scholarly journals Homophily around specialized foraging underlies dolphin social preferences

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 20180909 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. S. Machado ◽  
M. Cantor ◽  
A. P. B. Costa ◽  
B. P. H. Righetti ◽  
C. Bezamat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Social Affiliations ◽  
Dolphin Population ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Foraging Tactic

Individuals often associate socially with those who behave the same way. This principle, homophily, could structure populations into distinct social groups. We tested this hypothesis in a bottlenose dolphin population that appeared to be clustered around a specialized foraging tactic involving cooperation with net-casting fishermen, but in which other potential drivers of such social structure have never been assessed. We measured and controlled for the contribution of sex, age, genetic relatedness, home range and foraging tactics on social associations to test for homophily effects. Dolphins tended to group with others having similar home ranges and frequency of using the specialized foraging tactic, but not other traits. Such social preferences were particularly clear when dolphins were not foraging, showing that homophily extends beyond simply participating in a specific tactic. Combined, these findings highlight the need to account for multiple drivers of group formation across behavioural contexts to determine true social affiliations. We suggest that homophily around behavioural specialization can be a major driver of social patterns, with implications for other social processes. If homophily based on specialized tactics underlies animal social structures more widely, then it may be important in modulating opportunities for social learning, and therefore influence patterns of cultural transmission.

scholarly journals Presence of kin-biased social associations in a lizard with no parental care: the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii)

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1406-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carme Piza-Roca ◽  
Kasha Strickland ◽  
Nicola Kent ◽  
Celine H Frere
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Intellagama Lesueurii

Abstract Numerous studies have observed kin-biased social associations in a variety of species. Many of these studies have focused on species exhibiting parental care, which may facilitate the transmission of the social environment from parents to offspring. This becomes problematic when disentangling whether kin-biased associations are driven by kin recognition, or are a product of transmission of the social environment during ontogeny, or a combination of both. Studying kin-biased associations in systems that lack parental care may aid in addressing this issue. Furthermore, when studying kin-biased social associations, it is important to differentiate whether these originate from preferential choice or occur randomly as a result of habitat use or limited dispersal. Here, we combined high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism data with a long-term behavioral data set of a reptile with no parental care to demonstrate that eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) bias their nonrandom social associations toward their kin. In particular, we found that although the overall social network was not linked to genetic relatedness, individuals associated with kin more than expected given availability in space and also biased social preferences toward kin. This result opens important opportunities for the study of kinship-driven associations without the confounding effect of vertical transmission of social environments. Furthermore, we present a robust multiple-step approach for determining whether kin-biased social associations are a result of active social decisions or random encounters resulting from habitat use and dispersal patterns.

scholarly journals Kinship does not predict the structure of a shark social network

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann Mourier ◽  
Serge Planes
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Type I ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Associations

ABSTRACTGenetic relatedness in animal societies is often a factor that drives the structure of social groups. In the marine world, most studies which have investigated this question have focused on marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. For sharks, recent studies have demonstrated preferential associations among individuals from which social communities emerge. Assortment patterns have been found according to phenotypic or behavioural traits but the role of genetic relatedness in shaping the social structure of adult shark populations has, to the best our knowledge, never been investigated. Here, we used a social network analysis crossed with DNA microsatellite genotyping to investigate the role of the genetic relatedness in the social structure of a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) population. Based on data from 156 groups of sharks, we used generalized affiliation indices to isolate social preferences from non-social associations, controlling for the contribution of sex, size, gregariousness, spatial and temporal overlap on social associations, to test for the influence of genetic relatedness on social structure. A double permutation procedure was employed to confirm our results and account for issues arising from potentially elevated type I and type II error rates. Kinship was not a predictor of associations and affiliations among sharks at the dyad or community levels as individuals tended to associate independently of the genetic relatedness among them. The lack of parental care in this species may contribute to the breakdown of family links in the population early in life, thereby preventing the formation of kin-based social networks.

