Social evolution

@misc{ref1894social1,
    author = "---",
    title = "Social evolution",
    year = "1894",
    howpublished = "Londan/New York, Macmillan \& Co",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {---, 1894, Social evolution: Londan/New York, Macmillan \& Co.}"
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@misc{crossref2009evolution,
    title = "Evolution, Social",
    year = "2009",
    booktitle = "Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, \& Culture",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963961.n196",
    doi = "10.4135/9781412963961.n196"
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In 1894, the British sociologist Benjamin Kidd published Social Evolution, an influential book that summarised and evaluated the prevailing social theories at the end of the nineteenth century: Karl Marx's socialism and Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism. Both of these conflicting theories were based on Darwinian evolutionary theory. In this book, Kidd discusses the immense changes that applied science has brought to the world and the interconnectedness of everyone. The book's ten chapters include discussions of the conditions of human progress, the function of religious beliefs, and the organisation of the working classes. Kidd found flaws in both Karl Marx's and Herbert Spencer's vision of society's future and concluded that religion was essential for the evolution of society because it acts in the interest of generational group survival rather than individual competition. Social Evolution called for a comprehensive study of society because a new era in Western civilisation was beginning.

@misc{kidd2009social,
    author = "Kidd, Benjamin",
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2009",
    abstract = "In 1894, the British sociologist Benjamin Kidd published Social Evolution, an influential book that summarised and evaluated the prevailing social theories at the end of the nineteenth century: Karl Marx's socialism and Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism. Both of these conflicting theories were based on Darwinian evolutionary theory. In this book, Kidd discusses the immense changes that applied science has brought to the world and the interconnectedness of everyone. The book's ten chapters include discussions of the conditions of human progress, the function of religious beliefs, and the organisation of the working classes. Kidd found flaws in both Karl Marx's and Herbert Spencer's vision of society's future and concluded that religion was essential for the evolution of society because it acts in the interest of generational group survival rather than individual competition. Social Evolution called for a comprehensive study of society because a new era in Western civilisation was beginning.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511694004",
    doi = "10.1017/cbo9780511694004"
}

@incollection{crossref2012social,
    title = "SOCIAL EVOLUTION",
    year = "2012",
    booktitle = "The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203092231-68",
    doi = "10.4324/9780203092231-68",
    pages = "667-679"
}

@incollection{crossref2019social,
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2019",
    booktitle = "Parasites in Social Insects",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvs32rn5.11",
    doi = "10.2307/j.ctvs32rn5.11",
    pages = "273-286"
}

This is a treatment of one of the central problems in evolutionary biology, the evolution of social co-operation and conflict. Steven Frank tackles the problem with a combination of approaches: game theory, classical models of natural selection, quantitative genetics, and kin selection. He unites these with economic thought: a theory of model formation and comparative statics, the development of simple methods for analyzing complex problems, and notions of information and rationality. The text begins by developing the three measures of value used in biology - marginal value, reproductive value, and kin selection. It then combines these measures into a coherent framework, providing a unified analysis of social evolution in its full ecological and demographic context. Frank also extends the theory of kin selection by showing that relatedness has two distinct meanings. The first is a measure of information about social partners, with close affinity to theories of correlated equilibrium and Bayesian rationality in economic game theory. The second is a measure of the fidelity by which characters are transmitted to future generations - an extended notion of heritability. Throughout, Fran

@article{doi102307jctvs32rv2,
    author = "Frank, S.",
    title = "Foundations of Social Evolution",
    year = "2019",
    abstract = "This is a treatment of one of the central problems in evolutionary biology, the evolution of social co-operation and conflict. Steven Frank tackles the problem with a combination of approaches: game theory, classical models of natural selection, quantitative genetics, and kin selection. He unites these with economic thought: a theory of model formation and comparative statics, the development of simple methods for analyzing complex problems, and notions of information and rationality. The text begins by developing the three measures of value used in biology - marginal value, reproductive value, and kin selection. It then combines these measures into a coherent framework, providing a unified analysis of social evolution in its full ecological and demographic context. Frank also extends the theory of kin selection by showing that relatedness has two distinct meanings. The first is a measure of information about social partners, with close affinity to theories of correlated equilibrium and Bayesian rationality in economic game theory. The second is a measure of the fidelity by which characters are transmitted to future generations - an extended notion of heritability. Throughout, Fran",
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Literature, which marks the major landmarks in history, focuses on events at the micro and individual level, and can thereby uncover significant social processes either overlooked or difficult to document from the historical record. This article illustrates, using Anthony Trollope’s novel Doctor Thorne, the social evolution of England in the 19th century. Trollope depicts social evolution at the level of decisions, events and acts involving individuals, which aggregate to acquire wider social significance. These movements provide insight into the evolution of society. Society has evolved over the centuries, but the evolution has been mostly unconscious. Knowledge of the process of social development revealed by the study of literature may be applied consciously to facilitate and accelerate social progress. Conscious development abridges time. Trollope’s works, like all great works of literature, can be an invaluable aid in our effort to comprehend the evolution of society and devise ways to accelerate it. Revolutions come in many forms. There are the traditional ones, with mass uprisings, violence and dethroning. In what was perhaps one of the earliest revolutions nearly three thousand years ago, the Babylonians overthrew the Assyrian empire in a long, bitter war and declared their independence. There are others, well planned and executed, that silently repaint the landscape. The Russian October Revolution was launched by Lenin, signaled by a blank shot. Hardly another shot needed to be fired as the Bolsheviks took over all critical power centers in Petrograd. They entered and almost got lost in the vast Winter Palace, stumbling upon members of the government who still remained inside. Illiterate revolutionaries compelled the arrested men to write their own arrest warrants. Thus was born the Soviet Union. Some revolutions seem doomed to failure. The Irish Rebellion failed to overthrow British rule in Ireland. The Tiananmen Square protests may be discussed the world over, but not in the land where it took place. There are yet other attempts, apparent failures, that in retrospect can be seen to mark the beginning of truly radical change. Spartacus and his 70,000 slaves who attempted to escape during the Roman slave rebellion were annihilated by the powerful Roman army, but their unconquerable spirit left an impact on the Romans, who reduced the number of their slaves, looked elsewhere for laborers, and began to treat the remaining slaves less harshly. Some are led by one man, others by countless men and women all over the land. Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution that led to the Arab Spring of 2010 began with a poor vegetable seller who did not live to see the global impact of his suicidal act. Some are carried out in ways so unconventional. Mahatma Gandhi ousted the British colonialists from India by defying

