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Author (down) Sterck, E.; Watts, D.; van Schaik, C.
Title The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 41 Issue 5 Pages 291-309
Keywords ecology; matrilocal; primate; social; theory
Abstract Considerable interspeci®c variation in female social relationships occurs in gregarious primates, particularly with regard to agonism and cooperation between females and to the quality of female relationships with males. This variation exists alongside variation in female philopatry and dispersal. Socioecological theories have tried to explain variation in female-female social relationships from an evolutionary perspective focused on ecological factors, notably predation and food distribution. According to the current ``ecological model'', predation risk forces females of most diurnal primate species to live in groups; the strength of the contest component of competition for resources within and between groups then largely determines social relationships between females. Social elationships among gregarious females are here characterized as DispersalEgalitarian, Resident-Nepotistic, Resident-Nepotistic-Tolerant, or Resident-Egalitarian. This ecological model has successfully explained i€erences in the occurrence of formal submission signals, decided dominance relation ships, coalitions and female philopatry. Group size and female rank generally a€ect female reproduction success as the model predicts, and studies of closely related species in di€erent ecological circumstances underscore the importance of the model. Some cases, however, can only be explained when we extend the model to incorporate the e€ects of infanticide risk and habitat saturation. We review evidence in support of the ecological model and test the power of alternative models that invoke between-group competition, forced female philopatry, demographic female recruitment, male interventions into female aggression, and male harassment.

Not one of these models can replace the ecological model, which already encompasses the between-group competition. Currently the best model, which explains

several phenomena that the ecological model does not, is a ``socioecological model'' based on the combined importance of ecological factors, habitat saturation and infanticide avoidance. We note some points of similarity and divergence with other mammalian taxa; these remain to be explored in detail.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5227
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Author (down) Smith, J.E.; Van Horn, R.C.; Powning, K.S.; Cole, A.R.; Graham, K.E.; Memenis, S.K.; Holekamp, K.E.
Title Evolutionary forces favoring intragroup coalitions among spotted hyenas and other animals Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 284-303
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Abstract Coalitionary support in agonistic interactions represents cooperation because intervening in a fight is potentially costly to the donor of support but benefits the recipient. Here, we first review the characteristics of, and evolutionary forces favoring, intragroup coalitions in 49 species and find that patterns of intragroup coalition formation are remarkably similar between primates and nonprimates. We then test hypotheses suggesting kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and direct benefits as adaptive explanations for coalitionary interventions among adult female spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) belonging to a large social group in Kenya. As predicted by kin selection theory, females supported close kin most often, and the density (connectedness) of cooperation networks increased with genetic relatedness. Nevertheless, kinship failed to protect females from coalitionary attacks. We found no evidence of enduring alliances based on reciprocal support among unrelated adult females. Instead, donors generally minimized costs to themselves, intervening most often during low-intensity fights and when feeding opportunities were unavailable. Females also gained direct benefits from directing coalitionary attacks toward subordinates. Finally, females monitored the number of dominant bystanders in the “audience” at fights and modified their level of cooperation based on this knowledge. Overall, hyenas made flexible decisions regarding whether or not to intervene in fights, modifying their tendency to cooperate based on multiple types of information about their immediate social and ecological environments. Taken together, these findings indicate that the combined evolutionary forces of kin selection and direct benefits derived from reinforcing the status quo drive coalitionary interventions among adult female spotted hyenas.
Address agonistic support, audience effect, cooperation network, direct benefits, kin selection * reciprocal altruism * review
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Notes 10.1093/beheco/arp181 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5285
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Author (down) Smith, B.R.; Blumstein, D.T.
Title Fitness consequences of personality: a meta-analysis Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 448-455
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Abstract The study of nonhuman personality capitalizes on the fact that individuals of many species behave in predictable, variable, and quantifiable ways. Although a few empirical studies have examined the ultimate consequences of personality differences, there has been no synthesis of results. We conducted a formal meta-analysis of published studies reporting fitness consequences of single personality dimensions to identify general trends across species. We found bolder individuals had increased reproductive success, particularly in males, but incurred a survival cost, thus, supporting the hypothesis that variation in boldness was maintained due to a “trade-off” in fitness consequences across contexts. Potential mechanisms maintaining variation in exploration and aggression are not as clear. Exploration had a positive effect only on survival, whereas aggression had a positive effect on both reproductive success and, not significantly, on survival. Such results would suggest that selection is driving populations to become more explorative and aggressive. However, limitations in meta-analytic techniques preclude us from testing for the effects of fluctuating environmental conditions or other forms of selection on these dimensions. Results do, however, provide evidence for general relationships between personality and fitness, and we provide a framework for future studies to follow in the hopes of spurring more in-depth, long-term research into the evolutionary mechanisms maintaining variation in personality dimensions and overall behavioral syndromes. We conclude with a discussion on how understanding and managing personality traits may play a key role in the captive breeding and recovery programs of endangered species.
