rate of temperature change, and evaluate our model using a combination of simulated data and empirical estimates from the literature. Our results suggest that predictions for population persistence may be biased if indirect genetic effects and cross-sex genetic correlations are not considered and that the extent of this bias depends on sex differences in how environmental change affects the optimal timing of reproduction. Our model highlights that more empirical work is needed to understand sex-specific effects of environmental change on phenology and the fitness consequences for population dynamics. While we discuss our results exclusively in the context of avian breeding phenology, the approach we take here can be generalized to many different contexts and types of social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myranda Murray
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jonathan Wright
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Yimen G Araya-Ajoy
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
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17
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Trujillo JP, Holler J. Conversational facial signals combine into compositional meanings that change the interpretation of speaker intentions. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2286. [PMID: 38280963 PMCID: PMC10821935 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52589-0] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Human language is extremely versatile, combining a limited set of signals in an unlimited number of ways. However, it is unknown whether conversational visual signals feed into the composite utterances with which speakers communicate their intentions. We assessed whether different combinations of visual signals lead to different intent interpretations of the same spoken utterance. Participants viewed a virtual avatar uttering spoken questions while producing single visual signals (i.e., head turn, head tilt, eyebrow raise) or combinations of these signals. After each video, participants classified the communicative intention behind the question. We found that composite utterances combining several visual signals conveyed different meaning compared to utterances accompanied by the single visual signals. However, responses to combinations of signals were more similar to the responses to related, rather than unrelated, individual signals, indicating a consistent influence of the individual visual signals on the whole. This study therefore provides first evidence for compositional, non-additive (i.e., Gestalt-like) perception of multimodal language.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Trujillo
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Judith Holler
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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18
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Pequeno PACL. Resource adaptation drives the size-complexity rule in termites. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232363. [PMID: 38196360 PMCID: PMC10777143 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2363] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The size-complexity rule posits that the evolution of larger cooperative groups should favour more division of labour. Examples include more cell types in larger multicellular organisms, and more polymorphic castes in larger eusocial colonies. However, a correlation between division of labour and group size may reflect a shared response of both traits to resource availability and/or profitability. Here, this possibility was addressed by investigating the evolution of sterile caste number (worker and soldier morphotypes) in termites, a major clade of eusocial insects in which the drivers of caste polymorphism are poorly understood. A novel dataset on 90 termite species was compiled from the published literature. The analysis showed that sterile caste number did increase markedly with colony size. However, after controlling for resource adaptations and phylogeny, there was no evidence for this relationship. Rather, sterile caste number increased with increasing nest-food separation and decreased with soil-feeding, through changes in worker (but not soldier) morphotype number. Further, colony size increased with nest-food separation, thus driving the false correlation between sterile caste number and colony size. These findings support adaptation to higher energy acquisition as key to the rise of complex insect societies, with larger size being a by-product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro A. C. L. Pequeno
- Natural Resources Program, Federal University of Roraima, Av. Nova Iorque, Aeroporto, Boa Vista – RR, CEP: 69.304-000, Brazil
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19
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Pedruzzi L, Francesconi M, Palagi E, Lemasson A. The sound of yawns makes geladas yawn. Sci Rep 2024; 14:361. [PMID: 38185686 PMCID: PMC10772098 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49797-5] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Yawning is undeniably contagious and hard to resist. Interestingly, in our species, even the mere sound of a yawn can trigger this contagious response, especially when the yawner is someone familiar. Together with humans, one other mammal species is known to produce loud and distinct vocalisations while yawning, Theropithecus gelada. Geladas are known for their complex social interactions and rich vocal communication, making them intriguing subjects for studying yawning behaviour. To explore the contagious effect of yawn sounds on geladas, we conducted playback experiments in a zoo-housed colony with animals living in two groups. We exposed them to yawn sounds (Test) or affiliative grunts (Control) produced by males from either their own group or the other one. The results were remarkable, as simply hearing yawn sounds led to yawn contagion in geladas, with multiple responses observed when the yawns came from members of their own group. This finding adds a significant contribution to the research on mimicry and behavioural contagion in primates. Moreover, it raises intriguing questions about the involvement of sensory modalities beyond visual perception in these phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Pedruzzi
- Unit of Ethology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie Animale et Humaine)-U.M.R 6552, Université de Rennes, Université de Normandie, 35000, Rennes, France.
| | - Martina Francesconi
- Unit of Ethology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Palagi
- Unit of Ethology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, 56017, Calci, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alban Lemasson
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie Animale et Humaine)-U.M.R 6552, Université de Rennes, Université de Normandie, 35000, Rennes, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, 1 Rue Descartes, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France
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20
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Leighton GM, Drury JP, Small J, Miller ET. Unfamiliarity generates costly aggression in interspecific avian dominance hierarchies. Nat Commun 2024; 15:335. [PMID: 38184603 PMCID: PMC10771497 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44613-0] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Dominance hierarchies often form between species, especially at common feeding locations. Yet, relative to work focused on the factors that maintain stable dominance hierarchies within species, large-scale analyses of interspecific dominance hierarchies have been comparatively rare. Given that interspecific behavioral interference mediates access to resources, these dominance hierarchies likely play an important and understudied role in community assembly and behavioral evolution. To test alternative hypotheses about the formation and maintenance of interspecific dominance hierarchies, we employ an large, participatory science generated dataset of displacements observed at feeders in North America in the non-breeding season. Consistent with the hypothesis that agonistic interference can be an adaptive response to exploitative competition, we find that species with similar niches are more likely to engage in costly aggression over resources. Among interacting species, we find broad support for the hypothesis that familiarity (measured as fine-scale habitat overlap) predicts adherence to the structure of the dominance hierarchy and reduces aggression between species. Our findings suggest that the previously documented agonistic hierarchy in North American birds emerges from species-level adaptations and learned behaviors that result in the avoidance of costly aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Leighton
- Department of Biology, SUNY Buffalo State University, Buffalo, NY, 14213, USA.
