Mortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: sex differences and the importance of resource abundance
dc.contributor.author | Ellis, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Franks, DW | |
dc.contributor.author | Nattrass, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Cant, MA | |
dc.contributor.author | Weiss, MN | |
dc.contributor.author | Giles, D | |
dc.contributor.author | Balcomb, KC | |
dc.contributor.author | Croft, DP | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2017-10-02T09:48:45Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017-10-25 | |
dc.description.abstract | An individual’s ecological environment affects their mortality risk, which in turn has fundamental consequences for life history evolution. In many species social relationships are likely to be an important component of an individual’s environment, and therefore their mortality risk. Here we examine the relationship between social position and mortality risk in resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) using over three decades of social and demographic data. We find that the social position of male, but not female, killer whales in their social unit predicts their mortality risk. More socially integrated males have a significantly lower risk of mortality than socially peripheral males, particularly in years of low prey abundance, suggesting that social position mediates access to resources. Male killer whales are larger and require more resources than females, increasing their vulnerability to starvation in years of low salmon abundance. More socially integrated males are likely to have better access to social information and food sharing opportunities which may enhance their survival in years of low salmon. Our results show that observable variation in the social environment is linked to variation in mortality risk, and highlight how sex differences in social effects on survival may be linked to sex differences in life-history evolution. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 284 (1865), article 20171313 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1098/rspb.2017.1313 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/29640 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Royal Society | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2017 The Authors. Open access. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
dc.subject | Orcinus orca | en_GB |
dc.subject | mortality risk | en_GB |
dc.subject | social networks | en_GB |
dc.subject | life-history | en_GB |
dc.subject | survival analysis | en_GB |
dc.subject | fitness | en_GB |
dc.subject | sociality | en_GB |
dc.title | Mortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: sex differences and the importance of resource abundance | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.identifier.issn | 0962-8452 | |
dc.description | This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society via the DOI in this record. | |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1471-2954 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2017 The Authors. Open access. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.