How scientists become experts-or don't: Social organization of research and engagement in scientific advice in a toxicology laboratory.

Certain fields of research are deeply shaped by their proximity with policy-makers and administrations. The so-called 'regulatory sciences' and their corresponding expert communities emerge from this intermediary space between science and policy. Social studies of expertise and scientific experts show, however, that modes of engagement with policy-making vary greatly from one scientist to another. Two scientists that are part of the same research group or laboratory may engage the policy realm differently. How then does the social organization of research influence scientists' participation in scientific advice and the production of regulatory sciences? The paper looks at toxicology, a field in which knowledge production is centrally motivated by risk assessment, but one that has also seen the emergence of different knowledge-making motives, including advancement of fundamental knowledge and frontier research. A toxicology laboratory may thus harbor a diversity of moral economies of scientific advice. The paper argues that scientists' engagements with policy, through scientific advice and regulatory risk assessment, create organizational tensions and force changes to the standard, team-based social organization of research work.

Ecology and social behavior of the social vole Microtus socialis: A generalized review.

The present review is a compilation of the published data on the ecology and social behavior of the social vole. Field studies provide evidence that these voles live in family groups consisting of 1 adult male, 1 or 2 breeding females, and their offspring (1 or 2 litters). The social vole is capable of year-round reproduction, but in arid regions, the voles demonstrate seasonality in breeding. The mating system of this species may be defined as behavioral monogamy. A typical feature of the space use system is territoriality characterized by a locus-dependent dominance in relationships between neighboring breeding pairs as well as family groups. The family group social organization may be defined as consistent relationships without a dominant hierarchy. Social voles are cooperative in defending their territories, constructing burrows, digging underground tunnels, maintaining nests, and raising young. Cooperation appears to enhance the survival of family groups of this species under the extreme climatic conditions of Central Asia.

Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context.

Music is an interactive technology associated with religious and communal activities and was suggested to have evolved as a participatory activity supporting social bonding. In post-industrial societies, however, music's communal role was eclipsed by its relatively passive consumption by audiences disconnected from performers. It was suggested that as societies became larger and more differentiated, music became less participatory and more focused on solo singing. Here, we consider the prevalence of group singing and its relationship to social organization through the analysis of two global song corpora: 5776 coded audio recordings from 1024 societies, and 4709 coded ethnographic texts from 60 societies. In both corpora, we find that group singing is more common than solo singing, and that it is more likely in some social contexts (e.g. religious rituals, dance) than in others (e.g. healing, infant care). In contrast, relationships between group singing and social structure (community size or social differentiation) were not consistent within or between corpora. While we cannot exclude the possibility of sampling bias leading to systematic under-sampling of solo singing, our results from two large global corpora of different data types provide support for the interactive nature of music and its complex relationship with sociality.

Factors related to the internal social capital of elderly-caring social organizations: a cross-sectional study in Chongqing, China.

BACKGROUND: Aging has given birth to the demand for high-quality elderly care service and social organizations (ESOs) are gradually taking on a supportive role in the field of elderly care services.. In view of this, our study is designed to examine influencing factors of social capital within the elderly-caring social organizations. METHOD: The study was conducted in four districts of Chongqing Province and a multi-stage random sampling method was used to sample 80 ESOs as subjects for the research. Through a meticulously crafted questionnaire, we gathered valuable data on internal social capital, basic information about the organization, and other variables. Univariate and Binary Logistic Regression analysis were performed on the data to explore the factors associated with social capital within the elderly-caring social organizations using IBM SPSS version 26.0. RESULT: The results showed that 67(83.8%) OF ESOs surveyed were A-type institutions and 13(16.3%) B-type institutions. Among them, 49(61.3%) institutions covered an area of more than 50m2.The institutions of ≤ 2 years were 33(41.3%), 21(26.3%) were established for ≤ 3 ≤ 8 years, and residual 26(32.5%) were institutions ˃ 8 years old. ESOs that possessed 4-6 management employees were 52.422 times more likely to score high for social support (p<0.05, OR = 52.422). Accommodating special care objects and hiring 16-30 employees were significantly linked to the shared language and shared vision dimension (p<0.001, OR = 0.8) and (p<0.05, OR = 8.672), respectively. and the overall social capital dimension (p<0.01, OR = 0.221) (p<0.05, OR = 5.730). CONCLUSION: ESOs with different basic conditions have different amounts of social capital. Factors such as the presence of special care and volunteer staff, a certain number of full-time staff as well as types of services rendered are accompanied with the higher internal social capital of ESOs.

