The Experts below are selected from a list of 215766 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Peter M. Kappeler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Defining the Low End of Primate Social Complexity: The Social Organization of the Nocturnal White-Footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus)
International Journal of Primatology, 2013Co-Authors: Iris Dröscher, Peter M. KappelerAbstract:Whereas other species of sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur ) have been described as living in dispersed pairs, which are characterized by spatial overlap but a lack of affinity or affiliation between one adult male and female, existing reports on the Social organization of the white-footed sportive lemur ( Lepilemur leucopus ) are conflicting, describing them as either living in dispersed one-male multifemale systems or pairs. We conducted this study in the spiny forest of Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, to clarify the Social organization and to characterize the level of Social Complexity of this species. We combined 1530 h of radio-telemetry and behavioral observations over a period of 1 yr to describe the spatiotemporal stability, size, and interindividual overlap of individual home ranges as well as interindividual cohesiveness. Results revealed low intra- and high intersexual home range overlap. Although most of the Social units identified consisted of dispersed pairs ( N = 5), males were associated with two adult females in two cases. Furthermore, members of a Social unit were never observed to groom each other or to share a daytime sleeping site, and Hutchinson’s and Doncaster’s dynamic interaction tests indicated active avoidance between pair partners. Low cohesiveness together with extremely low rates of Social interactions therefore arguably places Lepilemur leucopus at the low end of primate Social Complexity.
Iris Dröscher - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Defining the Low End of Primate Social Complexity: The Social Organization of the Nocturnal White-Footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus)
International Journal of Primatology, 2013Co-Authors: Iris Dröscher, Peter M. KappelerAbstract:Whereas other species of sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur ) have been described as living in dispersed pairs, which are characterized by spatial overlap but a lack of affinity or affiliation between one adult male and female, existing reports on the Social organization of the white-footed sportive lemur ( Lepilemur leucopus ) are conflicting, describing them as either living in dispersed one-male multifemale systems or pairs. We conducted this study in the spiny forest of Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, to clarify the Social organization and to characterize the level of Social Complexity of this species. We combined 1530 h of radio-telemetry and behavioral observations over a period of 1 yr to describe the spatiotemporal stability, size, and interindividual overlap of individual home ranges as well as interindividual cohesiveness. Results revealed low intra- and high intersexual home range overlap. Although most of the Social units identified consisted of dispersed pairs ( N = 5), males were associated with two adult females in two cases. Furthermore, members of a Social unit were never observed to groom each other or to share a daytime sleeping site, and Hutchinson’s and Doncaster’s dynamic interaction tests indicated active avoidance between pair partners. Low cohesiveness together with extremely low rates of Social interactions therefore arguably places Lepilemur leucopus at the low end of primate Social Complexity.
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Defining the Low End of Primate Social Complexity: The Social Organization of the Nocturnal White-Footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus)
2013Co-Authors: Iris DröscherAbstract:Abstract Whereas other species of sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur) have been described as living in dispersed pairs, which are characterized by spatial overlap but a lack of affinity or affiliation between one adult male and female, existing reports on the Social organization of the white-footed sportive lemur (Lepilemur leucopus) are conflicting, describing them as either living in dispersed one-male multifemale systems or pairs. We conducted this study in the spiny forest of Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, to clarify the Social organization and to characterize the level of Social Complexity of this species. We combined 1530 h of radio-telemetry and behavioral observations over a period of 1 yr to describe the spatiotemporal stability, size, and interindividual overlap of individual home ranges as well as interindividual cohesiveness. Results revealed low intra- and high intersexual home range overlap. Although most of the Social units identified consisted of dispersed pairs (N = 5), males were associated with two adult females in two cases. Furthermore, members of a Social unit were never observed to groom each other or to share a daytime sleeping site, and Hutchinson’s and Doncaster’s dynamic interaction tests indicated active avoidance between pair partners
Redouan Bshary - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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population densities predict forebrain size variation in the cleaner fish labroides dimidiatus
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2019Co-Authors: Zegni Triki, Elena Levorato, Justin Marshall, W Mcneely, Redouan BsharyAbstract:The ‘Social brain hypothesis' proposes a causal link between Social Complexity and either brain size or the size of key brain parts known to be involved in cognitive processing and decision-making....
R I M Dunbar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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narrative structure of a song of ice and fire creates a fictional world with realistic measures of Social Complexity
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2020Co-Authors: Thomas Gesseyjones, R I M Dunbar, Colm Connaughton, Ralph Kenna, Padraig Maccarron, Cathal Oconchobhair, Joseph YoseAbstract:Network science and data analytics are used to quantify static and dynamic structures in George R. R. Martin's epic novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, works noted for their scale and Complexity. By tracking the network of character interactions as the story unfolds, it is found that structural properties remain approximately stable and comparable to real-world Social networks. Furthermore, the degrees of the most connected characters reflect a cognitive limit on the number of concurrent Social connections that humans tend to maintain. We also analyze the distribution of time intervals between significant deaths measured with respect to the in-story timeline. These are consistent with power-law distributions commonly found in interevent times for a range of nonviolent human activities in the real world. We propose that structural features in the narrative that are reflected in our actual Social world help readers to follow and to relate to the story, despite its sprawling extent. It is also found that the distribution of intervals between significant deaths in chapters is different to that for the in-story timeline; it is geometric rather than power law. Geometric distributions are memoryless in that the time since the last death does not inform as to the time to the next. This provides measurable support for the widely held view that significant deaths in A Song of Ice and Fire are unpredictable chapter by chapter.
