Costs and benefits of group living in primates: an energetic perspective

Markham, A. Catherine; Gesquiere, Laurence R.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0239

Cited by 52 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 153 publications

(188 reference statements)

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“…Animals often trade-off group cohesion with individual nutritional requirements [13,[69][70][71]. The spatial distribution of food determines the effort necessary to achieve nutritional balance, which can thereby also impact group cohesion.…”

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individual foraging reduces competition for food in social animals, and this may be particularly important in animals with high energy demands such as pregnant primates, reviewed in this issue [71]. For example, group size in female primates, such as baboons (Papio cynocephalus), varies to modulate competition as a function of energy demand and food availability.…”

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…B 372: 20160231 group cohesion and group size. Competition between groups in addition to competition between individuals within groups complicates these dynamics, because smaller groups are less competitive than larger groups [71]. In primates, group size equates to group dominance and larger groups occupy better-quality habitats.…”

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a low-ranking female in a large group experiences similar nutritional and energy gains to a high ranking female in a small group. These dynamics determine whether or not individuals switch between groups, and energy needs of individuals and the nutritional quality of the habitat thereby cause fission and fusion of groups [71,72].…”

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour

Seebacher

Krause

2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 13 to a theme issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'. Many species of animal live in groups, and the group represents the organizational level within which ecological and evolutionary processes occur. Understanding these processes, therefore, relies on knowledge of the mechanisms that permit or constrain group formation. We suggest that physiological capacities and differences in physiology between individuals modify fission -fusion dynamics. Differences between individuals in locomotor capacity and metabolism may lead to fission of groups and sorting of individuals into groups with similar physiological phenotypes. Environmental impacts such as hypoxia can influence maximum group sizes and structure in fish schools by altering access to oxygenated water. The nutritional environment determines group cohesion, and the increase in information collected by the group means that individuals should rely more on social information and form more cohesive groups in uncertain environments. Changing environmental contexts require rapid responses by individuals to maintain group coordination, which are mediated by neuroendocrine signalling systems such as nonapeptides and steroid hormones. Brain processing capacity may constrain social complexity by limiting information processing. Failure to evaluate socially relevant information correctly limits social interactions, which is seen, for example, in autism. Hence, functioning of a group relies to a large extent on the perception and appropriate processing of signals from conspecifics. Many if not all physiological systems are mechanistically linked, and therefore have synergistic effects on social behaviour. A challenge for the future lies in understanding these interactive effects, which will improve understanding of group dynamics, particularly in changing environments.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'.

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Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Environmental Impacts: Hypoxia and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour

Seebacher

Krause

2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Group size has been considered an important factor modulating behavior and individual fitness according to the socioecological models of primates [Wrangham, 1980;van Schaik, 1983;Janson and Goldsmith, 1995;Sterck et al, 1997;Koenig, 2002;Snaith and Chapman, 2007]. Intragroup feeding competition has been widely accepted as one of the main costs of group living [Clutton-Brock and Harvey, 1977;Terborgh and Janson, 1986;Chapman and Chapman, 2000;Gillespie and Chapman, 2001;Majolo et al, 2008;Teichroeb and Sicotte, 2009;Markham and Gesquiere, 2017]. Intragroup feeding competition includes contest and scramble competition [Isbell, 1991;Snaith and Chapman, 2007].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Group Size on Time Budgets and Ranging Behavior of White-Headed Langurs in Limestone Forest, Southwest China

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2019

IJFP

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The ecological constraints model is well supported by data from most frugivorous primates; however, the prediction power of the model is weak for folivorous primates. From September 2016 to August 2017, we collected comparative data on time budgets, daily path lengths and diets of four groups of white-headed langurs (Trachypithecus leucocephalus), including two large groups (G-DS and G-ZWY) and two small groups (G-LZ and G-NN) in Chongzuo White-Headed Langur National Nature Reserve, Guangxi Province, Southwest China. The aim was to obtain evidence of foraging competition and to test the ecological constraints model on this highly folivorous primate in its karst habitat. The results showed that langurs in the larger groups spent more time traveling, less time resting, and had a longer average daily path length than those in the small groups. Diet composition and dietary diversity were not significantly different between the large and small groups. Our study demonstrates that langurs from large groups suffer scramble competition in limestone forests and supports the validity of the ecological constraints model for folivores.

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A novel methodological approach for group classification during fission of a semi‐free‐ranging group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Hammer

Stribos

Boehm

et al. 2023

American J Primatol

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The self‐initiated split of a social group, known as fission, is a challenge faced by many group‐living animals. The study of group fission and the social restructuring process in real time provides insights into the mechanism of this biologically important process. Previous studies on fission in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) assigned individuals to newly reorganized groups mainly using behavioral observations and group attendance records based on periods before or after fission itself. Here, we present a novel framework for group classification during the process of fission that uses quantifiable behavioral variables and statistical analyses. The framework was tested on a group fission process at Affenberg Landskron (Austria), a park that housed around 160 semi‐free‐ranging Japanese macaques. The behavioral data were collected for 26 days during fission. We analyzed three behavioral developments recurrent in fissions in Japanese macaques, that is, independence of behavior, participation in group movements, and separation of nomadic ranges. These analyses were combined to assign individuals to different groups. Our study resulted in one main group (N = 33), one subgroup (N = 36) and 56 individuals whose group membership was still undefined. The demographic characteristics of these newly formed groups were comparable with those of fissioned groups in wild populations. Furthermore, we found that these newly forming groups showed early social dynamics of fission five months before group level movements, that is: grouping based on spatial proximity and spatial withdrawal of the subgroup to the periphery. These results underline the validity of our novel framework to study social dynamics in Japanese macaques during the process of fission. It represents an important addition to existing methods, and we recommend testing its scope in other primate societies.

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Costs and benefits of group living in primates: an energetic perspective

Cited by 52 publications

References 153 publications

Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour

Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour

Effect of Group Size on Time Budgets and Ranging Behavior of White-Headed Langurs in Limestone Forest, Southwest China

A novel methodological approach for group classification during fission of a semi‐free‐ranging group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

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