@article{doi1043249780203092231ch56,
    author = "Harish, J.",
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2019",
    journal = "Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science",
    booktitle = "The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy",
    abstract = "Literature, which marks the major landmarks in history, focuses on events at the micro and individual level, and can thereby uncover significant social processes either overlooked or difficult to document from the historical record. This article illustrates, using Anthony Trollope’s novel Doctor Thorne, the social evolution of England in the 19th century. Trollope depicts social evolution at the level of decisions, events and acts involving individuals, which aggregate to acquire wider social significance. These movements provide insight into the evolution of society. Society has evolved over the centuries, but the evolution has been mostly unconscious. Knowledge of the process of social development revealed by the study of literature may be applied consciously to facilitate and accelerate social progress. Conscious development abridges time. Trollope’s works, like all great works of literature, can be an invaluable aid in our effort to comprehend the evolution of society and devise ways to accelerate it. Revolutions come in many forms. There are the traditional ones, with mass uprisings, violence and dethroning. In what was perhaps one of the earliest revolutions nearly three thousand years ago, the Babylonians overthrew the Assyrian empire in a long, bitter war and declared their independence. There are others, well planned and executed, that silently repaint the landscape. The Russian October Revolution was launched by Lenin, signaled by a blank shot. Hardly another shot needed to be fired as the Bolsheviks took over all critical power centers in Petrograd. They entered and almost got lost in the vast Winter Palace, stumbling upon members of the government who still remained inside. Illiterate revolutionaries compelled the arrested men to write their own arrest warrants. Thus was born the Soviet Union. Some revolutions seem doomed to failure. The Irish Rebellion failed to overthrow British rule in Ireland. The Tiananmen Square protests may be discussed the world over, but not in the land where it took place. There are yet other attempts, apparent failures, that in retrospect can be seen to mark the beginning of truly radical change. Spartacus and his 70,000 slaves who attempted to escape during the Roman slave rebellion were annihilated by the powerful Roman army, but their unconquerable spirit left an impact on the Romans, who reduced the number of their slaves, looked elsewhere for laborers, and began to treat the remaining slaves less harshly. Some are led by one man, others by countless men and women all over the land. Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution that led to the Arab Spring of 2010 began with a poor vegetable seller who did not live to see the global impact of his suicidal act. Some are carried out in ways so unconventional. Mahatma Gandhi ousted the British colonialists from India by defying",
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Biologists have long been intrigued and confounded by the complex issues in the evolution and ecology of the social behaviour of insects. The self-sacrifice of sterile workers in ant colonies has been particularly difficult for evolutionary biologists to explain. This text presents an overview of the current state of scientific knowledge about social evolution in ants and shows how studies on ants have contributed to an understanding of many fundamental topics in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology. The book explains kin selection theory and sex ratio theory and their applications to social evolution in insects. Aiming to dispel lingering skepticism about the validity of kin selection and, more broadly, of "selfish gene" theory, the authors show how these ideas underpin the evolution of both co-operation and conflict within ant societies. In addition, using simple algebra, they provide detailed explanations of key mathematical models. Finally, they discuss two relatively little-known topics in ant social biology: life history strategy and mating systems.

