Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorEllis, S
dc.contributor.authorFranks, DW
dc.contributor.authorNattrass, S
dc.contributor.authorCant, MA
dc.contributor.authorWeiss, MN
dc.contributor.authorGiles, D
dc.contributor.authorBalcomb, KC
dc.contributor.authorCroft, DP
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-02T09:48:45Z
dc.date.issued2017-10-25
dc.description.abstractAn 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.citationVol. 284 (1865), article 20171313en_GB
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rspb.2017.1313
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10871/29640
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherRoyal Societyen_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.subjectOrcinus orcaen_GB
dc.subjectmortality risken_GB
dc.subjectsocial networksen_GB
dc.subjectlife-historyen_GB
dc.subjectsurvival analysisen_GB
dc.subjectfitnessen_GB
dc.subjectsocialityen_GB
dc.titleMortality risk and social network position in resident killer whales: sex differences and the importance of resource abundanceen_GB
dc.typeArticleen_GB
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452
dc.descriptionThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society via the DOI in this record.
dc.identifier.eissn1471-2954
dc.identifier.journalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciencesen_GB
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

© 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.
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.