A multidimensional framework for studying social predation strategies

Lang, S.; Farine, Dan

doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0245-0

Cited by 53 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 86 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In African lionesses, increases in hunting success were achieved by females repeatedly adopting either a peripheral stalking role or a central attacking role. Presumably such coordinated hunting relies on relatively stable groups where individuals recognize one another and interact repeatedly, allowing individuals to practise and perfect the specific motor controls for their role within what could be defined as a ‘team’ ( Anderson & Franks, 2001 ; albeit many social animals do not have such defined roles when hunting in groups: Lang & Farine, 2017 ). Other putative examples of specialization have been presented outside the context of group hunting, and these cases refer more strictly to individual level trade-offs across cooperative tasks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No task specialization among helpers in Damaraland mole-rats

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The specialization of individuals in specific behavioural tasks is often attributed either to irreversible differences in development, which generate functionally divergent cooperative phenotypes, or to age-related changes in the relative frequency with which individuals perform different cooperative activities; both of which are common in many insect caste systems. However, contrasts in cooperative behaviour can take other forms and, to date, few studies of cooperative behaviour in vertebrates have explored the effects of age, adult phenotype and early development on individual differences in cooperative behaviour in sufficient detail to discriminate between these alternatives. Here, we used multinomial models to quantify the extent of behavioural specialization within nonreproductive Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis, at different ages. We showed that, although there were large differences between individuals in their contribution to cooperative activities, there was no evidence of individual specialization in cooperative activities that resembled the differences found in insect societies with distinct castes where individual contributions to different activities are negatively related to each other. Instead, individual differences in helping behaviour appeared to be the result of age-related changes in the extent to which individuals committed to all forms of helping. A similar pattern is observed in cooperatively breeding meerkats, Suricata suricatta, and there is no unequivocal evidence of caste differentiation in any cooperative vertebrate. The multinomial models we employed offer a powerful heuristic tool to explore task specialization and developmental divergence across social taxa and provide an analytical approach that may be useful in exploring the distribution of different forms of helping behaviour in other cooperative species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No task specialization among helpers in Damaraland mole-rats

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For a given species, a subset of the potential benefits and costs will tend to dominate, and the balance of their magnitudes will determine the overall selection pressure for an organism to be social or asocial (as well as the typical group size) 31–33 . Knowledge of the underlying drivers of sociality is crucial not only for understanding the present distribution of social species and group sizes across taxa, but also for understanding the major evolutionary pathways by which sociality has arisen 34 ( i.e. , whether sociality has generally been driven by a subset of potential benefits, with secondary benefits accruing subsequently), as well as the future of social species in the face of emerging natural and anthropogenic threats 35–39 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in group size during resource shifts reveal drivers of sociality across the tree of life

Hund

Santos

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

14From biofilms to whale pods, organisms have repeatedly converged on sociality as a strategy to improve individual fitness. Yet, it remains challenging to identify the most important drivers-and by extension, the evolutionary mechanisms-of sociality for particular species. Here, we present a conceptual framework, literature review, and model demonstrating that the direction and magnitude of the response of group size to sudden resource shifts provides a strong indication of the underlying drivers of sociality. We catalog six functionally distinct mechanisms related to the acquisition of resources, and we model these mechanisms' effects on the survival of individuals foraging in groups. We find that whether, and to what degree, optimal group size increases, decreases, or remains constant when resource abundance declines depends strongly on the dominant mechanism. Existing empirical data support our model predictions, and we demonstrate how our framework can be used to predict the dominant social benefit for particular species. Together, our framework and results show that a single easily measurable characteristic, namely, group size under different resource abundances, can illuminate the potential drivers of sociality across the tree of life. 15

show abstract

“…We confirm, albeit with advanced satellite technology and large sample sizes, Schaller's (1972) observation that larger prides have a higher frequency of fission than smaller prides. The predatory strategy of lions has been classified as group foraging with inconsistent membership, and resources shared by all individuals in a group (Lang & Farine, 2017). Nonetheless, high spatial variability in resource availability would increase the chances of conflict between group members (Sueur et al, 2011) as they compete for access to the unpredictable resources (Krause & Ruxton, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying the resource dispersion hypothesis to a fission–fusion society: A case study of the African lion (Panthera leo)

Mbizah

Macdonald

Loveridge

2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relationship between the spatiotemporal distribution of resources and patterns of sociality is widely discussed. While the resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) was formulated to explain why animals sometimes live in groups from which they derive no obvious benefits, it has also been successfully applied to species that benefit from group living. Some empirical tests have supported the RDH, but others have not, so conclusions remain equivocal and further research is required to determine the extent to which RDH predictions hold in natural systems. Here, we test four predictions of the RDH in an African lion population in the context of their fission–fusion society. We analyzed data on group composition of GPS‐collared lions and patterns of prey availability. Our results supported the first and second predictions of the RDH: Home range size (a) was independent of group size and (b) increased with distance between encounters with prey herds. Nonetheless, the third and fourth RDH predictions were not supported: (c) The measure of resource heterogeneity and (d) resource patch richness measured through prey herd size and body size had no significant effect on lion group size. However, regarding the fourth prediction, we added an adaptation to account for dynamics of fission–fusion society and found that the frequency of pride fission increased as group size increased. Our data set restricted us from going on to explore the effect of fission–fusion dynamics on the relationship between group size and patch richness. However, this should be investigated in future studies as including fission–fusion dynamics provides a more nuanced, realistic appreciation of lion society. Our study emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexity of a species' behavioral ecology within the framework of resource dispersion. Whatever larger theoretical framework may emerge to explain lion society, incorporating fission–fusion dynamics should allow the RDH to be refined and improved.

show abstract

A multidimensional framework for studying social predation strategies

Cited by 53 publications

References 86 publications

No task specialization among helpers in Damaraland mole-rats

No task specialization among helpers in Damaraland mole-rats

Changes in group size during resource shifts reveal drivers of sociality across the tree of life

Applying the resource dispersion hypothesis to a fission–fusion society: A case study of the African lion (Panthera leo)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About