Denna socialpsykologiska studie handlar om receptionistens mående och hur måendet påverkasberoende på olika faktorer i arbetsklimatet grundat i receptionistens rollstil. Studien är gjord på ettträningsföretag i en större stad i Sverige. Studien är en kvalitativ studie där metoden som använts ärsemistrukturerade intervjuer. Fyra receptionister har blivit intervjuade på företaget. Studien ärfrämst grundad i Goffmans rollteori samt Asplunds teorier kring konkret och abstrakt socialitet.Andra teoretiska ansatser är Karaseks krav och kontrollmodell kring stress, Maturanas och DávilaYánez förståelse kring emotioner samt Alvessons teorier kring organisationskultur. Jag har utgåttfrån hermeneutiken som min vetenskapliga teoretiska ansats. Genom dessa socialpsykologiskateorier samt resultaten av intervjuerna önskade jag besvara uppsatsens syfte kring vilken betydelserollstilen har i utövandet i arbetet som receptionist. Jag kom fram till att receptionistens välmåendehelt klart påverkas av dennes personstil. Receptionistens personstil påverkas av personligheten menockså på grund av det som händer omkring dem, såsom organisationskulturen. Jag kom fram till attreceptionisten har ett stort ansvar över sitt välmående genom att denna kan välja att vara stressadeller inte genom sitt utövande i de olika delarna av att vara receptionist. / This socialpsychological study regards the receptionists wellbeing and how that wellbeing depends on various factors in the work environment caused by the receptionists rolestyle. The study is made in a fitnesscompany in a major city of Sweden. The study is based on a qualitative method which is semi-structured interwievs. Four receptionists in the fitnesscompany has been interviewed. The study is mainly based on Goffmans roletheory and Asplunds theory on concrete sociality and abstract sociality. Other theoretical approaches are Karaseks demand and controle model on stress, Maturana och Dávila Yánez understanding in emotions and Alvessons theories of organizational culture. I have used a hermeneutic approach as the scientific theoretical approach for the study. Through These socialpsychological theories together with the results from the interviews I wanted to answer what the importance of the rolestyle for the work as a receptionist is. I concluded that the receptionists wellbeing influenced by their rolestyle. The receptionists rolestyle is influenced by of course their own personality but also by the work environment. I concluded that the receptionists has a great responsibility over their own wellbeing because of their own choice to be stressed or not in their practice of the different parts of being a receptionist.

From a Darwinian perspective, both history and environment are causal factors for change in animal social behaviour. Because behaviour leaves no fossil evidence researchers have focused on how social systems help animals and humans adapt to their current environments and have only been able to make tentative suggestions about how such systems may have evolved. However, a new theoretical framework, based on Darwin’s insights, allows phylogenetic relatedness to be incorporated into comparative analyses to discover the ancestral states of social behaviour and the ultimate drivers of change in human and primate societies. This thesis uses these new methods to investigate the history and drivers of change in human and primate sociality and proposes a new model of primate social evolution. Analyses of mating systems suggest that social monogamy in humans and other primates is the result of infanticide risk brought about by life history changes. These methods were also able to reveal how changes in inheritance rules to matriliny among Bantu-speaking societies, contributed to a switch to matrilocal residence, which in turn contributed to a change from polygynous marriage to monogamy. Cultural history effects change in both descent and residence patterns, while geographical proximity also affects descent, but residence and environmental factors drive changes in marriage. This approach may provide a way for the various schools for the study of human and primate social behaviour to collaborate more closely and provide ultimate answers to the drivers of change in human society.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In contrast with the moral philosophy that morality is dependent on society preached by Durkheim and his disciples Bauman argues that the origin of morality cannot be found within social structures. According to Bauman certain social mechanisms hinder morality rather than promote it. He discusses two social structures to argue this point: socialization (within the modem condition) and sociality (within the postmodern condition). Within both structures, the Other is of functional value, and responsibility for this Other is denied. Within the structure of socialization responsibility is denied because of adiaphorization within the organization (certain actions are declared morally neutral), and also because ethical codes are adhered to. Within sociality