Dispersal-induced social stress prolongs gestation in wild meerkats.

In the majority of mammals, gestation length is relatively consistent and seldom varies by more than 3%. In a few species, females can adjust gestation length by delaying the development of the embryo after implantation. Delays in embryonic development allow females to defer the rising energetic costs of gestation when conditions are unfavourable, reducing the risk of embryo loss. Dispersal in mammals that breed cooperatively is a period when food intake is likely to be suppressed and stress levels are likely to be high. Here, we show that pregnant dispersing meerkats (Suricata suricatta), which have been aggressively evicted from their natal group and experience weight loss and extended periods of social stress, prolong their gestation by means of delayed embryonic development. Repeated ultrasound scans of wild, unanaesthetized females throughout their pregnancies showed that pregnancies of dispersers were on average 6.3% longer and more variable in length (52-65 days) than those of residents (54-56 days). The variation in dispersers shows that, unlike most mammals, meerkats can adapt to stress by adjusting their pregnancy length by up to 25%. By doing so, they potentially rearrange the costs of gestation during adverse conditions of dispersal and enhance offspring survival.

Dispersal Decreases Survival but Increases Reproductive Opportunities for Subordinates in a Cooperative Breeder.

AbstractIn most socially structured populations, the formation of new groups depends on the survival and reproduction of dispersing individuals. Quantifying vital rates in dispersers, however, is difficult because of the logistic challenges of following wide-ranging animals. Here, using data from free-ranging meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we estimate survival and reproduction of dispersing females and compare these estimates to data for established residents. Meerkat groups consist of a dominant pair and several subordinate helpers. Female helpers are evicted from their resident groups by the dominant female, allowing her to monopolize reproduction, and evicted females may form small dispersing coalitions. We show that, as in established resident groups, one female is behaviorally dominant in parties of dispersing females. During dispersal and the first 4 months after new group formation, survival is lower for all females compared with established resident groups. At the same time, subordinates in disperser groups have higher birth rates than those in established groups, which rarely breed successfully. This may partly offset the survival costs of dispersal to subordinate females. Further studies of dispersal based on direct observation of dispersing animals are needed to explore the costs and benefits of dispersal in species with contrasting breeding systems.

Behavioural change during dispersal and its relationship to survival and reproduction in a cooperative breeder.

The ability of dispersing individuals to adjust their behaviour to changing conditions is instrumental in overcoming challenges and reducing dispersal costs, consequently increasing overall dispersal success. Understanding how dispersers' behaviour and physiology change during the dispersal process, and how they differ from resident individuals, can shed light on the mechanisms by which dispersers increase survival and maximise reproduction. By analysing individual behaviour and concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM), a stress-associated biomarker, we sought to identify the proximate causes behind differences in survival and reproduction between dispersing and resident meerkats Suricata suricatta. We used data collected on 67 dispersing and 108 resident females to investigate (a) which individual, social and environmental factors are correlated to foraging and vigilance, and whether the role of such factors differs among dispersal phases, and between dispersers and residents; (b) how time allocated to either foraging or vigilance correlated to survival in dispersers and residents and (c) the link between aggression and change in fGCM concentration, and their relationship with reproductive rates in dispersing groups and resident groups with either long-established or newly established dominant females. Time allocated to foraging increased across dispersal phases, whereas time allocated to vigilance decreased. Time allocated to foraging and vigilance correlated positively and negatively, respectively, with dispersers' group size. We did not find a group size effect for residents. High proportions of time allocated to foraging correlated with high survival, and more so in dispersers, suggesting that maintaining good physical condition may reduce mortality during dispersal. Furthermore, while subordinate individuals rarely reproduced in resident groups, the conception rate of subordinates in newly formed dispersing groups was equal to that of their dominant individuals. Mirroring conception rates, in resident groups, fGCM concentrations were lower in subordinates than in dominants, whereas in disperser groups, fGCM concentrations did not differ between subordinates and dominants. Our results, which highlight the relationship between behavioural and physiological factors and demographic rates, provide insights into some of the mechanisms that individuals of a cooperative species can use to increase overall dispersal success.

Cost of dispersal in a social mammal: body mass loss and increased stress.