Ontogenetic Development of Sexual Dimorphism in Body Mass of Wild Black-and-White Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti).

Sexual dimorphism exists widely in animals, manifesting in different forms, such as body size, color, shape, unique characteristics, behavior, and sound. Of these, body mass dimorphism is the most obvious. Studies of evolutionary and ontogenetic development and adaptation mechanisms of animals' sexual dimorphism in body mass (SDBM), allow us to understand how environment, social group size, diet, and other external factors have driven the selection of sexual dimorphism. There are fewer reports of the ontogenetic development of sexual dimorphism in body mass in Rhinopithecus. This study explores the ontogenetic development pattern of SDBM in wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (R. bieti), and the causes resulting in extreme sexual dimorphism compared to other colobines. A significant dimorphism with a ratio of 1.27 (p < 0.001) appears when females enter the reproductive period around six years old, reaching a peak (1.85, p < 0.001) when males become sexually mature. After the age of eight, the SDBM falls to 1.78, but is still significant (p < 0.001). The results also indicate that males had a longer body mass growth period than females (8 years vs. 5 years); females in larger breeding units had a significantly higher SDBM than those in smaller ones (2.12 vs. 1.93, p < 0.01). A comparative analysis with other colobines further clarifies that Rhinopithecus and Nasalis, which both have multilevel social organization, have the highest degree of SDBM among all colobines. The large SDBM in R. bieti can be explained through Bergman's and Rensch's rules. Overall, environmental adaptation, a distinctive alimentary system, and a complex social structure contribute to R. bieti having such a remarkable SDBM compared to other colobines. In addition, we found that females' choice for males may not be significantly related to the development of SDBM.

The impact of small groups on pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations.

Sexual selection is a key evolutionary force but varies widely between populations. Two key factors that influence sexual selection are the extent to which females copulate with multiple males (polyandry) and variation in the social environment. Increasing research demonstrates populations are structured by complex socio-sexual networks, and the structure of these networks can influence sexual selection by shaping the relationship between male precopulatory mating success and the intensity of postcopulatory competition. However, comparatively less attention has been dedicated to the influence of group structure on sexual selection and how differences in the size of groups may impact on the relative force of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations. The presence of groups (i.e., group structure) and the size of groups varies widely in nature and forms an implicit part of much experimental sexual selection research under laboratory conditions. Here I use simulations of mating competition within populations that vary in the size of groups they contain, to show that variation in group size, and in particular small groups, can influence sexual selection. Specifically, I show that null expectations for the operation of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection is governed by the size of groups within populations because smaller group sizes constrain the structure of sexual networks leading to reinforcing episodes of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. Given broad variation in group structure in nature and the tendency for experimental sexual selection research to study replicate small groups, these effects have implications for our understanding of the operation of sexual selection in polyandrous populations.

Conflicting Working Relationships Among Nurses: The Intersection of Should Nursing, Double Domination, and the Big Picture.

BACKGROUND: Research conducted on conflict between Registered Nurses (RNs) has established that it happens regularly within the hospital setting, that it adversely affects the health and well-being of RNs, impacts the effective functioning of the health care organization, and compromises quality patient care. In this article, the phrase conflicting working relationships (CWRs) is used to represent working relationships between RN peers that are non-collegial, uncaring, and non- supportive, and inclusive of the behaviours associated with incivility, horizontal violence, and bullying, among others. PURPOSE: To examine how nursing, including nursing knowledge and practice, is socially organized within the hospital setting and how this organization is linked to CWRs between RN peers. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 17 RNs, followed by text analysis and mapping guided by institutional ethnography (IE) as the research methodology. RESULTS: The intersections between should nursing, double domination, and the big picture threads shows work environments where RNs struggle to provide appropriate care and conflict has become institutionalized. The intersection between threads can be used as caution areas for RNs and individuals in leadership positions to reflect on nursing practice when conflict is being experienced. CONCLUSIONS: The contextual variables surrounding professional nursing practice are very influential with respect to how RNs relate to each other. A new type of dialogue about the organization of nursing practice in the hospital setting is needed to support more relational practices between RNs.

The social role of song in wild zebra finches.