@article{doi105860choice335080,
    author = "Bourke, A. and Franks, N.",
    title = "Social Evolution in Ants",
    year = "2019",
    journal = "Choice Reviews Online",
    abstract = {Biologists have long been intrigued and confounded by the complex issues in the evolution and ecology of the social behaviour of insects. The self-sacrifice of sterile workers in ant colonies has been particularly difficult for evolutionary biologists to explain. This text presents an overview of the current state of scientific knowledge about social evolution in ants and shows how studies on ants have contributed to an understanding of many fundamental topics in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology. The book explains kin selection theory and sex ratio theory and their applications to social evolution in insects. Aiming to dispel lingering skepticism about the validity of kin selection and, more broadly, of "selfish gene" theory, the authors show how these ideas underpin the evolution of both co-operation and conflict within ant societies. In addition, using simple algebra, they provide detailed explanations of key mathematical models. Finally, they discuss two relatively little-known topics in ant social biology: life history strategy and mating systems.},
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0daf0e00e7f7e25a120cc285202956776893d596",
    doi = "10.5860/choice.33-5080",
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    volume = "33"
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@incollection{crossref2021social,
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2021",
    booktitle = "Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3\_304894",
    doi = "10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3\_304894",
    pages = "7686-7686"
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@article{doi10100797830306594311,
    author = "Faulkes, C. G. and Bennett, N.",
    title = "Social Evolution in African Mole-Rats - A Comparative Overview.",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Advances in experimental medicine and biology",
    booktitle = "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/96ed88ebdb60b0328820e4ea476cfb2c507b3898",
    doi = "10.1007/978-3-030-65943-1\_1",
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    pages = "1-33",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "22",
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Significance Gene duplication is a major source of evolutionary innovation and is associated with the increases in biological complexity and adaptive radiation. Termites are model social organisms characterized by a sophisticated caste system. We analyzed the genome of the Japanese subterranean termite, an ecologically and economically important insect acting as a destructive pest. The analyses revealed the significance of gene duplication in social evolution. Gene duplication associated with caste-biased gene expression was prevalent in the termite genome. Many of the duplicated genes were related to social functions, such as chemical communication, social immunity, and defense, and they were often expressed in caste-specific organs. We propose that gene duplication facilitates social evolution through regulatory diversification leading to caste-biased expression and functional specialization. Termites are model social organisms characterized by a polyphenic caste system. Subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae) are ecologically and economically important species, including acting as destructive pests. Rhinotermitidae occupies an important evolutionary position within the clade representing a transitional taxon between the higher (Termitidae) and lower (other families) termites. Here, we report the genome, transcriptome, and methylome of the Japanese subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus. Our analyses highlight the significance of gene duplication in social evolution in this termite. Gene duplication associated with caste-biased gene expression was prevalent in the R. speratus genome. The duplicated genes comprised diverse categories related to social functions, including lipocalins (chemical communication), cellulases (wood digestion and social interaction), lysozymes (social immunity), geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (social defense), and a novel class of termite lineage–specific genes with unknown functions. Paralogous genes were often observed in tandem in the genome, but their expression patterns were highly variable, exhibiting caste biases. Some of the assayed duplicated genes were expressed in caste-specific organs, such as the accessory glands of the queen ovary and the frontal glands of soldier heads. We propose that gene duplication facilitates social evolution through regulatory diversification, leading to caste-biased expression and subfunctionalization and/or neofunctionalization conferring caste-specialized functions.

@article{doi101073pnas2110361119,
    author = "Shigenobu, S. and Hayashi, Y. and Watanabe, Dai and Tokuda, G. and Hojo, Masaru and Toga, Kouhei and Saiki, Ryota and Yaguchi, H. and Masuoka, Yudai and Suzuki, Ryutaro and Suzuki, Shogo and Kimura, Moe and Matsunami, M. and Sugime, Yasuhiro and Oguchi, K. and Niimi, T. and Gotoh, H. and Hojo, M. and Miyazaki, S. and Toyoda, A. and Miura, T. and Maekawa, K.",
    title = "Genomic and transcriptomic analyses of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus: Gene duplication facilitates social evolution",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
    abstract = "Significance Gene duplication is a major source of evolutionary innovation and is associated with the increases in biological complexity and adaptive radiation. Termites are model social organisms characterized by a sophisticated caste system. We analyzed the genome of the Japanese subterranean termite, an ecologically and economically important insect acting as a destructive pest. The analyses revealed the significance of gene duplication in social evolution. Gene duplication associated with caste-biased gene expression was prevalent in the termite genome. Many of the duplicated genes were related to social functions, such as chemical communication, social immunity, and defense, and they were often expressed in caste-specific organs. We propose that gene duplication facilitates social evolution through regulatory diversification leading to caste-biased expression and functional specialization. Termites are model social organisms characterized by a polyphenic caste system. Subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae) are ecologically and economically important species, including acting as destructive pests. Rhinotermitidae occupies an important evolutionary position within the clade representing a transitional taxon between the higher (Termitidae) and lower (other families) termites. Here, we report the genome, transcriptome, and methylome of the Japanese subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus. Our analyses highlight the significance of gene duplication in social evolution in this termite. Gene duplication associated with caste-biased gene expression was prevalent in the R. speratus genome. The duplicated genes comprised diverse categories related to social functions, including lipocalins (chemical communication), cellulases (wood digestion and social interaction), lysozymes (social immunity), geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (social defense), and a novel class of termite lineage–specific genes with unknown functions. Paralogous genes were often observed in tandem in the genome, but their expression patterns were highly variable, exhibiting caste biases. Some of the assayed duplicated genes were expressed in caste-specific organs, such as the accessory glands of the queen ovary and the frontal glands of soldier heads. We propose that gene duplication facilitates social evolution through regulatory diversification, leading to caste-biased expression and subfunctionalization and/or neofunctionalization conferring caste-specialized functions.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110361119",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.2110361119",
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Animal sociality plays a crucial organisational role in evolution. As a result, understanding the factors that promote the emergence, maintenance, and diversification of animal societies is of great interest to biologists. Climate is among the foremost ecological factors implicated in evolutionary transitions in social organisation, but we are only beginning to unravel the possible mechanisms and specific climatic variables that underlie these associations. Ambient temperature is a key abiotic factor shaping the spatio‐temporal distribution of individuals and has a particularly strong influence on behaviour. Whether such effects play a broader role in social evolution remains to be seen. In this review, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding how thermal effects integrate into pathways that mediate the opportunities, nature, and context of social interactions. We then implement this framework to discuss the capacity for temperature to initiate organisational changes across three broad categories of social evolution: group formation, group maintenance, and group elaboration. For each category, we focus on pivotal traits likely to have underpinned key social transitions and explore the potential for temperature to affect changes in these traits by leveraging empirical examples from the literature on thermal and behavioural ecology. Finally, we discuss research directions that should be prioritised to understand the potentially constructive and/or destructive effects of future warming on the origins, maintenance, and diversification of animal societies.