responsibility never even arises and we find the postmodern version of adiaphorization. According to Bauman, morality originates with the personal responsibility for the Other. His argument is based on Levinas's version of who this Other is and what responsibility entails. According to Levinas, responsibility is non-reciprocal and asymmetrical. However, this relationship changes the moment that the third (or society) enters. At this moment we operate according to certain conditions and standards. Instead of placing the origin of morality in society, Bauman thus argues for a 'personal' morality. This leads to the problem that he does not provide enough space for morality within society. Without refuting his emphasis on a 'personal' morality, I focus on an alternative origin. If we agree that morality originates within the personal imagination, it does not only include Levinas's pre-ontological theory, but enlarges the idea of what morality encompasses to also leave space for morality within the the social sphere. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Bauman se morele filosofie het (anders as dié van Durkheim en sy navolgers) ten grondslag dat die oorsprong van moraliteit nie binne sosiale strukture gevind kan word nie. Hy argumenteer dat sosiale meganismes binne sekere sosiale strukture juis moraliteit ondermyn. Die sosiale strukture waarna hy hier verwys is socialization (binne die moderne kondisie) en sociality (binne die postmoderne kondisie). Binne beide 'strukure' het die Ander funksionele waarde en word verantwoordelikheid vir hierdie Ander ontduik. Binne socialization word verantwoordelikheid vir die Ander ontduik deur middel van adiaforisasie in die organisasie (deurdat sekere aksies moreel neutraal verklaar word) en ook deur die navolg van bepaalde etiese kodes. Binne sociality kom verantwoordelikheid glad nie eers ter sprake nie en ontstaan die postmoderne weergawe van adiaforisasie. Moraliteit is volgens Bauman veel eerder in die persoonlike verantwoordelikheid vir die Ander gesetel. Hy bou veral voort op Levinas se beskouing van wie hierdie Ander is en wat hierdie verantwoordelikheid behels. Dié verantwoordelikheid is, naamlik onvoorwaardelik en asimmetries. Hierdie verhouding verander egter sodra die derde (die sosiale) op die toneel verskyn - dan het ons te make met standaarde en voorwaardes. My probleem met Bauman se beskouing is daarin geleë dat dit nie ruimte vir moraliteit binne die gemeenskap laat nie. Sonder om sy klem op 'n 'persoonlike' moraliteit af te skiet, fokus ek op 'n alternatiewe oorsprong vir moraliteit. Indien ons toegee dat moraliteit ontstaan binne die mens se verbeelding, verbreed dit die verstaan van wat moraliteit behels. Sodoende word Levinas se pre-ontologiese teorie ingesluit, maar word daar ook plek gelaat vir moraliteit binne die sosiale sfeer.

Métodos filogenéticos comparativos utilizam informações sobre as relações de ancestralidade entre as espécies para testar hipóteses evolutivas. Neste contexto, a Reconstrução de Caracteres Ancestrais (RCA) pode nos esclarecer muito a respeito dos organismos já extintos. A família Canidae apresenta variada gama de comportamentos, distribuída por quase todo o planeta. Sua rica história fóssil demonstra processos que nos dão pistas sobre a evolução e diversificação destes comportamentos ao longo de 46 Ma. Entender a importância de fatores bióticos e abióticos na evolução de carnívoros tem sido um dos grandes desafios em estudos macroevolutivos nos últimos anos. Aqui foram abordados aspectos evolutivos de Canidae com o intuito de demonstrar o papel de fatores ambientais e comportamentais, além de interações, na diversificação do grupo. Para isso, construiu-se a filogenia para todas as espécies vivas de canídeos e uma espécie recentemente extinta. No total, 37 espécies foram incluídas na árvore filogenética. Foram obtidos 23 marcadores moleculares usados na construção da filogenia. Utilizou-se também 68 caracteres morfológicos. A construção da filogenia foi feita utilizando inferência Bayesiana. O modelo evolutivo escolhido nessa etapa foi GTR + G + I. Também foi utilizado o algoritmo de Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) para obter a distribuição a posteriori, com 50 x 106 iterações. A datação da árvore filogenética foi feita através do método de Penalized Likelihood, onde foram utilizados 11 registros fósseis de nós conhecidos da filogenia. Após a filogenia feita, obteve-se os dados comportamentais para realização da RCA a respeito dos quatro atributos avaliados. As quatro reconstruções foram criadas com inferência em 1000 árvores cada. Todas análises de RCA foram realizadas com o método de parcimônia. Com o intuito de entender de que maneira os atributos se correlacionam ao longo da filogenia, foi calculada a correlação de Pagel além de Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares (PGLS). A topologia obtida aqui foi diferente das demais árvores filogenéticas já criadas para Canidae. Além disso, a calibração temporal indica que o split entre Canini e Vulpini se deu há 12.6 