Solitary is not Asocial: Effects of Social Contact in Kangaroo Rats (Heteromyidae: <i>Dipodomys heermanni</i>)

Yoerg, Sonja I.

doi:10.1046/j.1439-0310.1999.00392.x

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…An initial increase in proximity between individuals would be expected even for solitary species, as individual recognition would probably be taking place (Eisenberg 1981) by means of acoustic and olfactory stimuli (Moles and D'Amato 2000). A similar response has been observed in studies employing both resident versus intruder (Hurst et al 1997;Gray et al 2002) and neighbor (Yoerg 1999) designs, but in these cases the species were territorial and proximity was marked by high levels of aggression. In our species, however, aggressive behaviors were never exhibited in our study, and the number of sound emissions remained high in both social phases.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae)

Freitas

Carvalho

El-Hani

et al. 2009

J Ethol

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In a previous paper, we measured the affiliation between male individuals of Trinomys yonenagae and concluded that the intensity of affiliation was high and did not differ between animals from the same social group and from different social groups. In this paper, we report the results obtained with the same experimental procedure with female individuals. We also discuss sexual differences in the social interaction of this species. The experimental procedure was based on 40-min encounters between residents, which remained alone in an arena for 24 h, and introduced intruders, in a round-robin design. We quantified one variable indicative of activity level (number of squares crossed), one indicative of anxiety (time in marginal squares), three indicative of affiliation (number of physical contacts, mean distance between rodents, and total duration of physical contact), and the number of sound emissions. No aggressive behaviors were exhibited. The results indicate that there is a high level of affiliation mediated by acoustic communication both for males and females and that no anxiety is associated with social context, especially in females. The evolution of sociality in T. yonenagae was probably linked to an increase of tolerance especially among adult females. We also suggest that predation was a stronger selective pressure than resource availability in the evolution of sociality in this species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae)

Freitas

Carvalho

El-Hani

et al. 2009

J Ethol

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“…For some, group size is an adequate estimate of sociality (Bekoff et al 1981, Hoogland 1981, Pulliam and Caraco 1984, Dunbar 1996, Faulkes et al 1997, Beauchamp 1998. To others, an index of sociality must also include the nature, number, and stability (ie complexity) of interactions among group members (Crook et al 1976, Dunbar 1989, Lee 1994, Blumstein and Armitage 1998, Pellis and Iwaniuk 1999, Yoerg 1999. Although it seems safe assuming that the number of social interactions will increase with the number of group members (Wilson 1975, Blumstein andArmitage 1998), it is not clear how the nature and stability of these interactions will vary with group size.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Ebensperger

2001

Acta Theriol

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Ebensperger L. A. 2001. A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living. Acta Theriologica 46: 115-144.I analyze and summarize the empirical evidence supporting alternative hypotheses posed to explain the evolution of rodent group-living. Eight hypotheses are considered: two rely on net fitness benefits to individuals, five rely on ecological and life-history constraints, and one uses elements of both. I expose the logic behind each hypothesis, identify its key predictions, examine how the available evidence on rodent socioecology supports or rejects its predictions, and identify some priorities for future research. I show that empirical support for most hypotheses is meager due to a lack of relevant studies. Also, empirical support for a particular hypothesis, when it exists, comes from studies of the same species used to formulate the original hypothesis. Two exceptions are the hypothesis that individual rodents live in groups to reduce their predation risk and the hypothesis that group-living was adopted by individuals to reduce their cost of thermoregulation. Finally, most hypotheses have been examined without regard to competing hypotheses and often in a restricted taxonomic context. This is clearly an unfortunate situation given that most competing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. I suggest that in the future comparative approaches should be used. These studies should examine simultaneously the relevance of different benefits and constraints hypothesized to explain the evolution of rodent sociality.

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“…By contrast, intraspecific interactions in solitary cockroach species generally have not been analysed (e.g. Gaim and Seelinger 1983; this is also true for vertebrates, as underlined by Yoerg 1999) and the study of Grandcolas (1991) on Thanatophyllum akinetum mid‐sized larvae stands as an exception in this respect. Nevertheless, it may be predicted that truly solitary species will not show diverse or lasting behavioural interaction sequences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement for Solitariness and Gregarism: Analysing Spacing, Attraction and Interactions in Four Species of Zetoborinae (Blattaria)

et al. 2002

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Distinguishing gregarism based on attraction between conspecifics from aggregation based on environmental factors is not a trivial task. In this paper, we propose a laboratory experimental design for characterizing gregarism, using Zetoborine cockroaches as a model. Three complementary tests were used: the classical spacing and attraction tests, complemented by analyses of social interactions with flow charts on factorial maps. Convergent results from the three tests allowed a tentative characterization of solitariness and different degrees of gregarism. These elements were used to improve the interpretation of spacing patterns of four species of cockroaches observed in the field.

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Solitary is not Asocial: Effects of Social Contact in Kangaroo Rats (Heteromyidae: Dipodomys heermanni)

Cited by 26 publications

References 33 publications

Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae)

Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae)

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Measurement for Solitariness and Gregarism: Analysing Spacing, Attraction and Interactions in Four Species of Zetoborinae (Blattaria)

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