@article{doi101111brv12784,
    author = "Moss, J. and While, G.",
    title = "The thermal environment as a moderator of social evolution",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Biological Reviews",
    abstract = "Animal sociality plays a crucial organisational role in evolution. As a result, understanding the factors that promote the emergence, maintenance, and diversification of animal societies is of great interest to biologists. Climate is among the foremost ecological factors implicated in evolutionary transitions in social organisation, but we are only beginning to unravel the possible mechanisms and specific climatic variables that underlie these associations. Ambient temperature is a key abiotic factor shaping the spatio‐temporal distribution of individuals and has a particularly strong influence on behaviour. Whether such effects play a broader role in social evolution remains to be seen. In this review, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding how thermal effects integrate into pathways that mediate the opportunities, nature, and context of social interactions. We then implement this framework to discuss the capacity for temperature to initiate organisational changes across three broad categories of social evolution: group formation, group maintenance, and group elaboration. For each category, we focus on pivotal traits likely to have underpinned key social transitions and explore the potential for temperature to affect changes in these traits by leveraging empirical examples from the literature on thermal and behavioural ecology. Finally, we discuss research directions that should be prioritised to understand the potentially constructive and/or destructive effects of future warming on the origins, maintenance, and diversification of animal societies.",
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    doi = "10.1111/brv.12784",
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Description Mammal societies Although a few types of structures prevail, social systems among mammals are relatively varied. New techniques, from monitoring to genetics, have allowed for a deeper understanding of this variation, how it is related to the environment, and how it has evolved. Clutton-Brock reviews the forms of and drivers of the different types of breeding systems and how they have been shaped by ecology and history. The author discusses how mammalian social interactions may be affected by human activities that are driving environmental change. —SNV A review explains how long-term studies of mammals have shed new light on the causes and consequences of variation in mammalian breeding systems. BACKGROUND Whereas early studies of animal evolution focused principally on the adaptations of different species to their physical environment, more recent studies have explored the effects of variation in social environments. Field studies of mammals have played a particularly important role in exploring the causes and consequences of variation in social organization and breeding systems, which vary widely between species, and an increasing number of long-term, individual-based studies have been able to document the structure of breeding groups and have explored the causes of variation in the breeding success of both sexes. ADVANCES Over the past 40 years, long-term, individual-based field studies have been able to use genetic techniques to explore the evolution of social organization and breeding systems in an increasing number of wild mammals. These range from species where members of both sexes live alone for part or all of the year to those where breeding adults live in pairs or small groups of close relatives where all members help to raise offspring born to the dominant female, as in meerkats and mole-rats, to species where multiple breeding females form stable, multigenerational groups that are often defended by one or more resident males. In most social mammals, groups consist of “natal” females that have remained in their birth group and are consequently related to each other while breeding males are immigrants from other groups, but in a minority of species (including all three African apes), females habitually disperse from their natal group or community after reaching sexual maturity, and groups typically consist of unrelated immigrant females and one or more resident males who may either be natal animals or immigrants. Combined with genetic information, field studies of mammals have shown how differences in social organization are associated with differences in mating systems that affect the degree of reproductive skew in both sexes, the intensity of reproductive competition, and the evolution of sex differences in growth, size, weaponry, and reproductive anatomy. The intensity of reproductive competition in males and the development of traits that increase their competitive ability are often associated with reductions in the duration of the breeding life spans of males compared with those of females as well as with increased susceptibility of males to adverse environmental conditions and food shortages. Differences in social organization and mating systems also affect the kinship structure of groups and the average degree of kinship between group members, which are associated with differences in the frequency of cooperation and conflict between group members as well as with patterns of dispersal. OUTLOOK Many important questions about the causes and consequences of mammalian breeding systems remain unresolved. A broader range of field studies that includes more solitary, nocturnal, and marine species is needed. Future studies should also explore the demographic consequences of contrasting breeding systems and their implications for the conservation and management of populations as well as for evolutionary processes. Twenty-two mammalian species that are the subject of continuing long-term, individual-based field studies covering multiple generations. Years indicate the approximate start date of each study. Gene-based estimates of variation in the breeding success of individuals of both sexes are now available for most of these species. (A) Rhesus macaque, (B) chimpanzee, (C) yellow-bellied marmot, (D) spotted hyena, (E) African lion, (F) northern elephant seal, (G) mountain gorilla, (H) red deer, (I) yellow baboon, (J) bighorn sheep, (K) African elephant, (L) black-tailed prairie dog, (M) African cheetah, (N) northern muriqui, (O) sifaka, (P) Soay sheep, (Q) red squirrel, (R) white-faced capuchin, (S) Kalahari meerkat, (T) banded mongoose, (U) red-fronted lemur, and (V) owl monkey. PHOTOS: (A) ALEX GEORGIEV; (B) IAN C. GILBY; (C) DAN BLUMSTEIN; (D) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (E) CRAIG PACKER; (F) BURNEY LE BOEUF; (G) ALEXANDER HARCOURT/KELLY STEWART/ ANTHROPHOTO; (H) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (I) ELIZABETH ARCHIE; (J) FANIE PELLETIER; (K) HARVEY CROZE; (L) ELAINE MILLER BOND; (M) DOM CRAM; (N) THIAGO CAVALCANTE/PROJETO MURIQUI DE CARATINGA; (O) CLAUDIA FICHTEL; (P) ARPAT OZGUL; (Q) RYAN W. TAYLOR; (R) TOM HOUSLAY; (S) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (T) HARRY MARSHALL; (U) CLAUDIA FICHTEL; (V) E. WHITE/OWL MONKEY PROJECT Long-term, individual-based field studies, the application of genetic techniques, and phylogenetic reconstructions have led to substantial advances in our understanding of the diversity and evolution of mammalian breeding systems and their consequences. These studies show how differences in ecology, life histories, and phylogeny affect the distributions of breeding females and breeding males; how the distributions of both sexes affect the evolution of breeding systems and the composition and kinship structure of social groups; how differences in breeding systems and the social environment that individuals encounter affect the selection pressures operating on both sexes and the evolution of their behavior, physiology, and morphology; and how these differences affect the demography and dynamics of populations and their responses to variation in density, climate, and human impact.

