Intergroup contests determine access to resources and influence the evolution of group living in 24 social species. Asymmetries in resource holding potential and payoffs should influence the 25 outcome and intensity of such contests. We evaluated predictors of contest outcome and intensity 26 using data collected over 40 months from 6 groups of wild blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). 27 We found increased odds of winning when a group was larger than and used the contest site 28 more than its opponent, and when contests occurred closer to its home range center while farther 29 from the opponent's center. However, a larger difference in group size (across five pairs of 30 opposing groups) did not predict a greater proportion of contests won by the larger group. Some 31 evidence suggested increased odds of a draw when group sizes were more similar. Additionally, 32 contests were longer and more aggressive when groups were more similar in size and when the 33 contest site was similarly central in both groups' home ranges. Contests were also more 34 aggressive when the opposing groups' use of the contest site was more similar. Overall, 35 asymmetries in resource holding potential (i.e. group size) and/or payoffs related to the contest's 36 location influenced a group's competitive advantage, the likelihood of a draw, and the intensity 37 of intergroup contests. Although comparable data are limited, it seems clear that both types of 38 asymmetries can play a role in determining the outcome and intensity of intergroup contests, and 39 that the relative power of each may vary across species. 40 41

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An individual’s fitness is not only influenced by its own phenotype, but by the phenotypes of interacting conspecifics. This is likely to be particularly true when considering fitness gains and losses caused by extrapair matings, as they depend directly on the social environment. While previous work has explored effects of dyadic interactions, limited understanding exists regarding how group-level characteristics of the social environment affect extrapair paternity (EPP) and cuckoldry. We use a wild population of great tits (Parus major) to examine how, in addition to the phenotypes of focal parents, two neighborhood-level traits—age and personality composition—predict EPP and cuckoldry. We used the well-studied trait “exploration behavior” as a measure of the reactive-proactive personality axis. Because breeding pairs inhabit a continuous “social landscape,” we first established an ecologically relevant definition of a breeding “neighborhood” through genotyping parents and nestlings in a 51-ha patch of woodland and assessing the spatial predictors of EPP events. Using the observed decline in likelihood of EPP with increasing spatial separation between nests, we determined the relevant neighborhood boundaries, and thus the group phenotypic composition of an individual’s neighborhood, by calculating the point at which the likelihood of EPP became negligible. We found no evidence that “social environment” effects (i.e., neighborhood age or personality composition) influenced EPP or cuckoldry. We did, however, find that a female’s own age influenced the EPP of her social mate, with males paired to older females gaining more EPP, even when controlling for the social environment. These findings suggest that partner characteristics, rather than group phenotypic composition, influence mating activity patterns at the individual level.

Thermal dissociation and recombination of molecular hydrogen, H2, in the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) has been shown to play an important role in global heat redistribution. This, in turn, significantly impacts their planetary emission, yet only limited investigations on the atmospheric effects have so far been conducted. Here we investigate the heat redistribution caused by this dissociation/recombination reaction, alongside feedback mechanisms between the atmospheric chemistry and radiative transfer, for a planetary and stellar configuration typical of UHJs. To do this, we have developed a time-dependent pseudo-2D model, including a treatment of time-independent equilibrium chemical effects. As a result of the reaction heat redistribution, we find temperature changes of up to ∼400 K in the atmosphere. When TiO and VO are additionally considered as opacity sources, these changes in temperature increase to over ∼800 K in some areas. This heat redistribution is found to significantly shift the region of peak atmospheric temperature, or hotspot, towards the evening terminator in both cases. The impact of varying the longitudinal wind speed on the reaction heat distribution is also investigated. When excluding TiO/VO, increased wind speeds are shown to increase the impact of the reaction heat redistribution up to a threshold wind speed. When including TiO/VO there is no apparent wind speed threshold, due to thermal stabilisation by these species. We also construct pseudo-2D phase curves from our model, and highlight both significant spectral flux damping and increased phase offset caused by the reaction heat redistribution.