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Summary: Many social species are able to perform collective decisions and reach consensus. However, how the interplay between social interactions, the diversity of preferences among the group members and the group size affects these dynamics is usually overlooked. The collective choice between odourous and odorless shelters is tested for the following three groups of social cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) which are solitary foragers: naive (individuals preferring the odorous shelter), conditioned (individuals without preference), and mixed (combining, unevenly, conditioned, and naive individuals). The robustness of the consensus is not affected by the naive individuals' proportion, but the rate and the frequency of selection of the odorous shelter are correlated to this proportion. In mixed groups, the naive individuals act as influencers. Simulations based on the mechanisms highlighted in our experiments predict that the consensus emerges only for intermediate group sizes. The universality of these mechanisms suggests that such phenomena are widely present in social systems.

Animal communication has long been thought to be subject to pressures and constraints associated with social relationships. However, our understanding of how the nature and quality of social relationships relates to the use and evolution of communication is limited by a lack of directly comparable methods across multiple levels of analysis. Here, we analysed observational data from 111 wild groups belonging to 26 non-human primate species, to test how vocal communication relates to dominance style (the strictness with which a dominance hierarchy is enforced, ranging from ‘despotic’ to ‘tolerant’). At the individual-level, we found that dominant individuals who were more tolerant vocalized at a higher rate than their despotic counterparts. This indicates that tolerance within a relationship may place pressure on the dominant partner to communicate more during social interactions. At the species-level, however, despotic species exhibited a larger repertoire of hierarchy-related vocalizations than their tolerant counterparts. Findings suggest primate signals are used and evolve in tandem with the nature of interactions that characterize individuals' social relationships.

Living with relatives can be highly beneficial, enhancing reproduction and survival. High relatedness can, however, increase susceptibility to pathogens. Here, we examine whether the benefits of living with relatives offset the harm caused by pathogens, and if this depends on whether species typically live with kin. Using comparative meta-analysis of plants, animals, and a bacterium (nspecies = 56), we show that high within-group relatedness increases mortality when pathogens are present. In contrast, mortality decreased with relatedness when pathogens were rare, particularly in species that live with kin. Furthermore, across groups variation in mortality was lower when relatedness was high, but abundances of pathogens were more variable. The effects of within-group relatedness were only evident when pathogens were experimentally manipulated, suggesting that the harm caused by pathogens is masked by the benefits of living with relatives in nature. These results highlight the importance of kin selection for understanding disease spread in natural populations.

How individuals interact with their environment and respond to changes is a key area of research in evolutionary biology. A physiological parameter that provides an instant proxy for the activation of the automatic nervous system, and can be measured relatively easily, is modulation of heart rate. Over the past four decades, heart rate has been used to assess emotional arousal in non-human animals in a variety of contexts, including social behaviour, animal cognition, animal welfare and animal personality. In this review, I summarize how measuring heart rate has provided new insights into how social animals cope with challenges in their environment. I assess the advantages and limitations of different technologies used to measure heart rate in this context, including wearable heart rate belts and implantable transmitters, and provide an overview of prospective research avenues using established and new technologies, with a special focus on implications for applied research on animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparring by male giraffes has been commonly reported since its first description in 1958 and is believed to play a role in establishing male dominance hierarchies. However, despite being often documented, quantitative investigations of sparring behaviour are currently lacking. Here, we investigate the factors affecting the frequency, duration and intensity of sparring bouts in a population of giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa living on a private fenced reserve in Limpopo, South Africa. We show that sparring bouts were most frequently observed in young adults, and between males that were more evenly matched in size. Sparring bouts between males of similar body size were also characterised by being of high intensity and of short duration. Taken together, these results support the suggestion that sparring functions principally to provide maturing males a means of testing their competitive ability without escalating to full‐scale fights. Additionally, mature bulls intervened on young adults possibly to disable any winner effect achieved by the latter, with the most dominant bull being responsible for the majority of interventions. For the first time, we also show that individuals displayed strong laterality when engaged in sparring: individuals consistently preferred delivering blows from either their left or right side, and these preferences dictated the orientation of sparring bouts (whether head‐to‐head or head‐to‐tail). Lastly, we show that sparring displayed a seasonal peak which coincided with the onset of the wet season and possibly reflected the increased aggregation of males at this time. A more nuanced understanding of how social and environmental factors shape interactions among individuals, such as sparring, will improve our understanding and management of this charismatic animal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness can negatively impact peoples' lives. However, it is unclear whether loneliness influences, and is influenced by, people's social experience. Consistent with socio-cognitive models of loneliness, we hypothesised that loneliness predicts experienced social behaviour and vice versa. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of N = 245 college students (31.4% male) who participated in a two-year longitudinal survey. A subsample (n = 87, 24.1% male) also participated in a 14-day diary survey. This enabled us to test both long- and short-term associations between loneliness and social behaviour. Moreover, we investigated between-person (i.e. prolonged) and within-person (i.e. temporary) effects between loneliness and reports of social behaviour. Multilevel modelling showed that loneliness predicted individuals' reports of own and others' positive social behaviour, and reports of others' positive social behaviour predicted loneliness at the between-person level (while most of the effects at the within-person level were nonsignificant) in both the short and long term. The results suggest that people with higher levels of prolonged (but not temporary) loneliness tend to report less positive social behaviour, and people who experience others' behaviour less positively are more likely lonely. This study highlights the relation between prolonged loneliness and social behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural lateralization, which reflects the functional specializations of the two brain hemispheres, is assumed to play an important role in cooperative intraspecific interactions. However, there are few studies focused on the