Social tipping points in animal societies

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Authors

Pruitt, Jonathan N.
Berdahl, Andrew
Riehl, Christina
Pinter-Wollman, Noa
Moeller, Holly V.
Pringle, Elizabeth G.
Aplin, Lucy M.
Robinson, Elva J. H.
Grilli, Jacopo
Yeh, Pamela

Issue Date

2018

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Article

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Keywords

complex system , collapse , cooperation , critical point , hysteresis , social network point , hysteresis , social network

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Abstract

Animal social groups are complex systems that are likely to exhibit tipping points-which are defined as drastic shifts in the dynamics of systems that arise from small changes in environmental conditions-yet this concept has not been carefully applied to these systems. Here, we summarize the concepts behind tipping points and describe instances in which they are likely to occur in animal societies. We also offer ways in which the study of social tipping points can open up new lines of inquiry in behavioural ecology and generate novel questions, methods, and approaches in animal behaviour and other fields, including community and ecosystem ecology. While some behaviours of living systems are hard to predict, we argue that probing tipping points across animal societies and across tiers of biological organization-populations, communities, ecosystems-may help to reveal principles that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries.

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Citation

Pruitt, J. N., Berdahl, A., Riehl, C., Pinter-Wollman, N., Moeller, H. V., Pringle, E. G., … Hobson, E. A. (2018). Social tipping points in animal societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1887), 20181282. doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.1282

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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ISSN

0962-8452

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