| 1. |
- Siegmann, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
-
Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) do not specialise in cooperative tasks
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Ethology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0179-1613 .- 1439-0310. ; 127:10, s. 850-864
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been proposed that naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) societies resemble those of eusocial insects by showing a division of labour among non-breeding individuals. Earlier studies suggested that non-breeders belong to distinct castes that specialise permanently or temporarily in specific cooperative tasks. In contrast, recent research on naked mole-rats has shown that behavioural phenotypes are continuously distributed across non-breeders and that mole-rats exhibit considerable behavioural plasticity suggesting that individuals may not specialise permanently in work tasks. However, it is currently unclear whether individuals specialise temporarily and whether there is a sex bias in cooperative behaviour among non-breeders. Here, we show that non-breeding individuals vary in overall cooperative investment, but do not specialise in specific work tasks. Within individuals, investment into specific cooperative tasks such as nest building, food carrying and burrowing is positively correlated, and there is no evidence that individuals show trade-offs between these cooperative behaviours. Non-breeding males and females do not differ in their investment in cooperative behaviours and show broadly similar age and body mass related differences in cooperative behaviours. Our results suggest that non-breeding naked mole-rats vary in their overall contribution to cooperative behaviours and that some of this variation may be explained by differences in age and body mass. Our data provide no evidence for temporary specialisation, as found among some eusocial insects and suggest that the behavioural organisation of naked mole-rats resembles that of other cooperatively breeding vertebrates more than that of eusocial insect species.
|
|
| 2. |
- Thompson, Robin N., et al.
(författare)
-
Key questions for modelling COVID-19 exit strategies
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 287:1932
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Combinations of intense non-pharmaceutical interventions (lockdowns) were introduced worldwide to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Many governments have begun to implement exit strategies that relax restrictions while attempting to control the risk of a surge in cases. Mathematical modelling has played a central role in guiding interventions, but the challenge of designing optimal exit strategies in the face of ongoing transmission is unprecedented. Here, we report discussions from the Isaac Newton Institute 'Models for an exit strategy' workshop (11-15 May 2020). A diverse community of modellers who are providing evidence to governments worldwide were asked to identify the main questions that, if answered, would allow for more accurate predictions of the effects of different exit strategies. Based on these questions, we propose a roadmap to facilitate the development of reliable models to guide exit strategies. This roadmap requires a global collaborative effort from the scientific community and policymakers, and has three parts: (i) improve estimation of key epidemiological parameters; (ii) understand sources of heterogeneity in populations; and (iii) focus on requirements for data collection, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries. This will provide important information for planning exit strategies that balance socio-economic benefits with public health.
|
|
