Philopatry yields higher fitness than dispersal in a cooperative breeder with sex-specific life history trajectories

Science Advances, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 9(9)

Опубликована: Март 3, 2023

Social evolution is tightly linked to dispersal decisions, but the ecological and social factors selecting for philopatry or often remain obscure. Elucidating selection mechanisms underlying alternative life histories requires measurement of fitness effects in wild. We report on a long-term field study 496 individually marked cooperatively breeding fish, showing that beneficial as it increases tenure lifetime reproductive success both sexes. Dispersers predominantly join established groups end up smaller when they ascend dominance. Life history trajectories are sex specific, with males growing faster, dying earlier, dispersing more, whereas females more likely inherit position. Increased male does not seem reflect an adaptive preference rather sex-specific differences intrasexual competition. Cooperative may thus be maintained because inherent benefits philopatry, which get greater share cichlids.

Язык: Английский

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Group augmentation underlies the evolution of complex sociality in the face of environmental instability

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 120(18)

Опубликована: Апрель 24, 2023

Although kin selection is assumed to underlie the evolution of sociality, many vertebrates-including nearly half all cooperatively breeding birds-form groups that also include unrelated individuals. Theory predicts despite reducing structure, immigration individuals into can provide direct, group augmentation benefits, particularly when offspring recruitment insufficient for persistence. Using population dynamic modeling and analysis long-term data, we clear empirical evidence benefits favoring maintenance complex societies with low structure multiple reproductives. We show in superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus)-a plural cooperative breeder forms large pairs, related nonbreeders both sexes-offspring alone cannot prevent extinction, especially smaller groups. Further, groups, which stand benefit more from immigration, exhibit lower reproductive skew immigrants, suggesting opportunities as joining incentives lead breeding. Yet, a greater likelihood becoming immigrants are likely join larger where they experience increased survivorship success breeders. Moreover, form additional increasing future guarding against complete failure face environmental instability high nest predation. Thus, evolves because by generate positive feedback loop maintains mixed kinship, sizes,

Язык: Английский

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The ecology of ageing in wild societies: linking age structure and social behaviour

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 379(1916)

Опубликована: Окт. 28, 2024

The age of individuals has consequences not only for their fitness and behaviour but also the functioning groups they form. Because social often changes with age, population structure is expected to shape organization, environments experience operation processes within populations. Although research explored in individual particularly controlled settings, there limited understanding how governs sociality wild Here, we synthesize previous into age-related effects on natural populations, discuss links between structure, ecology, specifically focusing might influence functioning. We highlight potential using empirical data from populations combination network approaches uncover pathways linking ageing, societal broader implications these insights impacts anthropogenic animal demography building a deeper ageing general. This article part discussion meeting issue ‘Understanding society populations’.

Язык: Английский

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Nepotism mediates enforced cooperation in asymmetric negotiations

iScience, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 27(7), С. 110334 - 110334

Опубликована: Июнь 20, 2024

In cooperative societies, group members typically exchange different commodities among each other, which involves an incessant negotiation process. How is the conflict of fitness interests resolved in this continual bargaining process between unequal partners, so that maintaining interaction best option for all parties involved? Theory predicts relatedness may alleviate interests, thereby promoting evolution cooperation. To evaluate relative importance and direct effects process, we experimentally manipulated both mutual behavioral responses dominant breeders subordinate helpers cooperatively breeding cichlid fish

Язык: Английский

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Reproductive females of a cooperatively breeding rodent are in better body condition when living in large groups

Journal of Zoology, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Апрель 3, 2025

Abstract Cooperation and group living have been suggested to facilitate survival in varying environments under challenging conditions. However, may also be associated with costs, particularly species where individuals within groups compete for limited resources. The costs benefits of cooperative on cooperatively breeding mammals remain unclear. Here, we use data collected from wild, Natal mole‐rats ( Cryptomys hottentotus natalensis ) inhabiting a seasonally environment assess whether body condition changes between seasons these are contingent upon size. We demonstrate that the reproductive females improved increasing helper number during both benign summer harsher winter seasons. other members showed little dependency size or season. Only when including one extremely large did non‐breeders weakly, albeit significantly, change depending seasonality. These results suggest larger sizes yield some non‐breeding invoke summer. Group is likely promoted by combination collective foraging, thermoregulatory benefits, potentially indirect fitness through female.