Male songbirds sing to establish territories and to attract mates.1,2 However, increasing reports of singing in non-reproductive contexts3 and by females4,5 show that song use is more diverse than previously considered. Therefore, alternative functions of song, such as social cohesion3 and synchronization of breeding, by and large, were overlooked even in such well-studied species such as the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). In these social songbirds, only the males sing, and pairs breed synchronously in loose colonies,6,7 following aseasonal rain events in their arid habitat.8,9 As males are not territorial, and pairs form long-term monogamous bonds early in life, conventional theory predicts that zebra finches should not sing much at all; however, they do and their song is the focus of hundreds of lab-based studies.10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22 We hypothesize that zebra finch song functions to maintain social cohesion and to synchronize breeding. Here, we test this idea using data from 5 years of field studies, including observational transects, focal and year-round audio recordings, and a large-scale playback experiment. We show that zebra finches frequently sing while in groups, that breeding status influences song output at the nest and at aggregations, that they sing year round, and that they predominantly sing when with their partner, suggesting that the song remains important after pair formation. Our playback reveals that song actively features in social aggregations as it attracts conspecifics. Together, these results demonstrate that birdsong has important functions beyond territoriality and mate choice, illustrating its importance in coordination and cohesion of social units within larger societies.

Role of social organization engagement in high-risk groups intervention against HIV/AIDS: a case study from 176 cities of China.

BACKGROUND: A high-risk prevention strategy is an effective way to fight against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The China AIDS Fund for Non-Governmental Organizations (CAFNGO) was established in 2015 to help social organizations intervene to protect high-risk populations in 176 cities. This study aimed to evaluate the role of social organizations in high-risk population interventions against HIV/AIDS. METHODS: This study was based on the CAFNGO program from 2016 to 2020. The collected data included the number and types of social organizations participating in high-risk group interventions and the amount of funds obtained by these organizations each year. We explored the factors influencing the number of newly diagnosed AIDS cases using a spatial econometric model. Furthermore, we evaluated the effectiveness of intervention activities by comparing the percentages of the individuals who initially tested positive, and the individuals who took the confirmatory test, as well as those who retested positive and underwent the treatment. RESULTS: Overall, from 2016 to 2020, the number of social organizations involved in interventions to protect HIV/AIDS high-risk populations increased from 441 to 532, and the invested fund increased from $3.98 to $10.58 million. The number of newly diagnosed cases decreased from 9128 to 8546 during the same period. Although the number of cities with overall spatial correlations decreased, the spatial agglomeration effect persisted in the large cities. City-wise, the number of social organizations (direct effect 19.13), the permanent resident population (direct effect 0.12), GDP per capita (direct effect 17.58; indirect effect - 15.38), and passenger turnover volume (direct effect 5.50; indirect effect - 8.64) were the major factors influencing new positive cases confirmed through the testing interventions performed by the social organizations. The initial positive test rates among high-risk populations were below 5.5%, the retesting rates among those who initially tested positive were above 60%, and the treatment rates among diagnosed cases were above 70%. CONCLUSIONS: The spatial effect of social organizations participating in interventions targeting high-risk populations funded by CAFNGO is statistically significant. Nevertheless, despite the achievements of these social organizations in tracking new cases and encouraging treatment, a series of measures should be taken to further optimize the use of CAFNGO. Working data should be updated from social organizations to CAFNGO more frequently by establishing a data monitoring system to help better track newly diagnosed AIDS cases. Multichannel financing should be expanded as well.

Organizações Sociais de Saúde na mídia: uma análise de notícias em grandes veículos de imprensa (2008-2016) / The Social Health Organizations in the media: analysis of news in large press outlets (2008-2016) / Las Organizaciones Sociales de Salud en los medios: un análisis de las noticias en los principales medios de comunicación (2008-2016)

Este estudo analisou matérias jornalísticas sobre Organizações Sociais de Saúde (OSS) contratadas para gerir hospitais estaduais no Brasil. Foram levantadas publicações nos meios de comunicação G1, Estadão e Valor Econômico sobre as dez maiores OSS do país. Analisou-se o conteúdo de 124 matérias, sendo a maioria da organização Associação Paulista para o Desenvolvimento da Medicina (SPDM), entre os temas: denúncia de irregularidades, desvio de verbas, metas subestimadas, falta de licitações e precarização do trabalho. Houve também conteúdos sobre flexibilidade, dinamismo gerencial, agilidade nas contratações e economia aos cofres públicos. Os achados apontaram para elementos que visam tanto ao fortalecimento do modelo de gestão reforçado pela Nova Gestão Pública (NGP) quanto à mobilização da sociedade frente a essas instituições privadas.

