Causes and evolution of group‐living

Ebensperger, Luis A.; Hayes, Loren D.

doi:10.1002/9781118846506.ch7

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 185 publications

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“…As in many other cooperative breeders (1, 4, 80) constraints on dispersal may play an important role in the evolution of sociality in mole-rats, as they appear to in many groupliving rodents (81)(82)(83) and some carnivores (17). The high costs of dispersal may also explain why dispersal in social mole-rats is concentrated around intermittent periods of rainfall when the soil is soft enough to facilitate burrow digging (27,36,68,84), permitting the establishment of new burrows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Damaraland mole-rats are not obligate cooperative breeders

Thorley

Bensch

Finn

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis) are usually viewed as an obligatorily group living eusocial species in which successful reproduction is dependent on reproductive altruism of closely related group members. However, the reproductive ecology of social mole-rats in their natural environment remains poorly understood and it is unclear to what extent successful reproduction is dependent on assistance from other group members. Using data from a 7-year field study of marked individuals, we show that, after dispersal from their natal group, individuals typically settled alone in new burrow systems where they enjoyed high survival rates, and often remained in good body condition for several years before finding a mate. Unlike most other eusocial or singular cooperative breeders, we found that Damaraland mole-rats reproduced successfully in pairs without helpers and experimentally formed pairs had the same reproductive success as larger established groups. Overall there was only a weak increase in reproductive success with increasing group size and no effect of group size on adult survival rates across the population. Juveniles in large groups grew faster early in life but their growth rates declined subsequently so that they eventually plateaued at a lower maximum body mass than juveniles from small groups. Taken together, our data suggest that the fitness benefits of group living to breeders are small and we suggest that extended philopatry in Damaraland mole-rats has evolved because of the high costs and constraints of dispersal rather than because of strong indirect benefits accrued through cooperative behaviour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Damaraland mole-rats are not obligate cooperative breeders

Thorley

Bensch

Finn

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Reliance on persistent, defendable or manipulable home sites is consistent with the evolution of group living in other systems, such as transitions to eusociality in invertebrates (Howard & Thorne 2011;Nowak et al 2010;Crespi 2001) and group living in rodents (Epsenberger 2001;Ebensperger & Hayes 2016). In contrast, we did not find an association between social grouping and fossoriality (burrow dwelling) as might be expected if general benefits related to shared refuge sites are an important driver of social grouping (e.g., Shah et al 2003;Rabosky et al 2012; also see Leu et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Reproductive and ecological adaptations to climate underpin the evolution of sociality in lizards

Halliwell,

O’Connor,

Uller

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Identifying the environmental factors associated with group living is important for understanding how social systems originate, persist and diversify. In endothermic birds and mammals, living in social groups is associated with habitat constraints and harsh climatic conditions. We use phylogenetic comparative analyses to test whether climate and habitat have played similar roles in the evolution of social grouping in a globally distributed clade of ectothermic vertebrates, lizards (Nspecies = 1696). Social grouping was strongly associated with cool, dry climates across the lizard phylogeny. However, this climatic signature arose indirectly, by association with live birth (common in cool climates) and a reliance on rock crevices (common in dry climates), traits which increase parent-offspring associations and reduce offspring dispersal. In contrast, direct effects of cool temperature on the evolution of social grouping were marginal and restricted to live bearing species. Our results demonstrate that relationships between climate and sociality may result from climatic adaptations that go on to promote the emergence of grouping behaviour.

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“…Makin et al 2017, Ireland and Ruxton 2017, Stutz et al 2018. The most widely studied explanations for herd behavior relate to decreased risk of predation (Davies et al 2012, Ebensperger andHayes 2016). Of particular relevance to the cattle-larkspur interaction is what Krause and Ruxton (2002) call dilution.…”

Section: Behavioral Ecology Of Herdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predatory Plants and Patchy Cows: Modeling Cattle Interactions with Toxic Larkspur Amid Variable Heterogeneity

Jablonski

Boone

Meiman

2020

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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The most common explanations for the evolution and persistence of herd behavior in large herbivores relate to decreased risk of predation. However, poisonous plants such as larkspur (Delphinium spp.) can present a threat comparable to predation. In the western United States, larkspur diminishes the economic and ecological sustainability of cattle production by killing valuable animals and restricting management options. Recommendations for mitigating losses have long focused on seasonal avoidance of pastures with larkspur, despite little evidence that this is practical or effective. Our ongoing research points to the cattle herd itself as the potential solution to this seemingly intractable challenge and suggests that larkspur and forage patchiness may drive deaths. In this paper, we present an agent-based model that incorporates neutral landscape models to assess the interaction between plant patchiness and herd behavior within the context of poisonous plants as predator and cattle as prey. The simulation results indicate that larkspur patchiness is indeed a driver of toxicosis and that highly cohesive herds can greatly reduce the risk of death in even the most dangerous circumstances. By placing the results in context with existing theories about the utility of herds, we demonstrate that grouping in large herbivores can be an adaptive response to patchily distributed poisonous plants. Lastly, our results hold significant management-relevant insight, both for cattle producers managing grazing in larkspur habitat and in general as a call to reconsider the manifold benefits of herd behavior among domestic herbivores.

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Causes and evolution of group‐living

Cited by 9 publications

References 185 publications

Damaraland mole-rats are not obligate cooperative breeders

Damaraland mole-rats are not obligate cooperative breeders

Reproductive and ecological adaptations to climate underpin the evolution of sociality in lizards

Predatory Plants and Patchy Cows: Modeling Cattle Interactions with Toxic Larkspur Amid Variable Heterogeneity

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