@article{doi101126scienceabc9699,
    author = "Clutton‐Brock, T.",
    title = "Social evolution in mammals",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Description Mammal societies Although a few types of structures prevail, social systems among mammals are relatively varied. New techniques, from monitoring to genetics, have allowed for a deeper understanding of this variation, how it is related to the environment, and how it has evolved. Clutton-Brock reviews the forms of and drivers of the different types of breeding systems and how they have been shaped by ecology and history. The author discusses how mammalian social interactions may be affected by human activities that are driving environmental change. —SNV A review explains how long-term studies of mammals have shed new light on the causes and consequences of variation in mammalian breeding systems. BACKGROUND Whereas early studies of animal evolution focused principally on the adaptations of different species to their physical environment, more recent studies have explored the effects of variation in social environments. Field studies of mammals have played a particularly important role in exploring the causes and consequences of variation in social organization and breeding systems, which vary widely between species, and an increasing number of long-term, individual-based studies have been able to document the structure of breeding groups and have explored the causes of variation in the breeding success of both sexes. ADVANCES Over the past 40 years, long-term, individual-based field studies have been able to use genetic techniques to explore the evolution of social organization and breeding systems in an increasing number of wild mammals. These range from species where members of both sexes live alone for part or all of the year to those where breeding adults live in pairs or small groups of close relatives where all members help to raise offspring born to the dominant female, as in meerkats and mole-rats, to species where multiple breeding females form stable, multigenerational groups that are often defended by one or more resident males. In most social mammals, groups consist of “natal” females that have remained in their birth group and are consequently related to each other while breeding males are immigrants from other groups, but in a minority of species (including all three African apes), females habitually disperse from their natal group or community after reaching sexual maturity, and groups typically consist of unrelated immigrant females and one or more resident males who may either be natal animals or immigrants. Combined with genetic information, field studies of mammals have shown how differences in social organization are associated with differences in mating systems that affect the degree of reproductive skew in both sexes, the intensity of reproductive competition, and the evolution of sex differences in growth, size, weaponry, and reproductive anatomy. The intensity of reproductive competition in males and the development of traits that increase their competitive ability are often associated with reductions in the duration of the breeding life spans of males compared with those of females as well as with increased susceptibility of males to adverse environmental conditions and food shortages. Differences in social organization and mating systems also affect the kinship structure of groups and the average degree of kinship between group members, which are associated with differences in the frequency of cooperation and conflict between group members as well as with patterns of dispersal. OUTLOOK Many important questions about the causes and consequences of mammalian breeding systems remain unresolved. A broader range of field studies that includes more solitary, nocturnal, and marine species is needed. Future studies should also explore the demographic consequences of contrasting breeding systems and their implications for the conservation and management of populations as well as for evolutionary processes. Twenty-two mammalian species that are the subject of continuing long-term, individual-based field studies covering multiple generations. Years indicate the approximate start date of each study. Gene-based estimates of variation in the breeding success of individuals of both sexes are now available for most of these species. (A) Rhesus macaque, (B) chimpanzee, (C) yellow-bellied marmot, (D) spotted hyena, (E) African lion, (F) northern elephant seal, (G) mountain gorilla, (H) red deer, (I) yellow baboon, (J) bighorn sheep, (K) African elephant, (L) black-tailed prairie dog, (M) African cheetah, (N) northern muriqui, (O) sifaka, (P) Soay sheep, (Q) red squirrel, (R) white-faced capuchin, (S) Kalahari meerkat, (T) banded mongoose, (U) red-fronted lemur, and (V) owl monkey. PHOTOS: (A) ALEX GEORGIEV; (B) IAN C. GILBY; (C) DAN BLUMSTEIN; (D) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (E) CRAIG PACKER; (F) BURNEY LE BOEUF; (G) ALEXANDER HARCOURT/KELLY STEWART/ ANTHROPHOTO; (H) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (I) ELIZABETH ARCHIE; (J) FANIE PELLETIER; (K) HARVEY CROZE; (L) ELAINE MILLER BOND; (M) DOM CRAM; (N) THIAGO CAVALCANTE/PROJETO MURIQUI DE CARATINGA; (O) CLAUDIA FICHTEL; (P) ARPAT OZGUL; (Q) RYAN W. TAYLOR; (R) TOM HOUSLAY; (S) TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK; (T) HARRY MARSHALL; (U) CLAUDIA FICHTEL; (V) E. WHITE/OWL MONKEY PROJECT Long-term, individual-based field studies, the application of genetic techniques, and phylogenetic reconstructions have led to substantial advances in our understanding of the diversity and evolution of mammalian breeding systems and their consequences. These studies show how differences in ecology, life histories, and phylogeny affect the distributions of breeding females and breeding males; how the distributions of both sexes affect the evolution of breeding systems and the composition and kinship structure of social groups; how differences in breeding systems and the social environment that individuals encounter affect the selection pressures operating on both sexes and the evolution of their behavior, physiology, and morphology; and how these differences affect the demography and dynamics of populations and their responses to variation in density, climate, and human impact.",
    url = "https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/67e89530-10d3-4ede-afa5-b554b431e431/download",
    doi = "10.1126/science.abc9699",
    is_oa = "true",
    number = "6561",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "87",
    semanticscholar_id = "6eff30624d7e13f70c83d003f5f27a7a27e3b50b",
    volume = "373"
}

