|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Brilot, B.O.; Johnstone, R.A.
Title The limits to cost-free signalling of need between relatives Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 270 Issue (up) 1519 Pages 1055-1060
Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Birds/physiology; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior
Abstract Theoretical models have demonstrated the possibility of stable cost-free signalling of need between relatives. The stability of these cost-free equilibria depends on the indirect fitness cost of cheating and deceiving a donor into giving away resources. We show that this stability is highly sensitive to the distribution of need among signallers and receivers. In particular, cost-free signalling is likely to prove stable only if there is very large variation in need (such that the least-needy individuals stand to gain much less than the most-needy individuals from additional resources). We discuss whether these conditions are likely to be found in altricial avian breeding systems--the most intensively studied instance of signalling of need between relatives. We suggest that cost-free signalling is more likely to prove stable and will provide parents with more information during the earlier phases of chick growth, when parents can more easily meet the demands of a brood (and chicks are more likely to reach satiation). Later, informative yet cost-free signalling is unlikely to persist.
Address Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. bob21@cam.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12803895 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 558
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Brosnan, S.F.; Schiff, H.C.; de Waal, F.B.M.
Title Tolerance for inequity may increase with social closeness in chimpanzees Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue (up) 1560 Pages 253-258
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Attitude; Group Processes; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Reward; *Social Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors
Abstract Economic decision-making depends on our social environment. Humans tend to respond differently to inequity in close relationships, yet we know little about the potential for such variation in other species. We examine responses to inequity in several groups of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a paradigm similar to that used previously in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We demonstrate that, like capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees show a response to inequity of rewards that is based upon the partner receiving the reward rather than the presence of the reward alone. However, we also found a great amount of variation between groups tested, indicating that chimpanzees, like people, respond to inequity in a variable manner, which we speculate could be caused by such variables as group size, the social closeness of the group (as reflected in length of time that the group has been together) and group-specific traditions.
Address Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 North Gatewood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. sbrosna@emory.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15705549 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 169
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhou, W.-X.; Sornette, D.; Hill, R.A.; Dunbar, R.I.M.
Title Discrete hierarchical organization of social group sizes Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue (up) 1561 Pages 439-444
Keywords Anthropology, Cultural; *Group Structure; Humans; *Models, Biological; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment
Abstract The 'social brain hypothesis' for the evolution of large brains in primates has led to evidence for the coevolution of neocortical size and social group sizes, suggesting that there is a cognitive constraint on group size that depends, in some way, on the volume of neural material available for processing and synthesizing information on social relationships. More recently, work on both human and non-human primates has suggested that social groups are often hierarchically structured. We combine data on human grouping patterns in a comprehensive and systematic study. Using fractal analysis, we identify, with high statistical confidence, a discrete hierarchy of group sizes with a preferred scaling ratio close to three: rather than a single or a continuous spectrum of group sizes, humans spontaneously form groups of preferred sizes organized in a geometrical series approximating 3-5, 9-15, 30-45, etc. Such discrete scale invariance could be related to that identified in signatures of herding behaviour in financial markets and might reflect a hierarchical processing of social nearness by human brains.
Address State Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15734699 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 549
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Flack, J.C.; Krakauer, D.C.; de Waal, F.B.M.
Title Robustness mechanisms in primate societies: a perturbation study Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue (up) 1568 Pages 1091-1099
Keywords Aggression/physiology; Animals; *Conflict (Psychology); Female; *Hierarchy, Social; Macaca nemestrina/*physiology; Male; *Models, Theoretical; Observation; *Social Behavior
Abstract Conflict management mechanisms have a direct, critical effect on system robustness because they mitigate conflict intensity and help repair damaged relationships. However, robustness mechanisms can also have indirect effects on system integrity by facilitating interactions among components. We explore the indirect role that conflict management mechanisms play in the maintenance of social system robustness, using a perturbation technique to 'knockout' components responsible for effective conflict management. We explore the effects of knockout on pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) social organization, using a captive group of 84 individuals. This system is ideal in addressing this question because there is heterogeneity in performance of conflict management. Consequently, conflict managers can be easily removed without disrupting other control structures. We find that powerful conflict managers are essential in maintaining social order for the benefit of all members of society. We show that knockout of components responsible for conflict management results in system destabilization by significantly increasing mean levels of conflict and aggression, decreasing socio-positive interaction and decreasing the operation of repair mechanisms.
Address Santa Fe Institute, NM 87501, USA. jflack@santafe.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16024369 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 165
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Barrett, L.; Henzi, P.
Title The social nature of primate cognition Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue (up) 1575 Pages 1865-1875
Keywords Animals; Brain/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; *Evolution; Intelligence/*physiology; Primates/*physiology; *Social Behavior
Abstract The hypothesis that the enlarged brain size of the primates was selected for by social, rather than purely ecological, factors has been strongly influential in studies of primate cognition and behaviour over the past two decades. However, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis, also known as the social brain hypothesis, tends to emphasize certain traits and behaviours, like exploitation and deception, at the expense of others, such as tolerance and behavioural coordination, and therefore presents only one view of how social life may shape cognition. This review outlines work from other relevant disciplines, including evolutionary economics, cognitive science and neurophysiology, to illustrate how these can be used to build a more general theoretical framework, incorporating notions of embodied and distributed cognition, in which to situate questions concerning the evolution of primate social cognition.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. louiseb@liv.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16191591 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2086
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Shultz, S.; Dunbar, R.I.M.
