Two levels of alliance formation among male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.).

Connor, Richard C.; Smolker, Rachel A.; Richards, Albert G.

doi:10.1073/pnas.89.3.987

Cited by 392 publications

(379 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…We suggest that disruption of grouping behaviour, no matter how short term, may have far-reaching repercussions for species such as bottlenose dolphins that rely on longterm, individually specific bonds (e.g. Connor et al 1992;Smolker et al 1992). For these species, social interdependence may be important in reducing vulnerability to shark predation, which has been suggested as a primary determinant in the evolution of cetacean grouping behaviour (e.g.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting short-term behavioural responses to disturbance within a longitudinal perspective

et al. 2006

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We documented immediate, behavioural responses of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) to experimental vessel approaches in regions of high and low vessel traffic in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Experimental vessel approaches elicited significant changes in the behaviour of targeted dolphins when compared with their behaviour before and after approaches. During approaches, focal dolphin groups became more compact, had higher rates of change in membership and had more erratic speeds and directions of travel. Dolphins in the region of low vessel traffic (control site) had stronger and longer-lasting responses than did dolphins in the region of high vessel traffic (impact site). In the absence of additional information, the moderated behavioural responses of impact-site dolphins probably would be interpreted to mean that long-term vessel activity within a region of tourism had no detrimental effect on resident dolphins. However, another study showed that dolphin-watching tourism in Shark Bay has contributed to a long-term decline in dolphin abundance within the impact site (Bejder et al., in press, Conservation Biology). Those findings suggest that we documented moderated responses not because impact-site dolphins had become habituated to vessels but because those individuals that were sensitive to vessel disturbance left the region before our study began. This reinterpretation of our findings led us to question the traditional premise that short-term behavioural responses are sufficient indicators of impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife.

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Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting short-term behavioural responses to disturbance within a longitudinal perspective

et al. 2006

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“…Outside of humans, the highest degrees of encephalization are found in the delphinid odontocetes ( Jerison 1978;Connor et al 1992b;Marino 1998).…”

Section: Extreme Brain Size Evolution In Primates Proboscidians Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Weihs 2004). However, argued that synchrony is most likely an adaptive signal because normal synchronous surfacing is a common component of the astonishingly variable synchronous displays males perform around females (Connor et al 1992b. These displays, which may include a variety of underwater and aerial leaps and turns, are not explicable as by-products of proximity.…”

Section: Maintaining Alliance Relationships: Affiliative Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having nested alliances within their social network allows dolphins to engage in triadic interactions between individuals and alliances (Connor et al 1992b;Connor & Mann 2006, figure 2c). Such nested alliances are a hallmark of human social structure but are rare in other primates.…”

Section: Levels Of Alliancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alliances and coalitions are, at a minimum, an important category of relationship, usefully illustrative of how social interactions can become complex, and at most, may be the kind of relationship that drove large brain evolution generally (Alexander 1989;Cords 1997;Harcourt 1992;Connor 1992b). …”

Section: Alliance Relationships and Social Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dolphin social intelligence: complex alliance relationships in bottlenose dolphins and a consideration of selective environments for extreme brain size evolution in mammals

Connor

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

227

229

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Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, live in a large, unbounded society with a fission-fusion grouping pattern. Potential cognitive demands include the need to develop social strategies involving the recognition of a large number of individuals and their relationships with others. Patterns of alliance affiliation among males may be more complex than are currently known for any non-human, with individuals participating in 2-3 levels of shifting alliances. Males mediate alliance relationships with gentle contact behaviours such as petting, but synchrony also plays an important role in affiliative interactions. In general, selection for social intelligence in the context of shifting alliances will depend on the extent to which there are strategic options and risk. Extreme brain size evolution may have occurred more than once in the toothed whales, reaching peaks in the dolphin family and the sperm whale. All three 'peaks' of large brain size evolution in mammals (odontocetes, humans and elephants) shared a common selective environment: extreme mutual dependence based on external threats from predators or conspecific groups. In this context, social competition, and consequently selection for greater cognitive abilities and large brain size, was intense.

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Rare male aggression directed toward females in a female‐dominated society: Baiting behavior in the spotted hyena

Szykman

Engh

Horn

et al. 2003

Aggressive Behavior

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Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are gregarious carnivores. The females are socially dominant to males, and adult males rarely direct aggression toward adult females. This study analyzed all cases in which adult immigrant males behaved aggressively toward adult females in a large population of freeliving hyenas in Kenya, observed for 11 years. Our goals were to describe the conditions under which male attacks on females occur, and address possible adaptive functions. Most aggression directed by adult immigrant males against females occurred when coalitions of two or more males attacked a single adult female, who typically responded by defending herself and fighting back. Male aggression against females frequently occurred at sites of ungulate kills, but males never behaved aggressively toward females over food, and all male attacks on females were unprovoked. Although no mounting or other copulatory behaviors ever occurred during or immediately after an attack, the number of male attacks on females peaked around the time of conception. Daily rates at which males attacked females did not vary with female social rank. However, daily attack rates did vary significantly with female reproductive state, and the highest rates of male attack on females were observed during the two stages of the reproductive cycle during which females were most likely to conceive litters. The adaptive significance of male aggression against females in this species remains unknown, but a tight association between male attacks on females and a female's time of conception provides strong evidence of some role for male aggression in hyena sexual behavior. In particular, our data are consistent with hypotheses suggesting that male aggression toward females in this species either serves to inform females about male fitness or represents sexual harassment.

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Two levels of alliance formation among male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.).

Cited by 392 publications

References 13 publications

Interpreting short-term behavioural responses to disturbance within a longitudinal perspective

Interpreting short-term behavioural responses to disturbance within a longitudinal perspective

Dolphin social intelligence: complex alliance relationships in bottlenose dolphins and a consideration of selective environments for extreme brain size evolution in mammals

Rare male aggression directed toward females in a female‐dominated society: Baiting behavior in the spotted hyena

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