Personality is essential for understanding the evolution of cooperation and conflict in behavior. However, personality science remains disconnected from the field of social evolution, limiting our ability to explain how personality and plasticity shape phenotypic adaptation in social behavior. Researchers also lack an integrative framework for comparing personality in the contextualized and multifaceted behaviors central to social interactions among humans and other animals. Here we address these challenges by developing a social evolutionary approach to personality, synthesizing theory, methods, and organizing questions in the study of individuality and sociality in behavior. We critically review current measurement practices and introduce social reaction norm models for comparative research on the evolution of personality in social environments. These models demonstrate that social plasticity affects the heritable variance of personality, and that individual differences in social plasticity can further modify the rate and direction of adaptive social evolution. Future empirical studies of frequency- and density-dependent social selection on personality are crucial for further developing this framework and testing adaptive theory of social niche specialization.

@article{doi101016jneubiorev2022104980,
    author = "Martin, J. S. and Jaeggi, A. and Koski, S.",
    title = "The Social Evolution of Individual Differences: Future Directions For A Comparative Science of Personality in Social Behavior.",
    year = "2022",
    journal = "Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews",
    abstract = "Personality is essential for understanding the evolution of cooperation and conflict in behavior. However, personality science remains disconnected from the field of social evolution, limiting our ability to explain how personality and plasticity shape phenotypic adaptation in social behavior. Researchers also lack an integrative framework for comparing personality in the contextualized and multifaceted behaviors central to social interactions among humans and other animals. Here we address these challenges by developing a social evolutionary approach to personality, synthesizing theory, methods, and organizing questions in the study of individuality and sociality in behavior. We critically review current measurement practices and introduce social reaction norm models for comparative research on the evolution of personality in social environments. These models demonstrate that social plasticity affects the heritable variance of personality, and that individual differences in social plasticity can further modify the rate and direction of adaptive social evolution. Future empirical studies of frequency- and density-dependent social selection on personality are crucial for further developing this framework and testing adaptive theory of social niche specialization.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104980",
    doi = "10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104980",
    is_oa = "true",
    pages = "104980",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "26",
    semanticscholar_id = "54ab8eb74ba58b4ed243a4b5af55d34b251c7b45",
    volume = "144"
}

The biological mechanisms that underpin primate social evolution remain poorly understood. Asian colobines display a range of social organizations, which makes them good models for investigating social evolution. By integrating ecological, geological, fossil, behavioral, and genomic analyses, we found that colobine primates that inhabit colder environments tend to live in larger, more complex groups. Specifically, glacial periods during the past 6 million years promoted the selection of genes involved in cold-related energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. More-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways developed in odd-nosed monkeys, which may have favored the prolongation of maternal care and lactation, increasing infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive changes appear to have strengthened interindividual affiliation, increased male-male tolerance, and facilitated the stepwise aggregation from independent one-male groups to large multilevel societies. Description INTRODUCTION Primates have evolved a diverse set of social systems, from solitary living to large multilevel societies. The traditional socioecological model explains this diversity as a response to changing environments, which shaped patterns of cooperation and competition for resources and predator defense. However, the socioecological model does not explain why sympatric species living in the same environment exhibit different social systems. There is a growing consensus that primate social organization shows a strong phylogenetic signal as a result of shared inheritance from a common ancestor and evolved stepwise along with species differentiation. This implies a genetic basis for the evolution of animal social systems. However, the genomic mechanisms that underlie the expression of primate social systems remain poorly understood. RATIONALE Asian colobines, a subfamily of Old World monkeys, are represented by seven genera and 55 species that are distributed from tropical rainforests to snow-covered mountains. They exhibit four distinct types of social organization and provide a good model for examining the mechanisms that drive social evolution from a common ancestral state to the diverse systems present today. By integrating new genomic data across all seven colobine genera with paleoenvironmental information, the fossil record, social organization characteristics, social behavioral characteristics, and ecological niche modeling, we constructed a socioecological-genomic framework to identify selective pressures that form the genetic basis for social evolution in Asian colobines. RESULTS To understand the evolutionary process of social systems in Asian colobines, we first reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships using whole-genome data. In contrast to the previous hypothesis of three major clades, our study reveals that Asian colobines split into two clades: the odd-nosed monkeys and the classical langurs. Our phylogenetic analyses detected a strong signal in colobine social evolution, suggesting that these social systems evolved in a stepwise manner, with ancestral one-male, multifemale groups fusing into semimultilevel societies characterized by fission-fusion and then merging into complex multilevel societies. Consistent with our ecological results indicating that extant colobine primates that inhabit colder environments tend to live in larger groups, we found that adaptations driven by ancient cold events, including the late Miocene cooling and Pleistocene glacial periods, played an important role in promoting these changes in social evolution. Furthermore, our genomic analyses revealed that these cold events promoted the selection of genes involved in energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. In particular, more-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways developed in odd-nosed monkeys, which might have resulted in the prolongation of maternal care and lactation, favoring infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive changes also appear to have strengthened interindividual affiliation, increased male-male tolerance, and facilitated the stepwise social aggregation from independent one-male, multifemale groups to large multilevel societies in Asian colobines. CONCLUSION Our results reveal a stepwise evolutionary scenario of social organization in Asian colobines. We show that ancient glacial events selected for neurohormonal regulation, including dopamine and oxytocin pathways that promoted aggregation from one-male, multifemale groups into large multilevel societies. Our study demonstrates a direct link between a genomically regulated adaptation and social evolution in primates and offers new insights into the mechanisms that underpin behavioral evolution across animal taxa. Adaptation for survival in cold climates facilitated evolution of social behavior in colobine monkeys. Cold environments promoted the social evolution of Asian colobines in a stepwise manner. Genomic changes in neurohormonal regulation, including in the dopamine and oxytocin pathways, improved social affiliation in odd-nosed monkeys and thus promoted social aggregations from independent one-male, multifemale groups into large multilevel societies. Ma, million years ago.

