Review
Biology
T. M. Milewski, W. Lee, F. A. Champagne, J. P. Curley
Summary: Individuals in dominant and subordinate positions in social hierarchies exhibit different behaviors, physiology, and neural functioning. Dominant animals display higher levels of dominance behaviors and reproductive behaviors, while subordinate animals inhibit these behaviors and adapt to socially stressful contexts. These changes may have short-term benefits but pose long-term challenges to health. Additionally, rapid changes in social ranks are associated with dynamic modulations in the brain and periphery.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Patricia Beltrao, Ana Cristina R. Gomes, Goncalo C. Cardoso
Summary: Bullying is a phenomenon where individuals attack those lowest in the social dominance hierarchy, and its purpose is not yet fully understood because the victims do not pose a challenge to the aggressors. However, it appears that bullying may serve as a means of displaying dominance to others. This can help manage dominance hierarchies and avoid direct confrontations with potentially dangerous opponents.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Tobit Dehnen, Danai Papageorgiou, Brendah Nyaguthii, Wismer Cherono, Julia Penndorf, Neeltje J. Boogert, Damien R. Farine
Summary: Male vulturine guineafowl strategically exhibit higher-cost aggressive interactions toward individuals with lower ranks, while lower-cost aggressive interactions are directed toward individuals further down the hierarchy. These results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons, Nathan A. Knott, Culum Brown
Summary: The study reveals that sharks and rays lead more complex social lives than previously believed, with dominant individuals at the center of social networks. The research observed a stable but relatively shallow dominance hierarchy within the stingray group, where contrary to previous findings, size did not determine dominance but was correlated with network centrality.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sean M. Maguire, Ross DeAngelis, Peter D. Dijkstra, Alex Jordan, Hans A. Hofmann
Summary: Living in a group can bring benefits to individuals, but also exposes them to intense competition. Individual behavior can directly and indirectly influence the behavior of others, as well as affect group characteristics. Dominant males in stable communities have higher testosterone levels compared to subordinate males.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna Favati, Hanne Lovlie, Olof Leimar
Summary: The study found that social experience positively influences contest success in male domestic fowl, but aggression and morphological traits also play an important role.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Robert Fialkowski, Phillip Aufdemberge, Victoria Wright, Peter Dijkstra
Summary: The study found significant changes in markers of oxidative stress during social ascent in the East African cichlid fish. The newly dominant male showed lower blood plasma total antioxidant capacity but higher liver antioxidant defense. By day 14, all markers of oxidative stress in ascending males were similar to stable dominant males, indicating a dynamic response to social dominance.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biology
Elizabeth A. Tibbetts, Juanita Pardo-Sanchez, Chloe Weise
Summary: Animal groups are often organized hierarchically, with dominant individuals gaining priority access to resources and reproduction over subordinate individuals. This review explores the behaviors used to establish and maintain dominance hierarchies in different taxa and societies, while considering the interaction of self-organizing behavioral dynamics with other factors. Opportunities for future research include examining the stability of social hierarchies and the coevolution of cognition and behaviors in relation to dominance hierarchies.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lauren Seex, Claudia Fichtel, Peter M. Kappeler, Charlotte K. Hemelrijk
Summary: This study investigates the association between social and ecological factors and variation in dominance style in three lemur species. The results show that stronger spatial cohesion among individuals leads to higher aggression rates, a more despotic dominance style, and stronger female dominance over males. These findings highlight the significance of spatial cohesion in determining dominance style.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tamao Maeda, Sakiho Ochi, Monamie Ringhofer, Sebastian Sosa, Cedric Sueur, Satoshi Hirata, Shinya Yamamoto
Summary: The study utilized drone data to examine the multilevel structure of feral horse society, revealing patterns of unit relationships and positioning that indicate the presence of a hierarchical social organization. This contributes to understanding the functions and mechanisms of multilevel societies and offers insights for future cross-species comparisons and social modeling.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Sara Ishaq, Saadia Zahid, Touqeer Ahmed
Summary: This study evaluated the sex-dependent effects of Risperidone, Donepezil, and Paroxetine on social hierarchy in rats. The results showed that Risperidone had stronger effects on male social behavior, while Paroxetine and Donepezil had differential effects on social abilities in both sexes during normal and stressed situations.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Martin Migliaro, Alejandra E. Ruiz-Contreras, Andrea Herrera-Solis, Monica Mendez-Diaz, Oscar E. Prospero-Garcia
Summary: This narrative review article summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the relationship between the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and aggression across multiple vertebrate species. Experimental evidence indicates that acute administration of phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and the pharmacological enhancement of endocannabinoid signaling decreases aggressive behavior in several animal models. However, research on the chronic effects of cannabinoids on animal aggression has yielded inconsistent findings, indicating a need for further investigation. Cannabinoid receptors, particularly cannabinoid receptor type 1, appear to be an important part of the endogenous mechanism involved in the dampening of aggressive behavior.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Maria Abellan-Alvaro, Fernando Martinez-Garcia, Enrique Lanuza, Carmen Agustin-Pavon
Summary: Repeated testing affects aggression in postpartum mice, with dams showing escalated aggression and virgins showing no aggression. The medial amygdala plays a key role in the expression of escalated aggression induced by repeated testing.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dene A. Voisin, Alison Wakeford, Jonathon Nye, Jiyoung Mun, Sara R. Jones, Jason Locke, Kim L. Huhman, Mark E. Wilson, H. Elliott Albers, Vasiliki Michopoulos
Summary: Social status has a significant impact on the effects of fluoxetine on aggression, with subordinate individuals showing more pronounced changes. Furthermore, fluoxetine modulates socioemotional behavior through alterations in 5-HT1A receptor binding potential.
PHARMACOLOGY BIOCHEMISTRY AND BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Hao Gu, Congnan Sun, Lixin Gong, Xin Zhao, Jiang Feng, Bo Luo, Tinglei Jiang, Ying Liu
Summary: This study investigates the influence of group composition on social call complexity in Himalayan leaf-nosed bats. The results show significant differences in the composition of call sequences among bat groups with different sex ratio compositions. The number of vocalizations is the highest in the mixed group, while the social call complexity is the highest in the all-male group and lowest in the mixed group.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)