Abstract
Simple SummaryWolves, the ancestors of dogs, are one of the most cooperative canine species. This cooperative propensity derives from the fact that each subject needs other group members to obtain resources and increase survival. The pack functions as a unit in which each individual collaborates in territory defence, hunting, and rearing of offspring. For this reason, even though a clear hierarchy exists among wolves, subordinates can provide help to dominants to obtain social tolerance in a sort of commodity exchange. Wolves can make peace after aggression, console victims of a conflict, and calm down the aggressors. This set of behaviors, also called post-conflict strategies, requires a social attentiveness towards others’ emotional state and the ability to coordinate appropriate reactions. Adult wolves also play. They engage in play fighting, which strongly resembles real fighting, by finely modulating their motor actions and quickly interpreting playmates’ intentions, thus maintaining the non-serious playful mood. All these cognitive and social skills were a fertile ground for the artificial selection operated by humans to redirect the cooperative propensity of wolves towards dog–human affective relationship.This review focuses on wolf sociobiology to delineate the traits of cooperative baggage driven by natural selection (wolf-wolf cooperation) and better understand the changes obtained by artificial selection (dog-human cooperation). We selected some behaviors of the dog’s ancestors that provide the basis for the expression of a cooperative society, such as dominance relationships, leverage power, post-aggressive strategies, and playful dynamics between pack members. When possible, we tried to compare the data on wolves with those coming from the dog literature. Wolves can negotiate commodities when the interacting subjects occupy different ranking positions by bargaining social tolerance with helping and support. They are able to manage group disruption by engaging in sophisticated post-conflict maneuvers, thus restoring the relationship between the opponents and reducing the spreading of aggression in the group. Wolves engage in social play also as adults to manipulate social relationships. They are able to flexibly adjust their playful interactions to minimize the risk of escalation. Complex cognitive abilities and communicative skills are probably the main proximate causes for the evolution of inter-specific cooperation in wolves.
Highlights
This cooperative propensity derives from the fact that each subject needs other group members to obtain resources and increase survival
This review focuses on wolf sociobiology to delineate the traits of cooperative baggage driven by natural selection and better understand the changes obtained by artificial selection
Can the wolf-dog behavioral difference be credited only to the domestication process? Can the domestication process have induced a shift of social tolerance and attentiveness from conspecifics to humans, leading dogs towards an exclusive inter-specific cooperation?
Summary
“Domestication is a sustained multigenerational, mutualistic relationship in which one organism assumes a significant degree of influence over the reproduction and care of another organism in order to secure a more predictable supply of a resource of interest, and through which the partner organism. In the wild condition, wolves showed high level of conciliatory contacts and, once more, the finding was explained by the authors in the light of the strong cohesion between pack members [56]. In the Pistoia pack [43,54], the two post-conflict behavioral strategies occur within two minutes after the end of the aggression and are performed with comparable levels In the Pistoia wolves, in about 45% of cases, bystanders offer affinitive contacts to aggressors, which generally occupy high-ranking positions Such calming interactions have the immediate effect to reduce the likelihood of renewed aggression toward other group members by the previous aggressor. The scarcity of data did not permit the authors to investigate the possible functions of dog “consolation” and “appeasement” leaving the question still open
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