This study analyzed news stories about Social Health Organizations contracted to manage state hospitals in Brazil. We selected publications from G1, Estadão and Valor Econômico media about the ten largest Brazil-ian Social Health Organizations. We analyzed the content of a total of 124 articles, most of them from the Associação Paulista para o Desenvolvimento da Medicina (SPDM) organization, denouncing irregularities, misuse of funds, underestimated goals, lack of tenders and precarious work. There were articles also about flexibility, managerial dynamism, agility in hiring and savings to public coffers. The findings pointed to an outline aimed both at strengthening the management model reinforced by the New Public Management, and at mobilizing society towards these private institutions.

Este estudio analizó artículos sobre Organizaciones Sociales de Salud (OSS) contratadas para administrar hospitales estatales en Brasil. Se levantaron publicaciones en los medios G1, Estadão y Valor Econômico sobre las diez mayores OSS del país. Se analizó el contenido de 124 artículos, la mayoría de la organización Associação Paulista para o Desenvolvimento da Medicina (SPDM), de denuncia de irregularidades, malversación de fondos, subestimación de metas, falta de licitaciones y precariedad laboral. También tuvo contenidos sobre flexibilidad, dinamismo gerencial, agilidad en la contratación y ahorro para las arcas públicas. Los hallazgos apuntaron elementos dirigidos tanto al fortalecimiento del modelo de gestión reforzado por la Nueva Gestión Pública, como a la movilización de la sociedad hacia estas instituciones privadas.

Bonobo social organization at the seasonal forest-savanna ecotone of the Lomami national park.

Examining the relationship between food and primate social organization helps us understand how the environment shaped hominin social evolution. However, there is debate as to whether the social differences between our two closest relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are due to differences in food availability between their respective habitats or to nonenvironmental factors. The most prominent theory is that bonobo communities have more socially cohesive, stable parties, centered on gregarious females because they evolved in food-rich habitat where individuals, especially females, are less burdened by competition with groupmates. However, more research on bonobos in habitats with seasonal variation in food is needed. This study measured food availability and bonobo social organization at Luzaka, a new site in a seasonal forest fragment. Fruit abundance and dispersion were recorded for a year at Luzaka with the same methods used at Wamba, a bonobo site in more seasonally stable habitat and terrestrial herbaceous vegetation density was measured. At Luzaka, bonobo parties were also recorded for a year using camera traps. Fruit was more seasonal and dispersed at Luzaka than at Wamba. However, the social organization of Luzaka bonobos resembled social organization of bonobos at less seasonal sites. There were minor effects of fruit clumping on party size without effects on the proportion of females in parties suggesting that at Luzaka, the clumping of fruit slightly affected social cohesiveness but does not disproportionately affect females. Bonobo social cohesiveness and female gregariousness appears consistent and compatible with seasonal habitat.

The evolution of marsupial social organization.

It is generally believed that marsupials are more primitive than placentals mammals and mainly solitary living, representing the ancestral form of social organization of all mammals. However, field studies have observed pair and group-living in marsupial species, but no comparative study about their social evolution was ever done. Here, we describe the results of primary literature research on marsupial social organization which indicates that most species can live in pairs or groups and many show intra-specific variation in social organization. Using Bayesian phylogenetic mixed-effects models with a weak phylogenetic signal of 0.18, we found that solitary living was the most likely ancestral form (35% posterior probability), but had high uncertainty, and the combined probability of a partly sociable marsupial ancestor (65%) should not be overlooked. For Australian marsupials, group-living species were less likely to be found in tropical rainforest, and species with a variable social organization were associated with low and unpredictable precipitation representing deserts. Our results suggest that modern marsupials are more sociable than previously believed and that there is no strong support that their ancestral state was strictly solitary living, such that the assumption of a solitary ancestral state of all mammals may also need reconsideration.