Dispersal is a key process influencing the dynamics of socially and spatially structured populations. Dispersal success is determined by the state of individuals at emigration and the costs incurred after emigration. However, quantification of such costs is often difficult, due to logistical constraints of following wide-ranging individuals. We investigated the effects of dispersal on individual body mass and stress hormone levels in a cooperative breeder, the meerkat ( Suricata suricatta). We measured body mass and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations from 95 dispersing females in 65 coalitions through the entire dispersal process. Females that successfully settled lost body mass, while females that did not settle but returned to their natal group after a short period of time did not. Furthermore, dispersing females had higher fGCM levels than resident females, and this was especially pronounced during the later stages of dispersal. By adding information on the transient stage of dispersal and by comparing dispersers that successfully settled to dispersers that returned to their natal group, we expand on previous studies focusing on the earlier stages of dispersal. We propose that body mass and stress hormone levels are good indicators to investigate dispersal costs, as these traits often play an important role in mediating the effects of the environment on other life-history events and individual fitness.

Density-dependent dispersal strategies in a cooperative breeder.

Dispersal is a key ecological process that influences the dynamics of spatially and socially structured populations and consists of three stages-emigration, transience, and settlement-and each stage is influenced by different social, individual, and environmental factors. Despite our appreciation of the complexity of the process, we lack a firm empirical understanding of the mechanisms underlying the different stages. Here, using data from 65 GPS-collared dispersing female coalitions of the cooperatively breeding meerkat (Suricata suricatta), we present a comprehensive analysis of the effects of population density, mate availability, dispersing coalition size, and individual factors on each of the three stages of dispersal in a wild population. We expected a positive effect of density on dispersal due to increased kin competition at high densities. We further anticipated positive effects of mate availability, coalition size, and body condition on dispersal success. We observed increasing daily emigration and settlement probabilities at high population densities. In addition, we found that emigration and settlement probabilities also increased at low densities and were lowest at medium densities. Daily emigration and settlement probabilities increased with increasing female coalition size and in the presence of unrelated males. Furthermore, the time individuals spent in the transient stage increased with population density, whereas coalition size and presence of unrelated males decreased dispersal distance. The observed nonlinear relationship between dispersal and population density is likely due to limited benefits of cooperation at low population densities and increased kin competition at high densities. Our study provides empirical validation for the theoretical predictions that population density is an important factor driving the evolution of delayed dispersal and philopatry in cooperative breeders.

Socially informed dispersal in a territorial cooperative breeder.

Dispersal is a key process governing the dynamics of socially and spatially structured populations and involves three distinct stages: emigration, transience and settlement. At each stage, individuals have to make movement decisions, which are influenced by social, environmental and individual factors. Yet, a comprehensive understanding of the drivers that influence such decisions is still lacking, particularly for the transient stage during which free-living individuals are inherently difficult to follow. Social circumstances such as the likelihood of encountering conspecifics can be expected to strongly affects decision-making during dispersal, particularly in territorial species where encounters with resident conspecifics are antagonistic. Here, we analysed the movement trajectories of 47 dispersing coalitions of Kalahari meerkats Suricata suricatta through a landscape occupied by constantly monitored resident groups, while simultaneously taking into account environmental and individual characteristics. We used GPS locations collected on resident groups to create a georeferenced social landscape representing the likelihood of encountering resident groups. We used a step-selection function to infer the effect of social, environmental and individual covariates on habitat selection during dispersal. Finally, we created a temporal mismatch between the social landscape and the dispersal event of interest to identify the temporal scale at which dispersers perceive the social landscape. Including information about the social landscape considerably improved our representation of the dispersal trajectory compared to analyses that only accounted for environmental variables. The latter were only marginally selected or avoided by dispersers. Before leaving their natal territory, dispersers selected areas frequently used by their natal group. In contrast, after leaving their natal territory, they selectively used areas where they were less likely to encounter unrelated groups. This pattern was particularly marked in larger dispersing coalitions and when unrelated males were part of the dispersing coalition. Our results suggest that, in socially and spatially structured species, dispersers gather and process social information during dispersal, and that reducing risk of aggression from unrelated resident groups outweighs benefits derived from conspecific attraction. Finally, our work underlines the intimate link between the social structure of a population and dispersal, which affect each other reciprocally.

Wood warbler population dynamics in response to mast seeding regimes in Europe.