lateralization in cooperative behaviours of individuals, especially in a natural setting. In the present study, we investigated lateralized spatial interactions between the partners in life-long monogamous pairs. The male-female pairs of two geese species (barnacle, Branta leucopsis , and white-fronted, Anser albifrons geese), were observed during different stages of the annual cycle in a variety of conditions. In geese flocks, we recorded which visual hemifield (left/right) the following partner used to monitor the leading partner relevant to the type of behaviour and the disturbance factors. In a significant majority of pairs, the following bird viewed the leading partner with the left eye during routine behaviours such as resting and feeding in undisturbed conditions. This behavioural lateralization, implicating the right hemisphere processing, was consistent across the different aggregation sites and years of the study. In contrast, no significant bias was found in a variety of geese behaviours associated with enhanced disturbance (when alert on water, flying or fleeing away when disturbed, feeding during the hunting period, in urban area feeding and during moulting). We hypothesize that the increased demands for right hemisphere processing to deal with stressful and emergency situations may interfere with the manifestation of lateralization in social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the evolution of vertebrate sociality requires comparative data on social associations across the vertebrate phylogeny. In the case of group‐living lizards (i.e. species that live in stable social aggregations often associated with a shared resource), most work has focused on the Egerniinae in Australia, resulting in a taxonomic and geographic skew to our understanding of reptile sociality. The African cordylid lizards (Cordylidae) are also a promising system to study the evolution of sociality because grouping behaviour varies across the clade. Here, we studied the conspecific grouping behaviour of two crag lizards, Pseudocordylus langi and P. melanotus subviridis that occur at high elevations in the Maloti‐Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. To better understand their social organisation and mating system, we also present data on their spatial distribution, sexual dimorphism, and bite force. Both Pseudocordylus spp. were sexually dimorphic in morphology (males had larger heads than females of similar body size), colouration (males were more colourful) and female P. langi had a weaker bite force than males. Both P. langi and P. m. subviridis were associated with rocky habitat on the mountainside (e.g. cliffs, rock buttresses, and rock outcrops) and both were spaced apart and rarely in groups (79% of P. langi and 90% of P. m. subviridis were observed alone). Based on our findings, we hypothesise that both Pseudocordylus spp. have a territorial social structure and a polygynous mating system. This novel natural history information about crag lizards supports the assertion that Cordylidae is another model system for examining the evolution of sociality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When members of a group differ in locomotor capacity, coordinating collective movement poses a challenge: some individuals may have to move faster (or slower) than their preferred speed to remain together. Such compromises have energetic repercussions, yet research in collective behaviour has largely neglected locomotor consensus costs. Here, we integrate high-resolution tracking of wild baboon locomotion and movement with simulations to demonstrate that size-based variation in locomotor capacity poses an obstacle to the collective movement. While all baboons modulate their gait and move-pause dynamics during collective movement, the costs of maintaining cohesion are disproportionately borne by smaller group members. Although consensus costs are not distributed equally, all group-mates do make locomotor compromises, suggesting a shared decision-making process drives the pace of collective movement in this highly despotic species. These results highlight the importance of considering how social dynamics and locomotor capacity interact to shape the movement ecology of group-living species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camouflaging is a social phenomenon operating within everyday social interactions of autistic and non-autistic people. The current study explored autistic adults' camouflaging in an everyday social context via interpersonal process recall methodology (Kegan, 1969). A total of 17 autistic adults (8 females, 6 males and 3 agender/gender-neutral individuals) participated in a 10-min controlled social task designed to replicate a common day-to-day social situation. Participants then watched a video of their interaction with a researcher, actively identifying instances of camouflaging and discussing their experiences of camouflaging. Using thematic analysis, four themes were generated: (1) a strong desire for, yet uncertainty in, securing social acceptance and connection; (2) camouflaging, developed over time, as a means to achieve social acceptance and connection; (3) experiencing intrapersonal and interpersonal camouflaging consequences during social interactions; and (4) authentic socialising as an alternative to camouflaging. These findings are discussed with reference to the existing literature on stigma management outside the field of autism. Many autistic people report that, despite personal costs, they use strategies to hide their autistic characteristics or appear non-autistic at work, school or university, when speaking with health professionals, or while socialising with certain friends and family members. These strategies are often referred to as camouflaging. This study explores camouflaging during everyday social interactions. A total of 17 autistic adults were filmed taking part in a common everyday social situation – a conversation with a stranger. They then watched the video of this conversation with a researcher and answered questions about camouflaging. These autistic people told us that they (1) had a strong desire to socialise with and be valued by other people but, because of negative past experiences, they often felt unsure about their ability to do so; (2) used camouflaging to help them to socialise and be valued by others; (3) experienced negative consequences when camouflaging (e.g. fatigue, anxiety and difficulties in friendships); and (4) sometimes socialised in more autistic ways instead of camouflaging. This study shows us how autistic people often change their behaviour because of the way they are treated by nonautistic people and that autistic people may benefit from programmes that help them to socialise in more authentically autistic ways, but only if their autistic social behaviour is met with understanding and acceptance from non-autistic people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different fish species use a conditional approach strategy during predator inspection; the risk of approaching a predator is distributed across all inspectors but is not shared with the animals that keep their distance. Zebrafish, Danio rerio , a highly social fish, is increasingly being used in behavioural neuroscience, but it is not known whether it displays conditional approach. In the predator inspection task, animals are observed in a tank with a refuge in one extremity and an animated image of a predator in the other extremity, with a mirror positioned in parallel to the tank, simulating a perfectly reciprocating conspecific. In experiment 1, animals spent more time in an inspection zone when the image was turned on, but also displayed more erratic swimming, suggesting cooperation under fear. In experiment 2, animals spent more time inspecting predators when the mirror was parallel to the tank ('cooperating mirror') than when the mirror was at an angle ('defecting mirror'), suggesting retaliatory behaviour; in