| | - Jonathan P Drury
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Small
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Eliot T Miller
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
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21
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Sarkar A, McInroy CJA, Harty S, Raulo A, Ibata NGO, Valles-Colomer M, Johnson KVA, Brito IL, Henrich J, Archie EA, Barreiro LB, Gazzaniga FS, Finlay BB, Koonin EV, Carmody RN, Moeller AH. Microbial transmission in the social microbiome and host health and disease. Cell 2024; 187:17-43. [PMID: 38181740 PMCID: PMC10958648 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.014] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Although social interactions are known to drive pathogen transmission, the contributions of socially transmissible host-associated mutualists and commensals to host health and disease remain poorly explored. We use the concept of the social microbiome-the microbial metacommunity of a social network of hosts-to analyze the implications of social microbial transmission for host health and disease. We investigate the contributions of socially transmissible microbes to both eco-evolutionary microbiome community processes (colonization resistance, the evolution of virulence, and reactions to ecological disturbance) and microbial transmission-based processes (transmission of microbes with metabolic and immune effects, inter-specific transmission, transmission of antibiotic-resistant microbes, and transmission of viruses). We consider the implications of social microbial transmission for communicable and non-communicable diseases and evaluate the importance of a socially transmissible component underlying canonically non-communicable diseases. The social transmission of mutualists and commensals may play a significant, under-appreciated role in the social determinants of health and may act as a hidden force in social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amar Sarkar
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Cameron J A McInroy
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Siobhán Harty
- Independent, Tandy Court, Spitalfields, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aura Raulo
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Department of Computing, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Neil G O Ibata
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mireia Valles-Colomer
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Katerina V-A Johnson
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ilana L Brito
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Joseph Henrich
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Archie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Luis B Barreiro
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Francesca S Gazzaniga
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - B Brett Finlay
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rachel N Carmody
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Andrew H Moeller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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22
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Hawkins S, Zetika GA, Kinaston R, Firmando YR, Sari DM, Suniarti Y, Lucas M, Roberts P, Reepmeyer C, Maloney T, Kealy S, Stirling C, Reid M, Barr D, Kleffmann T, Kumar A, Yuwono P, Litster M, Husni M, Ririmasse M, Mahirta, Mujabuddawat M, Harriyadi, O'Connor S. Earliest known funerary rites in Wallacea after the last glacial maximum. Sci Rep 2024; 14:282. [PMID: 38168501 PMCID: PMC10762057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50294-y] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying Pleistocene human ecological and cultural adaptations in island environments, however, little is understood about early burial traditions during the Pleistocene. Here we investigate maritime interactions and burial practices at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small island of Kisar in the Lesser Sunda Islands of eastern Indonesia dated to 15,500-3700 cal. BP. This multidisciplinary study demonstrates extreme marine dietary adaptations, engagement with an extensive exchange network across open seas, and early mortuary practices. A flexed male and a female, interred in a single grave with abundant shellfish and obsidian at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings highlight the impressive flexibility of our species in marginal environments and provide insight into the earliest known ritualised treatment of the dead in Wallacea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Hawkins
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
| | - Gabriella Ayang Zetika
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rebecca Kinaston
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
- BioArch South, Waitati, 9085, New Zealand
| | - Yulio Ray Firmando
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Devi Mustika Sari
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Yuni Suniarti
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Reepmeyer
- Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures, German Archaeological Institute Division of Germany, Berlin, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Tim Maloney
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | - Shimona Kealy
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Claudine Stirling
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Malcolm Reid
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - David Barr
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Torsten Kleffmann
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Abhishek Kumar
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Pratiwi Yuwono
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Mirani Litster
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Muhammad Husni
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Marlon Ririmasse
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Mahirta
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | | | - Harriyadi
- Organisasi Riset Arkeologi Bahasa dan Sastra, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sue O'Connor
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
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23
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Pogrebna G, Angelopoulos S, Motsi-Omoijiade I, Kharlamov A, Tkachenko N. The impact of intersectional racial and gender biases on minority female leadership over two centuries. Sci Rep 2024; 14:111. [PMID: 38167539 PMCID: PMC10762112 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50392-x] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
This study scrutinizes the enduring effects of racial and gender biases that contribute to the consistent underrepresentation of minority women in leadership roles within American private, public, and third sector organizations. We adopt a behavioural data science approach, merging psychological schema theory with sociological intersectionality theory, to evaluate the enduring implications of these biases on female leadership development using mixed methods including machine learning and econometric analysis. Our examination is concentrated on Black female leaders, employing an extensive analysis of leadership rhetoric data spanning 200 years across the aforementioned sectors. We shed light on the continued scarcity of minority female representation in leadership roles, highlighting the role of intersectionality dynamics. Despite Black female leaders frequently embracing higher risks to counter intersectional invisibility compared to their White counterparts, their aspirations are not realized and problems not solved generation after generation, forcing Black female leaders to concentrate on the same issues for dozens and, sometimes, hundreds of years. Our findings suggest that the compound influence of racial and gender biases hinders the advancement of minority female leadership by perpetuating stereotypical behavioral schemas, leading to persistent discriminatory outcomes. We argue for the necessity of organizations to initiate a cultural transformation that fosters positive experiences for future generations of female leaders, recommending a shift in focus from improving outcomes for specific groups to creating an inclusive leadership culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganna Pogrebna
- Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, 2795, Australia.
- Discipline of Business Analytics, The University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney, Abercrombie Building H70, Corner Abercrombie Street and Codrington Street, Darlington, NSW, 2006, Australia.
- The Alan Turing Institute, 96 Euston Rd, Kings Cross, London, NW1 2DB, UK.
