Prospecting precedes dispersal and increases survival chances in cooperatively breeding cichlids

Jungwirth, Arne; Walker, Jonas; Taborsky, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.005

Cited by 48 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(119 reference statements)

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“…For dispersing males, familiar group members (e.g. the mothers of their offspring) could alleviate the social costs associated with group transfer, as recently demonstrated in cooperatively breeding cichlids56.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Individual dispersal decisions affect fitness via maternal rank effects in male rhesus macaques

Weiß

Kulik

Ruíz-Lambides

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Natal dispersal may have considerable social, ecological and evolutionary consequences. While species-specific dispersal strategies have received much attention, individual variation in dispersal decisions and its fitness consequences remain poorly understood. We investigated causes and consequences of natal dispersal age in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a species with male dispersal. Using long-term demographic and genetic data from a semi-free ranging population on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, we analysed how the social environment such as maternal family, group and population characteristics affected the age at which males leave their natal group. While natal dispersal age was unrelated to most measures of group or population structure, our study confirmed earlier findings that sons of high-ranking mothers dispersed later than sons of low-ranking ones. Natal dispersal age did not affect males’ subsequent survival, but males dispersing later were more likely to reproduce. Late dispersers were likely to start reproducing while still residing in their natal group, frequently produced extra-group offspring before natal dispersal and subsequently dispersed to the group in which they had fathered offspring more likely than expected. Hence, the timing of natal dispersal was affected by maternal rank and influenced male reproduction, which, in turn affected which group males dispersed to.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Individual dispersal decisions affect fitness via maternal rank effects in male rhesus macaques

Weiß

Kulik

Ruíz-Lambides

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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show abstract

“…Our analyses focus mainly on the differences between small and large helpers, because these represent nonoverlapping size classes and previous studies have shown clear differences in behavior and mortality risk as a result of predation (31,53). For example, small helpers typically do not disperse, whereas large helpers do disperse if conditions allow (54,55). In addition, predation risk differs markedly between small and large helpers also with regard to group size effects (31).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation risk drives social complexity in cooperative breeders

Groenewoud

Frommen

Josi

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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128

136

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Predation risk is a major ecological factor selecting for group living. It is largely ignored, however, as an evolutionary driver of social complexity and cooperative breeding, which is attributed mainly to a combination of habitat saturation and enhanced relatedness levels. Social cichlids neither suffer from habitat saturation, nor are their groups composed primarily of relatives. This demands alternative ecological explanations for the evolution of advanced social organization. To address this question, we compared the ecology of eight populations of Neolamprologus pulcher, a cichlid fish arguably representing the pinnacle of social evolution in poikilothermic vertebrates. Results show that variation in social organization and behavior of these fish is primarily explained by predation risk and related ecological factors. Remarkably, ecology affects group structure more strongly than group size, with predation inversely affecting small and large group members. High predation and shelter limitation leads to groups containing few small but many large members, which is an effect enhanced at low population densities. Apparently, enhanced safety from predators by cooperative defense and shelter construction are the primary benefits of sociality. This finding suggests that predation risk can be fundamental for the transition toward complex social organization, which is generally undervalued. social evolution | social complexity | predation risk | ecological constraints | cooperative breeding

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“…All distances (in metres) between territories were estimated from centre to centre. For every territory, we counted the number of territories located within 2 m, which corresponds to the typical ranging distance of these fish [38]. We also measured each territory's nearest neighbour distance.…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Study Colony And General Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First- and second-order sociality determine survival and reproduction in cooperative cichlids

Jungwirth¹,

Taborsky²

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Cooperative breeders serve as a model to study the evolution of cooperation, where costs and benefits of helping are typically scrutinized at the level of group membership. However, cooperation is often observed in multi-level social organizations involving interactions among individuals at various levels. Here, we argue that a full understanding of the adaptive value of cooperation and the evolution of complex social organization requires identifying the effect of different levels of social organization on direct and indirect fitness components. Our long-term field data show that in the cooperatively breeding, colonial cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher, both large group size and high colony density significantly raised group persistence. Neither group size nor density affected survival at the individual level, but they had interactive effects on reproductive output; large group size raised productivity when local population density was low, whereas in contrast, small groups were more productive at high densities. Fitness estimates of individually marked fish revealed indirect fitness benefits associated with staying in large groups. Inclusive fitness, however, was not significantly affected by group size, because the direct fitness component was not increased in larger groups. Together, our findings highlight that the reproductive output of groups may be affected in opposite directions by different levels of sociality, and that complex forms of sociality and costly cooperation may evolve in the absence of large indirect fitness benefits and the influence of kin selection.

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Prospecting precedes dispersal and increases survival chances in cooperatively breeding cichlids

Cited by 48 publications

References 83 publications

Individual dispersal decisions affect fitness via maternal rank effects in male rhesus macaques

Individual dispersal decisions affect fitness via maternal rank effects in male rhesus macaques

Predation risk drives social complexity in cooperative breeders

First- and second-order sociality determine survival and reproduction in cooperative cichlids

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