Язык: Английский

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A cryptic role for reciprocal helping in a cooperatively breeding bird

Nature, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Май 7, 2025

Abstract Identifying the mechanisms that underlie cooperation is fundamental to biology 1 . The most complex form of in vertebrates occurs cooperative breeders, which helpers forego reproduction and assist raising young others, typically relatives 2 Not all societies, however, are kin-based—nearly half avian 3 mammalian 4 breeders mixed-kin much like those humans 5 Kin selection societies when individuals gain indirect fitness from preferential helping 6 , but also frequently non-kin 7 highlighting a potential role for direct stabilizing 7,8 Here, using 20-year study superb starlings ( Lamprotornis superbus ), we examined how jointly influence behaviour. Although detected kin-biased (demonstrating kin selection), was common despite opportunities aid kin. Unexpectedly, specific pairs maintained long-term reciprocal relationships by swapping social roles across their lifetimes—a subtle pattern reciprocity requiring decades observation detect. Given frequency occurrence among both non-kin, behaviour seems be greatly influenced fitness. However, relative importance varied with helpers’ sex dispersal history. By uncovering cryptic yet crucial helping, suggest may an underappreciated mechanism promoting stability cooperatively breeding societies.

Язык: Английский

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Fitness drivers of division of labor in vertebrates

Опубликована: Май 13, 2025

Abstract Although division of labor as a means to increase productivity is common feature in animal social groups, most previous studies have focused almost exclusively on eusocial insects with extreme task partitioning. Empirical evidence vertebrates scarce, largely because we lack theoretical framework explore the conditions under which likely evolve. By explicitly considering alternative helping tasks varying fitness costs, model how individual decisions specialization may influence emergence both direct and indirect benefits. Surprisingly, find that survival benefits living larger groups are primary force driving evolution cooperation enhance group productivity, derived from related members only non-essential facilitator more stable forms labor. In addition, favored by increasingly harsh environments. Ultimately, our not makes key predictions consistent existing empirical data, but also proposes novel avenues for new work vertebrate invertebrate systems alike.

Язык: Английский

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Fitness drivers of division of labor in vertebrates

Опубликована: Май 13, 2025

Abstract Although division of labor as a means to increase productivity is common feature in animal social groups, most previous studies have focused almost exclusively on eusocial insects with extreme task partitioning. Empirical evidence vertebrates scarce, largely because we lack theoretical framework explore the conditions under which likely evolve. By explicitly considering alternative helping tasks varying fitness costs, model how individual decisions specialization may influence emergence both direct and indirect benefits. Surprisingly, find that survival benefits living larger groups are primary force driving evolution cooperation enhance group productivity, derived from related members only non-essential facilitator more stable forms labor. In addition, favored by increasingly harsh environments. Ultimately, our not makes key predictions consistent existing empirical data, but also proposes novel avenues for new work vertebrate invertebrate systems alike.

Язык: Английский

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The sensitivity of giant panda mothers to neonate calls is maternal state dependent

Animal Behaviour, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 224, С. 123197 - 123197

Опубликована: Май 16, 2025

Язык: Английский

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The ecology of ageing in wild societies: linking age structure and social behaviour in natural populations

Опубликована: Фев. 14, 2024

The age of individuals has consequences not only for their fitness and behaviour, but also the functioning groups they form. Because social behaviour often changes with age, population structure is expected to shape organisation, environments experience, operation processes within populations. Although research explored in individual particularly controlled settings, there limited understanding how governs sociality wild Here, we synthesise previous into age-related effects on natural populations, discuss links between structure, ecology, specifically focusing might influence functioning. We highlight potential using empirical data from populations combination network approaches uncover pathways linking ageing, societal broader implications these insights impacts anthropogenic animal demography, building a deeper ageing general.

Язык: Английский

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