| | | | - Immaculate Motsi-Omoijiade
- Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, 2795, Australia
- RAND Corporation, Westbrook Centre, Milton Rd, Cambridge, CB4 1YG, UK
| | - Alexander Kharlamov
- Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, College Rd, Cranfield, Wharley End, Bedford, MK43 0AL, UK
| | - Nataliya Tkachenko
- Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Trumpington St, Cambridge, CB2 1AG, UK
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24
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Corral-Lopez A, Bloch NI, van der Bijl W, Cortazar-Chinarro M, Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Darolti I, Buechel SD, Romenskyy M, Kolm N, Mank JE. Functional convergence of genomic and transcriptomic architecture underlies schooling behaviour in a live-bearing fish. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:98-110. [PMID: 37985898 PMCID: PMC10781616 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02249-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The organization and coordination of fish schools provide a valuable model to investigate the genetic architecture of affiliative behaviours and dissect the mechanisms underlying social behaviours and personalities. Here we used replicate guppy selection lines that vary in schooling propensity and combine quantitative genetics with genomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the genetic basis of sociability phenotypes. We show that consistent with findings in collective motion patterns, experimental evolution of schooling propensity increased the sociability of female, but not male, guppies when swimming with unfamiliar conspecifics. This finding highlights a relevant link between coordinated motion and sociability for species forming fission-fusion societies in which both group size and the type of social interactions are dynamic across space and time. We further show that alignment and attraction, the two major traits forming the sociability personality axis in this species, showed heritability estimates at the upper end of the range previously described for social behaviours, with important variation across sexes. The results from both Pool-seq and RNA-seq data indicated that genes involved in neuron migration and synaptic function were instrumental in the evolution of sociability, highlighting a crucial role of glutamatergic synaptic function and calcium-dependent signalling processes in the evolution of schooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-Lopez
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Division of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria Cortazar-Chinarro
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- MEMEG Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Alexander Szorkovszky
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Severine D Buechel
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maksym Romenskyy
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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25
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Sorokowski P, Groyecka-Bernard A, Frackowiak T, Kobylarek A, Kupczyk P, Sorokowska A, Misiak M, Oleszkiewicz A, Bugaj K, Włodarczyk M, Pisanski K. Comparing accuracy in voice-based assessments of biological speaker traits across speech types. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22989. [PMID: 38151496 PMCID: PMC10752881 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49596-y] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Nonverbal acoustic parameters of the human voice provide cues to a vocaliser's sex, age, and body size that are relevant in human social and sexual communication, and also increasingly so for computer-based voice recognition and synthesis technologies. While studies have shown some capacity in human listeners to gauge these biological traits from unseen speakers, it remains unknown whether speech complexity improves accuracy. Here, in over 200 vocalisers and 1500 listeners of both sexes, we test whether voice-based assessments of sex, age, height and weight vary from isolated vowels and words, to sequences of vowels and words, to full sentences or paragraphs. We show that while listeners judge sex and especially age more accurately as speech complexity increases, accuracy remains high across speech types, even for a single vowel sound. In contrast, the actual heights and weights of vocalisers explain comparatively less variance in listener's assessments of body size, which do not vary systematically by speech type. Our results thus show that while more complex speech can improve listeners' biological assessments, the gain is ecologically small, as listeners already show an impressive capacity to gauge speaker traits from extremely short bouts of standardised speech, likely owing to within-speaker stability in underlying nonverbal vocal parameters such as voice pitch. We discuss the methodological, technological, and social implications of these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
| | | | | | | | - Piotr Kupczyk
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Michał Misiak
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
- Being Human Lab, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Anna Oleszkiewicz
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
- Interdisciplinary Center Smell & Taste, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Katarzyna Bugaj
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, CNRS/Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France.
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Saint-Etienne, Inserm, France.
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26
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Tumulty JP, Miller SE, Van Belleghem SM, Weller HI, Jernigan CM, Vincent S, Staudenraus RJ, Legan AW, Polnaszek TJ, Uy FMK, Walton A, Sheehan MJ. Evidence for a selective link between cooperation and individual recognition. Curr Biol 2023; 33:5478-5487.e5. [PMID: 38065097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.032] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The ability to recognize others is a frequent assumption of models of the evolution of cooperation. At the same time, cooperative behavior has been proposed as a selective agent favoring the evolution of individual recognition abilities. Although theory predicts that recognition and cooperation may co-evolve, data linking recognition abilities and cooperative behavior with evidence of selection are elusive. Here, we provide evidence of a selective link between individual recognition and cooperation in the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus through a combination of clinal, common garden, and population genomics analyses. We identified latitudinal clines in both rates of cooperative nesting and color pattern diversity, consistent with a selective link between recognition and cooperation. In behavioral experiments, we replicated previous results demonstrating individual recognition in cooperative and phenotypically diverse P. fuscatus from New York. In contrast, wasps from a less cooperative and phenotypically uniform Louisiana population showed no evidence of individual recognition. In a common garden experiment, groups of wasps from northern populations formed more stable and individually biased associations, indicating that recognition facilitates group stability. The strength of recent positive selection on cognition-associated loci likely to mediate individual recognition is substantially greater in northern compared with southern P. fuscatus populations. Collectively, these data suggest that individual recognition and cooperative nesting behavior have co-evolved in P. fuscatus because recognition helps stabilize social groups. This work provides evidence of a specific cognitive phenotype under selection because of social interactions, supporting the idea that social behavior can be a key driver of cognitive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Tumulty
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
| | - Sara E Miller
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA
| | - Steven M Van Belleghem
- Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Biology Department, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hannah I Weller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Christopher M Jernigan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Sierra Vincent
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Regan J Staudenraus
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Andrew W Legan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | - Floria M K Uy
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Alexander Walton
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Michael J Sheehan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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27
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Bartoš L, Esattore B, Kotrba R, Pluháček J, Ceacero F, Komárková M, Dušek A, Bartošová J. The effects of challenge or social buffering on cortisol, testosterone, and antler growth in captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) males. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21856. [PMID: 38071205 PMCID: PMC10710442 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48476-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We equipped 17 captive red deer males (Cervus elaphus) with GPS collars to measure inter-individual distances throughout the 5-months of the antler growth period. We expected some individuals to associate regularly with others while others would not. We predicted that males aggregating with others within a socially stable environment (Associates) would benefit from a form of "social buffering" and would likely have lowered cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) concentrations. Males only irregularly joining social groupings would experience elevated levels of aggression; according to the "Challenge hypothesis", their T and C concentrations should increase. Interacting with a higher proportion of Associates did indeed reduce C concentrations. Conversely, avoiding Associates and challenging other males stimulated the T secretion. Admittedly, males avoiding regular proximity to others tended to develop the largest antlers. They probably benefited from frequent successful agonistic threats to conspecifics, resulting in elevated T concentrations. Regular association with tolerant, conspecifics and "social buffering" did not seem sufficient for producing larger antlers despite reducing C concentrations. Alternative social strategies were adopted within the same group of individuals and showed how the trade-off between these strategies could have an essential impact on C and T concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luděk Bartoš
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic.
