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Abstract Studies that concurrently investigate the functional benefits of group living in multiple populations of the same species are rare. Over a 3‐year period (2014–2016), we examined two ecologically contrasting populations to test multiple hypotheses for the adaptive significance of group living in the communally breeding rodentOctodon degus. We quantified the size of social units (number of adults, number of adult females), edible vegetation at burrow systems, and per capita offspring weaned (PCOW) in each population. Contrary to expectations, we did not observe population‐specific associations between group size and edible vegetation or PCOW nor universal benefits of group living. In one population, PCOW increased in mid‐sized groups with more edible vegetation. However, this trend was not consistent across years. Notably, we observed a complete reproductive failure in one population during the first year of study, one that was characterized by low rainfall and no detectable edible vegetation. This result is important because reproductive failure occurred regardless of group size, suggesting that communal living may not buffer degus against the harshest of environmental conditions. Examining how social organization shapes individual reproductive success under extreme variation in food availability is an important step towards understanding how populations will respond to a changing climate.
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This content will become publicly available on May 23, 2025
Individual behavioural variation does not affect social organization or reproductive success in a cooperative small mammal
Abstract Recent evidence indicates that individual behavioural variation in animals, defined as consistent individual differences in behaviour across contexts and time, influence ecological and evolutionary processes, and a growing number of studies demonstrate that individual behavioural variation can play a large role in shaping grouping dynamics among social animals. We studied the common degu,Octodon degus, a social rodent, to evaluate whether individual behavioural variation underlies social organization and the reproductive success of individuals within groups. We examined social groups in a population in central-north Chile during one breeding season, tested 67 adults in an open field test (i.e., the propensity to explore an unfamiliar environment) and 62 adults in a poke test (i.e., the propensity to charge an object) to quantify individual behavioural variation, determined assortment based on individual behavioural differences across 19 social groups, and performed genetic analyses to assess reproductive success. We found that the response to the poke test was repeatable, while none of the behaviours from an open field test were. The repeatable behaviour during the poke test was not associated to components of social organization (group composition), or to reproductive success. These findings imply that individual behavioural variation did not affect grouping patterns or direct fitness in this degu population.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1854177
- PAR ID:
- 10530876
- Publisher / Repository:
- Behavior
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Behaviour
- ISSN:
- 0005-7959
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 29
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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