Abstract
Out-group conflict is rife in the natural world, occurring from primates to ants. Traditionally, research on this aspect of sociality has focused on the interactions between groups and their conspecific rivals, investigating contest function and characteristics, which group members participate and what determines who wins. In recent years, however, there has been increasing interest in the consequences of out-group conflict. In this review, we first set the scene by outlining the fitness consequences that can arise immediately to contest participants, as well as a broader range of delayed, cumulative and third-party effects of out-group conflict on survival and reproductive success. For the majority of the review, we then focus on variation in these fitness consequences of out-group conflict, describing known examples both between species and between populations, groups and individuals of the same species. Throughout, we suggest possible reasons for the variation, provide examples from a diverse array of taxa, and suggest what is needed to advance this burgeoning area of social evolution.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 20210148 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences |
Volume | 377 |
Issue number | 1851 |
Early online date | 4 Apr 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 23 May 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:All authors were supported by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant (project no. 682253) awarded to A.N.R. Acknowledgements
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Royal Society Publishing. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- conspecific rivals
- group living
- mortality
- outgroup conflict
- reproductive consequences
- social conflict