Posted 10 years ago
<hoping that my recent Medit-collecting post did not leave anybody flabbergasted>
ROFL.
ROFL.
What's your favorite animal?
Posted 10 years ago
~flips through Wikipedia~
DF holds up her finger to Gr8buagly in attempt to try to tell him to just hold on as she flips the pages looking for something to 'flabbergast' him back.
"Ok...In reference to the whole Alpha Male/Alpha Female thing... (and note the reference to the Wolf again in this...) ..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social animal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Social animal (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2013)
Part of a series on
Ethology
Ethology diversity.jpg
Branches[show]
Notable ethologists[show]
Portal icon Animals portal Portal icon Biology portal Category Category
v t e
Gorillas and other higher primates are noted as having complex social structures.
Social animals are those animals which interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a recognizable and distinct society. Many animals are social to the extent that mothers and offspring bond, and males and females interact to mate, but the term "social animal" is usually only applied when there is a level of social organization that goes beyond this, with permanent groups of adults living together, and relationships between individuals that endure from one encounter to another.[1]
Sociality refers to the extent of organization of their social behavior. The levels of sociality include eusocial, presocial (solitary but social), subsocial, and parasocial (including communal, quasisocial, and semisocial).
Animal social behavior and organization is studied in comparative psychology, ethology, sociobiology, behavioral ecology and computer science (artificial intelligence).
Contents [hide]
1 Types of sociality
1.1 Eusocial
1.2 Presocial
1.2.1 Example - Rhesus macaques
1.2.2 Example - Vampire bats
1.3 Presocial (Subsocial)
1.4 Presocial (Parasocial)
2 Invertebrates
2.1 List of invertebrates showing social behavior
3 Vertebrates
3.1 Features of vertebrate (non-human) societies
3.2 List of vertebrates showing social behavior
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
Types of sociality[edit]
The types of animal sociality include the following.
Eusocial[edit]
Main article: Eusociality
Eusociality is the highest level of social organization. It is characterised by:
Overlap of adult generations
Reproductive division of labour
Cooperative care of young
A few species, notably insects of the orders Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) and Isoptera (termites) show an extreme form of sociality, involving highly organized societies, with individual organisms specialized for distinct roles. This form of social behaviour is referred to as eusociality. In termites, the division of labour is divided into reproductives, workers and soldiers. Only two mammal species, the naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat, are known to be eusocial. One species of weevil has been described as eusocial
Presocial[edit]
Presociality is when animals exhibit more than just sexual interactions with members of the same species, but fall short of qualifying as eusocial. That is, presocial animals can display communal living, cooperative care of young, or primitive reproductive division of labour, but they do not display all of the three essential traits of eusocial animals. Examples include canines that live in packs, numerous insects, especially hymenoptera, humans, many birds and chimpanzees.
Example - Rhesus macaques[edit]
Main article: Rhesus macaques#Group structure
Rhesus macaque troops comprise a mixture of 20–200 males and females.[2] Females may outnumber the males by a ratio of 4:1. Males and females both have separate hierarchies. Females have highly stable matrilineal hierarchies in which a female’s rank is dependent on the rank of her mother. In addition, a single group may have multiple matrilineal lines existing in a hierarchy, and a female outranks any unrelated females that rank lower than her mother.[3] Rhesus macaques are unusual in that the youngest females tend to outrank their older sisters.[4] This is likely because young females are more fit and fertile. Mothers seem to prevent the older daughters from forming coalitions against her. The youngest daughter is the most dependent on the mother, and would have nothing to gain from helping her siblings in overthrowing their mother. Since each daughter had a high rank in her early years, rebelling against her mother is discouraged.[5] Juvenile male macaques also exist in matrilineal lines, but once they reach four to five years of age, they are driven out of their natal groups by the dominant male. Thus, adult males gain dominance by age and experience.[6]
Abnormal development: Harry Harlow set up an experiment with rhesus monkeys in 1958. He gave them a choice of a wire mother with a food bottle attached and a similar wire mother wrapped in terry towelling. He found that for 18 hours a day the monkeys cling to the wire mother with terry towelling, so concluded that attachment is not always about food and feeding but that attachment exist when contact comfort is present. The contact comfort is the comfort that is derived from physical closeness with a caregiver. Results from this study showed that social encounters are necessary in order for the young monkeys to develop both mentally and sexually.[7]