@article{doi101126scienceabl8621,
    author = "Qi, X. and Wu, Jinwei and Zhao, Lan and Wang, Lu and Guang, Xuanmin and Garber, P. and Opie, Christopher and Yuan, Yuan and Diao, R. and Li, Gang and Wang, Kun and Pan, R. and Ji, W. and Sun, Hailu and Huang, Zhi-Pang and Xu, Chunzhong and Witarto, A. B. and Jia, Rui and Zhang, Chi and Deng, Cheng and Qiu, Q. and Zhang, Guojie and Grueter, C. and Wu, Dongdong and Li, Baoguo",
    title = "Adaptations to a cold climate promoted social evolution in Asian colobine primates",
    year = "2023",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "The biological mechanisms that underpin primate social evolution remain poorly understood. Asian colobines display a range of social organizations, which makes them good models for investigating social evolution. By integrating ecological, geological, fossil, behavioral, and genomic analyses, we found that colobine primates that inhabit colder environments tend to live in larger, more complex groups. Specifically, glacial periods during the past 6 million years promoted the selection of genes involved in cold-related energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. More-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways developed in odd-nosed monkeys, which may have favored the prolongation of maternal care and lactation, increasing infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive changes appear to have strengthened interindividual affiliation, increased male-male tolerance, and facilitated the stepwise aggregation from independent one-male groups to large multilevel societies. Description INTRODUCTION Primates have evolved a diverse set of social systems, from solitary living to large multilevel societies. The traditional socioecological model explains this diversity as a response to changing environments, which shaped patterns of cooperation and competition for resources and predator defense. However, the socioecological model does not explain why sympatric species living in the same environment exhibit different social systems. There is a growing consensus that primate social organization shows a strong phylogenetic signal as a result of shared inheritance from a common ancestor and evolved stepwise along with species differentiation. This implies a genetic basis for the evolution of animal social systems. However, the genomic mechanisms that underlie the expression of primate social systems remain poorly understood. RATIONALE Asian colobines, a subfamily of Old World monkeys, are represented by seven genera and 55 species that are distributed from tropical rainforests to snow-covered mountains. They exhibit four distinct types of social organization and provide a good model for examining the mechanisms that drive social evolution from a common ancestral state to the diverse systems present today. By integrating new genomic data across all seven colobine genera with paleoenvironmental information, the fossil record, social organization characteristics, social behavioral characteristics, and ecological niche modeling, we constructed a socioecological-genomic framework to identify selective pressures that form the genetic basis for social evolution in Asian colobines. RESULTS To understand the evolutionary process of social systems in Asian colobines, we first reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships using whole-genome data. In contrast to the previous hypothesis of three major clades, our study reveals that Asian colobines split into two clades: the odd-nosed monkeys and the classical langurs. Our phylogenetic analyses detected a strong signal in colobine social evolution, suggesting that these social systems evolved in a stepwise manner, with ancestral one-male, multifemale groups fusing into semimultilevel societies characterized by fission-fusion and then merging into complex multilevel societies. Consistent with our ecological results indicating that extant colobine primates that inhabit colder environments tend to live in larger groups, we found that adaptations driven by ancient cold events, including the late Miocene cooling and Pleistocene glacial periods, played an important role in promoting these changes in social evolution. Furthermore, our genomic analyses revealed that these cold events promoted the selection of genes involved in energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. In particular, more-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways developed in odd-nosed monkeys, which might have resulted in the prolongation of maternal care and lactation, favoring infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive changes also appear to have strengthened interindividual affiliation, increased male-male tolerance, and facilitated the stepwise social aggregation from independent one-male, multifemale groups to large multilevel societies in Asian colobines. CONCLUSION Our results reveal a stepwise evolutionary scenario of social organization in Asian colobines. We show that ancient glacial events selected for neurohormonal regulation, including dopamine and oxytocin pathways that promoted aggregation from one-male, multifemale groups into large multilevel societies. Our study demonstrates a direct link between a genomically regulated adaptation and social evolution in primates and offers new insights into the mechanisms that underpin behavioral evolution across animal taxa. Adaptation for survival in cold climates facilitated evolution of social behavior in colobine monkeys. Cold environments promoted the social evolution of Asian colobines in a stepwise manner. Genomic changes in neurohormonal regulation, including in the dopamine and oxytocin pathways, improved social affiliation in odd-nosed monkeys and thus promoted social aggregations from independent one-male, multifemale groups into large multilevel societies. Ma, million years ago.",
    url = "https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/397398131/Adaptation\_to\_a\_cold\_climate\_promoted\_social\_evolution\_in\_Asian\_Colobine\_primates.pdf",
    doi = "10.1126/science.abl8621",
    is_oa = "true",
    number = "6648",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "29",
    semanticscholar_id = "9f7463018fe2923e6b6b1ab7db23f280dd342911",
    volume = "380"
}

