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Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title (up) Grooming, alliances and reciprocal altruism in vervet monkeys Type Journal Article
Year 1984 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 308 Issue 5959 Pages 541-543
Keywords *Altruism; Animals; Cercopithecus/*physiology; Cercopithecus aethiops/*physiology; *Grooming; *Social Behavior; Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Reciprocal altruism refers to the exchange of beneficial acts between individuals, in which the benefits to the recipient exceed the cost to the altruist. Theory predicts that cooperation among unrelated animals can occur whenever individuals encounter each other regularly and are capable of adjusting their cooperative behaviour according to experience. Although the potential for reciprocal altruism exists in many animal societies, most interactions occur between closely related individuals, and examples of reciprocity among non-kin are rare. The field experiments on vervet monkeys which we present here demonstrate that grooming between unrelated individuals increases the probability that they will subsequently attend to each others' solicitations for aid. Vervets appear to be more willing to aid unrelated individuals if those individuals have behaved affinitively toward them in the recent past. In contrast, recent grooming between close genetic relatives appears to have no effect on their willingness to respond to each other's solicitations for aid.
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:6709060 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 704
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Author Conradt, L.; Roper, T.J.
Title (up) Group decision-making in animals Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 421 Issue 6919 Pages 155-158
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Decision Making; Democracy; Group Processes; *Models, Biological; Population Density; Social Behavior
Abstract Groups of animals often need to make communal decisions, for example about which activities to perform, when to perform them and which direction to travel in; however, little is known about how they do so. Here, we model the fitness consequences of two possible decision-making mechanisms: 'despotism' and 'democracy'. We show that under most conditions, the costs to subordinate group members, and to the group as a whole, are considerably higher for despotic than for democratic decisions. Even when the despot is the most experienced group member, it only pays other members to accept its decision when group size is small and the difference in information is large. Democratic decisions are more beneficial primarily because they tend to produce less extreme decisions, rather than because each individual has an influence on the decision per se. Our model suggests that democracy should be widespread and makes quantitative, testable predictions about group decision-making in non-humans.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. l.conradt@sussex.ac.uk
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:12520299 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5136
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Author Nagy, M.; Akos, Z.; Biro, D.; Vicsek, T.
Title (up) Hierarchical group dynamics in pigeon flocks Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 464 Issue 7290 Pages 890-893
Keywords
Abstract Animals that travel together in groups display a variety of fascinating motion patterns thought to be the result of delicate local interactions among group members1, 2, 3. Although the most informative way of investigating and interpreting collective movement phenomena would be afforded by the collection of high-resolution spatiotemporal data from moving individuals, such data are scarce4, 5, 6, 7 and are virtually non-existent for long-distance group motion within a natural setting because of the associated technological difficulties8. Here we present results of experiments in which track logs of homing pigeons flying in flocks of up to 10 individuals have been obtained by high-resolution lightweight GPS devices and analysed using a variety of correlation functions inspired by approaches common in statistical physics. We find a well-defined hierarchy among flock members from data concerning leading roles in pairwise interactions, defined on the basis of characteristic delay times between birds’ directional choices. The average spatial position of a pigeon within the flock strongly correlates with its place in the hierarchy, and birds respond more quickly to conspecifics perceived primarily through the left eye—both results revealing differential roles for birds that assume different positions with respect to flock-mates. From an evolutionary perspective, our results suggest that hierarchical organization of group flight may be more efficient than an egalitarian one, at least for those flock sizes that permit regular pairwise interactions among group members, during which leader–follower relationships are consistently manifested.
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Publisher Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes 10.1038/nature08891 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5111
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Author Wilson, A.M.; McGuigan, M.P.; Su, A.; van Den Bogert, A.J.
Title (up) Horses damp the spring in their step Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 414 Issue 6866 Pages 895-899
Keywords Animals; Biomechanics; Elasticity; Forelimb; Gait; Horses/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Leg Bones/*physiology; Locomotion; Models, Biological; Muscle Fibers/physiology; Muscle, Skeletal/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Tendons/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Vibration
Abstract The muscular work of galloping in horses is halved by storing and returning elastic strain energy in spring-like muscle-tendon units.These make the legs act like a child's pogo stick that is tuned to stretch and recoil at 2.5 strides per second. This mechanism is optimized by unique musculoskeletal adaptations: the digital flexor muscles have extremely short fibres and significant passive properties, whereas the tendons are very long and span several joints. Length change occurs by a stretching of the spring-like digital flexor tendons rather than through energetically expensive length changes in the muscle. Despite being apparently redundant for such a mechanism, the muscle fibres in the digital flexors are well developed. Here we show that the mechanical arrangement of the elastic leg permits it to vibrate at a higher frequency of 30-40 Hz that could cause fatigue damage to tendon and bone. Furthermore, we show that the digital flexor muscles have minimal ability to contribute to or regulate significantly the 2.5-Hz cycle of movement, but are ideally arranged to damp these high-frequency oscillations in the limb.
Address Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts AL9 7TA, UK. awilson@rvc.ac.uk
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:11780059 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2300
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Author Milinski, M.; Rockenbach, B.
