Early‐life relationships matter: Social position during early life predicts fitness among female spotted hyenas

Abstract

The early social environments of both human and non-human animals affect later-life phenotypes and fitness outcomes (Belsky, Steinberg, & Draper, 1991; Kasumovic, 2013). Much empirical evidence shows that favourable early environments, ranging from quality of parental care to the general physical and social environments, improve fitness, whereas unfavourable environments reduce it (e.g. Douhard

The importance of individual‐to‐society feedbacks in animal ecology and evolution

“…the song that juvenile males learn; Boogert, Lachlan, Spencer, Templeton, & Farine, 2018). Being more socially connected as a juvenile predicts social rise to reproductive positions in long‐tailed manakin males Chiroxiphia linearis (McDonald, 2007) and increase longevity and reproductive success later in life in spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta (Turner, Robitaille, Bills, & Holekamp, in press). Thus, social structure across different timescales can impact the acquisition and value of individual traits, and social behaviour provides the scope for individuals to develop strategies that increase their chances of reproduction if they are physically outcompeted.…”

Associations of early social experience with offspring DNA methylation and later life stress phenotype

“…In order to balance our sampling design, we matched the duration of the DI period with that of the CD period. Mean length of both periods was thus was 7.17 ± 0.13 months 24 .…”

Animal social networks: Towards an integrative framework embedding social interactions, space and time

“…Similarly, while past research has established that sociality affects fitness (Brent et al., 2017; Silk et al., 2009, 2010), Formica et al, 2020 show that this effect may be condition‐dependent while Turner et al, 2020 (show that different types of social interactions have different effects on individual fitness according to ontogenetic stages. Such dynamics in individual sociality, group structure as well as condition‐dependent effects of sociality on fitness may help better explain evolutionary processes such as population structure and gene flow dynamics (Zonana et al, 2020).…”

“…social organisation, individuals' development, physiological markers) shape individual‐ group‐ and/or population‐level social structure? Variation in biotic and abiotic factors can affect physiological markers, propensity to cooperate, propensity to disperse in individuals, which may, in turn, affect sociality and group structure (Brandl et al, 2020; Dakin et al, 2020; Turner et al, 2020). (3) How and why these factors can drive interactions between groups (e.g.…”

“…(5) Which, how and why are the consequences of such social plasticity on developmental, life history traits, ecological genetics, evolutionary biology, populations and community ecology? Considering influences determining sociality and plasticity, as well as condition‐dependent effects of sociality on fitness (Formica et al, 2020; Turner et al, 2020), facilitates a better understanding of evolution processes such as group/population structures, sexual selection and gene flow (Zonana et al, 2020). (6) Points 1 to 5 focus on the drivers shaping sociality in the same time point and space of the observed sociality.…”