Environmental uncertainty and social behavior
Journal
Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior
Pages
807-815
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Rubenstein, D.R.
Abstract
Ecology plays a critical role in shaping social evolution. Here we explore how environmental factors influence cooperative breeding behavior, a complex form of social behavior that involves more than two individuals caring for young. Both harsh and benign environments can promote cooperative breeding, which constitutes a paradox of environmental condition and sociality. Using the dual benefits framework to distinguish between different types of grouping benefits - resource defense benefits derived from groups defending critical resources versus collective action benefits resulting from social cooperation among group members - can help resolve this paradox. Instead of simply focusing on the behavioral decisions of why individuals stay at home or why they help parents from only the offspring’s perspective, the dual benefits framework considers the fitness consequences of cooperation from both the perspectives of current group members (insiders) and of potential joiners (outsiders). The different grouping benefits of resource defense and collective action profoundly affect insider-outsider conflict resolution, resulting in predictable differences in the per capita productivity, group size, kin structure, and stability of the social group. Ultimately, the dual benefits framework allows researchers to make testable predictions about how the environment influences social evolution, as well as explore the ecological and evolutionary consequences of sociality.
SDGs
Type
book part