both conditions, animals displayed more freezing and erratic swimming. In experiment 3, no changes in behaviour were observed, regardless of mirror position, when the image was turned off, suggesting that the choice of specific zones in experiment 2 was not due to shoaling tendencies. These results suggest that predator inspection is associated with conditional approach, while at the same time inducing fear-like behaviour in the animal. • Zebrafish display predator inspection when they believe a conspecific is nearby. • In this case, predator inspection follows a conditional approach strategy. • Conditional approach appears to be a cooperative strategy. • The predator elicits cooperation, but also fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our gut harbours trillions of microorganisms essential for the maintenance of homeostasis and host physiology in health and disease. In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in understanding the bidirectional pathway of communication between our microbiota and the central nervous system. With regard to reward processes there is accumulating evidence from both animal and human studies that this axis may be a key factor in gating reward valence. Focusing on the mesocorticolimbic pathway, we will discuss how the intestinal microbiota is involved in regulating brain reward functions, both in natural (i.e. eating, social or sexual behaviours) and non‐natural reinforcers (drug addiction behaviours including those relevant to alcohol, psychostimulants, opioids and cannabinoids). We will integrate preclinical and clinical evidence suggesting that the microbiota‐gut‐brain axis could be implicated in the development of disorders associated with alterations in the reward system and how it may be targeted as a promising therapeutic strategy. Cover Image for this issue: https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.15065. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although play is ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom, and in primates especially, the ultimate explanations and proximate mechanisms of play are not well understood. Previous research proposes that primate play may be important for the development of cognitive skills including executive function, emotional regulation, and impulse control, and could help to build social skills and network connections needed in later life. However, many of these hypotheses have not been thoroughly tested. Here, we report observations of novel play behaviour that could provide unique opportunities to explore these hypotheses: young rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) engaging in aquatic social play in a naturalistic setting. Based on our observations, we propose that aquatic play has social elements that make it ideal for testing ultimate explanations of primate play and hypotheses about the cognitive mechanisms that support it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grouping behaviour in gregarious species expresses a dynamic cost-benefit equilibrium. The balance between costs and benefits differs amongst individuals that were selected to maximize their individual fitness. In environments where resources are limited, benefits of grouping may come at the expense of increased competition over resources. This study aimed to test whether grouping behaviour during foraging in a free-ranging beef cattle herd is a social choice bearing fitness benefits for all participants, or reflects affinity to vegetation resources with possible differentiating fitness benefits. GPS location data were recorded in a herd of 60 beef cows grazing a semi-arid pasture in northern Israel. Pasture vegetation was chemically and spectrally analysed. GPS location data were used to investigate individual and shared foraging locations and the temporal sequence of initiating foraging movement. Co-travel function in ArcPro v3.0 was used to investigate the amount and variability of individual proximity associations and their correlation with fitness. Fitness proxies were conception result (yes/no) and the interval between calving and conception within the cows who conceived. A positive correlation was found between fitness and the individual number of proximity associations, but not with the variability in associations' partners. No significant correlations were found between fitness and vegetation biomass, N content and spectral properties measured by RE EVI2 index in foraging locations. Individual sequence of arrival at shared foraging locations and foraging movement initiation sequence were also not correlated with fitness. Vegetation biomass in grouping locations was lower than in individually foraged locations, but no difference was found in N content between individual and shared foraging locations. No differences were found in vegetation biomass and N content between herd foraging locations and random locations, thus no evidence for herd foraging strategy aimed to increase biomass or N consumption was found. No further differences in pasture resources availability, i.e., water, shade, human or predator presence could explain grouping. Circular variance values implied the absence of preferred movement direction. Our results suggest that grouping during foraging is fitness beneficial and is not related to vegetation biomass or N content. Our results further suggest the absence of consistent leading individuals and no significant correlations between foraging movement initiation and fitness. This study provides insights into social and vegetation factors affecting cattle foraging behaviour in constrained pasture, and may allow ranchers to improve grazing management systems. We suggest that further research into pasture characteristics that affect beef cattle pasture location choice is needed. • Grouping during foraging was studied using observations and location monitoring. • Grouping locations showed no correlation with vegetation indicators measured. • Grouping during foraging showed positive correlation with fitness. • Recurrency in associations' partners was relatively low (5.5% from all associations). • Recurrent associations (stable partners) did not result with fitness benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mindfulness activities are effective in preventing on anti-social behaviour. • Mindfulness activities help children to improve emotional regulation skills. • Mindfulness activities have an important role on positive behaviour development (P), attention (A), recognition-acceptance-control (R) and sensory body awareness (S) skills. This study aims to investigate the effects of mindfulness practices on preschool children's social behavioural development. The research was carried out with a total of 30 children, 13 of them in the experimental group and 17 in the control group, from the five-six age groups attending preschool education in two public schools in the 2021–2022 academic years. The purposive sampling method was preferred in determining the sample, and the design of the study was the quasi-experimental mixed method. In the study, Mindfulness Practice Toolkit (MPT), which was developed by the researcher, was used in the forms of observation, interview and anecdote as data collection tools during the practice processes. Besides, Pre-school Social Behaviour Scale-Teacher Form (PSBS-TF) was also utilized to examine the social behaviour developments of the participant children. The overall results of the investigation show an increase in positive social behaviours and a decrease in behaviours containing physical aggression and depressive emotion of participant children. Additionally, it was observed that children who participated in the mindfulness practice provided (/responded to) responses that include skills like identifying self-thoughts and feelings, controlling and accepting, determining behaviours upon the emotional state and establishing empathy and controlling negative behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explored