Dolphins restructure social system after reduction of commercial fisheries

Ansmann, Ina C.; Parra, Guido J.; Chilvers, B. Louise; Lanyon, Janet M.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.009

Cited by 105 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Future research is needed to validate this generalization. Nevertheless, social structures that both flexibly adjust to perturbed external constraints and also recover once the constraints are removed have been shown in a mixed-species bird community (Firth & Sheldon, 2015) and in dolphins, Tursiops aduncus (Ansmann, Parra, Chilvers, & Lanyon, 2012). In the sleepy lizard we have demonstrated both a flexible social structure that responded to structural habitat complexity (this study) and a stable structure across years that differed in rainfall and food availability (Godfrey et al, 2013).…”

Section: Effect On Long-term Social Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

et al. 2016

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Social structure is a fundamental component of a population that drives ecological and evolutionary processes ranging from parasite transmission to sexual selection. Nevertheless, we have much to learn about factors that explain variation in social structure. We used advances in biologging and social network analysis to experimentally test how the local habitat, and specifically habitat complexity, modulates social structure at different levels in wild populations. Sleepy lizards, Tiliqua rugosa, establish nonrandom social networks that are characterized by avoidance of some neighbours and frequent interactions with one opposite-sex individual. Using synchronous GPS locations of all adult lizards, we constructed social networks based on spatial proximity of individuals. We increased habitat structural complexity in two study populations by adding 100 short fences across the landscape. We then compared the resulting movement behaviour and social structure between these populations and two unmanipulated populations. Social connectivity (network density) and social stability, measured at weekly intervals, were greater in populations with increased habitat structural complexity. The level of agonistic interaction (quantified as scale damage) was also higher, indicating a fitness cost of greater social connectivity. However, some network parameters were unaffected by increased complexity, including disassortative mixing by sex, and at the individual level, social differentiation among associates (coefficient of variation of edge weights) and maximal interaction frequencies (maximal edge weight). This suggests divergent effects of changed ecological conditions on individual association behaviour compared to the resulting social structure of the population. Our results contrast with those from studies of more gregarious species, in which higher structural complexity in the environment relaxed the social connectivity. This shows that the response to altered ecological conditions can differ fundamentally between species or between populations, and we suggest that it depends on their tendency for gregarious behaviour.

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Section: Effect On Long-term Social Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

et al. 2016

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“…Among killer whale populations, failure to recover from local declines (Matkin et al, 2012) contrasts with resilience in odontocetes with more fluid social structures (Ansmann et al, 2012). If limits on learning make it difficult for a reduced population to merge with others, management decisions for local populations must be made based on social relationships as well as population genetics and resources.…”

Section: Association and Repertoirementioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for vocal learning in juvenile male killer whales,Orcinus orca, from an adventitious cross-socializing experiment

Crance

Bowles

Garver

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are thought to learn their vocal dialect. Dispersal in the species is rare, but effects of shifts in social association on the dialect can be studied under controlled conditions. Individual call repertoires and social association were measured in three adult female killer whales and three males (two juveniles and an adult) during two periods, 2001-2003 and 2005-2006. Three distinct dialect repertoires were represented among the subjects. An adventitious experiment in social change resulted from the birth of a calf and the transfer of two non-focal subjects in 2004. Across the two periods, 1691 calls were collected, categorized and attributed to individuals. Repertoire overlap for each subject dyad was compared with an index of association. During 2005-2006, the two juvenile males increased association with the unrelated adult male. By the end of the period, both had begun producing novel calls and call features characteristic of his repertoire. However, there was little or no reciprocal change and the adult females did not acquire his calls. Repertoire overlap and association were significantly correlated in the first period. In the second, median association time and repertoire similarity increased, but the relationship was only marginally significant. The results provided evidence that juvenile male killer whales are capable of learning new call types, possibly stimulated by a change in social association. The pattern of learning was consistent with a selective convergence of male repertoires.

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“…Key causes of population fragmentation in marine mammals are displacement, through noise, fishing, harassment, or some other environmental stressor, or change in prey abundance or dispersal. Some species may be better equipped to adapt to differing food availability, for example through adapting foraging specializations (Tinker et al, 2008;Ansmann et al, 2012). But other species don't have this flexibility, sirenians are obligate seagrass feeders and thus may disperse into fragmented populations in search of new food patches following extensive damage to seagrass beds (Prins and Gordon, 2014).…”

Section: Dispersal In Fragmented Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Mammal Behavior: A Review of Conservation Implications

Brakes

Dall

2016

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The three orders which comprise the extant marine mammals exhibit a wide range of behaviors, varying social structures, and differences in social information use. Human impacts on marine mammals and their environments are ubiquitous; from chemical and noise pollution, to marine debris, prey depletion, and ocean acidification. As a result, no marine mammal populations remain entirely unaffected by human activities. Conservation may be hindered by an inadequate understanding of the behavioral ecology of some of these species. As a result of social structure, social information use, culture, and even behavioral syndromes, marine mammal social groups, and populations can be behaviorally heterogeneous. As a result responses to conservation initiatives, or exploitation, may be complex to predict. Previous commentators have highlighted the importance of incorporating behavioral data into conservation management and we review these considerations in light of the emerging science in this field for marine mammals. Since behavioral canalization may lead to vulnerability, whereas behavioral plasticity may provide opportunity for resilience, we argue that for many of these socially complex, cognitive species understanding their behavioral ecology, capacity for social learning, and individual behavioral variation, may be a central tenant for their successful conservation.

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Dolphins restructure social system after reduction of commercial fisheries

Cited by 105 publications

References 39 publications

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

Evidence for vocal learning in juvenile male killer whales,Orcinus orca, from an adventitious cross-socializing experiment

Marine Mammal Behavior: A Review of Conservation Implications

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