FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
PloS one2021; 16(10); e0258944; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258944

Behavioural synchronization in a multilevel society of feral horses.

Abstract: Behavioural synchrony among individuals is essential for group-living organisms. The functioning of synchronization in a multilevel society, which is a nested assemblage of multiple social levels between many individuals, remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to build a model that explained the synchronization of activity in a multilevel society of feral horses. Multi-agent-based models were used based on four hypotheses: A) horses do not synchronize, B) horses synchronize with any individual in any unit, C) horses synchronize only within units, and D) horses synchronize across and within units, but internal synchronization is stronger. The empirical data obtained from drone observations best supported hypothesis D. This result suggests that animals in a multilevel society coordinate with other conspecifics not only within a unit but also at an inter-unit level. In this case, inter-individual distances are much longer than those in most previous models which only considered local interaction within a few body lengths.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2021-10-26 PubMed ID: 34699556PubMed Central: PMC8547633DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258944Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study builds a model to explain the behavioural synchronization, or coordinated activities, in a multilevel society of feral horses, based on observations and multi-agent-based models. It discovered that feral horses synchronize their activities not only within a single unit, but also across multiple units, though synchronization within a unit is stronger.

Objective of the Study

  • The goal of this study was to understand and model how animals in a multilevel society, particularly feral horses, coordinate their activities.
  • This involves investigating how synchronization, or the alignment of activity, in a multilevel society functions, an area that remains largely unexplored.

Methodology

  • The authors used multi-agent-based models to build a simulation.
  • This model was based on four hypotheses: (A) horses do not synchronize, (B) horses can synchronize with any individual in any unit, (C) horses only synchronize within units, and (D) horses can synchronize both within and between units, but internal synchronization is stronger.
  • Empirical data to test these hypotheses were gathered through drone observations of the feral horses.

Findings

  • The empirical data obtained best supported hypothesis D, that is, horses exhibit behavioural synchronization both within and between units, although synchronization is stronger within a unit.
  • The authors therefore suggest that animals in a multilevel society coordinate their activities among their conspecifics not only within smaller units, but also at an inter-unit (larger) level.
  • This contrasts with previous models which generally only considered local interaction within a few body lengths, as inter-individual distances in this case are found to be much longer.

Cite This Article

APA
Maeda T, Sueur C, Hirata S, Yamamoto S. (2021). Behavioural synchronization in a multilevel society of feral horses. PLoS One, 16(10), e0258944. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258944

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 16
Issue: 10
Pages: e0258944
PII: e0258944

Researcher Affiliations

Maeda, Tamao
  • Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Sueur, Cédric
  • Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Strasbourg, France.
  • Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
Hirata, Satoshi
  • Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Yamamoto, Shinya
  • Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
  • Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Wild
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology
  • Group Processes
  • Horses
  • Social Behavior