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Social Complexity as a proximate and ultimate factor in communicative Complexity
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2012Co-Authors: Todd M Freeberg, R I M Dunbar, Terry J OrdAbstract:The ‘Social Complexity hypothesis’ for communication posits that groups with complex Social systems require more complex communicative systems to regulate interactions and relations among group members. Complex Social systems, compared with simple Social systems, are those in which individuals frequently interact in many different contexts with many different individuals, and often repeatedly interact with many of the same individuals in networks over time. Complex communicative systems, compared with simple communicative systems, are those that contain a large number of structurally and functionally distinct elements or possess a high amount of bits of information. Here, we describe some of the historical arguments that led to the Social Complexity hypothesis, and review evidence in support of the hypothesis. We discuss Social Complexity as a driver of communication and possible causal factor in human language origins. Finally, we discuss some of the key current limitations to the Social Complexity hypothesis—the lack of tests against alternative hypotheses for communicative Complexity and evidence corroborating the hypothesis from modalities other than the vocal signalling channel.
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both Social and ecological factors predict ungulate brain size
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2006Co-Authors: Susanne Shultz, R I M DunbarAbstract:Among mammals, the members of some Orders have relatively large brains. Alternative explanations for this have emphasized either Social or ecological selection pressures favouring greater information-processing capacities, including large group size, greater foraging efficiency, higher innovation rates, better invasion success and complex problem solving. However, the focal taxa for these analyses (primates, carnivores and birds) often show both varied ecological competence and Social Complexity. Here, we focus on the specific relationship between Social Complexity and brain size in ungulates, a group with relatively simple patterns of resource use, but extremely varied Social behaviours. The statistical approach we used, phylogenetic generalized least squares, showed that relative brain size was independently associated with Sociality and Social Complexity as well as with habitat use, while relative neocortex size is associated with Social but not ecological factors. A simple index of Sociality was a better predictor of both total brain and neocortex size than group size, which may indicate that the cognitive demands of Sociality depend on the nature of Social relationships as well as the total number of individuals in a group.
Thomas Bugnyar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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counting crows population structure and group size variation in an urban population of crows
Behavioral Ecology, 2019Co-Authors: Florian Uhl, Thomas Bugnyar, Max Ringler, Rachael Miller, Sarah A Deventer, Christine SchwabAbstract:Social Complexity arises from the formation of Social relationships like Social bonds and dominance hierarchies. In turn, these aspects may be affected by the degree of fission-fusion dynamics, i.e., changes in group size and composition over time. Whilst fission-fusion dynamics has been studied in mammals, birds have received comparably little attention, despite some species having equally complex Social lives. Here, we investigated the influence of environmental factors on aspects of fission-fusion dynamics in a free-ranging population of carrion and hooded crows (Corvus corone ssp.) in the urban zoo of Vienna, Austria over a 1-year period. We investigated 1) the size and 2) spatio-temporal structure of the local flock, and 3) environmental influences on local flock and subgroup size. The local flock size varied considerably over the year, with fewest birds being present during the breeding season. The spatio-temporal structure of the local flock showed 4 distinct presence categories, of which the proportions changed significantly throughout the year. Environmental effects on both local flock and subgroup size were time of day, season, temperature, and weather, with additional pronounced effects of the structure of the surroundings and age class on subgroup size. Our findings show environmental influences on party size at the local flock and subgroup level, as well as indications of structured party composition in respect to the 4 presence categories. These results suggest that environmental factors have significant effects on fission-fusion dynamics in free-ranging crows, thereby influencing Social Complexity.
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fission fusion dynamics over large distances in raven non breeders
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Matthiasclaudio Loretto, Richard Schuster, Christian Itty, Pascal Marchand, Fulvio Genero, Thomas BugnyarAbstract:The influence of fission-fusion dynamics, i.e., temporal variation in group size and composition, on Social Complexity has been studied in large-brained mammals that rely on Social bonds. Little is known about birds, even though some species like ravens have recently received attention for their socio-cognitive skills and use of Social bonds. While raven breeders defend territories year-round, non-breeders roam through large areas and form groups at food sources or night roosts. We here examined the fission-fusion patterns of non-breeding ravens over years, investigating whether birds meet repeatedly either at the same or at different locations. We combined four large datasets: presence-absence observations from two study sites (Austria, Italy) and GPS-tracking of ravens across two study areas (Austria, France). As expected, we found a highly dynamic system in which individuals with long phases of temporary settlement had a high probability of meeting others. Although GPS-tagged ravens spread out over thousands of square kilometres, we found repeated associations between almost half of the possible combinations at different locations. Such a system makes repeated interactions between individuals at different sites possible and likely. High fission-fusion dynamics may thus not hinder but shape the Social Complexity of ravens and, possibly, other long-term bonded birds.
