More social female yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventer, have enhanced summer survival
2020
Montero, Anita Pilar | Williams, Dana M. | Martin, Julien G.A. | Blumstein, Daniel T.
For many animals, group living mitigates predation risk and ensures survival. However, in yellow-bellied marmots, increased sociality is associated with lower female reproductive success, decreased female longevity and increased overwinter mortality for both males and females, which raises questions about the adaptive value of sociality in this facultatively social mammal. Here we used social network analysis to examine the relationship between sociality and summer survival, which is almost always attributable to predation. Yearling females had enhanced survival when they had stronger social relationships and were more central in their network. Adult female survival was not associated with social network traits, but females were more likely to survive the summer if they lived in larger groups. Survival of yearling and adult males was not associated with either social network trait variation or variation in group size. These findings identify a potential benefit for marmot sociality and an explanation for marmot colony social structuring.
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