Mixed-species groups and the question of dominance in the social ecosystem

Abstract

Dominance interactions and hierarchies are of long-standing interest in the field of animal behaviour. Currently, dominance hierarchies are viewed as complex social structures formed by repeated interactions between individuals. Most studies on this phenomenon come from single-species groups. However, animals are constantly surrounded by and interact with individuals of other species. Behaviour and social interactions of individuals can be shaped by the presence or behaviour of other species in their social ecosystem, which has important implications for social behaviour in groups. Given how ubiquitous mixed-species animal groups are, deeper study of the relationships between mixed-species group (MSG) structure and dominance will be key to understanding constraints on individual behaviour and decision making. Here we call for more research into dominance interactions among individuals in MSGs. Greater understanding of the dynamics of dominance relationships among individuals in MSGs, whose size and composition can change considerably over shorter and longer term time frames, will be crucial to understanding their structure and functioning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes’.

Natural resource pulses influence social-network dynamics: experimental evidence from a tree cavity-dependent bird community

“…As with any experimental study design, our results are limited to those variables examined. Social networks are likely in uenced by other factors affecting communication in animals such as demographic features, visual, auditory and other sensory cues such as vibrational signals (Hill 2001; Erbe and Thomas 2022), and the presence of other species including humans (Coppinger et al 2023). Our experimental approach of presenting a model and broadcasting auditory signals, although a standard approach to measuring behavioural responses might have in uenced the ways in which these species normally interact with one another within this spatial and temporal context.…”

“…Our observation that aggressive responses declined following the beetle outbreak, returning to the typically reported relationships among chickadees and nuthatches suggests that these social networks exhibit resiliency following resource pulses. Future work that further examines the variation in responses to conspeci cs and heterospeci cs and their associated tness consequences within the context of resource limitation might reveal how social networks may regulate year-round coexistence among these species groups (Dhondt 2012;Coppinger et al 2023).…”

“…Assessing the resiliency of social networks and predicting the responses of animal social systems to ecological change are emerging information needs in ecology (Shizuka and Johnson 2020; Strauss and Shizuka 2022; Coppinger et al 2023). Many ecological and evolutionary processes are dependent on social networks that are affected by the biotic and abiotic contexts in which they occur (Thompson 1988;Chamberlain et al 2014; Krams et al 2020).…”

“…Studies of the effects of resource pulses on the variation in species interactions may help to ll key gaps in the functional dynamics of community ecology (Agrawal et al 2007). In particular, there have been recent calls for more information on social networks and dominance hierarchies among multispecies groups (Coppinger et al 2023). Variation in foraging niches within and among species has been shown to affect variation in social network structure (Feinsinger and Colwell 1978;López-Segoviano et al 2018), a relationship demonstrated previously with experimentally pulsed resources (St Clair et al 2015) but the opportunity to explore how natural resource pulses affect social interactions across species is rare.…”

Single‐species and multi‐species playbacks elicit asymmetrical responses within mixed‐species chickadee, titmouse, and nuthatch flocks

“…Chickadees and titmice may be close in proximity to each other due to their attraction to each other for flock formation, though titmice may have priority of access to food due to their dominance status. Dominance interactions within mixed-species groups may alter how individuals utilize social information, and this is a valuable avenue for future research (Coppinger et al, 2023).…”