@misc{childe2024social,
    author = "Childe, V. Gordon",
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2024",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004752306",
    doi = "10.1163/9789004752306"
}

@misc{doi1010029783527619702ch4,
    author = "Childe, V. G.",
    title = "Social Evolution",
    year = "2024",
    booktitle = "Handbook of Evolution",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a5091a00ae2e23e3fa5c9173b306233799447508",
    doi = "10.1002/9783527619702.ch4",
    is_oa = "true",
    pages = "121-169",
    semanticscholar_id = "a5091a00ae2e23e3fa5c9173b306233799447508"
}

Recent comparative analyses have identified positive associations between social organisation and longevity in mammals, but independent replication with larger datasets is needed to establish the robustness of this pattern. Here, we analysed maximum recorded lifespan, body mass, and social organisation data for 1436 mammal species using Bayesian phylogenetic comparative methods, confirming that group-living and pair-living species exhibit longer lifespans than solitary species after controlling for body mass and phylogeny. Pair-living species showed slightly longer lifespans than group-living species (though credible intervals overlapped), while body mass slopes did not differ substantially among social categories and activity period showed weak associations with lifespan. These results provide independent corroboration of recent findings linking sociality to longevity in mammals and suggest that while group-living may reduce predation risk, pathogen transmission costs in larger groups may constrain longevity benefits. Our findings, based on the largest comparative dataset analysed to date, strengthen the evidence that social organisation is a key factor shaping mammalian life-history evolution alongside body size and ecological adaptations.

@article{doi101002ece373587,
    author = "Jones, Owen R and Healy, Kevin and Jones, Julia A",
    title = "Social Organisation Predicts Lifespan in Mammals.",
    year = "2026",
    journal = "Ecology and evolution",
    abstract = "Recent comparative analyses have identified positive associations between social organisation and longevity in mammals, but independent replication with larger datasets is needed to establish the robustness of this pattern. Here, we analysed maximum recorded lifespan, body mass, and social organisation data for 1436 mammal species using Bayesian phylogenetic comparative methods, confirming that group-living and pair-living species exhibit longer lifespans than solitary species after controlling for body mass and phylogeny. Pair-living species showed slightly longer lifespans than group-living species (though credible intervals overlapped), while body mass slopes did not differ substantially among social categories and activity period showed weak associations with lifespan. These results provide independent corroboration of recent findings linking sociality to longevity in mammals and suggest that while group-living may reduce predation risk, pathogen transmission costs in larger groups may constrain longevity benefits. Our findings, based on the largest comparative dataset analysed to date, strengthen the evidence that social organisation is a key factor shaping mammalian life-history evolution alongside body size and ecological adaptations.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13122425/",
    doi = "10.1002/ece3.73587",
    pmcid = "PMC13122425",
    pmid = "42058680"
}

Indirect reciprocity is a reputation-based mechanism proposed to explain the evolution of human cooperation. Theoretical models demonstrated that the use of both first-order information (i.e., whether an evaluation target cooperated) and second-order information (i.e., the reputation of an interaction partner of the evaluation target) is critical for the evolution of cooperation. However, empirical findings on the use of second-order information have been mixed. Drawing upon the literature on group-bounded indirect reciprocity, we tested the hypothesis that individuals would be more sensitive to second-order information when evaluating in-group interactions, compared to when evaluating out-group interactions. We conducted a preregistered online experiment (N = 604), where we independently manipulated group membership (in-group vs. out-group), target behaviour (cooperation vs. defection), and recipient reputation (good vs. bad). We found that donors who defected against good recipients were rated more negatively than those who defected against bad recipients, indicating the use of second-order information. Partly consistently with our hypothesis, when individuals evaluated coopering donors, second-order information influenced reputation for in-group donor-recipient interactions more than for out-group donor-recipient interactions. Nevertheless, individuals readily used second-order information, whether or not they evaluated in-group or out-group donor-recipient interactions.

@article{doi101017ehs202610045,
    author = "Tateishi, Wakaba and Imada, Hirotaka",
    title = "Social norms and group-bounded indirect reciprocity.",
    year = "2026",
    journal = "Evolutionary human sciences",
    abstract = "Indirect reciprocity is a reputation-based mechanism proposed to explain the evolution of human cooperation. Theoretical models demonstrated that the use of both first-order information (i.e., whether an evaluation target cooperated) and second-order information (i.e., the reputation of an interaction partner of the evaluation target) is critical for the evolution of cooperation. However, empirical findings on the use of second-order information have been mixed. Drawing upon the literature on group-bounded indirect reciprocity, we tested the hypothesis that individuals would be more sensitive to second-order information when evaluating in-group interactions, compared to when evaluating out-group interactions. We conducted a preregistered online experiment (N = 604), where we independently manipulated group membership (in-group vs. out-group), target behaviour (cooperation vs. defection), and recipient reputation (good vs. bad). We found that donors who defected against good recipients were rated more negatively than those who defected against bad recipients, indicating the use of second-order information. Partly consistently with our hypothesis, when individuals evaluated coopering donors, second-order information influenced reputation for in-group donor-recipient interactions more than for out-group donor-recipient interactions. Nevertheless, individuals readily used second-order information, whether or not they evaluated in-group or out-group donor-recipient interactions.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13122392/",
    doi = "10.1017/ehs.2026.10045",
    pmcid = "PMC13122392",
    pmid = "42058102"
}