Musculoskeletal mass and shape are correlated with competitive ability in male house mice (<i>Mus musculus</i>)

Cooper, Amanda; Cunningham, Christopher B.; Morris, Jeremy S.; Ruff, James S.; Potts, Wayne K.; Carrier, David R.

doi:10.1242/jeb.213389

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 75 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…We show that initial estimates of animals' own strength were correlated with their body weight. This finding is consistent with the proposals that body weight is a strong predictor for fighting performance in mice (Andersson & Iwasa, 1996;Cooper et al, 2020) and social status in rats (Nagy et al, 2023). At the same time, our data suggest that animals may not use correlates of opponents' body weights as surrogates for strength, rather relying on opponents' actions.…”

Section: Normative Theory Of Social Conflictsupporting

confidence: 93%

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A normative theory of social conflict

Shuvaev¹,

Amelchenko²,

Smagin³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Social hierarchy in animal groups carries a crucial adaptive function by reducing conflict and injury while protecting valuable group resources. Social hierarchy is dynamic and can be altered by social conflict, agonistic interactions, and aggression. Understanding social conflict and aggressive behavior is of profound importance to our society and welfare. In this study, we developed a quantitative theory of social conflict. We modeled individual agonistic interactions as a normal-form game between two agents. We assumed that the agents use Bayesian inference to update their beliefs about their strength or their opponent's strength and to derive optimal actions. We compared the results of our model to behavioral and whole-brain neural activity data obtained for a large population of mice engaged in agonistic interactions. We find that both types of data are consistent with the first-level Theory of Mind model (1-ToM) in which mice form both "primary" beliefs about their and their opponent's strengths as well as the "secondary" beliefs about the beliefs of their opponents. Our model helps identify brain regions that carry information about these levels of beliefs. Overall, we both propose a model to describe agonistic interactions and support our quantitative results with behavioral and neural activity data.

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Section: Normative Theory Of Social Conflictsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…We used body weights w of the animals as a proxy of their strengths s (Andersson & Iwasa, 1996;Cooper et al, 2020):…”

Section: Partial Observability: Beliefs About Strengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

A normative theory of social conflict

Shuvaev¹,

Amelchenko²,

Smagin³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Sexual dimorphism in skeletal shape in voles (Arvicolinae): disparate selection on male bodies and female heads

Morris

Rogers

et al. 2020

Journal of Mammalogy

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Sexual dimorphism evolves as a response to different selective pressures on males and females. In mammals, sexual selection on traits that improve a male’s ability to compete for access to mates is a common cause of sexual dimorphism. In addition to body mass, adaptations in specific components of the musculoskeletal system that increase strength, stability, and agility, may improve male fighting performance. Here we test the hypotheses that males, when compared to females, are more specialized for physical competition in their skeletal anatomy and that the degree of this sexual dimorphism increases with the intensity of male–male competition. In three species of voles (Cricetidae: Arvicolinae: Microtus), we found partial support for these hypotheses. Male-biased sexual dimorphism in a set of functional indices associated with improved fighting performance was identified in the postcranial anatomy. This dimorphism was greatest in the polygynous Microtus californicus, absent in the monogamous M. ochrogaster, and intermediate in the promiscuous or socially flexible M. oeconomus. However, in the skull, we found results opposite to our predictions. Females had larger skulls relative to overall skeletal size than did males. This may be associated with selection for increased food processing efficiency, which should be highly important because of the compounding effects of increased caloric requirements during gestation and lactation, and the generally low-quality diet of voles. In addition, larger heads in females may be associated with selection for greater digging ability or for defending offspring. These results suggest disparate selective pressures on the postcranial skeletons and skulls of male and female voles.

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Musculoskeletal mass and shape are correlated with competitive ability in male house mice (Mus musculus)

Cited by 2 publications

References 75 publications

A normative theory of social conflict

A normative theory of social conflict

Sexual dimorphism in skeletal shape in voles (Arvicolinae): disparate selection on male bodies and female heads

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