Research suggests meerkat predator-scanning behaviour is altruistic

Meerkats are more likely to scan for predators from high vantage points or guard on their hind legs when young pups are present in the group

2013-02-05

(Press-News.org) VIDEO: In order to spot potential predators, adult meerkats often climb to a higher vantage point or stand on their hind legs. If a predator is detected, they use several different...
Click here for more information.

In order to spot potential predators, adult meerkats often climb to a higher vantage point or stand on their hind legs. If a predator is detected, they use several different alarm calls to warn the rest of the group. New Cambridge research shows that they are more likely to exhibit this behaviour when there are young pups present, suggesting that the predator-scanning behaviour is for the benefit of the group rather than the individual.

Meerkats are a cooperatively breeding species, with a dominant breeding pair and up to 40 'helpers' of both sexes who do not normally breed but instead assist with a number of cooperative activities such as babysitting and feeding of offspring.

However, scientists have questioned whether sentinel behaviour, when helper meerkats climb to a high point to scan for predators, and other vigilance behaviour, such as standing on their hind legs, is done for their own preservation (with the group's increased safety being an indirect consequence) or if the primary goal is altruistic, with the main purpose being the protection of the group.

Peter Santema, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology, said: "You see similar behaviour in a range of mammal and bird species, and we know from previous work that other group members are less likely to be attacked by predators when someone is on guard. Biologists have been debating, however, whether the protection that other group members enjoy is just a side-effect or one of the reasons why individuals perform these guarding behaviours."

For the research, which was funded by the BBSRC, scientists observed non-breeding helpers in the period just before the dominant female's pups had joined the group on foraging trips. They repeated the observations immediately after the pups joined the group. When they compared the results, they found that after the pups had joined the group on foraging trips, helpers showed a sudden increase in their vigilance behaviour.

Santema added: "These results are exciting, as they show us that individuals are not just on the look-out for their own safety, but that the protection of other group members is another motivation for these behaviours. Our results thus suggest that vigilance and sentinel behaviour in meerkats represent forms of cooperation."

### The Cambridge research was published today in the journal Animal Behaviour.

For additional information please contact: Genevieve Maul, Office of Communications, University of Cambridge
Tel: direct, +44 (0) 1223 765542, +44 (0) 1223 332300
Mob: +44 (0) 7774 017464
Email: Genevieve.maul@admin.cam.ac.uk Notes to editors:

1. The paper 'Meerkat helpers increase sentinel behaviour and bipedal vigilance in the presence of pups' will be published in the 05 February 2013 edition of Animal Behaviour.

2. Video and images available upon request. http://youtu.be/Gyesol8PLKE Please credit name on image file.

3. About BBSRC - BBSRC is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences and the largest single public funder of agriculture and food-related research.

Sponsored by Government, in 2010/11 BBSRC is investing around £470 million in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life in the UK and beyond and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders, including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.

BBSRC provides institute strategic research grants to the following:

The Babraham Institute, Institute for Animal Health, Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Studies (Aberystwyth University), Institute of Food Research, John Innes Centre, The Genome Analysis Centre, The Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) and Rothamsted Research.

The Institutes conduct long-term, mission-oriented research using specialist facilities. They have strong interactions with industry, Government departments and other end-users of their research.

For more information see: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Vitamin C supplements linked to kidney stones

2013-02-05

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that men who take vitamin C supplements regularly run a higher risk of developing kidney stones. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical JAMA Internal Medicine, did not however observe an increased risk between kidney stones and multivitamins – which contain lower concentrations of vitamin C. The research is based on data from a large population-based study of men from Västmanland and Örebro counties, who were monitored for 11 years. A total of 23,355 men were identified who had no history of ...

Injection-free vaccination technique could address global vaccine challenge for HIV, malaria

2013-02-05

Scientists at King's College London have demonstrated the ability to deliver a dried live vaccine to the skin without a traditional needle, and shown for the first time that this technique is powerful enough to enable specialised immune cells in the skin to kick-start the immunising properties of the vaccine. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers say although it is an early study this important technical advance offers a potential solution to the challenges of delivering live ...

Chemical reaction keeps stroke-damaged brain from repairing itself

2013-02-05

LA JOLLA, Calif., February 4, 2013 – Nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule produced in the brain, can damage neurons. When the brain produces too much nitric oxide, it contributes to the severity and progression of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute recently discovered that nitric oxide not only damages neurons, it also shuts down the brain's repair mechanisms. Their study was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of February 4. "In this study, we've uncovered ...