Title Both social and ecological factors predict ungulate brain size Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 273 Issue (up) 1583 Pages 207-215
Keywords Animals; Artiodactyla/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; Brain/*anatomy & histology/physiology; *Ecosystem; Organ Size; Perissodactyla/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; *Social Behavior
Abstract Among mammals, the members of some Orders have relatively large brains. Alternative explanations for this have emphasized either social or ecological selection pressures favouring greater information-processing capacities, including large group size, greater foraging efficiency, higher innovation rates, better invasion success and complex problem solving. However, the focal taxa for these analyses (primates, carnivores and birds) often show both varied ecological competence and social complexity. Here, we focus on the specific relationship between social complexity and brain size in ungulates, a group with relatively simple patterns of resource use, but extremely varied social behaviours. The statistical approach we used, phylogenetic generalized least squares, showed that relative brain size was independently associated with sociality and social complexity as well as with habitat use, while relative neocortex size is associated with social but not ecological factors. A simple index of sociality was a better predictor of both total brain and neocortex size than group size, which may indicate that the cognitive demands of sociality depend on the nature of social relationships as well as the total number of individuals in a group.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. susanne.shultz@liv.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16555789 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2098
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Nocera, J.J.; Forbes, G.J.; Giraldeau, L.-A.
Title Inadvertent social information in breeding site selection of natal dispersing birds Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 273 Issue (up) 1584 Pages 349-355
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Breeding; *Environment; Female; Logistic Models; Male; Songbirds/growth & development/*physiology
Abstract Several species use the number of young produced as public information (PI) to assess breeding site quality. PI is inaccessible for synchronously breeding birds because nests are empty by the time the young can collect this information. We investigate if location cues are the next best source of inadvertent social information (ISI) used by young prospectors during breeding site choice. We experimentally deployed ISI as decoys and song playbacks of breeding males in suitable and sub-optimal habitats during pre- and post-breeding periods, and monitored territory establishment during the subsequent breeding season for a social, bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and a more solitary species, Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni). The sparrows did not respond to treatments, but bobolinks responded strongly to post-breeding location cues, irrespective of habitat quality. The following year, 17/20 sub-optimal plots to which bobolink males were recruited were defended for at least two weeks, indicating that song heard the previous year could exert a “carry-over attraction” effect on conspecifics the following year. Sixteen recruited males were natal dispersers, as expected when animals have little opportunity to directly sample their natal habitat quality. We suggest that differences in breeding synchronicity may induce an equivalent clinal distribution of ISI use.
Address Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Bag Service #45111, Fredericton, NB E3B 6E1, Canada. j.nocera@unb.ca
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16543178 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2129
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wich, S.A.; de Vries, H.
Title Male monkeys remember which group members have given alarm calls Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 273 Issue (up) 1587 Pages 735-740
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cercopithecidae/*physiology/*psychology; Cognition/physiology; Fear/physiology/*psychology; Female; Indonesia; Male; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology
Abstract Primates give alarm calls in response to the presence of predators. In some species, such as the Thomas langur (Presbytis thomasi), males only emit alarm calls if there is an audience. An unanswered question is whether the audience's behaviour influences how long the male will continue his alarm calling. We tested three hypotheses that might explain the alarm calling duration of male Thomas langurs: the fatigue, group size and group member behaviour hypotheses. Fatigue and group size did not influence male alarm calling duration. We found that males only ceased calling shortly after all individuals in his group had given at least one alarm call. This shows that males keep track of and thus remember which group members have called.
Address Behavioural Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 14, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands. s.a.wich@bio.uu.nl
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16608694 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2816
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Johnstone, R.A.
Title Eavesdropping and animal conflict Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 98 Issue (up) 16 Pages 9177-9180
Keywords *Aggression; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Conflict (Psychology); Models, Theoretical
Abstract Fights between pairs of animals frequently take place within a wider social context. The displays exchanged during conflict, and the outcome of an encounter, are often detectable by individuals who are not immediately involved. In at least some species, such bystanders are known to eavesdrop on contests between others, and to modify their behavior toward the contestants in response to the observed interaction. Here, I extend Maynard Smith's well known model of animal aggression, the Hawk-Dove game, to incorporate the possibility of eavesdroppers. I show that some eavesdropping is favored whenever the cost of losing an escalated fight exceeds the value of the contested resource, and that its equilibrium frequency is greatest when costs are relatively high. Eavesdropping reduces the risk of escalated conflict relative to that expected by chance, given the level of aggression in the population. However, it also promotes increased aggression, because it enhances the value of victory. The net result is that escalated conflicts are predicted to occur more frequently when eavesdropping is possible.
Address Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom. raj1003@hermes.cam.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11459936 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 497
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Scheffer, M.; van Nes, E.H.
Title Self-organized similarity, the evolutionary emergence of groups of similar species Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 103 Issue (up) 16 Pages 6230-6235
Keywords Animals; *Competitive Behavior; *Ecosystem; *Evolution; *Models, Biological
Abstract Ecologists have long been puzzled by the fact that there are so many similar species in nature. Here we show that self-organized clusters of look-a-likes may emerge spontaneously from coevolution of competitors. The explanation is that there are two alternative ways to survive together: being sufficiently different or being sufficiently similar. Using a model based on classical competition theory, we demonstrate a tendency for evolutionary emergence of regularly spaced lumps of similar species along a niche axis. Indeed, such lumpy patterns are commonly observed in size distributions of organisms ranging from algae, zooplankton, and beetles to birds and mammals, and could not be well explained by earlier theory. Our results suggest that these patterns may represent self-constructed niches emerging from competitive interactions. A corollary of our findings is that, whereas in species-poor communities sympatric speciation and invasion of open niches is possible, species-saturated communities may be characterized by convergent evolution and invasion by look-a-likes.
Address Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8080, 6700 DD, Wageningen, The Netherlands. marten.scheffer@wur.nl
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16585519 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 510
Permanent link to this record