Title (up) Human behaviour: Punisher pays Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 452 Issue 7185 Pages 297-298
Keywords
Abstract The tendency of humans to punish perceived free-loaders, even at a cost to themselves, is an evolutionary puzzle: punishers perish, and those who benefit the most are those who have never punished at all.

Humans are champions of cooperation. Reciprocity – the idea that, if I help you this time, you'll help me next time1 – is a secret of our success.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Nature Publishing Group Place of Publication Editor
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes 10.1038/452297a Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4405
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Author Ohtsuki, H.; Iwasa, Y.; Nowak, M.A.
Title (up) Indirect reciprocity provides only a narrow margin of efficiency for costly punishment Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 457 Issue 7225 Pages 79-82
Keywords
Abstract Indirect reciprocity1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is a key mechanism for the evolution of human cooperation. Our behaviour towards other people depends not only on what they have done to us but also on what they have done to others. Indirect reciprocity works through reputation5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. The standard model of indirect reciprocity offers a binary choice: people can either cooperate or defect. Cooperation implies a cost for the donor and a benefit for the recipient. Defection has no cost and yields no benefit. Currently there is considerable interest in studying the effect of costly (or altruistic) punishment on human behaviour18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. Punishment implies a cost for the punished person. Costly punishment means that the punisher also pays a cost. It has been suggested that costly punishment between individuals can promote cooperation. Here we study the role of costly punishment in an explicit model of indirect reciprocity. We analyse all social norms, which depend on the action of the donor and the reputation of the recipient. We allow errors in assigning reputation and study gossip as a mechanism for establishing coherence. We characterize all strategies that allow the evolutionary stability of cooperation. Some of those strategies use costly punishment; others do not. We find that punishment strategies typically reduce the average payoff of the population. Consequently, there is only a small parameter region where costly punishment leads to an efficient equilibrium. In most cases the population does better by not using costly punishment. The efficient strategy for indirect reciprocity is to withhold help for defectors rather than punishing them.
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Publisher Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved Place of Publication Editor
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes 10.1038/nature07601 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4705
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Author Berger, J.
Title (up) Induced abortion and social factors in wild horses Type Journal Article
Year 1983 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 303 Issue 5912 Pages 59-61
Keywords Abortion, Induced/*veterinary; Abortion, Veterinary/*etiology; Aggression/physiology; Animals; Evolution; Female; Horses/*physiology; Humans; Pregnancy; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology
Abstract Much evidence now suggests that the postnatal killing of young in primates and carnivores, and induced abortions in some rodents, are evolved traits exerting strong selective pressures on adult male and female behaviour. Among ungulates it is perplexing that either no species have developed convergent tactics or that these behaviours are not reported, especially as ungulates have social systems similar to those of members of the above groups. Only in captive horses (Equus caballus) has infant killing been reported. It has been estimated that 40,000 wild horses live in remote areas of the Great Basin Desert of North America (US Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management), unpublished report), where they occur in harems (females and young) defended by males. Here I present evidence that, rather than killing infants directly, invading males induce abortions in females unprotected by their resident stallions and these females are then inseminated by the new males.
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:6682487 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4365
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Author Whiten, A.; McGrew, W.C.
Title (up) Is this the first portrayal of tool use by a chimp? Type
Year 2001 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 409 Issue 6816 Pages 12
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Philately
Abstract
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:11343083 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 739
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Author Arnold, K.; Zuberbuhler, K.
Title (up) Language evolution: semantic combinations in primate calls Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 441 Issue 7091 Pages 303
Keywords Animal Migration; Animals; Eagles/physiology; *Evolution; Female; Haplorhini/*physiology; Male; Predatory Behavior; *Semantics; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Syntax sets human language apart from other natural communication systems, although its evolutionary origins are obscure. Here we show that free-ranging putty-nosed monkeys combine two vocalizations into different call sequences that are linked to specific external events, such as the presence of a predator and the imminent movement of the group. Our findings indicate that non-human primates can combine calls into higher-order sequences that have a particular meaning.
Address School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16710411 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 354
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Author Marean, C.W.; Gifford-Gonzalez, D.
Title (up) Late Quaternary extinct ungulates of East Africa and palaeoenvironmental implications Type Journal Article
Year 1991 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 350 Issue 6317 Pages 418-420
Keywords
Abstract UNGULATE communities of two East African savannas, the Serengeti and Athi-Kapiti Plains, are dominated by wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) supplemented by zebra (Equus burchelli), topi (Damaliscus lunatus), hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) eland (Taurotragus oryx) and gazelles (Gazella grand and G. thomsoni)1-3. Before this research, little was known of East African large mammal communities in the Late Pleistocene and early to middle Holocene. We document an extinct impala-sized alcelaphine antelope that is numerically dominant in Late Pleistocene archaeofaunal assemblages from the Athi-Kapiti Plains. The extinct giant buffalo Pelorovis antiquus is present, and a number of arid-adapted regionally extinct species are common. The small alcelaphine is rare in northern Tanzania, but regionally extinct arid-adapted species are present in Late Pleistocene deposits. These data indicate that as recently as 12,000 years ago, the large mammal community structure of East African savannas was very different and dry grasslands and arid-adapted ungulates expanded at least as far south as northern Tanzania during the Last Glacial Maximum.
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Notes 10.1038/350418a0 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2345
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