Forced proximity promotes the formation of enduring cooperative relationships in vampire bats

Razik, Imran; Brown, Bridget K. G.; Carter, Gerald G.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2022.0056

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus), groups can improve the average survival rate of their members (our 'collective performance') through a form of non-kin cooperation (sharing blood meals), which works as a collective mutualistic insurance against stochastic individual foraging success [53]. Recent studies suggest this altruistic behaviour develops progressively between any given pair, by establishing a form of trust relationship specific to the partner: individuals are more likely to offer a blood meal to individuals they have previously roosted with and that groomed each other; it is also less likely to happen again towards non-reciprocal individuals [53][54][55]. If we imagine a newly formed group of vampire bats, all initially naïve to each other and to foraging, we could in theory expect the average survival rate of the group to increase through time and across foraging attempts, as members learn to trust each other through their interactions.…”

Section: (B) Members Learn About Each Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of collective learning: how can animal groups improve collective performance when repeating a task?

Collet

Morford

Lewin

et al. 2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Learning is ubiquitous in animals: individuals can use their experience to fine-tune behaviour and thus to better adapt to the environment during their lifetime. Observations have accumulated that, at the collective level, groups can also use their experience to improve collective performance. Yet, despite apparent simplicity, the links between individual learning capacities and a collective's performance can be extremely complex. Here we propose a centralized and broadly applicable framework to begin classifying this complexity. Focusing principally on groups with stable composition, we first identify three distinct ways through which groups can improve their collective performance when repeating a task: each member learning to better solve the task on its own, members learning about each other to better respond to one another and members learning to improve their complementarity. We show through selected empirical examples, simulations and theoretical treatments that these three categories identify distinct mechanisms with distinct consequences and predictions. These mechanisms extend well beyond current social learning and collective decision-making theories in explaining collective learning. Finally, our approach, definitions and categories help generate new empirical and theoretical research avenues, including charting the expected distribution of collective learning capacities across taxa and its links to social stability and evolution. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Collective behaviour through time’.

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Section: (B) Members Learn About Each Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of collective learning: how can animal groups improve collective performance when repeating a task?

Collet

Morford

Lewin

et al. 2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Four males and one female were born in captivity. Of these 31 bats, we used 21 females in a study testing the effects of forced proximity on relationship formation (25). We use the label 'unfamiliar' for pairs of bats that were introduced in captivity and 'familiar' for pairs that were captured from the same site (hollow tree or cave).…”

Section: Behavior Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We expect new social bonds to form when new adults join a social network, which is also when individuals are exposed to new pathogens. Social bonds are relatively stable relationships, so events that influence relationship formation might have persistent long-term effects (25). If so, the impacts of infections on relationship formation may be greater and have disproportionately greater long-term consequences than the impacts on existing relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The copyright holder for this preprint (which this version posted April 17, 2023. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.17.537180 doi: bioRxiv preprint species, social bond formation is observable as strangers transition from clustering to social grooming and regurgitated food sharing (26). During a previous 4-month study, we tracked changes in allogrooming among 21 female vampire bats before and after a week of forced proximity in which 3 bats from 3 distant sites were housed together for one week (25). When the bats from different sites were first housed together, we observed an unplanned outbreak of Staphylococcus infections, which we treated with antibiotics (25).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opportunistic evidence of the impact of bacterial infections on social integration in vampire bats

Razik

Carter

Stockmaier

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Social integration affects an individual's susceptibility to infection, and conversely, infectious disease can reduce their social activity. It remains unclear, however, to what extent short-term infections might affect the formation of enduring social bonds. During a previous study on the formation of new allogrooming relationships among 21 common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus), we used antibiotics to treat unplanned Staphylococcus infections in 9 bats, including 5 bats that recovered and 4 bats that suffered lasting injuries that prevented sustained flight. We compared the behaviors of the Staphylococcus-infected bats to healthy controls, and analyzed changes in allogrooming over time among infected and healthy bats that were familiar or unfamiliar. Relative to healthy bats, the 9 Staphylococcus-infected bats spent less time moving and allogrooming, and the 4 bats that suffered injuries received less grooming from new partners. These differences faded during 3 months of recovery. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that acute infections impact the development of social relationships. Our findings raise questions about how short-term infections might impact long-term social integration or partner choice.

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“…While the origins of a social bond developed from a reproductive or kin-based association may be relatively straightforward, other mechanisms of social bond development are less clear [ 3 ]. Forced time spent together has resulted in subsequent increased allogrooming in captive common vampire bats [ 4 ] and randomly assigned college roommates will develop lasting friendships [ 5 , 6 ]. Time spent together sharing a specific experience may also create new social relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared stressful experiences affect social proximity in Merino sheep

et al. 2023

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While it is well established that humans develop stronger relationship bonds when they share stressful experiences, there is little known on how shared stressful experiences may influence relationship bonding in animals. Here, we present a study looking at social proximity between individuals in small groups of Merino ewes following a shared stressful experience compared with control sheep that were not exposed to stress. Some sheep were familiar to each other. Analyses of social proximity using real-time-kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) on-animal devices showed sheep preferred to be closest to familiar individuals, but across the study duration they also developed a preference for the individuals they shared the stressful experience with, relative to their proximity to control individuals. These results contribute to limited research on what factors may instigate the development of bonds between unfamiliar sheep. Between-individual bonds may develop as a means of socially mediated stress buffering. Social bonding following a shared stressful experience aligns with human social relationships and increases our understanding of how animals perceive their conspecifics in relation to stressful environmental change.

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Forced proximity promotes the formation of enduring cooperative relationships in vampire bats

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

Mechanisms of collective learning: how can animal groups improve collective performance when repeating a task?

Mechanisms of collective learning: how can animal groups improve collective performance when repeating a task?

Opportunistic evidence of the impact of bacterial infections on social integration in vampire bats

Shared stressful experiences affect social proximity in Merino sheep

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