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

This article includes 48 references
  1. Duranton C, Gaunet F. Behavioural synchronization from an ethological perspective: Overview of its adaptive value. Adaptive Behavior 2016 pp. 181–191.
    doi: 10.1177/1059712316644966google scholar: lookup
  2. Couzin ID. Synchronization: The Key to Effective Communication in Animal Collectives.. Trends Cogn Sci 2018 Oct;22(10):844-846.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.08.001pubmed: 30266143google scholar: lookup
  3. Couzin ID, Krause J. Self-Organization and Collective Behavior in Vertebrates. Adv Study Behav 2003;32: 1–75.
    doi: 10.1016/S0065-3454(03)01001-5google scholar: lookup
  4. Bonenfant C, Loe LE, Mysterud A, Langvatn R, Stenseth NC, Gaillard JM, Klein F. Multiple causes of sexual segregation in European red deer: enlightenments from varying breeding phenology at high and low latitude.. Proc Biol Sci 2004 May 7;271(1542):883-92.
    doi: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2661pmc: PMC1691684pubmed: 15255042google scholar: lookup
  5. Mooring MS, Reisig DD, Osborne ER, Kanallakan AL, Hall BM, Schaad EW. Sexual segregation in bison: A test of multiple hypotheses. Behaviour 2005;142: 897–927.
    doi: 10.1163/1568539055010110google scholar: lookup
  6. Kastberger G, Schmelzer E, Kranner I. Social waves in giant honeybees repel hornets.. PLoS One 2008 Sep 10;3(9):e3141.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003141pmc: PMC2528003pubmed: 18781205google scholar: lookup
  7. Ancel A, Beaulieu M, Le Maho Y, Gilbert C. Emperor penguin mates: keeping together in the crowd.. Proc Biol Sci 2009 Jun 22;276(1665):2163-9.
    doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0140pmc: PMC2677610pubmed: 19324739google scholar: lookup
  8. McIntosh D. Sponteous facial mimicry, liking and emotional contagion. Polish Psychol Bull 2006;37: 31–42.
  9. King AJ, Sueur C, Huchard E, Cowlishaw G. A rule-of-thumb based on social affiliation explains collective movements in desert baboons. Anim Behav 2011;82: 1337–1345.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.017google scholar: lookup
  10. Bialek W, Cavagna A, Giardina I, Mora T, Pohl O, Silvestri E, Viale M, Walczak AM. Social interactions dominate speed control in poising natural flocks near criticality.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014 May 20;111(20):7212-7.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.1324045111pmc: PMC4034227pubmed: 24785504google scholar: lookup
  11. Torney CJ, Lamont M, Debell L, Angohiatok RJ, Leclerc LM, Berdahl AM. Inferring the rules of social interaction in migrating caribou.. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 May 19;373(1746).
    doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0385pmc: PMC5882989pubmed: 29581404google scholar: lookup
  12. Centola D. The spread of behavior in an online social network experiment.. Science 2010 Sep 3;329(5996):1194-7.
    doi: 10.1126/science.1189910pubmed: 20813952google scholar: lookup
  13. Sueur C, Deneubourg JL. Self-Organization in Primates: Understanding the Rules Underlying Collective Movements. Int J Primatol 2011;32: 1413–1432.
    doi: 10.1007/s10764-011-9520-0google scholar: lookup
  14. Papageorgiou D, Farine DR. Shared decision-making allows subordinates to lead when dominants monopolize resources.. Sci Adv 2020 Nov;6(48).
    doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba5881pmc: PMC7688327pubmed: 33239284google scholar: lookup
  15. Sueur C, Deneubourg JL, Petit O. From the first intention movement to the last joiner: macaques combine mimetic rules to optimize their collective decisions.. Proc Biol Sci 2011 Jun 7;278(1712):1697-704.
    doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2084pmc: PMC3081774pubmed: 21084348google scholar: lookup
  16. King AJ, Douglas CM, Huchard E, Isaac NJ, Cowlishaw G. Dominance and affiliation mediate despotism in a social primate.. Curr Biol 2008 Dec 9;18(23):1833-8.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.048pubmed: 19026539google scholar: lookup
  17. Sueur C, Petit O, Deneubourg JL. Selective mimetism at departure in collective movements of Macaca tonkeana: an experimental and theoretical approach. Anim Behav 2009;78: 1087–1095.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.07.029google scholar: lookup
  18. Sueur C, Deneubourg JL, Petit O. From social network (centralized vs. decentralized) to collective decision-making (unshared vs. shared consensus).. PLoS One 2012;7(2):e32566.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032566pmc: PMC3290558pubmed: 22393416google scholar: lookup
  19. Briard L, Dorn C, Petit O. Personality and Affinities Play a Key Role in the Organisation of Collective Movements in a Group of Domestic Horses. Ethology 2015;121: 888–902.
    doi: 10.1111/eth.12402google scholar: lookup
  20. Grueter CC, Matsuda I, Zhang P, Zinner D. Multilevel Societies in Primates and Other Mammals: Introduction to the Special Issue.. Int J Primatol 2012 Oct;33(5):993-1001.
    doi: 10.1007/s10764-012-9614-3pmc: PMC3456921pubmed: 23024443google scholar: lookup
  21. Grueter CC, Qi X, Zinner D, Bergman T, Li M, Xiang Z, Zhu P, Migliano AB, Miller A, Krützen M, Fischer J, Rubenstein DI, Vidya TNC, Li B, Cantor M, Swedell L. Multilevel Organisation of Animal Sociality.. Trends Ecol Evol 2020 Sep;35(9):834-847.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.05.003pubmed: 32473744google scholar: lookup
  22. Grueter CC, Qi X, Li B, Li M. Multilevel societies.. Curr Biol 2017 Sep 25;27(18):R984-R986.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.063pubmed: 28950088google scholar: lookup
  23. Qi XG, Garber PA, Ji W, Huang ZP, Huang K, Zhang P, Guo ST, Wang XW, He G, Zhang P, Li BG. Satellite telemetry and social modeling offer new insights into the origin of primate multilevel societies.. Nat Commun 2014 Oct 22;5:5296.
