Primate social group sizes exhibit a regular scaling pattern with natural attractors

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openAccess

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Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2018-01-01

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Mcode

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Language

en

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Biology Letters, Volume 14, issue 1

Abstract

Primate groups vary considerably in size across species. Nonetheless, the distribution of mean species group size has a regular scaling pattern with preferred sizes approximating 2.5, 5, 15, 30 and 50 individuals (although strepsirrhines lack the latter two), with a scaling ratio of approximately 2.5 similar to that observed in human social networks. These clusters appear to form distinct social grades that are associated with rapid evolutionary change, presumably in response to intense environmental selection pressures. These findings may have wider implications for other highly social mammal taxa.

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Keywords

Clustering, Evolutionary rates, Female cohort, Optimal group size, Social networks

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Citation

Dunbar, R I M, Carron, P M & Shultz, S 2018, ' Primate social group sizes exhibit a regular scaling pattern with natural attractors ', Biology Letters, vol. 14, no. 1, 20170490 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2017.0490