if regrouping had an impact on stress, behaviour and milk production. • Primiparous spent less and multiparous spent more time with others postregrouping. • Primiparous briefly decreased milk and oxytocin levels but all cows reduced fat%. • Activity increased and rumination reduced but there was no impact on cortisol. • Regrouping has a greater impact on primiparous cows. In the commercial dairy industry worldwide, it is common practice to periodically regroup cows as part of their management strategy within housed systems. While this animal husbandry practice is intended to improve management efficiency, cows may experience social stress as a result of the social environment changes, which may have an impact on their behavioural patterns, performance, and welfare. We investigated whether regrouping altered dairy cows' behaviour and impacted their cortisol concentration (a physiological marker of stress), oxytocin, milk yield, and quality in a robotic milking system. Fifty-two lactating cows (17 primiparous; 35 multiparous) were moved in groups of 3–5 individuals into established pens of approximately 100 cows. Behaviour of the regrouped cows was directly observed continuously for 4 h/day across 4-time blocks (day-prior (d-1), day-of regrouping (d0), day-after (d + 1), and 6-days after (d + 6) regrouping). Cows were categorised as being with others, alone, or feeding every 2.5 min prior to the assessment of behavioural dynamics. Milk yield (MY) and composition, total daily activity, and rumination time (RUM) data were extracted from the Lely T4C management program (Lely Industries, Maassluis, the Netherlands), and milk samples were collected for cortisol and oxytocin concentration analyses; data were analysed using linear mixed-effect modelling. Primiparous cows were less likely to be interacting with others on d + 1 than d-1 compared with multiparous. However, average bout duration (minutes) between being alone and feeding activity states were similar on d-1, d + 1, and d + 6, for both primiparous and multiparous cows. A reduction in the average alone and feeding bout duration was observed on d0. Multiparous cows spent significantly more total time being alone on d0 compared to d-1. Neither regrouping nor parity statistically influenced milk DM content, energy, or cortisol concentration. Primiparous cows produced 3.80 ± 2.42 kg (12.2%) less MY on d + 1 compared to their d-1, whereas multiparous cows did not change MY. A significant decrease of 0.2% fat was found in both parity groups following regrouping and remained low up to d + 6. Daily activity in both parity groups increased significantly and RUM reduced after regrouping. A significant decrease in oxytocin concentration was observed in all cows on d + 1. The results, specifically for primiparous cows, indicated a negative impact of regrouping on social interactions, due to changes in the social environment which may lead to short-term social instability. Multiparous cows may benefit from previous regrouping experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eusociality is taxonomically rare, yet associated with great ecological success. Surprisingly, studies of environmental conditions favouring eusociality are often contradictory. Harsh conditions associated with increasing altitude and latitude seem to favour increased sociality in bumblebees and ants, but the reverse pattern is found in halictid bees and polistine wasps. Here, we compare the life histories and distributions of populations of 176 species of Hymenoptera from the Swiss Alps. We show that differences in altitudinal distributions and development times among social forms can explain these contrasting patterns: highly social taxa develop more quickly than intermediate social taxa, and are thus able to complete the reproductive cycle in shorter seasons at higher elevations. This dual impact of altitude and development time on sociality illustrates that ecological constraints can elicit dynamic shifts in behaviour, and helps explain the complex distribution of sociality across ecological gradients.

Group housing of gestating sows benefits their welfare by allowing them freedom of movement and the opportunity for social interaction. However, social life could also bring disadvantages for individuals who receive direct aggression or are displaced from the feeder. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between social behaviour, body condition and live weight. Gestating sows (n=298) were investigated on a commercial farm. Sows were housed in mixed parity groups where two single space, ad libitum trough feeders served 12 animals. Sows were weighed, body condition scored and had their back fat layer measured at mixing, 4 weeks after insemination and again before farrowing. Social status was estimated based on the numbers of won and lost agonistic interactions at mixing and at the end of gestation. In addition, tear staining was scored before the farrowing and reproductive performance data were collected. With the aid of video recordings, 100 to 150 interactions per group were observed. Winning percentage at mixing and at the end of gestation were associated (P

Modern methods for assessing the welfare of dairy cows are, among other things, often based on the evaluation of animal behaviour. In this regard, behaviour is classified as the most reliable, so‑called animal‑based indicator as its expression comes from the animal itself and indicates a measure in which it has adapted to the environment. Starting from the need to explore the state of welfare and the ability to demonstrate adequate behaviour in dairy farms in Serbia, the Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocol for Cattle (2009) was used in this study. The overall assessment of behaviour was carried out by analysing four main criteria: social, other forms of behaviour, human‑animal relationship and emotional state. The results of the study conducted on a total of 16 dairy farms (N = 4,833 cows) show that the conditions for ensuring appropriate behaviour meet only minimum standards and that the greatest welfare risks arise from the impossibility of expressing natural behaviour, such as exploratory behaviour. The most pronounced negative tendencies within the assessment of the emotional status were those expressed to distress, frustration and boredom. Although the estimated general condition does not differ substantially from the same on EU farms, the need for its improvement is imposed first of all in terms of ensuring greater freedom of movement and more stimulating environment in cattle rearing.

Social participation in schoolyards is crucial for children’s development. Yet, schoolyard environments contain features that can hinder children’s social participation. In this paper, we empirically examine schoolyards to identify existing obstacles. Traditionally, this type of study requires huge amounts of detailed information about children in a given environment. Collecting such data is exceedingly difficult and expensive. In this study, we present a novel sensor data-driven approach for gathering this information and examining the effect of schoolyard environments on children’s behaviours in light of schoolyard affordances and individual effectivities. Sensor data is collected from 150 children at two primary schools, using location trackers, proximity tags, and Multi-Motion receivers to measure locations, face-to-face contacts, and activities. Results show strong potential for this data-driven approach, as it allows collecting data from individuals and their interactions with schoolyard environments, examining the triad of physical, social, and cultural affordances in schoolyards, and identifying factors that significantly impact children's behaviours. Based on this approach, we further obtain better knowledge on the impact of these factors and identify limitations in schoolyard designs, which can inform schools, designers, and policymakers about current problems and practical solutions.

Group housing of lactating rabbit does is desirable from a welfare standpoint, but agonistic behaviour can cause severe skin injuries, which are undesired for animal welfare. Park layout, creating hiding places and escape possibilities, may help redirect attention away from fighting, which could in turn help prevent skin damage. An experiment was performed to test whether more damaging behaviour would occur in a combi park (with nest box panels) after mixing, compared to a regular park for fatteners, as nest box panels would obstruct does when escaping aggressive interactions. In addition, the position of the PVC pipe underneath the platform differed between parks (longitudinal or transversal), resulting in different escape routes. Twenty-two parks were used, in which 5 does per park were grouped at 23 d of lactation until weaning at 36 d of lactation. Skin injuries were scored at 4 d after grouping and on the day before weaning. The presence of nest box panels in a combi park and the position of the PVC pipe underneath the platform did not affect the level of skin damage. Moderate to severe injuries were observed, mostly at the hind quarters, ears and head. Five to 6% of the does were severely injured (wounds). There was a positive relationship between the average skin injury per park at 4 d after grouping and at weaning. On average, average injury score per park increased from grouping to weaning, but there are differences between individual parks. From this experiment it can be concluded that group housing of lactating rabbit does involves animals getting injured. In fact, 5 to 6% of the does were severely injured (wounds). Social dynamics of group housed does are insufficiently understood and might be important to reduce damaging behaviour in group housing.

Objective: To explore the impact of inadequate sleep and associated factors on the social behaviour and food consumption of children and adolescents.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Sleep information, social behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), food consumption, demography, nutritional status, lifestyle, and biochemical tests were investigated.Participants: School children in the 4th grade of the municipal school system of a large Brazilian city.Results: Of a total of 797 schoolchildren, 50·9 % were female, with a median age of 9·7 (9·5-10·0) years old and an energy consumption of 7613·6 (5982·7-9766·2) kJ. It was determined that 31·6 % were overweight, and 76·8 % reported insufficient weekly practice of physical activity. A median of 9·6 (8·9-10·5) h of sleep (lower values on weekdays: 9·3 v. 10·5 h, P < 0·001) was recorded. In addition, 27 % of the individuals who experienced inadequate sleep (<9 h) engaged in longer screen time daily (≥2 h/d) (P = 0·05), had an inadequate bedtime (> 22 h) or adequate wake-up time (5-7 h), studied in the morning (P < 0·001) and never took a shower before school (P < 0·001). Of the entire sample, 9·9 % had poor or very poor sleep quality and a greater probability of sleep talking regularly, had difficulty falling asleep, and engaged in inadequate social behaviour while experiencing these conditions compared with those with positive sleep quality. There was no association between sleep and the other variables investigated.Conclusions: Sleep impairment contributed to changes in sleep and social behaviour in schoolchildren. The findings of this study may reinforce the importance of developing actions to promote adequate sleep and a healthy lifestyle at school age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When people do wrong and then apologise for it, others may react by believing what the apologiser says (or not), forgiving them, thinking they were truly sorry and believing the apology helps the victim. In three scenario studies with a total of 1,669 respondents, we examined how ratings of the different reactions varied with the transgressor's profession, the nature of the victim and the perspective taken by the judge. These three factors all influenced reactions to the wrongdoing. In general, politicians were rated as being less believable, trustworthy, and less likely to be sorry than doctors; willingness to forgive decreased when the victim was junior; and respondents' attitudes towards the admission of an offence varied as a function of the specific perspective that they took. However, we also found that the different dimensions of the reactions varied differently with these factors and were not highly correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex is a pervasive factor that underpins functional phenotypic variation across a range of traits. Although sex can usually be distinguished morphologically, in some species this is not possible. The development of genetic markers for sex identification is, thus, key if we are to incorporate sex into an understanding of ecological or evolutionary process. Here we develop genetic markers for the identification of sex within an iconic Australian lizard group, the Egernia group, which is notable for its complex social behaviour. We used restriction-site associated DNA sequencing to characterise sex-specific genetic sequences for a key member of the group, Liopholis whitii, and designed primers for four of these putative sex-specific sequences. These primers amplified across some, but not all, species of the group. Our results provided several important insights. They suggest conservatism of a XX/XY sex determination system within the group as well as sex-specific genomic regions that appear independent of the conserved genomic regions identified in other skink species. More broadly, the development of sex markers for the Egernia group opens up a range of potential research questions related to the role that sex plays in the mediation of social behaviour and, through this, the emergence and stability of social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Oxytocin plays an important role in social recognition in rodents, which is mediated predominantly by the olfactory system. Although oxytocin modulates neural activity in the olfactory bulb, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we studied how direct infusion of oxytocin into the olfactory bulb affect social interactions in mice and modulate the neural activity of mitral/tufted cells in the olfactory bulb. Methods: A three‐chamber social interaction test was used in the behavioural test. For in vivo studies, single unit recordings, local field potential recordings and fibre photometry recordings were used to record the neural activity of olfactory bulb. For in vitro studies, we performed patch clamp recordings in the slice of the olfactory bulb. Results: Behaviourally, direct oxytocin infusion in olfactory bulb increased performance in a social interaction task. Moreover, odour‐evoked responses of mitral/tufted cells and neural discrimination of odours were both enhanced by oxytocin, whereas the spontaneous firing rate of mitral/tufted cells was reduced. At the neural network level, oxytocin decreased the amplitude of odour‐evoked high gamma responses. At the cell population level, oxytocin decreased odour‐evoked calcium responses (reflecting neural activity) specifically in granule cells. Moreover, in vitro slice recordings revealed that the inhibitory effect of oxytocin on mitral cell activity is mediated mainly by modulation of ATP‐sensitive potassium channels and involves the oxytocin receptor–Gq–PLC–IP3 signalling pathway. Conclusion: Oxytocin modulates social interaction, likely by increasing the signal‐to‐noise ratio of odour responses in mitral cells which is partly through ATP‐sensitive potassium channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social species often show intraspecific variation in the size and composition of their social units, i.e. the social organization. This variation represents a challenge for comparative studies trying to understand evolutionary transitions in social organization complexity. Most studies on intraspecific variation in social organization (IVSO) have