    doi: 10.1038/ncomms6296pmc: PMC4220467pubmed: 25335993google scholar: lookup
  24. Swedell L, Plummer T. A papionin multilevel society as a model for hominin social evolution. Int J Primatol 2012;33: 1165–1193.
    doi: 10.1007/s10764-012-9600-9google scholar: lookup
  25. Papageorgiou D, Christensen C, Gall GEC, Klarevas-Irby JA, Nyaguthii B, Couzin ID, Farine DR. The multilevel society of a small-brained bird.. Curr Biol 2019 Nov 4;29(21):R1120-R1121.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.072pubmed: 31689393google scholar: lookup
  26. Schreier AL, Swedell L. The fourth level of social structure in a multi-level society: ecological and social functions of clans in hamadryas baboons.. Am J Primatol 2009 Nov;71(11):948-55.
    doi: 10.1002/ajp.20736pubmed: 19670312google scholar: lookup
  27. Ozogány K, Vicsek T. Modeling the Emergence of Modular Leadership Hierarchy During the Collective Motion of Herds Made of Harems. J Stat Phys 2014;158: 628–646.
    doi: 10.1007/s10955-014-1131-7google scholar: lookup
  28. Snyder-Mackler N, Beehner JC, Bergman TJ. Defining Higher Levels in the Multilevel Societies of Geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Int J Primatol 2012;33: 1054–1068.
    doi: 10.1007/s10764-012-9584-5google scholar: lookup
  29. Maeda T, Ochi S, Ringhofer M, Sosa S, Sueur C, Hirata S, Yamamoto S. Aerial drone observations identified a multilevel society in feral horses.. Sci Rep 2021 Jan 8;11(1):71.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79790-1pmc: PMC7794487pubmed: 33420148google scholar: lookup
  30. Bowler M, Knogge C, Heymann EW, Zinner D. Multilevel Societies in New World Primates? Flexibility May Characterize the Organization of Peruvian Red Uakaris (Cacajao calvus ucayalii).. Int J Primatol 2012 Oct;33(5):1110-1124.
    doi: 10.1007/s10764-012-9603-6pmc: PMC3456913pubmed: 23024445google scholar: lookup
  31. Rubenstein DI, Hack M. Natural and sexual selection and the evolution of multi-level societies: insights from zebras with comparisons to primates. Sexual selection in primates: New and comparative perspectives 2004 pp. 266–279.
    doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511542459.017google scholar: lookup
  32. Sueur C, King AJ, Conradt L, Kerth G, Lusseau D, Mettke-Hofmann C. Collective decision-making and fission-fusion dynamics: A conceptual framework. Oikos 2011;120: 1608–1617.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.19685.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  33. Moscovice LR, Sueur C, Aureli F. How socio-ecological factors influence the differentiation of social relationships: an integrated conceptual framework.. Biol Lett 2020 Sep;16(9):20200384.
    doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0384pmc: PMC7532722pubmed: 32933407google scholar: lookup
  34. Inoue S, Yamamoto S, Ringhofer M, Mendonça RS, Pereira C, Hirata S. Spatial positioning of individuals in a group of feral horses: a case study using drone technology. Mammal Res 2019;64: 249–259.
    doi: 10.1007/s13364-018-0400-2google scholar: lookup
  35. Charpentier M, Pelé M, Renoult J, Sueur C. Social data collection and analyses. 2021.
  36. Schroeder NM, Panebianco A, Gonzalez Musso R, Carmanchahi P. An experimental approach to evaluate the potential of drones in terrestrial mammal research: a gregarious ungulate as a study model.. R Soc Open Sci 2020 Jan;7(1):191482.
    doi: 10.1098/rsos.191482pmc: PMC7029930pubmed: 32218965google scholar: lookup
  37. Ringhofer M, Inoue S, Mendonça RS, Pereira C, Matsuzawa T, Hirata S, Yamamoto S. Comparison of the social systems of primates and feral horses: data from a newly established horse research site on Serra D'Arga, northern Portugal.. Primates 2017 Oct;58(4):479-484.
    doi: 10.1007/s10329-017-0614-ypubmed: 28585062google scholar: lookup
  38. Wand MP. Data-Based Choice of Histogram Bin Width. Am Stat 1997;51: 59–64.
    doi: 10.1080/00031305.1997.10473591google scholar: lookup
  39. Wand M. Package ‘KernSmooth.’. 2015.
  40. Cairns SJ, Schwager SJ. A comparison of association indices. Anim Behav 1987;35: 1454–1469.
    doi: 10.1016/S0003-3472(87)80018-0google scholar: lookup
  41. Bourjade M, Thierry B, Maumy M, Petit O. Decision-making in przewalski horses (equus ferus przewalskii) is driven by the ecological contexts of collective movements. Ethology 2009;115: 321–330.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01614.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  42. Sueur C, Petit O, Deneubourg JL. Short-term group fission processes in macaques: a social networking approach.. J Exp Biol 2010 Apr;213(Pt 8):1338-46.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.039016pubmed: 20348346google scholar: lookup
  43. Couzin ID. Collective cognition in animal groups.. Trends Cogn Sci 2009 Jan;13(1):36-43.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.10.002pubmed: 19058992google scholar: lookup
  44. Boyd L, Keiper R. Behavioural ecology of feral horses. 2005 p. 55−82.
  45. Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Friendly M, Kindt R, Legendre P, Mcglinn D. Package “vegan” Title Community Ecology Package Version 2.5–6. 2019.
  46. Fischhoff IR, Sundaresan SR, Cordingley J, Larkin HM, Sellier M-J, Rubenstein DI. Social relationships and reproductive state influence leadership roles in movements of plains zebra, Equus burchellii. Anim Behav 2007;73: 825–831.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.10.012google scholar: lookup
  47. Krueger K, Flauger B, Farmer K, Hemelrijk C. Movement initiation in groups of feral horses.. Behav Processes 2014 Mar;103:91-101.
    doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.10.007pubmed: 24220794google scholar: lookup
  48. Ozogany K, Vicsek T. Modeling leadership hierarchy in multilevel animal societies. Cornell Univ Libr 2014;Physics: arXiv:1403.0260.