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 16521, Praha 6, Czech Republic.
| | - Bruno Esattore
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, 16521, Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Kotrba
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Pluháček
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic
| | - Francisco Ceacero
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16521, Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Komárková
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16521, Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Dušek
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Bartošová
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, Praha Uhříneves, 10400, Czech Republic
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28
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Kotrschal K. [On the Evolutionary, Bio-Psychological Foundations of the Human-Animal Relationship]. Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr 2023; 72:666-684. [PMID: 38051058 DOI: 10.13109/prkk.2023.72.8.666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Ever since, people live in contact with nature and animals, even in relatively non-utilitarian ways. Erich Fromm and Edward Wilson termed this human universal "Biophilia". But why different species can live together in a social way, is explained by a "common social toolbox" of neural, psychological and physiologicalmechanisms, which evolved over phylogeny.Major components of this toolbox are found in the vertebrate brain, which evolved over the past 600 million years in a succession of key innovations and conservative preservation.The tegmental and diencephalic brain hosts a 450 million year old, structurally and functionally virtually unchanged "social network" which, in crosstalk with the mammalian prefrontal cortex or the analogous bird forebrain, enables complex social behaviour - within as well as between species. In addition, this toolbox features common principles of behavioural organization, including the expression and reading of emotions, as well as shared emotional, stress and calming systems. Such a common ground for social behaviour also explains the potential effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions in a wide range of pedagogic and therapeutic settings. However, positive effects aremostly revealed by experience and plausibility, whereas studies on animal- assisted activities and interventions according to biomedical scientific standards are still rare.
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29
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Mashoodh R, Trowsdale AT, Manica A, Kilner RM. Parental care shapes the evolution of molecular genetic variation. Evol Lett 2023; 7:379-388. [PMID: 38045719 PMCID: PMC10693002 DOI: 10.1093/evlett/qrad039] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperative social behaviors, such as parental care, have long been hypothesized to relax selection leading to the accumulation of genetic variation in populations. Although the idea has been discussed for decades, there has been relatively little experimental work to investigate how social behavior contributes to genetic variation in populations. Here, we investigate how parental care can shape molecular genetic variation in the subsocial insect, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Using whole-genome sequencing of populations that had evolved in the presence or absence of parental care for 30 generations, we show that parental care maintains levels of standing genetic variation. In contrast, under a harsh environment without care, strong directional selection caused a reduction in genetic variation. Furthermore, we show that adaptation to the loss of care is associated with genetic divergence between populations at loci related to stress, morphological development, and transcriptional regulation. These data reveal how social behavior is linked to the genetic processes that shape and maintain genetic diversity within populations, and provides rare empirical evidence for an old hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahia Mashoodh
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angela T Trowsdale
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca M Kilner
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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30
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Booth SC, Smith WPJ, Foster KR. The evolution of short- and long-range weapons for bacterial competition. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:2080-2091. [PMID: 38036633 PMCID: PMC10697841 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02234-2] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria possess a diverse range of mechanisms for inhibiting competitors, including bacteriocins, tailocins, type VI secretion systems and contact-dependent inhibition (CDI). Why bacteria have evolved such a wide array of weapon systems remains a mystery. Here we develop an agent-based model to compare short-range weapons that require cell-cell contact, with long-range weapons that rely on diffusion. Our model predicts that contact weapons are useful when an attacking strain is outnumbered, facilitating invasion and establishment. By contrast, ranged weapons tend to be effective only when attackers are abundant. We test our predictions with the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which naturally carries multiple weapons, including CDI and diffusing tailocins. As predicted, short-range CDI can function at low and high frequencies, while long-range tailocins require high frequency and cell density to function effectively. Head-to-head competition experiments with the two weapon types further support our predictions: a tailocin attacker defeats CDI only when it is numerically dominant, but then we find it can be devastating. Finally, we show that the two weapons work well together when one strain employs both. We conclude that short- and long-range weapons serve different functions and allow bacteria to fight both as individuals and as a group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean C Booth
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - William P J Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Kevin R Foster
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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31
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Wang X, Zhou L, McAvoy A, Li A. Imitation dynamics on networks with incomplete information. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7453. [PMID: 37978181 PMCID: PMC10656501 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43048-x] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Imitation is an important learning heuristic in animal and human societies. Previous explorations report that the fate of individuals with cooperative strategies is sensitive to the protocol of imitation, leading to a conundrum about how different styles of imitation quantitatively impact the evolution of cooperation. Here, we take a different perspective on the personal and external social information required by imitation. We develop a general model of imitation dynamics with incomplete information in networked systems, which unifies classical update rules including the death-birth and pairwise-comparison rule on complex networks. Under pairwise interactions, we find that collective cooperation is most promoted if individuals neglect personal information. If personal information is considered, cooperators evolve more readily with more external information. Intriguingly, when interactions take place in groups on networks with low degrees of clustering, using more personal and less external information better facilitates cooperation. Our unifying perspective uncovers intuition by examining the rate and range of competition induced by different information situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochen Wang
- Center for Systems and Control, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Lei Zhou
- School of Automation, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Alex McAvoy
- School of Data Science and Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Aming Li
- Center for Systems and Control, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- Center for Multi-Agent Research, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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32
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Franco M, Fassler R, Goldberg TS, Chole H, Herz Y, Woodard SH, Reichmann D, Bloch G. Substances in the mandibular glands mediate queen effects on larval development and colony organization in an annual bumble bee. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2302071120. [PMID: 37903277 PMCID: PMC10636365 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2302071120] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social organization is commonly dynamic, with extreme examples in annual social insects, but little is known about the underlying signals and mechanisms. Bumble bee larvae with close contact to a queen do not differentiate into gynes, pupate at an earlier age, and are commonly smaller than siblings that do not contact a queen. We combined detailed observations, proteomics, microRNA transcriptomics, and gland removal surgery to study the regulation of brood development and division of labor in the annual social bumble bee Bombus terrestris. We found that regurgitates fed to larvae by queens and workers differ in their protein and microRNA composition. The proteome of the regurgitate overlaps significantly with that of the mandibular (MG) and hypopharyngeal glands (HPG), suggesting that these exocrine glands are sources of regurgitate proteins. The proteome of the MG and HPG, but not the salivary glands, differs between queens and workers, with caste-specificity preserved for the MG and regurgitate proteomes. Queens subjected to surgical removal of the MG showed normal behavior, brood care, and weight gain, but failed to shorten larval development. These findings suggest that substances in the queen MG are fed to larvae and influence their developmental program. We suggest that when workers emerge and contribute to larval feeding, they dilute the effects of the queen substances, until she can no longer manipulate the development of all larvae. Longer developmental duration may allow female larvae to differentiate into gynes rather than to workers, mediating the colony transition from the ergonomic to the reproductive phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maayan Franco