focused on the environmental factors selecting for variation in social organization but the mechanisms underlying such variation remain relatively unexplored. Here we investigated the potential mechanisms giving rise to IVSO in the Caribbean cleaning goby Elacatinus prochilos. This small reef fish typically exhibits two types of social organization, pair living or group living, which not only differ in group size but also in feeding strategy and social behaviour. Pair-living gobies cooperatively feed on ectoparasites removed from larger visiting fish, while group-living gobies feed on microinvertebrates living inside sponges and aggressively defend the best feeding spots against each other. We tested how flexible the social organization, social structure and competition over a food source of E. prochilos are by experimentally manipulating group composition, habitat structure and feeding condition of pair-living and group-living wild adult gobies in laboratory. Despite having different original social organizations in the wild, both pair-living and group-living gobies formed dominance hierarchies and exhibited affiliative behaviours in our group manipulations. This indicates that IVSO in this species is not driven by pre-determined or early-developed mechanisms, but rather a consequence of flexibility in social organization, also known as social flexibility. • We investigated the mechanisms of social organization variation in E. prochilos. • We used a controlled group manipulation to test the behavioural flexibility of individuals. • Individuals exhibiting different social organizations in the wild converged in social behaviour. • This indicates that variable social organization is driven by social flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory and behavioural lateralization is thought to increase neural efficiency and facilitate coordinated behaviour across much of the animal kingdom. Complementary laterality, when tasks are lateralized to opposite sides, can increase the efficiency of multitasking, but predictable behaviour may increase predation risk. Laterality is, however, variable in its scale, existing at both the population and individual level. Population level lateralization is thought to facilitate coordination of social behaviours whereas individual level biases may promote behavioural efficiency. We studied behavioural lateralization in sympatric wild populations of two terrestrial frog species: the Ecuador poison frog, Ameerega bilinguis , and its Batesian mimic the sanguine poison frog, Allobates zaparo. We used a multivariate approach to study lateralization across four different behaviours: two social behaviours (interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics) and two nonsocial behaviours (interactions with prey and a simulated predator). We investigated three questions: (1) at what scale is behaviour lateralized, (2) are behaviours lateralized in a complementary manner, and (3) are social and nonsocial behaviours lateralized at different scales? We found no evidence of population level lateralization nor complementary laterality, and limited evidence for individual level lateralization in Al. zaparo but not Am. bilinguis. We found only weak evidence for differences in lateralization between social and nonsocial behaviour and only in Al. zaparo , although counter to our prediction, social behaviour was not lateralized but nonsocial behaviour was weakly lateralized at the individual level. However, we did detect robust, species- and task-specific within-individual correlations. Specifically, Am. bilinguis showed shared side use in individuals for certain tasks between consecutive trials, while Al. zaparo showed alternating side use in individuals for certain tasks between consecutive trials. Our results suggest that lateralization may be more variable than previously thought and manifest in an episodic fashion under certain conditions. • Behavioural lateralization can be expressed at the population and individual level. • The benefits of laterality will differ between species and between behaviours. • We investigated the level of laterality across four behaviours in two frog species. • No evidence of population level and minimal support for individual level laterality. • Laterality was evident in species- and task-specific within-individual correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naked mole‐rats express many unusual traits for such a small rodent. Their morphology, social behaviour, physiology, and ageing have been well studied over the past half‐century. Many early findings and speculations about this subterranean species persist in the literature, although some have been repeatedly questioned or refuted. While the popularity of this species as a natural‐history curiosity, and oversimplified story‐telling in science journalism, might have fuelled the perpetuation of such misconceptions, an accurate understanding of their biology is especially important for this new biomedical model organism. We review 28 of these persistent myths about naked mole‐rat sensory abilities, ecophysiology, social behaviour, development and ageing, and where possible we explain how these misunderstandings came about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although many studies have suggested that students' externalizing (aggressive and rule‐breaking) behaviour is detrimental to their academic achievement, the underlying mechanisms have rarely been investigated. Aims: We conducted a longitudinal investigation of whether the negative relation between externalizing behaviour and academic achievement operationalized as grades and test scores is mediated by students' task‐focused behaviour while controlling for the effects of initial achievement and general cognitive abilities. We conducted separate analyses for different rating perspectives (i.e., parents and teachers) on students' externalizing behaviour to investigate the robustness of effects and determined whether gender moderated the mediation. Sample: Participants were N = 1,039 students in 55 classes from different school types who were followed from fifth to ninth grade. Method: In fifth grade, parents and teachers rated students' externalizing behaviour, and students were administered standardized tests in mathematics, German, and general cognitive abilities. In seventh grade, teachers rated students' task‐focused behaviour. In ninth grade, students were again administered standardized tests in mathematics and German, and their grades were obtained from school registries. Results: Structural equation models consistently revealed indirect effects of externalizing behaviour via task‐focused behaviour on grades and test scores beyond effects of initial achievement and general cognitive abilities. Result patterns were similar for parents' and teachers' ratings of externalizing behaviour and male and female students. Conclusions: This study extends knowledge about the negative relation between externalizing behaviour and academic achievement in adolescents by showing that there is an indirect relation through task‐focused behaviour. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mice, both wild and laboratory strains, emit ultrasound to communicate. The sex differences between male to female (male–female) and female to female (female–female) ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have been discussed for decades. In the present study, we compared the number of USVs emitted to familiar and unfamiliar females by both males (male–female USVs) and females (female–female USVs). We found that females vocalized more to unfamiliar than to familiar females. By contrast, males exhibited more USVs to familiar partners. This sexually dimorphic behaviour suggests that mice change their vocal behaviour in response to the social context, and their perception of the context is based on social cognition and memory. In addition, because males vocalized more to familiar females, USVs appear to be not only a response to novel objects or individuals, but also a social response.

