Demography and Social Evolution of Banded Mongooses

Cant, Michael A.; Vitikainen, Emma I. K.; Nichols, Hazel J.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-407186-5.00006-9

Cited by 94 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Suppressed subordinates were not more likely to disperse, as no subordinate females were observed to disperse in either experimental or control breeding attempts. In fact, banded mongoose females have never been observed to leave their natal group voluntarily in our population in 18 y of study (25). Although transactional skew models have been valuable in focusing attention on threats as a means of reproductive suppression, our results support theoretical arguments (9,32,41) that threats of infanticide or physical attack, rather than threats of dispersal or eviction, are most relevant to the outcome of reproductive conflict in cooperative animal societies.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

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Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Cant

Nichols

Johnstone

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The evolution of cooperation in animal and human societies is associated with mechanisms to suppress individual selfishness. In insect societies, queens and workers enforce cooperation by “policing” selfish reproduction by workers. Insect policing typically takes the form of damage limitation after individuals have carried out selfish acts (such as laying eggs). In contrast, human policing is based on the use of threats that deter individuals from acting selfishly in the first place, minimizing the need for damage limitation. Policing by threat could in principle be used to enforce reproductive suppression in animal societies, but testing this idea requires an experimental approach to simulate reproductive transgression and provoke out-of-equilibrium behavior. We carried out an experiment of this kind on a wild population of cooperatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Uganda. In this species, each group contains multiple female breeders that give birth to a communal litter, usually on the same day. In a 7-y experiment we used contraceptive injections to manipulate the distribution of maternity within groups, triggering hidden threats of infanticide. Our data suggest that older, socially dominant females use the threat of infanticide to deter selfish reproduction by younger females, but that females can escape the threat of infanticide by synchronizing birth to the same day as older females. Our study shows that reproduction in animal societies can be profoundly influenced by threats that remain hidden until they are triggered experimentally. Coercion may thus extend well beyond the systems in which acts of infanticide are common.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

“…At our study site in Uganda banded mongooses live in mixedsex groups of around 20 adults, plus offspring, and groups breed on average four times per year (25). At any one time the study population consists of 10-13 groups.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Cant

Nichols

Johnstone

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Banded mongooses are small (<2 kg) diurnal herpestids that live in stable cooperatively breeding groups of 10e30 individuals (Cant, Vitikainen, & Nichols, 2013). Up to 12 adult females give birth synchronously (Hodge, Bell, & Cant, 2011) to large litters (1e20 pups; Gilchrist, 2006) up to five times a year.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

et al. 2015

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“…For further details of habitat and climate, see ref. 8. Groups were visited every 1-3 d to record group composition, life history, and behavioral data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Banded mongooses live in highly cooperative groups with limited dispersal and varying levels of relatedness between group members (7). In our study population in Uganda, groups consist of around 20 adults, plus offspring, and breed on average four times per year (8). Multiple females give birth synchronously to a communal litter that is cared for by members of both sexes (typically not the parents) (7).…”

Section: Negative Kin Discrimination In Banded Mongoosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

Thompson

Cant

Marshall

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Kin selection theory predicts that, where kin discrimination is possible, animals should typically act more favorably toward closer genetic relatives and direct aggression toward less closely related individuals. Contrary to this prediction, we present data from an 18-y study of wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo, showing that females that are more closely related to dominant individuals are specifically targeted for forcible eviction from the group, often suffering severe injury, and sometimes death, as a result. This pattern cannot be explained by inbreeding avoidance or as a response to more intense local competition among kin. Instead, we use game theory to show that such negative kin discrimination can be explained by selection for unrelated targets to invest more effort in resisting eviction. Consistent with our model, negative kin discrimination is restricted to eviction attempts of older females capable of resistance; dominants exhibit no kin discrimination when attempting to evict younger females, nor do they discriminate between more closely or less closely related young when carrying out infanticidal attacks on vulnerable infants who cannot defend themselves. We suggest that in contexts where recipients of selfish acts are capable of resistance, the usual prediction of positive kin discrimination can be reversed. Kin selection theory, as an explanation for social behavior, can benefit from much greater exploration of sequential social interactions.K in selection theory aims to understand how selection acts on social traits, such as altruism and selfishness, that affect the fitness of social partners and local group members (1, 2). The theory predicts that where animals can discriminate between more closely and less closely related individuals within their social group, they will preferentially direct altruism toward closer genetic relatives and aggression toward less closely related targets (1-3). Instances of such positive kin discrimination are taxonomically numerous and widespread (4), whereas reported examples of negative kin discrimination are rare (5, 6).Contrary to the predictions of traditional kin selection theory, we show below that banded mongooses exercise negative kin discrimination during attempts at eviction and that this result is not readily explained by inbreeding avoidance or local kin competition. However, a simple and very general sequential game model of selfish behavior that takes into account the possibility of active resistance on the part of recipients does provide a potential explanation for negative kin discrimination. We first describe the model and then test predictions of the model using our data. Explaining Negative Kin Discrimination: A ModelConsider the interaction between two individuals, the first of whom (player 1) may perform a selfish act at the other's expense, such as stealing a food item, killing offspring, or, in the case with which we are concerned, evicting the other from the territory or group. We suppose that this act entails some fitness cost to the act...

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Demography and Social Evolution of Banded Mongooses

Cited by 94 publications

References 110 publications

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

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