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - Rosi Fassler
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - Tzvi S. Goldberg
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - Hanna Chole
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - Yogev Herz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
- The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - S. Hollis Woodard
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA92521
| | - Dana Reichmann
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
- The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
| | - Guy Bloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
- The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
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Reichard M, Koblmüller S, Blažek R, Zimmermann H, Katongo C, Bryjová A, Bryja J. Lack of host specialization despite selective host use in brood parasitic cuckoo catfish. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6070-6082. [PMID: 37861460 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17173] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Host-parasite dynamics involve coevolutionary arms races, which may lead to host specialization and ensuing diversification. Our general understanding of the evolution of host specialization in brood parasites is compromised by a restricted focus on bird and insect lineages. The cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) is an obligate parasite of parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids in Lake Tanganyika. Given the ecological and taxonomic diversity of mouthbrooding cichlids in the lake, we hypothesized the existence of sympatric host-specific lineages in the cuckoo catfish. In a sample of 779 broods from 20 cichlid species, we found four species parasitized by cuckoo catfish (with prevalence of parasitism of 2%-18%). All parasitized cichlids were from the tribe Tropheini, maternal mouthbrooders that spawn over a substrate (rather than in open water). Phylogenetic analysis based on genomic (ddRAD sequencing) and mitochondrial (Dloop) data from cuckoo catfish embryos showed an absence of host-specific lineages. This was corroborated by analyses of genetic structure and co-ancestry matrix. Within host species, parasitism was not associated with any individual characteristic we recorded (parent size, water depth), but was costly as parasitized parents carried smaller clutches of their own offspring. We conclude that the cuckoo catfish is an intermediate generalist and discuss costs, benefits and constraints of host specialization in this species and brood parasites in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | | | - Radim Blažek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Zimmermann
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Cyprian Katongo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Anna Bryjová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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34
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Long X, Weissing FJ. Transient polymorphisms in parental care strategies drive divergence of sex roles. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6805. [PMID: 37884497 PMCID: PMC10603145 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42607-6] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The parental roles of males and females differ considerably between and within species. By means of individual-based evolutionary simulations, we strive to explain this diversity. We show that the conflict between the sexes creates a sex bias (towards maternal or paternal care), even if the two sexes are initially identical. When including sexual selection, there are two outcomes: either female mate choice and maternal care or no mate choice and paternal care. Interestingly, the care pattern drives sexual selection and not vice versa. Longer-term simulations exhibit rapid switches between alternative parental care patterns, even in constant environments. Hence, the evolutionary lability of sex roles observed in phylogenetic studies is not necessarily caused by external changes. Overall, our findings are in striking contrast to the predictions of mathematical models. We show that the discrepancies are caused by transient within-sex polymorphisms in parental strategies, a factor largely neglected in current sex-role theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Long
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands
- Institute of Biology I, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79104, Germany
| | - Franz J Weissing
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands.
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35
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Abstract
Machines powered by artificial intelligence increasingly permeate social networks with control over resources. However, machine allocation behavior might offer little benefit to human welfare over networks when it ignores the specific network mechanism of social exchange. Here, we perform an online experiment involving simple networks of humans (496 participants in 120 networks) playing a resource-sharing game to which we sometimes add artificial agents (bots). The experiment examines two opposite policies of machine allocation behavior: reciprocal bots, which share all resources reciprocally; and stingy bots, which share no resources at all. We also manipulate the bot's network position. We show that reciprocal bots make little changes in unequal resource distribution among people. On the other hand, stingy bots balance structural power and improve collective welfare in human groups when placed in a specific network position, although they bestow no wealth on people. Our findings highlight the need to incorporate the human nature of reciprocity and relational interdependence in designing machine behavior in sharing networks. Conscientious machines do not always work for human welfare, depending on the network structure where they interact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirokazu Shirado
- School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
| | - Yoyo Tsung-Yu Hou
- Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Malte F Jung
- Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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36
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Scott TW, Wild G. How to make an inclusive-fitness model. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231310. [PMID: 37788701 PMCID: PMC10547548 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1310] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behaviours are typically modelled using neighbour-modulated fitness, which focuses on individuals having their fitness altered by neighbours. However, these models are either interpreted using inclusive fitness, which focuses on individuals altering the fitness of neighbours, or not interpreted at all. This disconnect leads to interpretational mistakes and obscures the adaptive significance of behaviour. We bridge this gap by presenting a systematic methodology for constructing inclusive-fitness models. We find a behaviour's 'inclusive-fitness effect' by summing primary and secondary deviations in reproductive value. Primary deviations are the immediate result of a social interaction; for example, the cost and benefit of an altruistic act. Secondary deviations are compensatory effects that arise because the total reproductive value of the population is fixed; for example, the increased competition that follows an altruistic act. Compared to neighbour-modulated fitness methodologies, our approach is often simpler and reveals the model's inclusive-fitness narrative clearly. We implement our methodology first in a homogeneous population, with supplementary examples of help under synergy, help in a viscous population and Creel's paradox. We then implement our methodology in a class-structured population, where the advantages of our approach are most evident, with supplementary examples of altruism between age classes, and sex-ratio evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W. Scott
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Geoff Wild
- Department of Mathematics, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
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37
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Gómez JM, Gónzalez-Megías A, Verdú M. The evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in mammals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5719. [PMID: 37788987 PMCID: PMC10547684 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41290-x] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Same-sex sexual behaviour has attracted the attention of many scientists working in disparate areas, from sociology and psychology to behavioural and evolutionary biology. Since it does not contribute directly to reproduction, same-sex sexual behaviour is considered an evolutionary conundrum. Here, using phylogenetic analyses, we explore the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in mammals. According to currently available data, this behaviour is not randomly distributed across mammal lineages, but tends to be particularly prevalent in some clades, especially primates. Ancestral reconstruction suggests that same-sex sexual behaviour may have evolved multiple times, with its appearance being a recent phenomenon in most mammalian lineages. Our phylogenetically informed analyses testing for associations between same-sex sexual behaviour and other species characteristics suggest that it may play an adaptive role in maintaining social relationships and mitigating conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M Gómez
- Dpto de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 0-4120, Almería, Spain.
