An evolutionary framework for studying mechanisms of social behavior

NESCent Working Group on Integrative Models of Vertebrate Sociality: Evolution, Mechanisms, and Emergent Properties; Hans A Hofmann; Annaliese K Beery; Daniel T Blumstein; Iain D Couzin; Ryan L Earley; Loren D Hayes; Peter L Hurd; Eileen A Lacey; Steven M Phelps; Nancy G Solomon; Michael Taborsky; Larry J Young; Dustin R Rubenstein

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.008

An evolutionary framework for studying mechanisms of social behavior

Trends Ecol Evol. 2014 Oct;29(10):581-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.008. Epub 2014 Aug 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: hans@utexas.edu.
² Smith College, Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Northampton, MA 01063, USA.
³ University of California, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
⁴ Princeton University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton, NJ 08644, USA.
⁵ University of Alabama, Department of Biological Sciences, 300 Hackberry Lane, Box 870344, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.
⁶ University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA.
⁷ University of Alberta, Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
⁸ University of California at Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA.
⁹ The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
¹⁰ Miami University, Department of Biology, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
¹¹ University of Bern, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Division of Behavioural Ecology, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland.
¹² Emory University, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
¹³ Columbia University, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. Electronic address: dr2497@columbia.edu.

PMID: 25154769
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.07.008

Abstract

Social interactions are central to most animals and have a fundamental impact upon the phenotype of an individual. Social behavior (social interactions among conspecifics) represents a central challenge to the integration of the functional and mechanistic bases of complex behavior. Traditionally, studies of proximate and ultimate elements of social behavior have been conducted by distinct groups of researchers, with little communication across perceived disciplinary boundaries. However, recent technological advances, coupled with increased recognition of the substantial variation in mechanisms underlying social interactions, should compel investigators from divergent disciplines to pursue more integrative analyses of social behavior. We propose an integrative conceptual framework intended to guide researchers towards a comprehensive understanding of the evolution and maintenance of mechanisms governing variation in sociality.

Keywords: complex sociality; evolution; genomics; group-living; hormones; neural circuits; social behavior.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal / physiology*
Biological Evolution*
Ecological and Environmental Phenomena*
Genetic Phenomena*
Neurosecretory Systems / physiology*
Social Behavior*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding