Interactions between red-billed oxpeckers and black rhinos in captivity
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20013.abs The relationship between oxpeckers and African ungulates has traditionally been considered mutualistic, because the birds were thought to reduce the tick loads of their hosts. However, recent field studies have questioned the validity of this assumption. Red-billed oxpeckers were found to have no impact on the number of ticks living on domestic cattle […]
The effects of unequal reward distributions on cooperative problem solving by cottontop tamarins, Saguinus oedipus
Cooperation among nonhuman animals has been the topic of much theoretical and empirical research, but few studies have examined systematically the effects of various reward payoffs on cooperative behaviour. Here, we presented heterosexual pairs of cooperatively breeding cottontop tamarins with a cooperative problem-solving task. In a series of four experiments, we examined how the tamarins’ […]
Social network analysis of mixed-species flocks: exploring the structure and evolution of interspecific social behaviour
Mixed-species social aggregations are common across taxa. There are two, nonexclusive, hypotheses typically proposed to explain the formation of social groups: increased predator vigilance and greater foraging efficiency. In mixed-species groups, these hypotheses are typically tested with species-level summary measures such as flocking propensity, the assignment of species-level roles, mean body size, and foraging and […]
Indo-Pacific parrotfish exert partner choice in interactions with cleanerfish but Caribbean parrotfish do not
Cooperation theory puts a strong emphasis on partner control mechanisms that have evolved to stabilize cooperation against the temptation of cheating. The marine cleaning mutualism between the Indo-Pacific bluestreack cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, and its reef fish ‘clients’ has been a model system to study partner control mechanisms and counterstrategies. These cleaners cooperate by eating […]
Do friends help each other? Patterns of female coalition formation in wild bonobos at Wamba
Patterns of coalitionary aggression among female animals are generally explained by kin selection theory. Frequent female coalitions are almost exclusively observed in female-philopatric species, where females stay in their natal group, and females typically form coalitions with their kin. Bonobos, Pan paniscus, in contrast, are male-philopatric, with females emigrating to new groups at adolescence, but […]