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English HM, Börger L, Kane A, Ciuti S. Advances in biologging can identify nuanced energetic costs and gains in predators. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2024; 12:7. [PMID: 38254232 PMCID: PMC10802026 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00448-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Foraging is a key driver of animal movement patterns, with specific challenges for predators which must search for mobile prey. These patterns are increasingly impacted by global changes, principally in land use and climate. Understanding the degree of flexibility in predator foraging and social strategies is pertinent to wildlife conservation under global change, including potential top-down effects on wider ecosystems. Here we propose key future research directions to better understand foraging strategies and social flexibility in predators. In particular, rapid continued advances in biologging technology are helping to record and understand dynamic behavioural and movement responses of animals to environmental changes, and their energetic consequences. Data collection can be optimised by calibrating behavioural interpretation methods in captive settings and strategic tagging decisions within and between social groups. Importantly, many species' social systems are increasingly being found to be more flexible than originally described in the literature, which may be more readily detectable through biologging approaches than behavioural observation. Integrating the effects of the physical landscape and biotic interactions will be key to explaining and predicting animal movements and energetic balance in a changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly M English
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Adam Kane
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Simone Ciuti
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
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2
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Tetzlaff SJ, Vizentin‐Bugoni J, Sperry JH, Davis MA, Clark RW, Repp RA, Schuett GW. Fission-fusion dynamics in the social networks of a North American pitviper. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10339. [PMID: 37554395 PMCID: PMC10405236 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animal species exist in fission-fusion societies, where the size and composition of conspecific groups change spatially and temporally. To help investigate such phenomena, social network analysis (SNA) has emerged as a powerful conceptual and analytical framework for assessing patterns of interconnectedness and quantifying group-level interactions. We leveraged behavioral observations via radiotelemetry and genotypic data from a long-term (>10 years) study on the pitviper Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnake) and used SNA to quantify the first robust demonstration of social network structures for any free-living snake. Group-level interactions among adults in this population resulted in structurally modular networks (i.e., distinct clusters of interacting individuals) for fidelis use of communal winter dens (denning network), mating behaviors (pairing network), and offspring production (parentage network). Although the structure of each network was similar, the size and composition of groups varied among them. Specifically, adults associated with moderately sized social groups at winter dens but often engaged in reproductive behaviors-both at and away from dens-with different and fewer partners. Additionally, modules formed by individuals in the pairing network were frequently different from those in the parentage network, likely due to multiple mating, long-term sperm storage by females, and resultant multiple paternity. Further evidence for fission-fusion dynamics exhibited by this population-interactions were rare when snakes were dispersing to and traversing their spring-summer home ranges (to which individuals show high fidelity), despite ample opportunities to associate with numerous conspecifics that had highly overlapping ranges. Taken together, we show that long-term datasets incorporating SNA with spatial and genetic information provide robust and unique insights to understanding the social structure of cryptic taxa that are understudied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha J. Tetzlaff
- U.S. Army ERDC‐CERLChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignChampaignIllinoisUSA
| | - Jeferson Vizentin‐Bugoni
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de BiologiaUniversidade Federal de PelotasPelotasBrazil
| | - Jinelle H. Sperry
- U.S. Army ERDC‐CERLChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Mark A. Davis
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Rulon W. Clark
- Chiricahua Desert MuseumRodeoNew MexicoUSA
- Department of BiologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Gordon W. Schuett
- Chiricahua Desert MuseumRodeoNew MexicoUSA
- Department of Biology, Neuroscience InstituteGeorgia State UniversityAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
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Ogino M, Strauss ED, Farine DR. Challenges of mismatching timescales in longitudinal studies of collective behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220064. [PMID: 36802775 PMCID: PMC9939264 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
How individuals' prior experience and population evolutionary history shape emergent patterns in animal collectives remains a major gap in the study of collective behaviour. One reason for this is that the processes that can shape individual contributions to collective actions can happen over very different timescales from each other and from the collective actions themselves, resulting in mismatched timescales. For example, a preference to move towards a specific patch might arise from phenotype, memory or physiological state. Although providing critical context to collective actions, bridging different timescales remains conceptually and methodologically challenging. Here, we briefly outline some of these challenges, and discuss existing approaches that have already generated insights into the factors shaping individual contributions in animal collectives. We then explore a case study of mismatching timescales-defining relevant group membership-by combining fine-scaled GPS tracking data and daily field census data from a wild population of vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). We show that applying different temporal definitions can produce different assignments of individuals into groups. These assignments can then have consequences when determining individuals' social history, and thus the conclusions we might draw on the impacts of the social environment on collective actions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Ogino
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Eli D. Strauss
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitatsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 104 Natural Science Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1115, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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Utsumi K, Staley C, Núñez H, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. The social system of the lava lizard, Microlophus atacamensis: the interplay between social structure and social organization. REVISTA CHILENA DE HISTORIA NATURAL 2022. [DOI: 10.1186/s40693-022-00113-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Animal social systems can be described through four main components: social structure, social organization, mating system, and care system. Social structure describes the relationships between individuals in a population, while social organization describes the group composition, size, and spatiotemporal variation of a population. We use the frameworks of social structure and social organization to study the social system of Microlophus atacamensis, a lizard found in the rocky intertidal zone along the Chilean coast. The area M. atacamensis inhabits poses specific challenges stemming from their use of two distinct habitat types in the intertidal zone: they forage in the cool areas near the water’s edge and use large rocks in more inland areas for basking and refuge.
Methods
Our assessment of their social system focused on two separate populations: one to characterize social structure by means of focal observations and social network analysis, and a second to assess social organization via home range and core area analyses. Further, we examined the social system in two habitat types that comprise the intertidal zone: cobble fields and interspersed large rocks.
Results
Social network analysis revealed an interconnected network with a few highly central individuals. Body size influenced the outcomes of aggressive interactions, with interactions being more common in cobble fields where males had more associates and more repeated interactions than females. Spatial analyses revealed that the social organization of M. atacamensis is characterized by (1) high home range overlap, specifically in the cobble fields and (2) relatively exclusive core areas dispersed across both habitat types.
Conclusion
A social system is composed of both cooperative and competitive behaviors. While our study focused on competitive interactions, the extent and influence of cooperative behaviors is still unclear and merits future research. We suggest that M. atacamensis has a variable social system in which territoriality on large rocks affects access to stationary resources in that habitat (e.g., basking sites and refuges), while competition in the cobble fields could lay the foundation for a system of dominance relationships controlling access to variable food resources in cobble field areas of the intertidal zone.
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Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Pinter-Wollman N, Ioannou CC, McCallum ES, Bertram MG, Brodin T. Predicting the impacts of chemical pollutants on animal groups. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:789-802. [PMID: 35718586 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Chemical pollution is among the fastest-growing agents of global change. Synthetic chemicals with diverse modes-of-action are being detected in the tissues of wildlife and pervade entire food webs. Although such pollutants can elicit a range of sublethal effects on individual organisms, research on how chemical pollutants affect animal groups is severely lacking. Here we synthesise research from two related, but largely segregated fields - ecotoxicology and behavioural ecology - to examine pathways by which chemical contaminants could disrupt processes that govern the emergence, self-organisation, and collective function of animal groups. Our review provides a roadmap for prioritising the study of chemical pollutants within the context of sociality and highlights important methodological advancements for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Michelangeli
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SE-901 83, Sweden; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, 3800, Australia.
| | - Jake M Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, 3800, Australia
| | - Noa Pinter-Wollman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Christos C Ioannou
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK
| | - Erin S McCallum
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SE-901 83, Sweden
| | - Michael G Bertram
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SE-901 83, Sweden
| | - Tomas Brodin
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SE-901 83, Sweden
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Bhandari A, Ghaskadbi P, Nigam P, Habib B. Dhole pack size variation: Assessing the effect of Prey availability and Apex predator. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:4774-4785. [PMID: 33976847 PMCID: PMC8093734 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
In multipredator systems, group sizes of social carnivores are shaped by the asymmetric intraguild interactions. Subordinate social carnivores experience low recruitment rates as an outcome of predation pressure. In South and Southeast Asia, the Tiger (Panthera tigris), Dhole (Cuon alpinus), and Leopard (Panthera pardus) form a widely distributed sympatric guild of large carnivores, wherein tigers are the apex predators followed by dhole and leopard. In this study, we attempted to understand the variation in pack size of a social carnivore, the dhole, at two neighboring sites in the Central Indian landscape. We further evaluated local-scale patterns of variation in pack size at a larger scale by doing a distribution-wide assessment across the dhole ranging countries. At the local scale, we found an inverse relationship between the density of tiger and pack size of dhole while accounting for variability in resources and habitat heterogeneity. Larger dhole packs (16.8 ± 3.1) were observed at the site where the tiger density was low (0.46/100 km2), whereas a smaller pack size (6.4 ± 1.3) was observed in the site with high tiger density (5.36/100 km2). Our results for the distribution-wide assessment were concordant with local-scale results, showing a negative association of pack size with the tiger densities (effect size -0.77) and a positive association with the prey abundance (effect size 0.64). The study advances our understanding to answer the age-old question of "what drives the pack size of social predators in a multipredator system?" This study also highlights the importance of understanding demographic responses of subordinate predator for varying competitor densities, often helpful in making informed decisions for conservation and management strategies such as population recovery and translocation of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aishwarya Bhandari
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyWildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
| | - Pallavi Ghaskadbi
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyWildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
| | - Parag Nigam
- Department of Wildlife Health and ManagementWildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
| | - Bilal Habib
- Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyWildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
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Davies AB, Cromsigt JPGM, Tambling CJ, le Roux E, Vaughn N, Druce DJ, Marneweck DG, Asner GP. Environmental controls on African herbivore responses to landscapes of fear. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Davies
- Dept of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard Univ. Cambridge MA USA
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State Univ. Tempe AZ USA
| | - Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt
- Dept of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences Umeå Sweden
- Dept of Zoology, Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela Univ. Port Elizabeth South Africa
| | - Craig J. Tambling
- Dept of Zoology, Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela Univ. Port Elizabeth South Africa
- Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Fort Hare Alice South Africa
| | - Elizabeth le Roux
- Dept of Zoology, Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela Univ. Port Elizabeth South Africa
| | - Nicholas Vaughn
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State Univ. Tempe AZ USA
| | - Dave J. Druce
- Ecological Advice, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Hluhluwe‐iMfolozi Park South Africa
- School of Life Sciences, Univ. of KwaZulu‐Natal Pietermaritzburg South Africa
| | - David G. Marneweck
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management, Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Wildlife Ecology Lab, School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela Univ. Port Elizabeth South Africa
| | - Gregory P. Asner
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State Univ. Tempe AZ USA
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