The study investigated the relationship between the temperature humidity index (THI) and the behaviour of 24 young fattening Limousin bulls reared in two farms in Tuscany, Italy. In each farm, six animals were undergone to ceiling fans (switched on at THI values up to 72), and six animals represented the control group. The trial lasted three days for two consecutive weeks in August 2020. Behavioural observations were conducted using scan sampling technique and eating, ruminating, drinking, resting and other social activities were registered every 5 min, from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm. Two different microclimatic conditions were evaluated to assess the effect of the ventilation system: normal (THI < 78) and alert (THI ≥ 78) conditions. Results showed that the ventilation system had significant effects increasing inactivity and lying down compared to control groups and decreasing eating and drinking activities. THI alert condition caused a significant decrease in eating and an increase in lying down behaviours. Ventilation system did not influence the animals’ cleanliness. The ceiling fans’ efficiency in changing the behaviour of young fattening bulls was demonstrated but further studies are needed to assess the ventilation system effects, especially during longer heat stress periods.

Until recently, little attention has been paid to the existence of kin structure in the sea, despite the fact that many marine organisms are sessile or sedentary. This lack of attention to kin structure, and its impacts on social evolution, historically stems from the pervasive assumption that the dispersal of gametes and larvae is almost always sufficient to prevent any persistent associations of closely related offspring or adults. However, growing evidence, both theoretical and empirical, casts doubt on the generality of this assumption, not only in species with limited dispersal, but also in species with long dispersive phases. Moreover, many marine organisms either internally brood their progeny or package them in nurseries, both of which provide ample opportunities for kinship to influence the nature and outcomes of social interactions among family members. As the evidence for kin structure within marine populations mounts, it follows that kin selection may play a far greater role in the evolution of both behaviours and life histories of marine organisms than is presently appreciated.

Kin selection may act differently on genes inherited from parents (matrigenes and patrigenes), resulting in intragenomic conflict. This conflict can be observed as differential expression of matrigenes and patrigenes, or parent‐specific gene expression (PSGE). In honey bees (Apis mellifera), intragenomic conflict is hypothesized to occur in multiple social contexts. Previously, we found that patrigene‐biased expression in reproductive tissues was associated with increased reproductive potential in worker honey bees, consistent with the prediction that patrigenes are selected to promote selfish behaviour in this context. Here, we examined brain gene expression patterns to determine if PSGE is also found in other tissues. As before, the number of transcripts showing patrigene expression bias was significantly greater in the brains of reproductive vs. sterile workers, while the number of matrigene‐biased transcripts was not significantly different. Twelve transcripts out of the 374 showing PSGE in either tissue showed PSGE in both brain and reproductive tissues; this overlap was significantly greater than expected by chance. However, the majority of transcripts show PSGE only in one tissue, suggesting the epigenetic mechanisms mediating PSGE exhibit plasticity between tissues. There was no significant overlap between transcripts that showed PSGE and transcripts that were significantly differentially expressed. Weighted gene correlation network analysis identified modules which were significantly enriched in both types of transcripts, suggesting that these genes may influence each other through gene networks. Our results provide further support for the kin selection theory of intragenomic conflict, and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms which may mediate this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the predictions of state‐dependent life‐history theory, telomeres are hypothesized to either correlate with or function as an adaptive, proximate mediator of an individual's behaviour and life‐history strategy. To further understand the relationship between telomeres, behaviour and life‐history strategies, we measured male behaviour, telomere lengths and telomere dynamics in a free‐living population of known‐age, male wire‐tailed manakins Pipra filicauda.Male wire‐tailed manakins perform coordinated displays with other males at leks and these displays form the basis of long‐term coalition partnerships. Males exhibit consistent individual differences in the number of social partners within their social network and the frequency of social interactions. Male sociality is also positively correlated with both social rise and reproductive success.We measured male behaviour using a telemetry‐based, proximity datalogging system and blood telomere lengths were quantified using qPCR. We examined the relationships between telomere length, telomere dynamics, social status, and male behaviour. We also quantified the repeatability of telomere lengths, examined age‐related changes in telomere length, and tested for instances of telomere elongation that exceed residual error in telomere length.Telomere length was found to be highly repeatable. More social males exhibited shorter telomeres and higher rates of telomere attrition. Telomeres did not significantly vary with age within or between individuals in either of the male social classes. Two out of 25 individuals exhibited patterns telomere elongation that exceeded residual error in telomere measurements.Here we show that telomeres consistently vary between male wire‐tailed manakins and these differences are related to variation in male social behaviour. In this relatively long‐lived species, telomeres appear to be flexible traits that can increase or decrease in length. Overall, this study provides observational support for the hypothesis that telomeres act as a molecular marker that relates to behaviour in a state‐dependent manner. We also provide insight into the molecular consequences of individual variation in male social behaviour. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioural condition. This article introduces a new data science method, word association thematic analysis, to investigate whether ADHD tweets can give insights into patient concerns and online communication needs. Tweets matching "my ADHD" (n=58,893) and 99 other conditions (n=1,341,442) were gathered and two thematic analyses conducted. Analysis 1: A standard thematic analysis of ADHD-related tweets. Analysis 2: A word association thematic analysis of themes unique to ADHD. The themes that emerged from the two analyses included people ascribing their brains agency to explain and justify their symptoms and using the concept of neurodivergence for a positive self-image. This is a single case study and the results may differ for other topics. Health professionals should be sensitive to patients' needs to understand their behaviour, find ways to justify and explain it to others and to be positive about their condition. Word association thematic analysis can give new insights into the (self-reported) patient perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal signalling reinforces specific