Social security: Does social position influence flight initiation distance?
Abstract
A variety of factors can influence an individual’s antipredator behavior including their group size because simply being around conspecifics may reduce predation risk. Recent work has shown that it is not just being around others, but rather the specific social relationships that individuals have with others may also modulate perceptions of risk and explain variation in a variety of antipredator behaviors. We asked whether and how yellow-bellied marmots’ (Marmota flaviventer) position in their social network explains variation in flight initiation distance (FID). We examined the relationship of both direct and indirect measures of sociality and separated models by age and sex classes to isolate the relationships for individuals with different life histories. Following the “social security” hypothesis, we predicted that more socially connected individuals would have a lower FID. We found that the magnitude and direction to which sociality was associated with FID varied based on age and sex. When examining all age- sex cohorts there was a weak effect of strength on FID: individuals in stronger relationships tolerated closer approaches. When examining each cohort independently, we found adult male’s FID was not associated with any social network measure, while female adults fled at greater distances as degree increased. Yearlings of both sexes, however, seemingly benefited from Commented [TS1]: but the directions of the effects are different for both cohorts. AD * closeness increases stronger social relationships, but only when perceived risk was high. These results are consistent FID in FY, but lowers it in MY. is this not important to include in the abstract? with the social security hypothesis; the degree of social connectedness may explain variation in FID in at least some age and sex cohorts.
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References (45)
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