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Notes 10.1093/beheco/arm144 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5226
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Author (down) Sih, A.; Hanser, S.; McHugh, K.
Title Social network theory: new insights and issues for behavioral ecologists Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 975-988
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Abstract Abstract  Until recently, few studies have used social network theory (SNT) and metrics to examine how social network structure (SNS) might influence social behavior and social dynamics in non-human animals. Here, we present an overview of why and how the social network approach might be useful for behavioral ecology. We first note four important aspects of SNS that are commonly observed, but relatively rarely quantified: (1) that within a social group, differences among individuals in their social experiences and connections affect individual and group outcomes; (2) that indirect connections can be important (e.g., partners of your partners matter); (3) that individuals differ in their importance in the social network (some can be considered keystone individuals); and (4) that social network traits often carry over across contexts (e.g., SN position in male–male competition can influence later male mating success). We then discuss how these four points, and the social network approach in general, can yield new insights and questions for a broad range of issues in behavioral ecology including: mate choice, alternative mating tactics, male–male competition, cooperation, reciprocal altruism, eavesdropping, kin selection, dominance hierarchies, social learning, information flow, social foraging, and cooperative antipredator behavior. Finally, we suggest future directions including: (1) integrating behavioral syndromes and SNT; (2) comparing space use and SNS; (3) adaptive partner choice and SNS; (4) the dynamics and stability (or instability) of social networks, and (5) group selection shaping SNS.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4990
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Author (down) Shultz, S.; Finlayson, L.V.
Title Large body and small brain and group sizes are associated with predator preferences for mammalian prey Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 21 Issue 5 Pages 1073-1079
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Abstract Predation is a major force in shaping biological communities, both over ecological and evolutionary timescales. In response to predation pressure, prey have evolved characteristics designed to mitigate predation pressure. We evaluated predator foraging biases in relation to prey characteristics across 16 vertebrate communities. We show that although predator biases vary, some prey traits are consistently associated with predator diet composition. Within their acceptable prey size range, predators show positive bias toward larger bodied prey, small-brained prey (controlling for body size), small group size, and terrestriality. Thus, whether predator foraging decisions are passive or active, predator choice exerts differential pressure on prey species according to prey characteristics. Predator biases also were positively associated with early age at maturity, supporting the role of mortality in driving life-history characteristics. These results support several theoretical models of predation including its role as a selective force driving evolutionary changes in life history, brain size and sociality, optimal diet theory, and antiapostatic predation.
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Notes 10.1093/beheco/arq108 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5262
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Author (down) Shrader, A.M.; Kerley, G.I.H.; Kotler, B.P.; Brown, J.S.
Title Social information, social feding, and competition in group-living goats (Capra hircus) Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 103-107
Keywords fear, group foraging, harvest rates, intraspecific competition, social information.
Abstract There are both benefits (e.g., social information) and costs (e.g., intraspecific competition) for individuals foraging in groups. To ascertain how group-foraging goats (Capra hircus) deal with these trade-offs, we asked 1) do goats use social information to make foraging decisions and 2) how do they adjust their intake rate in light of having attracted by other group members? To establish whether goats use social information, we recorded their initial choice of different quality food patches when they were ignorant of patch quality and when they could observe others foraging. After determining that goats use social information, we recorded intake rates while they fed alone and in the presence of potential competitors. Intake rate increased as the number of competitors increased. Interestingly, lone goats achieved an intake rate that was higher than when one competitor was present but similar to when two or more competitors were present. Faster intake rates may allow herbivores to ingest a larger portion of the available food before competing group members arrive at the patch. This however, does not explain the high intake rates achieved when the goats were alone. We provide 2 potential explanations: 1) faster intake rates are a response to greater risk incurred by lone individuals, the loss of social information, and the fear of being left behind by the group and 2) when foraging alone, intake rate is no longer a trade-off between reducing competition and acquiring social information. Thus, individuals are able to feed close to their maximum rate.
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Notes 10.1093/beheco/arl057 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 814
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Author (down) Saleh, N.; Chittka, L.
Title The importance of experience in the interpretation of conspecific chemical signals Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 61 Issue 2 Pages 215-220
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Abstract Abstract  Foraging bumblebees scent mark flowers with hydrocarbon secretions. Several studies have found these scent marks act as a repellent to bee foragers. This was thought to minimize the risk of visiting recently depleted flowers. Some studies, however, have found a reverse, attractive effect of scent marks left on flowers. Do bees mark flowers with different scents, or could the same scent be interpreted differently depending on the bees? previous experience with reward levels in flowers? We use a simple experimental design to investigate if the scent marks can become attractive when bees forage on artificial flowers that remain rewarding upon the bees? return after having depleted them. We contrast this with bees trained in the more natural scenario where revisits to recently emptied flowers are unrewarding. The bees association between scent mark and reward value was tested with flowers scent marked from the same source. We find that the bees experience with the level of reward determines how the scent mark is interpreted: the same scent can act as both an attractant and a repellent. How experience and learning influence the interpretation of the meaning of chemical signals deposited by animals for communication has rarely been investigated.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3150
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Author (down) Rosell, F.; Sanda, J.I.
