Understanding repeatability and plasticity in multiple dimensions of the sociability of wild female kangaroos

Menz, Clementine S.; Goldizen, Anne W.; Blomberg, Simon P.; Freeman, Natalie J.; Best, Emily

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.01.012

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, repeatability scores reported for migration, mate preference, and parental behaviours were on average less than 0.3, whereas week-to-week repeatability values observed in this study ranged from 0.4 to 0.6, with. Consistent individual differences in social network position were previously shown in only a few populations where social behaviour was studied in a conspecific context (e.g., Jacoby et al 2014; Menz et al 2017; O’Brien et al 2018), including a study on our system, which noted inter-individual differences and reported similar repeatability in great tit social strategies (group size: R = 0.43-0.64, degree: R = 0.46-0.61, association strength: R = 0.41-0.64) in a single-species context (Aplin et al 2015). Here, we extend findings of studies on single-species systems by showing that individuals vary in their heterospecific social associations in much the same way as was previously reported within species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Hence, a key first step in relating fitness consequences to social network position is to understand the distribution and consistency of individual variation in behaviour by characterising individual interaction patterns and social phenotypes. Consistency in social behaviour is often assumed, but only a few studies have shown that individuals can express consistent social phenotypes, by repeatedly measuring and comparing their mebehaviour over larger time spans (Blumstein et al 2013; Jacoby et al 2014; Aplin et al 2015; Menz et al 2017; O’Brien et al 2018). Whether individuals also express consistent social strategies in a multi-species context is yet to be explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour

Hillemann

Cole

Farine

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

10 1. Natural populations and communities consist of individuals that differ in their 11 phenotypes. There is increasing evidence in community ecology that consistent 12 intraspecific variation in behaviour changes the outcome of ecological interactions.13 2. Differences in intra-and inter-specific interactions are expected to play a major role in 14 determining patterns of species coexistence and community structure. However, the 15 question of whether individuals vary in their propensity to associate with heterospecifics 16 has been neglected.173. We used social network analysis to characterise pattern of heterospecific associations 18 in wild mixed-species flocks of songbirds, and assessed whether individuals adopt 19 consistent social strategies in their broader, heterospecific, social environment. We 20 quantified heterospecific foraging associations using data from a large automatically 21 monitored PIT-tagged population of birds, involving more than 300 000 observations of 22 flock membership, collected over three winters, for two tit species (Paridae), blue tits, 23Cyanistes caeruleus, and great tits, Parus major. 24 4. We assessed individual consistency in interspecific social preferences over both short-25 term (week-to-week) and longer-term (year-to-year) timescales for a total of 4610 26 individuals, and found that blue tits and great tits exhibited marked and consistent 27 intraspecific differences in heterospecific social phenotypes in terms of both absolute 28 2 and relative number of associates. Further, we found that these consistent differences 29 were significantly greater than expected from spatial and temporal differences in 30 population densities. 31 5. Heterospecific associations represent a major component of the social environment for 32 many species, and our results show that individuals vary consistently in their social 33 decisions with respect to heterospecifics. These findings provide support for the notion 34 that intraspecific trait variation contributes to patterns at community and ecosystem 35 levels. 36 37

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour

Hillemann

Cole

Farine

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…beetles, Bolitotherus cornutus 22 ; guppies 23 ; great tits, Parus major 24 ). But barring a few exceptions (kangaroos, Macropus giganteus 25 ; great tits 10 ), these results tend to be based on two or fewer years of data. Information regarding the consistency of social isolation across longer portions of the lifespan are needed, especially in long-lived species, in order to reveal how social isolation may impact lifetime biological success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Persistent social isolation reflects identity and social context but not maternal effects or early environment

