ABSTRACT
Intra-group social stability is important for the long-term productivity and health of social organisms. We evaluated the effect of group size on group stability in the face of repeated social perturbations using a cooperatively breeding fish, Neolamprologus pulcher. In a laboratory study, we compared both the social and physiological responses of individuals from small versus large groups to the repeated removal and replacement of the most dominant group member (the breeder male), either with a new male (treatment condition) or with the same male (control condition). Individuals living in large groups were overall more resistant to instability but were seemingly slower to recover from perturbation. Members of small groups were more vulnerable to instability but recovered faster. Breeder females in smaller groups also showed greater physiological preparedness for instability following social perturbations. In sum, we discover both behavioral and physiological evidence that living in larger groups helps to dampen the impacts of social instability in this system.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: H.M.A., A.G.L., D.N.F., B.L.M., B.M.C., S.B., J.N.P.; Methodology: H.M.A., A.G.L., D.N.F., B.L.M., B.M.C., S.B., J.N.P.; Formal analysis: A.G.L., J.N.P.; Investigation: H.M.A., A.G.L., D.N.F., B.L.M., B.M.C., S.B.; Resources: S.B., J.N.P.; Data curation: H.M.A., A.G.L.; Writing - original draft: H.M.A., A.G.L., J.N.P.; Writing - review & editing: H.M.A., A.G.L., D.N.F., B.L.M., B.M.C., S.B., J.N.P.; Visualization: A.G.L.; Supervision: H.M.A., A.G.L., B.M.C., S.B., J.N.P.; Project administration: H.M.A., A.G.L., S.B., J.N.P.; Funding acquisition: S.B., J.N.P.
Funding
Funding for these studies herein was generously provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grants to J.N.P. (RGPIN-2019-06951) and S.B. (RGPIN-2016-05772) and the Canada 150 Research Program to J.N.P.
Supplementary information
Supplementary information available online at https://jeb.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.217075.supplemental
- Received October 24, 2019.
- Accepted June 4, 2020.
- © 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
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