Caracterização do atributo acesso na Atenção Primária à Saúde nos Contratos de Gestão das Organizações Sociais de Saúde no município de São Paulo / Characterization of the attribute access in Primary Health Care in management Contracts of Social Health Organization in the city of São Paulo

O acesso aos cuidados de saúde está assegurado a todos na Constituição Federal de 1988. Para tanto, o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) definiu a Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF), devido a seus atributos, como prioritária para a concretização desse objetivo. A Secretaria Municipal da Saúde de São Paulo (SMS-SP) adotou a contratualização com Organizações Sociais de Saúde (OSS) para a implementação da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS). Este estudo visa caracterizar o atributo acesso na APS nos Contratos de Gestão entre a SMS-SP e as OSS. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa com análise documental e de conteúdo dos Contratos de Gestão celebrados no período de 2014 a 2020. Os resultados apontam elevada frequência da dimensão disponibilidade, refletindo em oferta de serviços e recursos os mais variados. Todavia, as baixas frequências da acessibilidade e aceitabilidade fragilizam a adequação desses serviços e recursos, evidenciada pela ausência de documentos descritivos relativos aos cenários socioeconômicos dos territórios.

Access to health care is guaranteed to all in the Federal Constitution of 1988. To this end, the Unified Health System (SUS) defined the Family Health Strategy (ESF), due to its attributes, as a priority for achieving this objective. The Municipal Department of São Paulo (SMS-SP) adopted a contract with Social Health Organizations (OSS) to implement Primary Health Care (PHC). This study aims to characterize the access attribute in the APS in the Management Contracts between SMS-SP and OSS. Qualitative research was carried out with document and content analysis of the Management Contracts signed in the period from 2014 to 2020. The results point to a high frequency of the availability dimension, reflecting the most varied offer of services and resources. However, the low frequencies of accessibility and acceptability weaken the adequacy of these services and resources, evidenced by the absence of descriptive documents related to the socioeconomic scenarios of the territories.

Do sanctuary policies increase crime? Contrary evidence from a county-level investigation in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has rolled out a series of programs that leverage local and state resources to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. There is little understanding, however, about the public safety consequences of mobilizing local police to enforce immigration law. I use ICE administrative records, Uniform Crime Reports, and American Community Survey population estimates to investigate whether and under what circumstances local immigration enforcement is associated with property crime and violent crime. Results show that crime trends in sanctuary and non-sanctuary counties were not significantly different in the first decade of the 2000s. However, after the proliferation of sanctuary practices around 2014, both property crime and violent crime decreased more in sanctuary counties than non-sanctuary counties, net of other predictors of crime. Further, a pooled cross-sectional analysis of 2013-2016 data shows that sanctuary practices strengthen the inverse relationship between proportion foreign-born Latino and property crime, and reverse the positive relationship between proportion native-born Latino and property crime. I theorize that this occurs because sanctuary practices encourage immigrant political integration, have positive spillover effects to non-immigrant Latinx communities, and increase social harmony.

Unbalanced selection: the challenge of maintaining a social polymorphism when a supergene is selfish.

Supergenes often have multiple phenotypic effects, including unexpected detrimental ones, because recombination suppression maintains associations among co-adapted alleles but also allows the accumulation of recessive deleterious mutations and selfish genetic elements. Yet, supergenes often persist over long evolutionary periods. How are such polymorphisms maintained in the face of selection, drive and drift? We present a population genetic model that investigates the conditions necessary for a stable polymorphic equilibrium when one of the supergene haplotypes is a selfish genetic element. The model fits the characteristics of the Alpine silver ant, Formica selysi, in which a large supergene underlies colony social organization, and one haplotype distorts Mendelian transmission by killing progeny that did not inherit it. The model shows that such maternal-effect killing strongly limits the maintenance of social polymorphism. Under random mating, transmission ratio distortion prevents rare single-queen colonies from invading populations of multiple-queen colonies, regardless of the fitness of each genotype. A stable polymorphic equilibrium can, however, be reached when high rates of assortative mating are combined with large fitness differences among supergene genotypes. The model reveals that the persistence of the social polymorphism is non-trivial and expected to occur only under restrictive conditions that deserve further empirical investigation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Genomic architecture of supergenes: causes and evolutionary consequences'.

Iterative evolution of supergene-based social polymorphism in ants.

Species commonly exhibit alternative morphs, with individual fate being determined during development by either genetic factors, environmental cues or a combination thereof. Ants offer an interesting case study because many species are polymorphic in their social structure. Some colonies contain one queen while others contain many queens. This variation in queen number is generally associated with a suite of phenotypic and life-history traits, including mode of colony founding, queen lifespan, queen-worker dimorphism and colony size. The basis of this social polymorphism has been studied in five ant lineages, and remarkably social morph seems to be determined by a supergene in all cases. These 'social supergenes' tend to be large, having formed through serial inversions, and to comprise hundreds of linked genes. They have persisted over long evolutionary timescales, in multiple lineages following speciation events, and have spread between closely related species via introgression. Their evolutionary dynamics are unusually complex, combining recessive lethality, spatially variable selection, selfish genetic elements and non-random mating. Here, we synthesize the five cases of supergene-based social polymorphism in ants, highlighting interesting commonalities, idiosyncrasies and implications for the evolution of polymorphisms in general. This article is part of the theme issue 'Genomic architecture of supergenes: causes and evolutionary consequences'.

Context-dependent and seasonal fluctuation in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) vocalizations.

A fundamental question in animal behaviour is the role of vocal communication in the regulation of social interactions in species that organise themselves into social groups. Context dependence and seasonality in vocalizations are present in the communication of many species, although very little research has addressed this dependence in marine mammals. The study presented here examined variations in the rate at which free-ranging dyads of bottlenose dolphins emit social-signals in an effort to better understand the relationship between vocal communication and social context. The results demonstrate that changes in the social-signal production in bottlenose dolphins are related to the sex of the partner, mating season and social affiliation between the components of the dyad. In a context of foraging behaviour on the same feeding ground, mixed (male-female) dyads were found to emit more pulsed burst sounds during the mating season. Another relevant aspect of the study seems to be the greater production of agonistic social-signals in the dyads formed by individuals with a lower degree of social affiliation. Overall, this study confirms a clear relationship between dyad composition and context-specific social-signals that could reflect the motivational state of individuals linked to seasonal changes in vocal behaviour.

The social organization of science during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked society worldwide. Multiple efforts went immediately into developing treatments for managing and vaccines for preventing the disease. National and international initiatives emerged to deal with the deep economic and social inequalities in our world today. OBJECTIVE: To show that the global inequalities that have become salient during the COVID-19 pandemic and specially with the global vaccination campaign, are the result of a highly privatized system of research and development (R&D), which is first and foremost profit-driven, and where epistemic and social concerns are not prioritized. METHODS: Philosophical analysis. RESULTS: After exploring the current organization of scientific research, as well as its impact in the development of research at a global scale, the paper shows the way in which this highly privatized organization of research has permeated scientific research on COVID-19, identifying who is currently benefiting from pandemic science, and who on the contrary is suffering the consequences of this organization. Using the COVAX mechanism as an example, the paper argues that international efforts to counteract the power of commercially-driven science has not rendered the expected results. CONCLUSIONS: The current organization of science ought to be shaken and restructured if we aim to be better prepared to address the global challenges of the future with the relevant scientific and technological development.

Male zebrafish (Danio rerio) do not preferentially associate with familiar over unfamiliar conspecifics.

Members of several shoaling species have been shown to prefer to associate with familiar individuals, enhancing the benefits of aggregation. The authors used a series of social preference tasks in the laboratory to evaluate whether prior familiarity with potential partners influences preference of shoaling partner in male zebrafish (Danio rerio), a social species found in shallow, slow-moving waters. The authors found that though male zebrafish exhibited a strong preference for shoaling with a male conspecific as opposed to remaining alone, they exhibited no preference for familiar over unfamiliar conspecifics. This suggests that the benefits of familiarity for shoaling behaviour may not be as important for male zebrafish as has been shown in other social fish species.

Warm and arid regions of the world are hotspots of superorganism complexity.

Biologists have long been fascinated by the processes that give rise to phenotypic complexity of organisms, yet whether there exist geographical hotspots of phenotypic complexity remains poorly explored. Phenotypic complexity can be readily observed in ant colonies, which are superorganisms with morphologically differentiated queen and worker castes analogous to the germline and soma of multicellular organisms. Several ant species have evolved 'worker polymorphism', where workers in a single colony show quantifiable differences in size and head-to-body scaling. Here, we use 256 754 occurrence points from 8990 ant species to investigate the geography of worker polymorphism. We show that arid regions of the world are the hotspots of superorganism complexity. Tropical savannahs and deserts, which are typically species-poor relative to tropical or even temperate forests, harbour the highest densities of polymorphic ants. We discuss the possible adaptive advantages that worker polymorphism provides in arid environments. Our work may provide a window into the environmental conditions that promote the emergence of highly complex phenotypes.