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Data and code associated with journal article Lee, AEG & Cowlishaw, G (2017) Switching spatial scale reveals dominance-dependent social foraging tactics in a wild primate. PeerJ

Documentation:
The data are contained within the following files: ForagingDecisions_PJ.csv -- Data for analysis of frequency of joining vs dominance rank (analysis 1). DominanceDifferences_PJ.csv -- Data for rank asymmetry randomisations analysis (analysis 2). Ranks_for_rand_sampling_PJ.csv -- Dominance rank data needed for random draws in simulations (analysis 2). CompetitiveExclusion_PJ.csv -- Data for competitive exclusion analysis (analysis 3). Dominance_social_foraging_analysis_code.R -- Fully annotated code to run analyses and produce figures using associated data files. When foraging in a social group, individuals are faced with the choice of sampling their environment directly or exploiting the discoveries of others. The evolutionary dynamics of this trade-off have been explored mathematically through the producer-scrounger game, which has highlighted socially exploitative behaviours as a major potential cost of group living. However, our understanding of the tight interplay that can exist between social dominance and scrounging behaviour is limited. To date, only two theoretical studies have explored this relationship systematically, demonstrating that because scrounging requires joining a competitor at a resource, it should become exclusive to high-ranking individuals when resources are monopolisable. In this study, we explore the predictions of this model through observations of the natural social foraging behaviour of a wild population of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). We collected data through over 800 hours of focal follows of 101 adults and juveniles across two troops over two 3-month periods. By recording over 7,900 social foraging decisions at two spatial scales we show that, when resources are large and economically indefensible, the joining behaviour required for scrounging can occur across all social ranks. When, in contrast, dominant individuals can aggressively appropriate a resource, such joining behaviour becomes increasingly difficult to employ with decreasing social rank because adult individuals can only join others lower ranking than themselves. Our study supports theoretical predictions and highlights potentially important individual constraints on the ability of individuals of low social rank to use social information, driven by competition with dominant conspecifics over monopolisable resources.

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Zoology
Role:
Data collector, Creator

Publisher:
University of Oxford
Publication date:
2017
Spatial coverage:
Namibia
DOI:
Data collected:
2012-08-01 - 2013-09-30

Language:
English
Keywords:
Subjects:
Pubs id:
1480279
UUID:
uuid:f6017975-6069-4797-8a56-60e3002475d4
Local pid:
pubs:1480279
Deposit date:
2017-05-26
ARK identifier:

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