Mast seeding is the episodic, massive production of plant seeds synchronized over large areas. The resulting superabundance of seeds represents a resource pulse that can profoundly affect animal populations across trophic levels. Following years of high seed production, the abundance of both seed consumers and their predators increase. Higher predator abundance leads to increased predation pressure across the trophic web, impacting nonseed consumers such as the wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix through increased nest predation after tree mast years. Over the past 30 years, the frequency of tree seed masts has increased, while wood warbler populations have declined in several regions of Europe. We hypothesized that increasing mast frequencies may have contributed to the observed population declines by creating suboptimal breeding conditions in years after masting. We measured reproductive output in four study areas in central Europe, which was between 0.61 and 1.24 fledglings lower in the years following masting than nonmasting. For each study area, we used matrix population models to predict population trends based on the estimated reproductive output and the local mast frequencies. We then compared the predicted with the observed population trends to assess if the frequency of mast years had contributed to the population dynamics. In Wielkopolska National Park (PL) and Hessen (DE), masting occurred on average only every 4 years and populations were stable or nearly so, whereas in Jura (CH) and Bialowieza National Park (PL), masting occurred every 2 and 2.5 years, respectively, and populations were declining. The simple matrix population models predicted the relative difference among local population trends over the past 10-20 years well, suggesting that the masting frequency may partly explain regional variation in population trends. Simulations suggest that further increases in mast frequency will lead to further declines in wood warbler populations. We show that changes in a natural process, such as mast seeding, may contribute to the decline in animal populations through cascading effects.

Sink or swim: a test of tadpole behavioral responses to predator cues and potential alarm pheromones from skin secretions.

Chemical signaling is a vital mode of communication for most organisms, including larval amphibians. However, few studies have determined the identity or source of chemical compounds signaling amphibian defensive behaviors, in particular, whether alarm pheromones can be actively secreted from tadpoles signaling danger to conspecifics. Here we exposed tadpoles of the common toad Bufo bufo and common frog Rana temporaria to known cues signaling predation risk and to potential alarm pheromones. In both species, an immediate reduction in swimming activity extending over an hour was caused by chemical cues from the predator Aeshna cyanea (dragonfly larvae) that had been feeding on conspecific tadpoles. However, B. bufo tadpoles did not detectably alter their behavior upon exposure to potential alarm pheromones, neither to their own skin secretions, nor to the abundant predator-defense peptide bradykinin. Thus, chemicals signaling active predation had a stronger effect than general alarm secretions of other common toad tadpoles. This species may invest in a defensive strategy alternative to communication by alarm pheromones, given that Bufonidae are toxic to some predators and not known to produce defensive skin peptides. Comparative behavioral physiology of amphibian alarm responses may elucidate functional trade-offs in pheromone production and the evolution of chemical communication.

Accounting for predator species identity reveals variable relationships between nest predation rate and habitat in a temperate forest songbird.

Nest predation is the primary cause of nest failure in most ground-nesting bird species. Investigations of relationships between nest predation rate and habitat usually pool different predator species. However, such relationships likely depend on the specific predator involved, partly because habitat requirements vary among predator species. Pooling may therefore impair our ability to identify conservation-relevant relationships between nest predation rate and habitat. We investigated predator-specific nest predation rates in the forest-dependent, ground-nesting wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix in relation to forest area and forest edge complexity at two spatial scales and to the composition of the adjacent habitat matrix. We used camera traps at 559 nests to identify nest predators in five study regions across Europe. When analyzing predation data pooled across predator species, nest predation rate was positively related to forest area at the local scale (1000 m around nest), and higher where proportion of grassland in the adjacent habitat matrix was high but arable land low. Analyses by each predator species revealed variable relationships between nest predation rates and habitat. At the local scale, nest predation by most predators was higher where forest area was large. At the landscape scale (10,000 m around nest), nest predation by buzzards Buteo buteo was high where forest area was small. Predation by pine martens Martes martes was high where edge complexity at the landscape scale was high. Predation by badgers Meles meles was high where the matrix had much grassland but little arable land. Our results suggest that relationships between nest predation rates and habitat can depend on the predator species involved and may differ from analyses disregarding predator identity. Predator-specific nest predation rates, and their relationships to habitat at different spatial scales, should be considered when assessing the impact of habitat change on avian nesting success.

Life history responses of meerkats to seasonal changes in extreme environments.

Species in extreme habitats increasingly face changes in seasonal climate, but the demographic mechanisms through which these changes affect population persistence remain unknown. We investigated how changes in seasonal rainfall and temperature influence vital rates and viability of an arid environment specialist, the Kalahari meerkat, through effects on body mass. We show that climate change-induced reduction in adult mass in the prebreeding season would decrease fecundity during the breeding season and increase extinction risk, particularly at low population densities. In contrast, a warmer nonbreeding season resulting in increased mass and survival would buffer negative effects of reduced rainfall during the breeding season, ensuring persistence. Because most ecosystems undergo seasonal climate variations, a full understanding of species vulnerability to global change relies on linking seasonal trait and population dynamics.