Both familiarity and kinship influence odour discrimination by females in a highly social African ground squirrel

Waterman, Jane M.; Archibald, Alyssa

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.007

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In addition, Cape ground squirrels live and forage in family groups and spatially their closest callers will be their family members (close kin; Waterman & Archibald, 2019), who would be predicted to be more reliable for inclusive fitness reasons (Hare, 1998;Matrosova et al, 2011;Pollard, 2011;Pollard & Blumstein, 2012). In our experiment, we did not find an effect of the number of squirrels within 15 m on response, in contrast to Edwards and Waterman (2011), who found that group size affected levels of vigilance.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…Cape ground squirrels produce alarm calls in the presence of predators (Furrer & Manser, 2009) and one benefit of grouping in this species is collective detection, which requires the use of alarm calls to warn group members of danger (Edwards & Waterman, 2011). In addition, Cape ground squirrels live and forage in family groups and spatially their closest callers will be their family members (close kin; Waterman & Archibald, 2019), who would be predicted to be more reliable for inclusive fitness reasons (Hare, 1998; Matrosova et al., 2011; Pollard, 2011; Pollard & Blumstein, 2012). In our experiment, we did not find an effect of the number of squirrels within 15 m on response, in contrast to Edwards and Waterman (2011), who found that group size affected levels of vigilance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study was conducted at the S.A. Lombard Nature Reserve located near the town of Bloemhof in the North West Province of South Africa (27°35′S, 25°23′E) from May to August 2014 during the dry arid winter (Makenbach et al., 2013). The squirrels on this site have been studied since 2002 (Waterman & Archibald, 2019). The 3,359‐ha reserve is made up of open grassland with small patches of bush and scattered trees (Makenbach et al., 2013; van Zyl, 1965).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no dominance hierarchy within a group, and all adult females (>9 months) breed. A family group lives in a burrow system separated from other families by a few hundred metres, and there is little overlap in the home ranges of different groups (Waterman, 1995; Waterman & Archibald, 2019). Most of their time spent above ground is devoted to feeding on grasses (Herzig‐Straschil, 1978; Waterman, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground‐nesting bird

Waterman

Mai

2020

Ethology

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Animals gather information about their environment from a variety of sources to enable adaptive decision-making behaviour. Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls enhances predator avoidance, reduces time spent vigilant and allows for more time on daily activities such as foraging. If the information is relevant and reliable, individuals that respond to heterospecific signals may benefit from a wider range of information at a low marginal cost. The Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) and crowned lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) are ground-dwelling species that are taxonomically distant but share similar predators, habitat and anti-predatory behaviours. We used playback experiments of the alarm calls produced by conspecifics and lapwings to investigate the vigilance responses of adult female Cape ground squirrels. Squirrels responded with greater vigilance to both squirrel and lapwing alarm calls, and no changes of vigilance levels were observed in response to a control sound. However, contrary to our predictions, changes in vigilance and time to relax did not differ between conspecific versus heterospecific playbacks. The results from our study suggest that squirrels perceive lapwing alarm calls as relevant and reliable information and that responding to it could increase their survival.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground‐nesting bird

Waterman

Mai

2020

Ethology

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“…Ref. 42 – 44 ), we demonstrated that spiny mice recognize novel kin from novel non-kin; additionally, we showed that males differentially investigate bodily locations of conspecifics based on identity. Further, in a novel group interaction and in dyadic interactions, males preferentially affiliate and engage in prosocial behaviors with novel kin over novel non-kin and familiar kin, suggesting that a general drive to affiliate with novel relatives may have evolved to promote group cohesion in communally breeding species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Biased brain and behavioral responses towards kin in males of a communally breeding species

Fricker,

Ho,

Seifert

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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In complex social environments, individuals may interact with not only novel and familiar conspecifics but also kin and non-kin. The ability to distinguish between conspecific identities is crucial for most animals, yet how the brain processes conspecific type and how animals may alter behavior accordingly is not well known. We examined whether the communally breeding spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) responds differently to conspecifics that vary in novelty and kinship. In a group interaction test, we found that males can distinguish novel kin from novel non-kin, and preferentially spend time with novel kin over familiar kin and novel non-kin. To determine whether kinship and novelty status are differentially represented in the brain, we conducted immediate early gene tests, which revealed the dorsal, but not ventral, lateral septum differentially processes kinship. Neither region differentially processes social novelty. Further, males did not exhibit differences in prosocial behavior toward novel and familiar conspecifics but exhibited more prosocial behavior with novel kin than novel non-kin. These results suggest that communally breeding species may have evolved specialized neural circuitry to facilitate a bias to be more affiliative with kin, regardless of whether they are novel or familiar, potentially to promote prosocial behaviors, thereby facilitating group cohesion.

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Sister predatory mites collectively protect their eggs against predators

Choh,

Janssen

2024

Oecologia

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Both familiarity and kinship influence odour discrimination by females in a highly social African ground squirrel

Cited by 6 publications

References 57 publications

Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground‐nesting bird

Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground‐nesting bird

Biased brain and behavioral responses towards kin in males of a communally breeding species

Sister predatory mites collectively protect their eggs against predators

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