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The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting

Group hunting is common among social carnivores, and mechanisms that promote this behavior are a central topic in evolutionary biology. Increased prey capture success and decreased losses from competitors are often invoked as factors promoting group hunting. However, many animal societies have linea...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Jarvey, Julie C., Aminpour, Payam, Bohm, Clifford
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9187110/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35687649
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269522
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author Jarvey, Julie C.
Aminpour, Payam
Bohm, Clifford
author_facet Jarvey, Julie C.
Aminpour, Payam
Bohm, Clifford
author_sort Jarvey, Julie C.
collection PubMed
description Group hunting is common among social carnivores, and mechanisms that promote this behavior are a central topic in evolutionary biology. Increased prey capture success and decreased losses from competitors are often invoked as factors promoting group hunting. However, many animal societies have linear dominance hierarchies where access to critical resources is determined by social rank, and group-hunting rewards are shared unequally. Despite this inequality, animals in such societies cooperate to hunt and defend resources. Game theoretic models predict that rank and relative rewards from group hunting vs. solitary hunting affect which hunting strategies will evolve. These predictions are partially supported by empirical work, but data needed to test these predictions are difficult to obtain in natural systems. We use digital evolution to test how social rank and tolerance by dominants of subordinates feeding while sharing spoils from group hunting influence which hunting strategies evolve in digital organisms. We created a computer-simulated world to reflect social and hunting dynamics of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). We found that group hunting increased as tolerance increased and as the relative payoff from group hunting increased. Also, top-ranking agents were more likely to group hunt than lower-ranking agents under despotic sharing conditions. These results provide insights into mechanisms that may promote cooperation in animal societies structured by dominance hierarchies.
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spelling pubmed-91871102022-06-11 The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting Jarvey, Julie C. Aminpour, Payam Bohm, Clifford PLoS One Research Article Group hunting is common among social carnivores, and mechanisms that promote this behavior are a central topic in evolutionary biology. Increased prey capture success and decreased losses from competitors are often invoked as factors promoting group hunting. However, many animal societies have linear dominance hierarchies where access to critical resources is determined by social rank, and group-hunting rewards are shared unequally. Despite this inequality, animals in such societies cooperate to hunt and defend resources. Game theoretic models predict that rank and relative rewards from group hunting vs. solitary hunting affect which hunting strategies will evolve. These predictions are partially supported by empirical work, but data needed to test these predictions are difficult to obtain in natural systems. We use digital evolution to test how social rank and tolerance by dominants of subordinates feeding while sharing spoils from group hunting influence which hunting strategies evolve in digital organisms. We created a computer-simulated world to reflect social and hunting dynamics of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). We found that group hunting increased as tolerance increased and as the relative payoff from group hunting increased. Also, top-ranking agents were more likely to group hunt than lower-ranking agents under despotic sharing conditions. These results provide insights into mechanisms that may promote cooperation in animal societies structured by dominance hierarchies. Public Library of Science 2022-06-10 /pmc/articles/PMC9187110/ /pubmed/35687649 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269522 Text en © 2022 Jarvey et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Jarvey, Julie C.
Aminpour, Payam
Bohm, Clifford
The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title_full The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title_fullStr The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title_full_unstemmed The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title_short The effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
title_sort effects of social rank and payoff structure on the evolution of group hunting
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9187110/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35687649
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269522
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