Meeting Abstract
Recent comparative studies of complex behavioral phenotypes find evidence that homoplasy, or the evolution of similar phenotypes in unrelated species, is often associated with similar transcriptomic patterns even across vast phylogenetic distances. However, comparing complex phenotypes fairly across distantly related species requires the development of rigorous, quantitative metrics, which have been elusive for the study of social evolution because behavioral phenotypes represent emergent properties of the organism and integrate multiple organismal systems (e.g., sensory and motor systems). Here, we introduce a quantitative approach to characterize diverse forms of sociality and compare independent evolutionary transitions to social dominance. Social dominance systems – where some individuals are dominant over subordinate group members, control access to resources, and attain more reproductive opportunities – have evolved repeatedly across vertebrates and beyond. In such groups, individuals may assume a specific set of behavioral characteristics – such as social polymorphisms or reproductive tactics (or “types”) – because of genotype, developmental events, individual condition, and/or social or ecological opportunity. Using a quantitative social network modeling approach, we compare attributes of social status and network position across types in independent evolutionary transitions to social dominance systems. We ask how components of social dominance vary, whether similar social and reproductive types emerge, and how types vary in social status attributes and network properties across vertebrates. Finally, we discuss the implication of our approach for identifying the evolutionary origins and underlying neuromolecular mechanisms of social dominance systems.