Example - Vampire bats[edit]
Main article: Vampire bat#Ecology and lifecycle
Vampire bats, (Desmodus rotundus), are extremely sociable animals which tend to live in colonies in dark places, such as caves, old wells, hollow trees, and buildings. Vampire bat colony numbers can range in the thousands in roosting sites. The basic social structure of roosting bats is made of harems, which are composed of females and their offspring and a few adult males, known as "resident males" and a separate group of males, known as "non-resident males".[8] In hairy-legged vampire bats, the hierarchical segregation of non-resident males is less strict than in common vampire bats.[8] Nonresident males are accepted into the harems when the ambient temperature lowers. This behavior suggests social thermoregulation.[8]
Resident males mate with the females in their harems, but it is common for outside males to copulate with the females.[9] Female offspring usually remain in their natal groups unless their mothers die or move.[9] Several matrilines can be found in a group, as unrelated females regularly join groups.[9] Male offspring tend to live in their natal groups until they are about two years old, sometimes being forcefully expelled by the resident adult males.[9]
A vampire bat can only survive about two days without a meal of blood, yet they cannot be guaranteed of finding food every night. This poses a problem, so when a bat fails to find food, it will often "beg" another bat for food. The "host" bat may regurgitate a small amount of blood to sustain the other member of the colony. This has been noted by many naturalists as an example of reciprocal altruism in nature.[10] This regurgitation behavior is carried out among bats maintaining a long-term association with one another. Studies have shown that bats will not share their resources equally but will share more often with those that they know they will encounter again, as well as relatives. Therefore, if the same bat is unsuccessful on a following hunt, the bats it is associated with will also share their resources. By reciprocating to one another so that all remain fed, the strength of the vampire bat colony as a whole is steadily increased with no individual bats suffering.
Presocial (Subsocial)[edit]
Subsocial is when parents interact with young.
Presocial (Parasocial)[edit]
Parasocial is when individuals of the same generation live in a single, cooperative dwelling and interact with each other.
Invertebrates[edit]
List of invertebrates showing social behavior[edit]
Ants
Bees
Termites
Thrips
Wasps
Snapping shrimps (Alpheidae)
Spiders
Parasitic flatworms (Trematodes)
Vertebrates[edit]
Features of vertebrate (non-human) societies[edit]
Female elephants live in stable groups, along with their offspring.
Social animals may exhibit one of more of these behaviors:
cooperative rearing of young by the group
overlapping generations living in a permanent, as opposed to seasonal, group
cooperative foraging or hunting
cooperative defense from predators and competitors
social learning (such as a young chimpanzee learning by observation to use a twig to fish for termites)
A chief debate among ethologists studying animal societies is whether non-human primates and other animals can be said to have culture.
List of vertebrates showing social behavior[edit]
Bats (Chiroptera)
Canidae (especially Wolves)
Crows
Hominidae, including:
Bonobos & Chimpanzees (Pan)
Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
Humans (Homo sapiens)
Dolphins (Delphinidae)
Domestic Cats
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) (Elephas maximus) (Loxodonta cyclotis)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Horses (Equus ferus)
Hyenas (Hyaenidae)
Killer whale (Orcinus Orca)
Lions (Panthera leo)
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta)
Orange-Fronted Conures (Aratinga canicularis)
Cacatuidae
Psittacidae
Penguins (Spheniscidae)
Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
Rats (Rattus)
House mouse (Mus musculus)
Domestic mouse
Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)
Leporidae
Paracheirodon Tetras
Human social behavior frequently includes non-human animals (most notably cats, dogs and horses). Animals can provide humans with companionship as pets, or can be kept as livestock, service animals for disabled people, or working animals to perform labor. In many cultures, humans have used animals in religious sacrifice or in staged fights and shows for entertainment such as circuses.
Other animal species may interact cooperatively in symbiotic relationships.
~Wikipedia~
DF holds up her finger to Gr8buagly in attempt to try to tell him to just hold on as she flips the pages looking for something to 'flabbergast' him back.
"Ok...In reference to the whole Alpha Male/Alpha Female thing... (and note the reference to the Wolf again in this...) ..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social animal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Social animal (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2013)
Part of a series on
Ethology
Ethology diversity.jpg
Branches[show]
Notable ethologists[show]
Portal icon Animals portal Portal icon Biology portal Category Category
v t e
Gorillas and other higher primates are noted as having complex social structures.