Brent

Ruíz-Lambides

Platt

2017

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Individuals who are well integrated into society have greater access to resources and tend to live longer. Why some individuals are socially isolated and others are not is therefore puzzling from an evolutionary perspective. Answering this question requires establishing the mix of intrinsic and contextual factors that contribute to social isolation. Using social network data spanning up to half of the median adult lifespan in a gregarious primate, we found that some measures of social isolation were modestly repeatable within individuals, consistent with a trait. By contrast, social isolation was not explained by the identity of an animal’s mother or the group into which it was born. Nevertheless, age, sex and social status each played a role, as did kin dynamics and familiarity. Females with fewer close relatives were more isolated, and the more time males spent in a new group the less isolated they became, independent of their social status. These results show that social isolation results from a combination of intrinsic and environmental factors. From an evolutionary perspective, these findings suggest that social isolation could be adaptive in some contexts and partly maintained by selection.

show abstract

“…Reproductive state also influences association decisions in female kangaroos (Menz, Goldizen, Blomberg, Freeman, & Best, 2017), and rhesus macaques, M. mulatta (Brent, MacLarnon, Platt, & Semple, 2013).…”

Section: Females' Priorities and Sociabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As females cycle through reproductive states, and care for offspring of differing ages, their requirements change (Gittleman & Thompson, 1988) and this may cause changes in their association patterns. Indeed, association patterns have been linked to females' reproductive state in eastern grey kangaroos (Menz, Goldizen, Blomberg, Freeman, & Best, 2017), mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus , and rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta (Brent, MacLarnon, Platt, & Semple, 2013). Female giraffes with juveniles have been observed to associate and form crèche groups, in which one female protects the offspring while the others go off to feed or drink (Langman, 1977; M. Castles and A. Goldizen, unpublished observations).…”

Section: Females' Sociabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of sociability and fission-fusion dynamics in a population of wild giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Castles¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The social requirements of individual animals change as they age and their physical and reproductive priorities change. Fission-fusion dynamics allow individuals to adapt their sociability (gregariousness and social connections) to maximise the benefits they gain from associating at different life stages and under potentially changing ecological conditions. Studying short-term changes in group composition and the sociability patterns of individuals as they move through life stages provides an opportunity to examine how individuals tailor their patterns of sociability to their social and reproductive priorities. The overall objective of my PhD was to investigate how ecological factors and individuals' characteristics influence giraffes' association decisions and resulting patterns of sociability. I collected group composition, location and behavioural data on giraffes in Etosha National Park in Namibia over two periods across 2015 and 2016 to add to data previously recorded on this population over three periods since 2004, creating a longitudinal dataset on 1,421 individuals including 646 identified males and 560 identified females. From this data, I calculated strengths of association between pairs and metrics of sociability for individuals that could be compared among periods. I also collated 2009 photographs taken of identified males over the twelve years since 2004 to assess the relationships between colour, age and sociability, as colour is thought to relate to males' dominance and thus reproductive success. Following a general introduction (Chapter 1), I first examine instances where changes in group size and/or composition occurred (group flux events) to determine if ecological, behavioural or group composition factors related to group size or the likelihood of a flux event (Chapter 2). Ecological variables, group composition and the behavioural state of the group all related to group size, but only group composition influenced the likelihood of a fission event and only behavioural state influenced the likelihood of a group fusion. Habitat features that likely affected predation risk did not influence group size or flux events. Grouping patterns in this population are thus likely primarily driven by resource acquisition, with group flux events allowing smaller scale adjustments based on individuals' characteristics or behavioural states. In Chapter 3 I explore the relationships between sex, age and sociability. Using repeated sightings of individuals in four periods over twelve years I calculated the ages of 139 individuals ranging from juveniles (< 2 years) to old adults (15+ years). I then compared individuals' sex and age against two measures of gregariousness, two social network metrics describing their connectedness in the network, and their positions in travelling progressions. I show that males become less gregarious as they age, particularly over the age of fifteen. Females remain gregarious but differ in their position in

show abstract

Understanding repeatability and plasticity in multiple dimensions of the sociability of wild female kangaroos

Cited by 11 publications

References 54 publications

Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour

Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour

Persistent social isolation reflects identity and social context but not maternal effects or early environment

Drivers of sociability and fission-fusion dynamics in a population of wild giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About