Wild jackdaws can selectively adjust their social associations while preserving valuable long-term relationships

Nature Communications, vol. 14, pp. 5103

Abstract

Influential theories of the evolution of cognition and cooperation posit that tracking information about others allows individuals to adjust their social associations strategically, re-shaping social networks to favour connections between compatible partners. Crucially, to our knowledge, this has yet to be tested experimentally in natural populations, where the need to maintain long-term, fitness-enhancing relationships may limit social plasticity. Using a social-network-manipulation experiment, we show that wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula) learned to favour social associations with compatible group members (individuals that provided greater returns from social foraging interactions), but resultant change in network structure was constrained by the preservation of valuable pre-existing relationships. Our findings provide insights into the cognitive basis of social plasticity and the interplay between individual decision-making and social-network structure.

Authors 6

1. Michael Kings corresponding

   University of Exeter

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK. mkings1024@gmail.com

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK

2. Josh J. Arbon corresponding

   University of Exeter · University of Bristol

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK. josh.arbon@bristol.ac.uk

   School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK. josh.arbon@bristol.ac.uk

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK

3. Guillam E. McIvor

   University of Exeter

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK

4. Andrew N. Radford

   University of Bristol

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK

5. Jürgen Lerner Aachen HumTec Institute

   University of Konstanz · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany

   HumTec Institute, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany

6. Alex Thornton corresponding

   University of Exeter

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK. alex.thornton@exeter.ac.uk

   Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK