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Selection on social traits in greater spear-nosed bats, Phyllostomus hastatus

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Abstract

Many studies assume that selection molds social traits and have investigated the manner in which this occurs, yet very few studies have measured the strength of selection on social traits in natural populations. In this paper, I report results of phenotypic selection analyses on two social traits – the size of social groups and the frequency of group foraging – in Phyllostomus hastatus, the greater spear-nosed bat. I found significant positive directional selection on individual group foraging frequency, but no directional selection on individuals in different-sized social groups. These results have implications for the structure of social groups, cooperative behavior among group mates, and maternal investment strategies. I argue that combining studies of natural selection on wild populations with experiments to identify the agents and mechanisms of selection can do much to increase our understanding of social evolution.

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Acknowledgements

The able assistance of Skye Boughman, Sue Perkins, Traci Porter, Baldeo Ramlal, Jerry Wilkinson, and Jason Wolf made collection of data possible. Traci Porter and April Stern generously shared banding data. I thank Felix Breden, Dov Lank, Dolph Schluter, and Jamie Smith for discussion that clarified some of the ideas presented here. Luc-Alain Giraldeau, Daven Presgraves, Dolph Schluter, Jamie Smith, David Westneat, Jerry Wilkinson, and three anonymous reviewers provided comments that greatly improved the manuscript. Financial assistance was provided by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Science Foundation, Sigma Xi, American Museum of Natural History, American Women in Science, American Society of Mammalogists, and Eugenie Clark Research Fund. Additional support was provided by a NSF grant to GS Wilkinson. This work was conducted in accordance with animal care regulations at the University of Maryland.

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  1. Janette Wenrick Boughman

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Janette Wenrick Boughman

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Boughman, J.W. Selection on social traits in greater spear-nosed bats, Phyllostomus hastatus . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60, 766–777 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0220-2

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