Social animals are those animals which interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a recognizable and distinct society. Many animals are social to the extent that mothers and offspring bond, and males and females interact to mate, but the term "social animal" is usually only applied when there is a level of social organization that goes beyond this, with permanent groups of adults living together, and relationships between individuals that endure from one encounter to another.[1]
Sociality refers to the extent of organization of their social behavior. The levels of sociality include eusocial, presocial (solitary but social), subsocial, and parasocial (including communal, quasisocial, and semisocial).
Animal social behavior and organization is studied in comparative psychology, ethology, sociobiology, behavioral ecology and computer science (artificial intelligence).
Contents [hide]
1 Types of sociality
1.1 Eusocial
1.2 Presocial
1.2.1 Example - Rhesus macaques
1.2.2 Example - Vampire bats
1.3 Presocial (Subsocial)
1.4 Presocial (Parasocial)
2 Invertebrates
2.1 List of invertebrates showing social behavior
3 Vertebrates
3.1 Features of vertebrate (non-human) societies
3.2 List of vertebrates showing social behavior
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
Types of sociality[edit]
The types of animal sociality include the following.
Eusocial[edit]
Main article: Eusociality
Eusociality is the highest level of social organization. It is characterised by:
Overlap of adult generations
Reproductive division of labour
Cooperative care of young
A few species, notably insects of the orders Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) and Isoptera (termites) show an extreme form of sociality, involving highly organized societies, with individual organisms specialized for distinct roles. This form of social behaviour is referred to as eusociality. In termites, the division of labour is divided into reproductives, workers and soldiers. Only two mammal species, the naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat, are known to be eusocial. One species of weevil has been described as eusocial
Presocial[edit]
Presociality is when animals exhibit more than just sexual interactions with members of the same species, but fall short of qualifying as eusocial. That is, presocial animals can display communal living, cooperative care of young, or primitive reproductive division of labour, but they do not display all of the three essential traits of eusocial animals. Examples include canines that live in packs, numerous insects, especially hymenoptera, humans, many birds and chimpanzees.
Example - Rhesus macaques[edit]
Main article: Rhesus macaques#Group structure
Rhesus macaque troops comprise a mixture of 20–200 males and females.[2] Females may outnumber the males by a ratio of 4:1. Males and females both have separate hierarchies. Females have highly stable matrilineal hierarchies in which a female’s rank is dependent on the rank of her mother. In addition, a single group may have multiple matrilineal lines existing in a hierarchy, and a female outranks any unrelated females that rank lower than her mother.[3] Rhesus macaques are unusual in that the youngest females tend to outrank their older sisters.[4] This is likely because young females are more fit and fertile. Mothers seem to prevent the older daughters from forming coalitions against her. The youngest daughter is the most dependent on the mother, and would have nothing to gain from helping her siblings in overthrowing their mother. Since each daughter had a high rank in her early years, rebelling against her mother is discouraged.[5] Juvenile male macaques also exist in matrilineal lines, but once they reach four to five years of age, they are driven out of their natal groups by the dominant male. Thus, adult males gain dominance by age and experience.[6]
Abnormal development: Harry Harlow set up an experiment with rhesus monkeys in 1958. He gave them a choice of a wire mother with a food bottle attached and a similar wire mother wrapped in terry towelling. He found that for 18 hours a day the monkeys cling to the wire mother with terry towelling, so concluded that attachment is not always about food and feeding but that attachment exist when contact comfort is present. The contact comfort is the comfort that is derived from physical closeness with a caregiver. Results from this study showed that social encounters are necessary in order for the young monkeys to develop both mentally and sexually.[7]
Example - Vampire bats[edit]
Main article: Vampire bat#Ecology and lifecycle
Vampire bats, (Desmodus rotundus), are extremely sociable animals which tend to live in colonies in dark places, such as caves, old wells, hollow trees, and buildings. Vampire bat colony numbers can range in the thousands in roosting sites. The basic social structure of roosting bats is made of harems, which are composed of females and their offspring and a few adult males, known as "resident males" and a separate group of males, known as "non-resident males".[8] In hairy-legged vampire bats, the hierarchical segregation of non-resident males is less strict than in common vampire bats.[8] Nonresident males are accepted into the harems when the ambient temperature lowers. This behavior suggests social thermoregulation.[8]
Resident males mate with the females in their harems, but it is common for outside males to copulate with the females.[9] Female offspring usually remain in their natal groups unless their mothers die or move.[9] Several matrilines can be found in a group, as unrelated females regularly join groups.[9] Male offspring tend to live in their natal groups until they are about two years old, sometimes being forcefully expelled by the resident adult males.[9]
A vampire bat can only survive about two days without a meal of blood, yet they cannot be guaranteed of finding food every night. This poses a problem, so when a bat fails to find food, it will often "beg" another bat for food. The "host" bat may regurgitate a small amount of blood to sustain the other member of the colony. This has been noted by many naturalists as an example of reciprocal altruism in nature.[10] This regurgitation behavior is carried out among bats maintaining a long-term association with one another. Studies have shown that bats will not share their resources equally but will share more often with those that they know they will encounter again, as well as relatives. Therefore, if the same bat is unsuccessful on a following hunt, the bats it is associated with will also share their resources. By reciprocating to one another so that all remain fed, the strength of the vampire bat colony as a whole is steadily increased with no individual bats suffering.
