Abstract
Simple SummaryIt is well known that visual communication plays an important role in collective decision-making. However, there is not much research on the influencing factors of visual signals, especially kinship and social relations. In this study, we not only confirmed the function of visual communication in collective decision-making, but also found the effect of kinship and social relations on visual communication. Tibetan macaques with higher social centrality and more relatives emit more frequent visual communication, providing a reference for further research on decision-making. Understanding the link between communication and decision-making can elucidate the powers of group maintenance in animal societies.Animals on the move often communicate with each other through some specific postures. Previous studies have shown that social interaction plays a role in communication process. However, it is not clear whether the affinity of group members can affect visual communication. We studied a group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Huangshan Mountain, China, and answered whether and how social centrality or relatives matter in visual signals during group movement using Tobit regression modeling. All individuals emitted the signals of back-glances and pauses in collective movement. The emission of two signals decreased with the number of participants increased. The back-glance and pause signals emitted by the participating individuals were stronger as the position moved backward in the group. Sex, age, and rank had no significant influence on back-glance and pause signals. Individuals with higher social centrality would emit more pause signals, but social centrality had no effect on the back-glance signal. Individuals with more relatives in the group had more back-glance signals, but this had no effect on the pause signal. This study verifies that social centrality and the number of relatives have effects on visual signals in Tibetan macaques. We provide insights into the relationship between communication behaviors and group cooperation in social animals.
Highlights
To maintain group cohesion, social animals need to achieve collective movement in a cooperative manner, which facilitates information sharing, benefits reciprocity, and collective defense [1,2]
We found that female Tibetan macaques use their social networks to enhance the speed of collective decision-making, which may have associated fitness benefits [21], but there is no study on the relationship between communication behavior and behavioral decision-making
The results showed that about 39% of collective movement used visual signals, and all individuals demonstrated the behavior of back-glance and pause
Summary
Social animals need to achieve collective movement in a cooperative manner, which facilitates information sharing, benefits reciprocity, and collective defense [1,2]. Consensus decision-making refers to the process by which members of a group achieve consistency in their activities through information exchange, where they decide when to leave and where to go [5]. To lead a successful collective movement, the initiator must use effective communication to evoke actions and behavioral imitations from other members and attract most of them to participate in the collective movement [6]. The proper use of communication behaviors plays an important role in the success of consensus decision-making and the achievement of a collective movement [9]
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