- Research Unit Modeling Nature (MNat), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
| | - A Gónzalez-Megías
- Research Unit Modeling Nature (MNat), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
- Dpto de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avda Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - M Verdú
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CSIC-UV-GV), Crta Moncada-Náquera km 4.5, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
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38
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Caminer MA, Libbrecht R, Majoe M, Ho DV, Baumann P, Foitzik S. Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1004. [PMID: 37783732 PMCID: PMC10545721 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05273-4] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Division of labor (DOL) is a characteristic trait of insect societies, where tasks are generally performed by specialized individuals. Inside workers focus on brood or nest care, while others take risks by foraging outside. Theory proposes that workers have different thresholds to perform certain tasks when confronted with task-related stimuli, leading to specialization and consequently DOL. Workers are presumed to vary in their response to task-related cues rather than in how they perceive such information. Here, we test the hypothesis that DOL instead stems from workers varying in their efficiency to detect stimuli of specific tasks. We use transcriptomics to measure mRNA expression levels in the antennae and brain of nurses and foragers of the ant Temnothorax longispinosus. We find seven times as many genes to be differentially expressed between behavioral phenotypes in the antennae compared to the brain. Moreover, half of all odorant receptors are differentially expressed, with an overrepresentation of the 9-exon gene family upregulated in the antennae of nurses. Nurses and foragers thus apparently differ in the perception of their olfactory environment and task-related signals. Our study supports the hypothesis that antennal sensory filters predispose workers to specialize in specific tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel A Caminer
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS, University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Megha Majoe
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - David V Ho
- Institute of Developmental and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Peter Baumann
- Institute of Developmental and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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39
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Koto A, Tamura M, Wong PS, Aburatani S, Privman E, Stoffel C, Crespi A, McKenzie SK, La Mendola C, Kay T, Keller L. Social isolation shortens lifespan through oxidative stress in ants. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5493. [PMID: 37758727 PMCID: PMC10533837 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41140-w] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Social isolation negatively affects health, induces detrimental behaviors, and shortens lifespan in social species. Little is known about the mechanisms underpinning these effects because model species are typically short-lived and non-social. Using colonies of the carpenter ant Camponotus fellah, we show that social isolation induces hyperactivity, alters space-use, and reduces lifespan via changes in the expression of genes with key roles in oxidation-reduction and an associated accumulation of reactive oxygen species. These physiological effects are localized to the fat body and oenocytes, which perform liver-like functions in insects. We use pharmacological manipulations to demonstrate that the oxidation-reduction pathway causally underpins the detrimental effects of social isolation on behavior and lifespan. These findings have important implications for our understanding of how social isolation affects behavior and lifespan in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Koto
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan.
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan.
| | - Makoto Tamura
- NeuroDiscovery Lab, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Pui Shan Wong
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Sachiyo Aburatani
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Eyal Privman
- University of Haifa, Institute of Evolution, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Céline Stoffel
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Crespi
- Biorobotics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Sean Keane McKenzie
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Christine La Mendola
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Tomas Kay
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Keller
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland.
- Social Evolution Unit, Cornuit 8, BP 855, Chesières, CH-1885, Switzerland.
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40
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Corral-Lopez A, Kotrschal A, Szorkovszky A, Garate-Olaizola M, Herbert-Read J, van der Bijl W, Romenskyy M, Zeng HL, Buechel SD, Fontrodona-Eslava A, Pelckmans K, Mank JE, Kolm N. Evolution of schooling drives changes in neuroanatomy and motion characteristics across predation contexts in guppies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6027. [PMID: 37758730 PMCID: PMC10533906 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41635-6] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the most spectacular displays of social behavior is the synchronized movements that many animal groups perform to travel, forage and escape from predators. However, elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying the evolution of collective behaviors, as well as their fitness effects, remains challenging. Here, we study collective motion patterns with and without predation threat and predator inspection behavior in guppies experimentally selected for divergence in polarization, an important ecological driver of coordinated movement in fish. We find that groups from artificially selected lines remain more polarized than control groups in the presence of a threat. Neuroanatomical measurements of polarization-selected individuals indicate changes in brain regions previously suggested to be important regulators of perception, fear and attention, and motor response. Additional visual acuity and temporal resolution tests performed in polarization-selected and control individuals indicate that observed differences in predator inspection and schooling behavior should not be attributable to changes in visual perception, but rather are more likely the result of the more efficient relay of sensory input in the brain of polarization-selected fish. Our findings highlight that brain morphology may play a fundamental role in the evolution of coordinated movement and anti-predator behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-Lopez
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, UK.
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Alexander Szorkovszky
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Maddi Garate-Olaizola
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - James Herbert-Read
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Aquatic Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Maksym Romenskyy
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Hong-Li Zeng
- School of Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China
| | - Severine Denise Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Ada Fontrodona-Eslava
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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41
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Abstract
We disentangle the channels through which Covid-19 has affected the performance of university students by setting up an econometric strategy to identify separately changes in both teaching and evaluation modes, and the short and long term effects of mobility restrictions. We exploit full and detailed information from the administrative archives of one among the first universities to be shut down since the virus spread from Wuhan. The results help solving the inconsistencies in the literature by providing evidence of a composite picture where negative effects such as those caused by the sudden shift to remote learning and by the exposure to mobility restrictions, overlap to opposite effects due to a change in evaluation methods and home confinement during the exam's preparation. Such overlap of conflicting effects, weakening the signaling role of tertiary education, would add to the learning loss by further exacerbating future consequences on the "Covid" generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Bonacini
- Department of Economics, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanni Gallo
- Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121, Modena, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Patriarca
- Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121, Modena, Italy.
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42
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Chau KD, Shamekh M, Huisken J, Rehan SM. The effects of maternal care on the developmental transcriptome and metatranscriptome of a wild bee. Commun Biol 2023; 6:904. [PMID: 37709905 PMCID: PMC10502028 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05275-2] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal care acts as a strong environmental stimulus that can induce phenotypic plasticity in animals and may also alter their microbial communities through development. Here, we characterize the developmental metatranscriptome of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, across developmental stages and in the presence or absence of mothers. Maternal care had the most influence during early development, with the greatest number and magnitude of differentially expressed genes between maternal care treatments, and enrichment for transcription factors regulating immune response in motherless early larvae. Metatranscriptomic data revealed fungi to be the most abundant group in the microbiome, with Aspergillus the most abundant in early larvae raised without mothers. Finally, integrative analysis between host transcriptome and metatranscriptome highlights several fungi correlating with developmental and immunity genes. Our results provide characterizations of the influence of maternal care on gene expression and the microbiome through development in a wild bee.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jesse Huisken
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Sandra M Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada.