Presocial (Subsocial)[edit]
Subsocial is when parents interact with young.
Presocial (Parasocial)[edit]
Parasocial is when individuals of the same generation live in a single, cooperative dwelling and interact with each other.
Invertebrates[edit]
List of invertebrates showing social behavior[edit]
Ants
Bees
Termites
Thrips
Wasps
Snapping shrimps (Alpheidae)
Spiders
Parasitic flatworms (Trematodes)
Vertebrates[edit]
Features of vertebrate (non-human) societies[edit]
Female elephants live in stable groups, along with their offspring.
Social animals may exhibit one of more of these behaviors:
cooperative rearing of young by the group
overlapping generations living in a permanent, as opposed to seasonal, group
cooperative foraging or hunting
cooperative defense from predators and competitors
social learning (such as a young chimpanzee learning by observation to use a twig to fish for termites)
A chief debate among ethologists studying animal societies is whether non-human primates and other animals can be said to have culture.
List of vertebrates showing social behavior[edit]
Bats (Chiroptera)
Canidae (especially Wolves)
Crows
Hominidae, including:
Bonobos & Chimpanzees (Pan)
Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
Humans (Homo sapiens)
Dolphins (Delphinidae)
Domestic Cats
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) (Elephas maximus) (Loxodonta cyclotis)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Horses (Equus ferus)
Hyenas (Hyaenidae)
Killer whale (Orcinus Orca)
Lions (Panthera leo)
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta)
Orange-Fronted Conures (Aratinga canicularis)
Cacatuidae
Psittacidae
Penguins (Spheniscidae)
Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
Rats (Rattus)
House mouse (Mus musculus)
Domestic mouse
Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)
Leporidae
Paracheirodon Tetras
Human social behavior frequently includes non-human animals (most notably cats, dogs and horses). Animals can provide humans with companionship as pets, or can be kept as livestock, service animals for disabled people, or working animals to perform labor. In many cultures, humans have used animals in religious sacrifice or in staged fights and shows for entertainment such as circuses.
Other animal species may interact cooperatively in symbiotic relationships.
~Wikipedia~
Posted 10 years ago
I am humbled, and I am totally flabbergasted, no doubt. <sitting in the corner wearing a dunce hat> 
Very informative post, especially about the vampire bats. I find this interesting, "...Resident males mate with the females in their harems, but it is common for outside males to copulate with the females..." Dang, it is unbelievable that bats have "harems," and they "swing" too.
Woohooo....
Very informative post, especially about the vampire bats. I find this interesting, "...Resident males mate with the females in their harems, but it is common for outside males to copulate with the females..." Dang, it is unbelievable that bats have "harems," and they "swing" too.
Woohooo....
Posted 10 years ago
-just looks at Gr8bugaly- Only YOU would come up with that! LOL
Posted 10 years ago
* grinning cheerfully
Posted 10 years ago
A White Mpuse
Posted 10 years ago
Bloodwings wrote:A White Mpuse
Mpuse? What species is that from?
-giggles- Ohhh you and Gr8bugaly with his bats should get along great!
Posted 10 years ago
I think it's just Typonese for "Mouse."
*sniggered* my swinging bats and their harems... reminds me of a classic song, "Sultans of Swing," by Dire Straits... Woohoo!
Welcome back to the forum, Bloodwings.
*sniggered* my swinging bats and their harems... reminds me of a classic song, "Sultans of Swing," by Dire Straits... Woohoo!
Welcome back to the forum, Bloodwings.
Posted 10 years ago
I love all animals but mostly cats In no I am not a women with a 1000 cats either lol
Posted 10 years ago
Wolves. Wolves are awesome.