Social Behaviours | Bright Minds Mentori

Social Hierarchy

Rank order of dominant & subordinate individuals.

Dominant individuals Subordinate individuals

- Ritualistic displays - Appeasement behaviours

Advantages

1. Reduces conflict. 2. Guarantees experienced leadership.

3. Increase chance of dominant's favourable alleles being passed to offspring.

Alliances Behaviour

Increase social status by lower rank female grooming

offspring of higher rank

Increasing access to foods/mates

Very long period of parental care as it takes time to learn complex social behaviours.

Complex social behaviours

Support primate social hierarchies by reducing conflict through ritualistic display

& appeasement behaviour for the following complex social behaviours.

When a group of animals hunt together to kill a prey.

Benefits BOTH subordinate animals as well as dominant animal.

Advantages of Co operative Hunting

1. Kill larger prey

2. Higher chance of success

3. Less energy used per individual

4. Moore food than hunting alone

1. killing larger prey 2. higher chance of success.

1. Adopt specialised formations when under attack.

When groups of animals work together to act as lookouts/adopt specialised formations.

Social defence has links to altruism OR kin selection (if related)

Note - individual defence mechanisms are NOT social defence.

Confuses predator making it harder

to pick animals from formation.

2. Lookouts

Earlier detection of predators

increases survival

Spend higher percentage of time feeding

Lookout donor meerkat

Caught by predator due to its alarm call.

Recipient meerkats

benefit as run away from predator due to alarm

Protects young