Social Barriers in Ecological Landscapes: The Social Resistance Hypothesis

Nicolette C Armansin; Adam J Stow; Mauricio Cantor; Stephan T Leu; James A Klarevas-Irby; Anthony A Chariton; Damien R Farine

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.10.001

Social Barriers in Ecological Landscapes: The Social Resistance Hypothesis

Trends Ecol Evol. 2020 Feb;35(2):137-148. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.10.001. Epub 2019 Nov 5.

Authors

Nicolette C Armansin¹, Adam J Stow², Mauricio Cantor³, Stephan T Leu⁴, James A Klarevas-Irby⁵, Anthony A Chariton⁴, Damien R Farine⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia; Conservation Genetics Lab, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: nicolette.armansin@hdr.mq.edu.au.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia; Conservation Genetics Lab, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
³ Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88048-970, Brazil; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
⁵ Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, 78315, Germany.
⁶ Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, 78457, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany; Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 8QJ, UK. Electronic address: dfarine@ab.mpg.de.

PMID: 31699413
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.10.001

Abstract

Across animal societies, individuals invest time and energy in social interactions. The social landscape that emerges from these interactions can then generate barriers that limit the ability of individuals to disperse to, and reproduce in, groups or populations. Therefore, social barriers can contribute to the difference between the physical capacity for movement through the habitat and subsequent gene flow. We call this contributing effect 'social resistance'. We propose that social resistance can act as an agent of selection on key life-history strategies and promote the evolution of social strategies that facilitate effective dispersal. By linking landscape genetics and social behaviour, the social resistance hypothesis generates predictions integrating dispersal, connectivity, and life-history evolution.

Keywords: connectivity; dispersal; landscape genetics; reproduction; social environment; social systems.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Ecosystem*
Gene Flow*
Social Behavior*