Behavioural profiles in a wild population of a cooperatively breeding cichlid

IF 1.3 4区 生物学 Q4 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Ethology Pub Date : 2023-07-12 DOI:10.1111/eth.13393
Maria Reyes-Contreras, Carl Santiago, Barbara Taborsky
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In cooperatively breeding species, subordinates can obtain group membership through social interactions with other group members or by providing services such as helping with territory defence. Large subordinate individuals, which can reproduce, are expected to adjust their behaviour as a function of the demand of help and group size because if the environmental conditions allow, they may either leave the group to start breeding or queue for the breeding position in their natal group. The number of helpers in a group is expected to affect the need of help by dominants and consequently also the level of subordination shown by helpers. In a series of field experiments, we manipulated the need of help and the opportunities for subordinates to show submissive behaviour in a wild population of the cooperatively breeding species Neolamprologus pulcher. We assessed if group size determines the social behavioural strategy of large subordinate individuals. When experimentally eliciting submissive behaviour, large subordinates from small groups showed a lower frequency of submissive behaviour compared to large groups; moreover, they tended to show a higher frequency of sand digging than in large groups. In contrast, neither territory defence in the presence of a heterospecific egg and larvae predator nor dispersal propensity, measured as prospecting frequency in neighbouring territories, was affected by group size. A principal component analysis revealed that prospecting is uncorrelated with submissive behaviour and helping behaviour. Our results suggest that group size may be involved in shaping behavioural phenotypes of juvenile subordinates.

Abstract Image

合作繁殖的野生慈鲷种群的行为特征
在合作繁殖的物种中,下属可以通过与其他群体成员的社会互动或提供帮助保卫领土等服务来获得群体成员身份。可以繁殖的大型从属个体,预计会根据帮助需求和群体规模来调整自己的行为,因为如果环境条件允许,它们可能会离开群体开始繁殖,或者排队等待出生群体的繁殖位置。一个群体中帮助者的数量预计会影响统治者对帮助者的需求,从而也会影响帮助者所表现出的从属程度。在一系列的野外实验中,我们对合作繁殖的野生种群Neolamprologus pulcher的帮助需求和下属表现顺从行为的机会进行了操纵。我们评估了群体规模是否决定了大型下属个体的社会行为策略。当实验诱导服从行为时,来自小群体的大下属表现出较低的服从行为频率;此外,与大群体相比,它们往往表现出更高的挖沙频率。相比之下,在存在异种卵和幼虫捕食者的情况下,领土防御和分散倾向(以在邻近领土的勘探频率衡量)都不受群体规模的影响。主成分分析表明,找矿与服从行为和帮助行为不相关。我们的研究结果表明,群体大小可能参与塑造幼年下属的行为表型。
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来源期刊
Ethology
Ethology 生物-动物学
CiteScore
3.40
自引率
5.90%
发文量
89
审稿时长
4-8 weeks
期刊介绍: International in scope, Ethology publishes original research on behaviour including physiological mechanisms, function, and evolution. The Journal addresses behaviour in all species, from slime moulds to humans. Experimental research is preferred, both from the field and the lab, which is grounded in a theoretical framework. The section ''Perspectives and Current Debates'' provides an overview of the field and may include theoretical investigations and essays on controversial topics.
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