Citations

This article has been cited 12 times.
  1. Ozogány K, Kerekes V, Fülöp A, Barta Z, Nagy M. Fine-scale collective movements reveal present, past and future dynamics of a multilevel society in Przewalski's horses. Nat Commun 2023 Sep 5;14(1):5096.
    doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40523-3pubmed: 37669934google scholar: lookup
  2. Torres Borda L, Auer U, Jenner F. Equine Social Behaviour: Love, War and Tolerance. Animals (Basel) 2023 Apr 26;13(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13091473pubmed: 37174510google scholar: lookup
  3. Brucks D, Härterich A, König von Borstel U. Horses wait for more and better rewards in a delay of gratification paradigm. Front Psychol 2022;13:954472.
    doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.954472pubmed: 35936272google scholar: lookup
  4. Grueter CC, Pozzi L. Close encounters of the friendly kind: pacific between-group interactions in primates. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2025 Dec;100(6):2257-2284.
    doi: 10.1111/brv.70046pubmed: 40524545google scholar: lookup
  5. Galotti A, Romano M, Baragli P, Palagi E. Yawning in sync: implications for social cohesion in horses. Curr Zool 2025 Apr;71(2):137-151.
    doi: 10.1093/cz/zoae052pubmed: 40264711google scholar: lookup
  6. Bhave A, Kieson E, Hafner A, Gloor PA. Identifying Novel Emotions and Wellbeing of Horses from Videos Through Unsupervised Learning. Sensors (Basel) 2025 Jan 31;25(3).
    doi: 10.3390/s25030859pubmed: 39943498google scholar: lookup
  7. Nykonenko A, Moturnak Y, McLoughlin PD. Social Relationships of Captive Bachelor Przewalski's Horses and Their Effect on Daily Activity and Space Use. Animals (Basel) 2024 Dec 28;15(1).
    doi: 10.3390/ani15010053pubmed: 39794996google scholar: lookup
  8. Bhattacharjee D, Flay KJ, McElligott AG. Personality homophily drives female friendships in a feral ungulate. iScience 2024 Dec 20;27(12):111419.
    doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419pubmed: 39759021google scholar: lookup
  9. Laffi L, Raimondi T, Ferrante C, Pagliara E, Bertuglia A, Briefer EF, Gamba M, Ravignani A. The rhythm of horse gaits. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2025 Jan;1543(1):86-93.
    doi: 10.1111/nyas.15271pubmed: 39731731google scholar: lookup
  10. Brooks J, Maeda T, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S. Oxytocin homogenizes horse group organization. iScience 2024 Jul 19;27(7):110356.
    doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110356pubmed: 39071893google scholar: lookup
  11. Szemán K, Végvári Z, Gőri S, Kapocsi I, Székely T, Manning JA. Harem size should be measured by more than the sum of its parts: Phenology-based measurements reveal joint effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on a polygamous herbivore under non-stationary climatic conditions. Ecol Evol 2024 Feb;14(2):e10865.
    doi: 10.1002/ece3.10865pubmed: 38322007google scholar: lookup
  12. Maeda T, Yamamoto S. Drone Observation for the Quantitative Study of Complex Multilevel Societies. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jun 8;13(12).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13121911pubmed: 37370421google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 100,151 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.