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Simple foraging rules in competitive environments can generate socially structured populations.

ABSTRACT: Social vertebrates commonly form foraging groups whose members repeatedly interact with one another and are often genetically related. Many species also exhibit within-population specializations, which can range from preferences to forage in particular areas through to specializing on the type of prey they catch. However, within-population structure in foraging groups, behavioral homogeneity in foraging behavior, and relatedness could be outcomes of behavioral interactions rather than underlying drivers. We present a simple process by which grouping among foragers emerges and is maintained across generations. We introduce agent-based models to investigate (1) whether a simple rule (keep foraging with the same individuals when you were successful) leads to stable social community structure, and (2) whether this structure is robust to demographic changes and becomes kin-structured over time. We find the rapid emergence of kin-structured populations and the presence of foraging groups that control, or specialize on, a particular food resource. This pattern is strongest in small populations, mirroring empirical observations. Our results suggest that group stability can emerge as a product of network self-organization and, in doing so, may provide the necessary conditions for the evolution of more sophisticated processes, such as social learning. This taxonomically general social process has implications for our understanding of the links between population, genetic, and social structures.

SUBMITTER: Cantor M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5980395 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Simple foraging rules in competitive environments can generate socially structured populations.

Cantor Mauricio M Farine Damien R DR

Ecology and evolution 20180420 10

Social vertebrates commonly form foraging groups whose members repeatedly interact with one another and are often genetically related. Many species also exhibit within-population specializations, which can range from preferences to forage in particular areas through to specializing on the type of prey they catch. However, within-population structure in foraging groups, behavioral homogeneity in foraging behavior, and relatedness could be outcomes of behavioral interactions rather than underlying ...[more]

PMID: 29876075

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Project description:Mammals are infected by a wide array of gastrointestinal parasites, including parasites that also infect humans and domesticated animals. Many of these parasites are acquired through contact with infectious stages present in soil, feces or vegetation, suggesting that ranging behavior will have a major impact on their spread. We developed an individual-based spatial simulation model to investigate how range use intensity, home range overlap, and defecation rate impact the spread of fecally transmitted parasites in a population composed of social groups (i.e., a socially structured population). We also investigated the effects of epidemiological parameters involving host and parasite mortality rates, transmissibility, disease-related mortality, and group size. The model was spatially explicit and involved the spillover of a gastrointestinal parasite from a reservoir population along the edge of a simulated reserve, which was designed to mimic the introduction pathogens into protected areas. Animals ranged randomly within a "core" area, with biased movement toward the range center when outside the core. We systematically varied model parameters using a Latin hypercube sampling design. Analyses of simulation output revealed a strong positive association between range use intensity and the prevalence of infection. Moreover, the effects of range use intensity were similar in magnitude to effects of group size, mortality rates, and the per-contact probability of transmission. Defecation rate covaried positively with gastrointestinal parasite prevalence. Greater home range overlap had no positive effects on prevalence, with a smaller core resulting in less range overlap yet more intensive use of the home range and higher prevalence. Collectively, our results reveal that parasites with fecal-oral transmission spread effectively in socially structured populations. Future application should focus on parameterizing the model with empirically derived ranging behavior for different species or populations and data on transmission characteristics of different infectious organisms.

Dataset Information

Simple foraging rules in competitive environments can generate socially structured populations.

Publications

Simple foraging rules in competitive environments can generate socially structured populations.

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