Title Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 17 Issue 6 Pages 897-904
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Abstract Mammals scent mark their territories to advertise occupancy and ownership. However, signaling with scent for territorial defense can have a negative effect by advertising an individual's presence and location to predators. In this study, we measured responses to a simulated territorial intrusion by conspecific adult male Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) either in the localized presence or in the absence of odor of a predator to test the hypothesis that the territorial defense of free-living beavers would be disrupted by the presence of predation risk in their natural environment. We predicted that beavers would significantly reduce their willingness to countermark intruder's scent in the presence of the scent of predators (wolf [Canis lupus] and lynx [Lynx lynx]), compared with a control (no odor), as responses are in general stronger to predator scent marks than nonpredator scent. Therefore, we also predicted that the effects of nonpredatory mammal scent (neophobic control) (eland [Taurotragus oryx] and horse [Equus cabalus]) are to be expected somewhere in between the effects of the predator odor and a control. Our results suggest that both predator and nonpredator scents reduce beavers response to a simulated intruder's scent mounds and therefore disrupt their territorial defense. However, predator scent had a stronger effect than nonpredator scent. Beavers may therefore be at great risk on territories with predators present because of the trade-off between predator avoidance and territorial defense. Our study demonstrates the potential of predation risk as a powerful agent of counterselection on olfactory signaling behavior.
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Notes 10.1093/beheco/arl022 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4359
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Author (down) Ramos-Fernández, G.; Boyer, D.; Aureli, F.; Vick, L.
Title Association networks in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 999-1013-1013
Keywords Biomedical and Life Sciences
Abstract We use two novel techniques to analyze association patterns in a group of wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) studied continuously for 8 years. Permutation tests identified association rates higher or lower than chance expectation, indicating active processes of companionship and avoidance as opposed to passive aggregation. Network graphs represented individual adults as nodes and their association rates as weighted edges. Strength and eigenvector centrality (a measure of how strongly linked an individual is to other strongly linked individuals) were used to quantify the particular role of individuals in determining the network's structure. Female–female dyads showed higher association rates than any other type of dyad, but permutation tests revealed that these associations cannot be distinguished from random aggregation. Females formed tightly linked clusters that were stable over time, with the exception of immigrant females who showed little association with any adult in the group. Eigenvector centrality was higher for females than for males. Adult males were associated mostly among them, and although their strength of association with others was lower than that of females, their association rates revealed a process of active companionship. Female–male bonds were weaker than those between same-sex pairs, with the exception of those involving young male adults, who by virtue of their strong connections both with female and male adults, appear as temporary brokers between the female and male clusters of the network. This analytical framework can serve to develop a more complete explanation of social structure in species with high levels of fission–fusion dynamics.
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Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0340-5443 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5220
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Author (down) Preiszner, B.; Vincze, E.; Seress, G.; Papp, S.; Bókony, V.; Liker, A.; Lendvai, Á.Z.; Patras, L.; Pap, P.L.; Vágási, C.I.; Németh, J.
Title Necessity or capacity? Physiological state predicts problem-solving performance in house sparrows Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.
Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 124-135
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Abstract Innovative behaviors such as exploiting novel food sources can grant significant fitness benefits for animals, yet little is known about the mechanisms driving such phenomena, and the role of physiology is virtually unexplored in wild species. Two hypotheses predict opposing effects of physiological state on innovation success. On one hand, poor physiological condition may promote innovations by forcing individuals with poor competitive abilities to invent alternative solutions. On the other hand, superior physiological condition may ensure greater cognitive capacity and thereby better problem-solving and learning performance. To test these hypotheses, we studied the behavior of wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in 4 novel tasks of food acquisition, one of which was presented to the birds in repeated trials, and we investigated the relationships of individual performance with relevant physiological traits. We found that problem-solving performance across the 4 tasks was moderately consistent within individuals. Birds with lower integrated levels of corticosterone, the main avian stress hormone, solved the most difficult task faster and were more efficient learners in the repeated task than birds with higher corticosterone levels. Birds with higher concentration of total glutathione, a key antioxidant, solved 2 relatively easy tasks faster, whereas birds with fewer coccidian parasites tended to solve the difficult task more quickly. Our results, thus, indicate that aspects of physiological state influence problem-solving performance in a context-dependent manner, and these effects on problem-solving capacity, probably including cognitive abilities, are more likely to drive individual innovation success than necessity due to poor condition.
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ISSN 1045-2249 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6552
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