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43
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Trautmann ST, Wang X, Wang Y, Xu Y. High-status individuals are held to higher ethical standards. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15111. [PMID: 37704790 PMCID: PMC10499905 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42204-z] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Although there is evidence for the generosity of high-status individuals, there seems to be a strong perception that the elites are selfish and contribute little to others' welfare, and even less so than poorer people. We argue that this perception may derive from a gap between normative and empirical expectations regarding the behavior of the elites. Using large-scale survey experiments, we show that high-status individuals are held to higher ethical standards in both the US and China, and that there is a strong income gradient in normatively expected generosity. We also present evidence for a gap between people's normative expectations of how the rich should behave, and their empirical expectations of how they actually do: empirical expectations are generally lower than both normative expectations and actual giving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan T Trautmann
- Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics, University of Heidelberg, Bergheimer Str. 58, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Xianghong Wang
- School of Economics, Renmin University of China, Zhongguancun Str. 59, Beijing, 100872, China
| | - Yijie Wang
- Institute of Governance, Shandong University, Binhai Str. 72, Tsingtao, 266237, China
| | - Yilong Xu
- Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht University, Kriekenpitplein 21-22, 3584 EC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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44
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Kings M, Arbon JJ, McIvor GE, Whitaker M, Radford AN, Lerner J, Thornton A. Wild jackdaws can selectively adjust their social associations while preserving valuable long-term relationships. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5103. [PMID: 37696804 PMCID: PMC10495349 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40808-7] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Influential theories of the evolution of cognition and cooperation posit that tracking information about others allows individuals to adjust their social associations strategically, re-shaping social networks to favour connections between compatible partners. Crucially, to our knowledge, this has yet to be tested experimentally in natural populations, where the need to maintain long-term, fitness-enhancing relationships may limit social plasticity. Using a social-network-manipulation experiment, we show that wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula) learned to favour social associations with compatible group members (individuals that provided greater returns from social foraging interactions), but resultant change in network structure was constrained by the preservation of valuable pre-existing relationships. Our findings provide insights into the cognitive basis of social plasticity and the interplay between individual decision-making and social-network structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kings
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
| | - Josh J Arbon
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Guillam E McIvor
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Martin Whitaker
- technologywithin, Chevron Business Park, Limekiln Lane, Holbury, Southampton, SO45 2QL, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Jürgen Lerner
- Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
- HumTec Institute, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
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45
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Goll Y, Bordes C, Weissman YA, Shnitzer I, Beukeboom R, Ilany A, Koren L, Geffen E. The interaction between cortisol and testosterone predicts leadership within rock hyrax social groups. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14857. [PMID: 37684271 PMCID: PMC10491601 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41958-w] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Group movement leadership is associated with higher risks for those in the front. Leaders are the first to explore new areas and may be exposed to predation. Individual differences in risk-taking behavior may be related to hormonal differences. In challenging circumstances, such as risk-taking leadership that may pose a cost to the leader, cortisol is secreted both to increase the likelihood of survival by restoring homeostasis, and to mediate cooperative behavior. Testosterone too has a well-established role in risk-taking behavior, and the dual-hormone hypothesis posits that the interaction of testosterone and cortisol can predict social behavior. Based on the dual-hormone hypothesis, we investigated here whether the interaction between testosterone and cortisol can predict risk-taking leadership behavior in wild rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis). We used proximity loggers, observations, and playback trials to characterize hyrax leaders in three different leadership contexts that varied in their risk levels. In support of the dual-hormone hypothesis, we found that cortisol and testosterone interactions predict leadership that involves risk. Across different circumstances that involved low or high levels of risk, testosterone was positively related to leadership, but only in individuals (both males and females) with low levels of cortisol. We also found an interaction between these hormone levels and age at the low-risk scenarios. We suggest that the close social interactions and affiliative behavior among hyrax females within small egalitarian groups may make female leadership less risky, and therefore less stressful, and allow female leaders to influence group activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Goll
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Camille Bordes
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Yishai A Weissman
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Inbar Shnitzer
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Rosanne Beukeboom
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Lee Koren
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Eli Geffen
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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46
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Zhuang M, Colgan TJ, Guo Y, Zhang Z, Liu F, Xia Z, Dai X, Zhang Z, Li Y, Wang L, Xu J, Guo Y, Qu Y, Yao J, Yang H, Yang F, Li X, Guo J, Brown MJF, Li J. Unexpected worker mating and colony-founding in a superorganism. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5499. [PMID: 37679330 PMCID: PMC10484907 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41198-6] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of caste-differentiated colonies, which have been defined as 'superorganisms', in ants, bees, and wasps represents a major transition in evolution. Lifetime mating commitment by queens, pre-imaginal caste determination and lifetime unmatedness of workers are key features of these animal societies. Workers in superorganismal species like honey bees and many ants have consequently lost, or retain only vestigial spermathecal structures. However, bumble bee workers retain complete spermathecae despite 25-40 million years since their origin of superorganismality, which remains an evolutionary mystery. Here, we show (i) that bumble bee workers retain queen-like reproductive traits, being able to mate and produce colonies, underlain by queen-like gene expression, (ii) the social conditions required for worker mating, and (iii) that these abilities may be selected for by early queen-loss in these annual species. These results challenge the idea of lifetime worker unmatedness in superorganisms, and provide an exciting new tool for the conservation of endangered bumble bee species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingsheng Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
- Shanghai Suosheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 201700, China
| | - Thomas J Colgan
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yulong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zhengyi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Fugang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongyan Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Xueyan Dai
- Shanghai Suosheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 201700, China
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanjian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Liuhao Wang
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Jin Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yueqin Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yingping Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Huipeng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Fan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoying Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Guo
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China
| | - Mark J F Brown
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK.
| | - Jilian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China.