messages in communication. In gopher tortoises, similar to other reptilian species, visualization of conspecific and chemical exudates from the skin may serve as a multimodal display advertising information about conspecific species, sex, or individual qualities, but this has not been fully elucidated. For gopher tortoises, one such possible source of chemical cues could be secretions from seasonally enlarged mental glands (MG). Here, we used both sexes of gopher tortoises in a paired choice presentation of MG secretions vs. distilled (DI) water on resin tortoise models to assess visual presence with tortoise-specific secretions. We examined behaviours to treatments to examine if MG secretions are recognizable olfactory cues and if visual cues alone are sufficient to maintain social interactions using a simple visual presentation vs. a complex visual and olfactory presentation. Tortoises of both sexes spent more total time (p < 0.001) and performed a greater number of behaviours (p < 0.001) towards the MG-treated model, relative to the neutral control (DI-treated model), suggesting that olfactory MG secretions are also required, along with visual presence of a tortoise, to engage in social behaviours. Our results are among the first for this species suggesting that pheromone usage may drive social interactions in social behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical studies show that children exposed to anaesthetics for short times at young age perform normally on intelligence tests, but display altered social behaviours. In non-human primates (NHPs), infant anaesthesia exposure for several hours causes neurobehavioural impairments, including delayed motor reflex development and increased anxiety-related behaviours assessed by provoked response testing. However, the effects of anaesthesia on spontaneous social behaviours in juvenile NHPs have not been investigated. We hypothesised that multiple, but not single, 5 h isoflurane exposures in infant NHPs are associated with impairments in specific cognitive domains and altered social behaviours at juvenile age.Methods: Eight Rhesus macaques per group were anaesthetised for 5 h using isoflurane one (1×) or three (3×) times between postnatal days 6 and 12 or were exposed to room air (control). Cognitive testing, behavioural assessments in the home environment, and provoked response testing were performed during the first 2 yr of life.Results: The cognitive functions tested did not differ amongst groups. However, compared to controls, NHPs in the 3× group showed less close social behaviour (P=0.016), and NHPs in the 1× group displayed increased anxiety-related behaviours (P=0.038) and were more inhibited towards novel objects (P<0.001).Conclusions: 5 h exposures of NHPs to isoflurane during infancy are associated with decreased close social behaviour after multiple exposures and more anxiety-related behaviours and increased behavioural inhibition after single exposure, but they do not affect the cognitive domains tested. Our findings are consistent with behavioural alterations in social settings reported in clinical studies, which may guide future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although parasitism is often considered a cost of sociality, the evidence is mixed, possibly because sociality is multivariate. Here we contrast the dependence of parasitism costs on major social variables such as group size and social structure, as measured by network metrics. We conduct two robust phylogenetic meta-analyses, comprising 43 published results for studies with group size and 32 results with social structure metrics. This is the first meta-analytical test of this hypothesis for mammals as a whole. Contrarily to theoretical expectations and previous meta-analyses, there is no relationship between group size and parasitism, but we find conflicting results when analysing different aspects of sociality. Our analysis reveals that social structure is connected to parasite load, possibly because contact between group members, and not group size, is linked to parasite transmission. While more intensely interconnected groups facilitate parasite transmission, large groups are frequently fragmented into smaller, weakly connected subgroups. Strong social modularisation should thus be favoured by natural selection to hamper parasite overload. Future empirical studies should focus on specific parameters of social network structure and on parasite transmissibility. If social structure can evolve fast, even culturally, then host/parasites evolutionary games enter into a whole new fast dynamics, and animal conservation studies should take advantage of this possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to understand the constitutive elements of masculinity that permeated the childhood and/or adolescence of men in criminal proceedings for marital violence. Method: qualitative study using the methodological framework Oral History of Life. Interviews were conducted with 13 men in criminal proceedings for marital violence linked to the 2nd Court of Justice for Home Peace in the municipality of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The data were interpreted in the light of the theoretical framework on masculinity. Results: men's childhood/adolescence was permeated by masculinity constructs, mostly influenced by the father figure. They are: the distancing of female games, affective dullness, infidelity, family provision and dominance and family violence. Final Considerations: even though it is not possible to affirm that these patterns have influenced the development of aggressiveness, it is inferable that observation, encouragement, imposition and conviviality with the elements of masculinity have contributed to delineate the character of the participants and reflected in their conducts in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social behaviour of New Zealand's native lizards is poorly understood. We explored the social behaviour of the Otago skink (Oligosoma otagense), one of New Zealand's largest and rarest species of lizards. The Otago skink has previously been observed in the wild in pairs and groups, but little else is known about its social behaviour. We studied the social behaviour of a translocated population of 32 skinks in an outdoor enclosure at Ōrokonui Ecosanctuary. Regular photo surveys were conducted from November 2017 to October 2018 to identify skinks and the social interactions among them. Skinks were observed to be either solitary or interacting in groups consisting of two to eight individuals. Social network analysis was used to determine the strength of the interactions between adult males, adult females, subadults and juveniles. We assessed the stability of social interactions in the population over time by comparing the persistence of social interactions between seasons (summer, autumn/winter and winter/spring) while taking into account the size and composition of a social group. Interactions between adults and subadults were stable across autumn/winter and winter/spring whereas juveniles showed no stability in their interaction patterns during this time. During the course of the study, there was an overall stability in the social networks, indicating that the stability of social interactions present in the translocated population is largely driven by the adults and subadults in the enclosure. Our work suggests that incorporating an understanding of sociality into capture procedures may minimise disruption to social structures and ultimately improve outcomes of translocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]