Ma, diferente do que é apontado na literatura. A respeito das reconstruções, as linhagens ancestrais dos lobos e das raposas desenvolveram o hábito de viver em áreas abertas. Já os canídeos sulamericanos desenvolveram preferência por áreas florestais. Em relação à dieta, o ancestral de Caninae, assim como os ancestrais diretos das tribos Canini e Vulpini, apresentavam comportamento alimentar hipocarnívoro. O ancestral de todos os canídeos existentes hoje apresentou baixa organização social, enquanto que os lobos desenvolveram alto comportamento social, coincidindo com o surgimento do hábito hipercarnívoro. A respeito do tamanho corporal, o nó ancestral a todos os canídeos possuía tamanho médio, e as duas tribos que surgiram a partir desta linhagem divergiram seus tamanhos. O teste de Pagel demonstrou que há correlação entre dieta e socialidade, mostrando que a alimentação levou a modificações no comportamento Social. Os PGLSs mostram que três tipos de modelos evolutivos explicam as mudanças nos atributos ao longo do tempo. As mudanças no uso de habitat dos canídeos acompanharam as mudanças climáticas no planeta ao longo dos últimos 13 Ma. Já a alimentação meso e hipocarnívora dos sulamericanos se deve ao cenário encontrado na América do Sul ao chegarem, e como reflexo, não desenvolveram alto grau de socialidade. Os resultados sugerem que raposas tentaram evitar a competição com os lobos para não sobreporem seus nichos, sendo o fator fundamental para sua diversificação. / Phylogenetic comparative methods use information on ancestral relationships between species to test evolutionary hypotheses. In this context, the Ancestral Characters Reconstruction (ACR) can shed light on the already extinct organisms. The Canidae family has a wide range of behaviors, distributed throughout most of the planet. Its rich fossil history demonstrates processes that give us clues about the evolution and diversification of these behaviors over 46 Ma. Understanding the importance of biotic and abiotic factors in the evolution of carnivores has been one of the major challenges in macroevolutionary studies in recent years. Here we discuss the evolutionary aspects of Canidae with the purpose of demonstrating the role of environmental and behavioral factors, as well as interactions, in the diversification of the group. For this, the phylogeny was constructed for all living species of canids and a recently extinct species. In total, 37 species were included in the phylogenetic tree. A total of 23 molecular markers were used to construct the phylogeny. We also used 68 morphological characters. The construction of the phylogeny was done using Bayesian inference. The evolutionary model chosen in this step was GTR + G + I. The Monte Carlo Markov Chain algorithm (MCMC) was also used to obtain the posterior distribution, with 50 x 106 iterations. The phylogenetic tree was dated using the Penalized Likelihood method, where eleven fossil records of nodes known from the phylogeny were used. After the phylogeny, the behavioral data were obtained to perform the ACR in relation to the four attributes evaluated. The four reconstructions were created with inference in 1000 trees each. All ACR analyzes were performed using the parsimony method. In order to understand how the attributes correlate throughout the phylogeny, the Pagel correlation was calculated in addition to Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares (PGLS). The topology obtained here was different from the other phylogenetic trees already created for Canidae. In addition, the time calibration indicates that the split between Canini and Vulpini occurred 12.6 Ma ago, different from what is pointed out in the literature. Concerning reconstructions, the ancestral lineages of wolves and foxes have developed the habit of living in open areas. South American canids have developed preference for forest areas. Regarding diet, Caninae's ancestor, as well as the direct ancestors of the Canini and Vulpini tribes, presented hypocampivorous feeding behavior. The ancestor of all canids present today had a low social organization, while the wolves developed a high social behavior, coinciding with the emergence of the hypercarnivore habit. Regarding the body size, the ancestral node to all canids had medium size, and the two tribes that have emerged from this lineage diverged their sizes. The Pagel test demonstrated that there is a correlation between diet and sociality, showing that diet led to changes in social behavior. The PGLSs show that three types of evolutionary models explain changes in attributes over time. The changes in the habitat use of the canids have accompanied the climatic changes in the planet during the last 13 Ma. The meso and hypocarnivorous feeding of the South Americans is due to the scenario found in South America when they arrived, and as a reflex, they did not develop high degree of Sociality. The results suggest that foxes tried to avoid competition with the wolves to avoid overlapping their niches, being the fundamental factor for their diversification.