Concurrent effects of familiarity and kinship on social affiliations in convict cichlid (Amatitlania siquia) young

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (8) ◽  
pp. 895-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey S.Y. Lee-Jenkins ◽  
Jean-Guy J. Godin
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Convict Cichlid ◽  
Simultaneous Choice ◽  
Social Affiliations ◽  
Social Familiarity ◽  
Focal Fish ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Amatitlania Siquia

The cues associated with social familiarity and genetic relatedness and how they interact to influence the formation of social associations among individuals, and thus group composition and dynamics, is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the concurrent effects of social familiarity and kinship on social affiliations in free-swimming convict cichlid fish young or ‘fry’ (Amatitlania siquia) by pitting the cues of social familiarity and kinship against each other in a four-way choice apparatus. Individual focal fish were given a simultaneous choice to associate (‘shoal’) with conspecifics that were either socially familiar and kin (full sibs), socially unfamiliar and kin, socially familiar and not kin, or socially unfamiliar and not kin. Stimulus shoal preference differed depending on the body length of the focal fish; smaller fry exhibited no preference, whereas larger (more mobile) fry significantly preferred to associate with familiar kin. In the convict cichlid system, where brood mixing occurs in the wild, a preference to associate with familiar kin may confer fitness benefits to individuals, especially when fry become more mobile as they grow and encounter predators more often. Our results contribute to further our understanding of the roles of familiarity and kinship in the formation of social associations in the convict cichlid in particular and in animals in general.

scholarly journals Mixture models as a method for comparative sociality: social networks and demographic change in resident killer whales

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Ellis ◽  
Daniel W. Franks ◽  
Michael N. Weiss ◽  
Michael A. Cant ◽  
Paolo Domenici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixture Models ◽  
Demographic Change ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Binomial Mixture ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Social Association

Abstract In studies of social behaviour, social bonds are usually inferred from rates of interaction or association. This approach has revealed many important insights into the proximate formation and ultimate function of animal social structures. However, it remains challenging to compare social structure between systems or time-points because extrinsic factors, such as sampling methodology, can also influence the observed rate of association. As a consequence of these methodological challenges, it is difficult to analyse how patterns of social association change with demographic processes, such as the death of key social partners. Here we develop and illustrate the use of binomial mixture models to quantitatively compare patterns of social association between networks. We then use this method to investigate how patterns of social preferences in killer whales respond to demographic change. Resident killer whales are bisexually philopatric, and both sexes stay in close association with their mother in adulthood. We show that mothers and daughters show reduced social association after the birth of the daughter’s first offspring, but not after the birth of an offspring to the mother. We also show that whales whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and with their grandmother than whales whose mother is alive. Our work demonstrates the utility of using mixture models to compare social preferences between networks and between species. We also highlight other potential uses of this method such as to identify strong social bonds in animal populations. Significance statement Comparing patters of social associations between systems, or between the same systems at different times, is challenging due to the confounding effects of sampling and methodological differences. Here we present a method to allow social associations to be robustly classified and then compared between networks using binomial mixture models. We illustrate this method by showing how killer whales change their patterns of social association in response to the birth of calves and the death of their mother. We show that after the birth of her calf, females associate less with their mother. We also show that whales’ whose mother is dead associate more with their opposite sex siblings and grandmothers than whales’ whose mother is alive. This clearly demonstrates how this method can be used to examine fine scale temporal processes in animal social systems.