Biodiversity exploration in the 3-D era

2013-02-05

Taxonomy – the discipline that defines and names groups of organisms – is a field of science that still employs many of the methods used during the beginnings of the discipline in the 18th century. Despite the increasing use of molecular information to delineate new species, the study of the morphology of specimens remains one of the major tasks of taxonomists. These studies often require first-hand examination of the reference specimens (so-called type material) deposited at museum collections around the globe - a time-consuming and laborious task. To facilitate this ...

New study finds water tubing-related injuries up 250 percent

2013-02-05

Water tubing, a recreational activity in which participants ride an inner tube which is pulled behind a boat by a tow rope, has grown in popularity in recent years. Unfortunately, the number of injuries related to this activity has also increased. According to a new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, the annual number of water tubing-related injuries increased 250 percent over the 19-year study period, rising from 2,068 injuries in 1991 to 7,216 injuries in 2009. Given that more ...

Finding the way to memory

2013-02-05

Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain's ability to be plastic – that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute – The Neuro, McGill University, reveals that DCC, the receptor for a crucial protein in the nervous system known as netrin, plays a key role in regulating the plasticity of nerve cell connections in the brain. The absence of DCC leads to the type of memory loss experienced by Dr. Brenda Milner's famous subject HM. Although HM's memory loss resulted ...

February 2013 story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory

2013-02-05

HEALTH – Neutron imaging breast cancer . . . More precise optical imaging is vital for better diagnosis of breast cancer, which strikes one in eight women annually in the United States alone. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee are using the neutron imaging beam line at ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor to evaluate neutron imaging as a powerful new tool for early detection. The study, led by Dr. Maria Cekanova of UT, working with imaging instrument scientist Hassina Bilheux, is using tissue from dogs treated at the UT College of ...

MU scientists build harness for powerful radiation cancer therapy

2013-02-05

VIDEO: A new discovery might lead to alpha particle therapy for different types of cancer in the near future. Click here for more information. COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬— We've all heard that "it's not wise to use a cannon to kill a mosquito." But what if you could focus the cannon's power to concentrate power into a tiny space? In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have demonstrated the ability to harness powerful radioactive particles and direct them toward small cancer ...

Gene variants found to affect human lifespan

2013-02-05

By broadly comparing the DNA of children to that of elderly people, gene researchers have identified gene variants that influence lifespan, either by raising disease risk or by providing protection from disease. "This research is the first genome-wide, population-based study of copy number variations in children associated with human longevity," said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The study appeared Jan. 30 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Copy number variations ...

1990s drop in NYC crime not due to CompStat, misdemeanor arrests, study finds

2013-02-05

New York City experienced a historic decline in crime rates during the 1990s, but it was not due to the implementation of CompStat or enhanced enforcement of misdemeanor offenses, according to an analysis by New York University sociologist David Greenberg. The study, which appears in the journal Justice Quarterly, did not find a link between arrests on misdemeanor charges and drops in felonies, such as homicides, robberies, and assaults. In addition, the analysis revealed no significant drop in violent or property crime attributable to the NYPD's introduction of CompStat ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

How rice plants tell head from toe during early growth

Scientists design solar-responsive biochar that accelerates environmental cleanup

Construction of a localized immune niche via supramolecular hydrogel vaccine to elicit durable and enhanced immunity against infectious diseases

Deep learning-based discovery of tetrahydrocarbazoles as broad-spectrum antitumor agents and click-activated strategy for targeted cancer therapy

DHL-11, a novel prieurianin-type limonoid isolated from Munronia henryi, targeting IMPDH2 to inhibit triple-negative breast cancer

Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors and RIPK1 inhibitors with synergistic antiviral efficacy in a mouse COVID-19 model

Neg-entropy is the true drug target for chronic diseases

Oxygen-boosted dual-section microneedle patch for enhanced drug penetration and improved photodynamic and anti-inflammatory therapy in psoriasis

Early TB treatment reduced deaths from sepsis among people with HIV

Palmitoylation of Tfr1 enhances platelet ferroptosis and liver injury in heat stroke

Structure-guided design of picomolar-level macrocyclic TRPC5 channel inhibitors with antidepressant activity

Therapeutic drug monitoring of biologics in inflammatory bowel disease: An evidence-based multidisciplinary guidelines

New global review reveals integrating finance, technology, and governance is key to equitable climate action

New study reveals cyanobacteria may help spread antibiotic resistance in estuarine ecosystems

Around the world, children’s cooperative behaviors and norms converge toward community-specific norms in middle childhood, Boston College researchers report