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47
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Kujala MV, Imponen N, Pirkkala A, Silfverberg T, Parviainen T, Tiira K, Kiuru N. Modulation of dog-owner relationship and dog social and cognitive behavior by owner temperament and dog breed group. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14739. [PMID: 37679427 PMCID: PMC10484941 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41849-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
As companion dogs spend most of their lives with humans, the human-dog relationship and owner temperament may affect the dog behavior. In this study (n = 440), we investigated the relationship between the dog owner temperament (ATQ-R), owner-perceived dog-owner relationship (MDORS) and the dog behavior in three behavioral tests: the object-choice test, the unsolvable task, and the cylinder test. Dog owner temperament influenced the dog-owner relationship. Owners with high negative affectivity showed higher emotional closeness and perceived costs of their dog, whereas owners with high effortful control showed lower emotional closeness and perceived costs. Higher dog activity during the behavioral tests was also connected with owner-perceived lower emotional closeness. Furthermore, dog breed group modulated the connection between the owner temperament and dog behavior. Owner's high negative affectivity correlated with herding dogs' lower scores in the object choice test, while the behavior of primitive type dogs was unaffected by the owner temperament. Our results confirm that human characteristics are associated with the owner-reported dog-owner relationship, and owner temperament may have a modulatory effect on the dog social and cognitive behavior depending on the dog breed group, which should be investigated further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miiamaaria V Kujala
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland.
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, PO BOX 57, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Noora Imponen
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Aino Pirkkala
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Tiia Silfverberg
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Katriina Tiira
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, PO BOX 57, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
- SmartDOG, Pietilänkatu 5, 11130, Riihimäki, Finland
| | - Noona Kiuru
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, PO BOX 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
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48
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Roper M, Green JP, Salguero-Gómez R, Bonsall MB. Inclusive fitness forces of selection in an age-structured population. Commun Biol 2023; 6:909. [PMID: 37670147 PMCID: PMC10480192 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05260-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hamilton's force of selection acting against age-specific mortality is constant and maximal prior to the age of first reproduction, before declining to zero at the age of last reproduction. The force of selection acting on age-specific reproduction declines monotonically from birth in a growing or stationary population. Central to these results is the assumption that individuals do not interact with one another. This assumption is violated in social organisms, where an individual's survival and/or reproduction may shape the inclusive fitness of other group members. Yet, it remains unclear how the forces of selection might be modified when inclusive fitness, rather than population growth rate, is considered the appropriate metric for fitness. Here, we derive such inclusive fitness forces of selection, and show that selection on age-specific survival is not always constant before maturity, and can remain above zero in post-reproductive age classes. We also show how the force of selection on age-specific reproduction does not always decline monotonically from birth, but instead depends on the balance of costs and benefits of increasing reproduction to both direct and indirect fitness. Our theoretical framework provides an opportunity to expand our understanding of senescence across social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Roper
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jonathan P Green
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad-Zuse-Straße 1, 18057, Rostock, Germany
| | - Michael B Bonsall
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
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49
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Hermanussen M, Dammhahn M, Scheffler C, Groth D. Winner-loser effects improve social network efficiency between competitors with equal resource holding power. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14439. [PMID: 37660194 PMCID: PMC10475064 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41225-y] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal societies are structured of dominance hierarchy (DH). DH can be viewed as networks and analyzed by graph theory. We study the impact of state-dependent feedback (winner-loser effect) on the emergence of local dominance structures after pairwise contests between initially equal-ranking members (equal resource-holding-power, RHP) of small and large social groups. We simulated pairwise agonistic contests between individuals with and without a priori higher RHP by Monte-Carlo-method. Random pairwise contests between equal-ranking competitors result in random dominance structures ('Null variant') that are low in transitive triads and high in pass along triads; whereas state-dependent feedback ('Winner-loser variant') yields centralized 'star' structured DH that evolve from competitors with initially equal RHP and correspond to hierarchies that evolve from keystone individuals. Monte-Carlo simulated DH following state-dependent feedback show motif patterns very similar to those of a variety of natural DH, suggesting that state-dependent feedback plays a pivotal role in robust self-organizing phenomena that transcend the specifics of the individual. Self-organization based on state-dependent feedback leads to social structures that correspond to those resulting from pre-existing keystone individuals. As the efficiency of centralized social networks benefits both, the individual and the group, centralization of social networks appears to be an important evolutionary goal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - M Dammhahn
- Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Munster, Germany
| | - C Scheffler
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Human Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - D Groth
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Bioinformatics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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50
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Vitikainen EIK, Meniri M, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Businge R, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Mwesige K, Ahabonya S, Sanderson JL, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Hoffman JI, Wells D, Lewis G, Walker SL, Nichols HJ, Blount JD, Cant MA. The social formation of fitness: lifetime consequences of prenatal nutrition and postnatal care in a wild mammal population. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220309. [PMID: 37381858 PMCID: PMC10291432 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Research in medicine and evolutionary biology suggests that the sequencing of parental investment has a crucial impact on offspring life history and health. Here, we take advantage of the synchronous birth system of wild banded mongooses to test experimentally the lifetime consequences to offspring of receiving extra investment prenatally versus postnatally. We provided extra food to half of the breeding females in each group during pregnancy, leaving the other half as matched controls. This manipulation resulted in two categories of experimental offspring in synchronously born litters: (i) 'prenatal boost' offspring whose mothers had been fed during pregnancy, and (ii) 'postnatal boost' offspring whose mothers were not fed during pregnancy but who received extra alloparental care in the postnatal period. Prenatal boost offspring lived substantially longer as adults, but postnatal boost offspring had higher lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and higher glucocorticoid levels across the lifespan. Both types of experimental offspring had higher LRS than offspring from unmanipulated litters. We found no difference between the two experimental categories of offspring in adult weight, age at first reproduction, oxidative stress or telomere lengths. These findings are rare experimental evidence that prenatal and postnatal investments have distinct effects in moulding individual life history and fitness in wild mammals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. I. K. Vitikainen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Finland
| | - M. Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - H. H. Marshall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Centre for Research in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Roehampton, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5PJ, UK
| | - F. J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - R. Businge
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - F. Mwanguhya
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - S. Kyabulima
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - K. Mwesige
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - S. Ahabonya
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - J. L. Sanderson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - G. Kalema-Zikusoka
- Conservation Through Public Health, PO Box 75298, Uringi Crescent Rd, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - J. I. Hoffman
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Konsequenz 45, 33619, Germany
| | - D. Wells
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Konsequenz 45, 33619, Germany
| | - G. Lewis
- Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - S. L. Walker
- Chester Zoo Endocrine Laboratory, Endocrinology, Science Centre, Caughall Road, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, CH2 1LH, UK
| | - H. J. Nichols
- Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - J. D. Blount
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - M. A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
- German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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