Effects of Parturition on Home Ranges and Social Affiliations of Female White-Tailed Deer

1996 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Bertrand ◽  
Anthony J. DeNicola ◽  
Steven R. Beissinger ◽  
Robert K. Swihart
Keyword(s):  
Home Ranges ◽  
Social Affiliations

Structural, temporal and genetic properties of social groups in the short-lived migratory bat Nyctalus leisleri

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 785-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladislav Naďo ◽  
Renáta Chromá ◽  
Peter Kaňuch
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Natal Philopatry ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Nyctalus Leisleri ◽  
The Social ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Social Associations ◽  
Migratory Movements

Social groups of bats that operate under fission–fusion dynamics tend to establish and maintain non-random associations. We examined the social and genetic structure of the Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri), a species that is typical of tree-dwelling and long-distance migratory species in Europe. We used long-term co-occurrence data (capture-recapture sampling of roosting individuals) in combination with individual genetic relatedness (inferred from a set of microsatellite markers) to assess relationships between structural, temporal and genetic properties of roosting groups. Our results showed that social structure in groups of roosting Leisler’s bat was not random. Social clusters revealed by network analysis were almost identical to demographic cohorts, which indicates that Leisler’s bats are able to maintain social bonds only over a single season. After the period of active maternal care, roosting groups became smaller with a significantly higher level of genetic relatedness among adult females in contrast to the pregnancy and lactation stages. This provides some evidence that temporal social associations may be positively correlated with genetic relatedness. Low recapture rates of bats across seasons in light of natal philopatry indicates a shorter life span of individuals likely due to high mortality during long distance migratory movements. This probably has the most significant effect on the social system of this species.

scholarly journals Parasite-mediated host behavioural modifications: Gyrodactylus turnbulli infected Trinidadian guppies increase contact rates with uninfected conspecifics

Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (7) ◽  
pp. 920-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Reynolds ◽  
Elisavet A. Arapi ◽  
Jo Cable
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Infection Risk ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Transmission Dynamics ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Contact Rates ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
First Time

AbstractWhile group formation provides antipredatory defences, increases foraging efficiency and mating opportunities, it can be counterintuitive by promoting disease transmission amongst social hosts. Upon introduction of a pathogen, uninfected individuals often modify their social preferences to reduce infection risk. Infected hosts also exhibit behavioural changes, for example, removing themselves from a group to prevent an epidemic. Conversely, here we show how Trinidadian guppies infected with a directly transmitted ectoparasite, Gyrodactylus turnbulli, significantly increase their contact rates with uninfected conspecifics. As uninfected fish never perform this behaviour, this is suggestive of a parasite-mediated behavioural response of infected hosts, presumably to offload their parasites. In the early stages of infection, however, such behavioural modifications are ineffective in alleviating parasite burdens. Additionally, we show that fish exposed to G. turnbulli infections for a second time, spent less time associating than those exposed to parasites for the first time. We speculate that individuals build and retain an infection cue repertoire, enabling them to rapidly recognize and avoid infectious conspecifics. This study highlights the importance of considering host behavioural modifications when investigating disease transmission dynamics.

Social group formation and genetic relatedness in reintroduced Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Thailand

2015 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chatchote Thitaram ◽  
Suthatip Dejchaisri ◽  
Chaleamchat Somgird ◽  
Taweepoke Angkawanish ◽  
Janine Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Asian Elephants

scholarly journals Fundamentalism and Democracy: A Dynamic Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Correani
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
Heterogeneous Preferences ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Cultural Traits ◽  
Education Effort

<p>We analyse the dynamics of the distribution of democratic values in a population where<br />agents have heterogeneous preferences about democracy, distinguishing between<br />fundamentalist-antidemocratic agents and pro-democracy agents. Cultural traits and norms<br />are acquired through a process of intergenerational cultural transmission and socialization.<br />The driving force in the equilibrium selection process is the education effort exerted by<br />parents; this depends on the distribution of democratic values in the population and on<br />expectations about future policies affecting formal and informal institutions.<br />The main result is that when fundamentalism is sufficiently diffused in all institutional<br />dimensions of social life, the imposition of formal democratic rules do not significantly affect<br />social preferences. On the other hand the model shows how a cruel fundamentalist<br />dictatorship cannot wholly destroy democratic preferences in the population; the sole result is<br />a fictitious homologation of manifested attitudes, with no preferences dynamics and the<br />previous real attitudes immediately emerging as soon as dictatorship falls.</p>

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