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Social Information Links Individual Behavior to Population and Community Dynamics
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2018
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Source: Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(7), 535-548
[PDF-4.15 MB]
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Journal Title:Trends in Ecology & Evolution
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Description:Mounting evidence shows that social information drives animal behavior and fitness in various ecological contexts, including habitat selection, foraging, and predator avoidance. However, only recently have researchers begun to implicate social information in the dynamics of populations and communities. By driving correlations in the behavior and space use of many individuals that share resources or threats, social information can cause positive density dependence in behaviors that underlie individual fitness. Consequently, social information can drive positive density dependence (i.e., Allee effects) in population growth rates and resultant critical population thresholds, potentially affecting the extinction risk of populations and communities. Social information can also affect the nature, strength, and dynamics of species interactions, allowing even strong competitors to coexist through facilitation. Recent studies suggest that social information, often produced or used asymmetrically among individuals or species, generally affects how populations and communities respond to environmental change and, thus, is critical to consider in resource management and conservation. When individual animals make decisions, they routinely use information produced intentionally or unintentionally by other individuals. Despite its prevalence and established fitness consequences, the effects of such social information on ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesize results from ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior to show how the use of social information can profoundly influence the dynamics of populations and communities. We combine recent theoretical and empirical results and introduce simple population models to illustrate how social information use can drive positive density-dependent growth of populations and communities (Allee effects). Furthermore, social information can shift the nature and strength of species interactions, change the outcome of competition, and potentially increase extinction risk in harvested populations and communities. When individual animals make decisions, they routinely use information produced intentionally or unintentionally by other individuals. Despite its prevalence and established fitness consequences, the effects of such social information on ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesize results from ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior to show how the use of social information can profoundly influence the dynamics of populations and communities. We combine recent theoretical and empirical results and introduce simple population models to illustrate how social information use can drive positive density-dependent growth of populations and communities (Allee effects). Furthermore, social information can shift the nature and strength of species interactions, change the outcome of competition, and potentially increase extinction risk in harvested populations and communities. information produced incidentally by the presence or behavior of an organism but that nonetheless becomes publicly available for use by other organisms. when social information spreads, often rapidly, among many individuals to drive collective behavior. species in a community that provide disproportionately more value to other species through the provision of greater amounts or higher quality of social information. when population size has a positive effect on population growth rate (also known as an ‘Allee effect’), a phenomenon that can result from various mechanisms, including (but not limited to) social information use. In some cases, positive density dependence can cause an unstable internal equilibrium, and if a population falls below a threshold size it will experience negative growth and can be prone to rapid collapse. information produced by the behavior of an organism with the intention of transmitting information to one or more other organisms. the resistance to change that a population or community can experience due to engrained behaviors that are at least partially reinforced by social information shared among members. the signals and/or cues produced by the presence and/or behavior of an organism and that can be used by other organisms (within or across species).
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Source:Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(7), 535-548
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DOI:
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ISSN:0169-5347
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Rights Information:Accepted Manuscript
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Compliance:Library
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