Social flexibility, that is, the expression of different types social systems within one species, has been reported in several mammalian taxa, including rodents. However, sociality rodents studied mostly captivity and results are often regarded as laboratory artifacts. We present field data for 2 populations striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio), a diurnal muroid rodent from southern Africa. The inhabit environments demonstrate differences organization. R. pumilio arid succulent karoo lives...

Environmental change poses challenges to many organisms. The resilience of a species such depends on its ability respond adaptively. Social flexibility is an adaptive response, whereby individuals both sexes their reproductive tactics facultatively in response fluctuating environmental conditions, leading changes the social system. focuses individual flexibility, and provides unique opportunity study ultimate proximate causes sociality by comparing between solitary group-living same...

Abstract While for decades behavioural ecologists have studied the costs and benefits of group living, solitary living has received little attention. Instead, it was assumed to be default stage from which sociality evolved. Mammals underwent around 200 million years social evolution, with a few species evolving communal or cooperative breeding in harsh environments. Other mammal are successful exactly same many other environments, indicating that is beneficial under environmental conditions....

The authors studied the striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) in semiarid succulent karoo of South Africa. Mice forage alone, but they live groups that share a common nest. Groups consist 1 to 4 breeding females, 2 males, and their offspring both sexes, which remain natal group even after reaching adulthood, participating territorial defense nest building without showing signs reproductive activity. Interactions are typically amicable take place inside or front In contrast, encounters with mice...

Animals may respond to seasonally changing environments with physiological and behavioral strategies. Whereas migration is a strategy used by many taxa, it not be an option for small mammals. However, mammals can vary the area of habitat in which they are active. The striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio semiarid Succulent Karoo South Africa lives seasonal environment, characterized hot, dry summers low food abundance cold, wet winters, followed high spring. We radio tracked total 28 females...

1. Social groups typically form due to delayed dispersal of adult offspring when no opportunities for independent breeding exist, or the costs are higher than remaining philopatric. Ecological constraints thought be a main reason group-living in animals. 2. Reproductive competition within can induce high philopatry, and is solitary living. 3. Experimental manipulation reproductive difficult. One solution compare sociality between periods with without competition. 4. Here, we show empirically...

Summary 1. While the reasons for group‐living have been studied decades, little is known about why individuals become solitary. 2. Several previous experimental studies could demonstrate that can arises as a consequence of ecological constraints. 3. It has argued reproductive competition between group members leads to significant costs group‐living, being main reason solitary‐living. However, so far, no tested experimentally whether explain 4. Using socially flexible species, African striped...

Prolactin has long been known to play a significant role in maternal care. When behavioral endocrinologists began examine the endocrinology of fatherhood, prolactin was also found be connected with paternal care fish, birds, and mammals including primates.

Summary Free‐living animals make complex decisions associated with optimizing energy and nutrient intake. In environments where ambient temperatures fall below the thermoneutral zone, homeotherms must choose whether or not to forage, how long what forage for, perform activities that conserve energy. Huddling in groups has been thought of as a possible means conserving Laboratory studies have shown at low individuals expend less than by themselves. However, yet demonstrate thermoregulatory...

The relative plasticity hypothesis predicts that alternative tactics are associated with changes in steroid hormone levels. In species male reproductive tactics, the highest androgen levels have usually been reported dominant males. However, sociable species, males show amicable behaviors to gain access females, which might conflict high testosterone We compared testosterone, corticosterone, and resting metabolic rate striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) following a conditional strategy three...

Sex-biased dispersal is observed in many taxa, but few studies have compared sex-biased among and within populations. We addressed the magnitude habitat dependency of social African striped mice by separating group-related from population-related genetic variance to understand contribution each sex deme structure. As over unoccupied likely be more costly than a population, we predicted that individuals leaving natal population lower body condition, being inferior heavier territorial...

1. In many species, males can use different behavioural tactics to achieve fertilization, so-called alternative reproductive (ARTs). Few field studies have measured fitness consequences of ARTs under varying environmental conditions. 2. Here, we describe three phenotypically plastic in the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) and show that relative differs between years. Each year represents a generation. 3. For generation living high population density, differed accordance with theory...

Studying the association between fitness and cognition in free-living animals is a fundamental step elucidation of evolution cognition. We assessed whether survival until onset breeding season was related to reaction time or spatial memory African striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio, rodent that has survive summer drought before breeding. tested total 90 individuals at beginning summer. Female faster response predation stimuli. Male increased with greater memory, possibly because it important...

Kin selection is important for understanding the evolution of social behaviour in group-living species. Yet, role kinship solitary species has received little attention. We studied how influences intraspecific variation organization and spatial structure a predominantly species, bush Karoo rat, Otomys unisulcatus, from Succulent semidesert South Africa. predicted that if groups occur, they should consist close kin. further not random, but kin live closer to each other. Over 5 years we...

Paternal care is rare in mammals, occurring mainly carnivores and neotropical primates, which the difficulties of long generation time large individuals lead to small sample sizes. Here, authors show that paternal can be easily studied four-striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) because (a) captive males all patterns parental as do females, with obvious exception nursing; (b) field, wild act amicably toward juveniles retrieve pups experimentally presented them; (c) striped facilitates...