L'existence, dans de nombreuses espèces, de comportements coopératifs entre individus non-apparentés constitue un paradoxe apparent pour la théorie de l'évolution. L'explication la plus acceptée est que les comportements coopératifs peuvent être « incités » par un mécanisme qui récompense les coopérateurs et punit les tricheurs. On parle alors de « coopération conditionnelle ». La majorité des travaux en théorie des jeux évolutionnaires cherchent seulement à expliquer comment des comportements coopératifs en général peuvent exister à un équilibre évolutionnaire. Dans cette thèse, nous cherchons au contraire à montrer que la théorie des jeux évolutionnaires peut aussi permettre de comprendre certaines des propriétés fines des comportements coopératifs qu'on observe dans le vivant, en particulier dans le cas de l'espèce humaine. Tout d'abord, nous posons la question de l'origine de la coopération conditionnelle. Comment la coopération conditionnelle peut-elle évoluer à partir d'une situation initiale dans laquelle personne ne coopère ? A l'aide de méthodes empruntées à l'apprentissage automatique, nous montrons que la coopération conditionnelle peut évoluer en tant que sous-produit d'une adaptation à des interactions dans lesquelles les intérêts des participants sont alignés. Nous montrons également que ce processus évolutif ne peut aboutir qu'à deux résultats opposés. Soit toutes les opportunités de coopération sont « trouvées » par l'évolution, ce qui correspond à la prévalence des comportements coopératifs chez l'Homme, soit un nombre très réduit d'opportunités de coopération sont « trouvées », ce qui correspond aux comportements coopératifs non humains. Nous proposons également une variante de ce modèle qui permet d'expliquer pourquoi de nombreux mutualismes sont des formes exagérées de cas d'interactions basées sur des intérêts communs. Dans un second temps, nous nous concentrons sur un mécanisme particulier de coopération conditionnelle : le choix du partenaire. Nous utilisons des simulations individu-centrées, et nous montrons que si l'on peut choisir librement ses partenaires dans la coopération, alors le seul niveau d'effort investi dans la coopération qui est évolutivement stable est celui qui maximise l'efficacité sociale de la coopération. Puis, nous développons des modèles analytiques, importés de la théorie économique des appariements. Nous montrons que la seule distribution des bénéfices générés par la coopération qui est évolutivement stable ne dépend pas des rapports de force et est proportionnelle à la contribution de chacun des participants. Ainsi, la théorie du choix du partenaire explique deux propriétés fines des comportements coopératifs chez l'Homme : nos préférences pour les formes de coopération les plus socialement efficaces et notre sens de l'équité. Enfin, nous montrons que la théorie des signaux coûteux, appliquée à la coopération, peut expliquer plusieurs propriétés de la réputation morale, puis nous concluons en discutant de futures directions de recherche. / The existence of cooperation among non-kin in many species constitutes an apparent paradox for evolutionary biologists. The most commonly accepted explanation is that cooperation can be enforced by mechanisms that reward cooperators or punish cheaters. Most of the theoretical works in evolutionary game theory, however, aim only at explaining how some cooperation can exist at an evolutionary equilibrium, thanks to these enforcement mechanisms. Here, we aim at showing, instead, that evolutionary game theory can also explain the fine-grained properties of the cooperation that takes place in the living world, especially in the case of the human species. First, we address the question of the origin of enforced cooperation: How can enforced cooperation evolve from an initially non-cooperative state? Using tools from the field of machine learning, we show that enforced cooperation can evolve as a by-product of adaptation to interactions with shared interests. We also show that this process has only two possible evolutionary outcomes. Either all cooperative opportunities are enforced, which corresponds to the human cooperative syndrome, or only a very few number are, which corresponds to non-human cooperation. We also propose a variation of this model to explain why many mutualisms are exaggerated forms of cooperation with shared interests. In a second approach, we focus on one specific enforcement mechanism called partner choice. Using agent-based simulations, we show that, when individuals can freely choose their cooperative partners, the only level of effort invested into cooperation that is evolutionarily stable is the one that maximizes the social efficiency of cooperation. We then build analytical models of partner choice imported from economic matching theory. We show that the only evolutionarily stable distribution of the benefits of cooperation is both independent of bargaining power and proportional to each participant's relative contribution. Thus, partner choice explains two fine-grained properties of human cooperation, namely our preferences for the most socially efficient forms of cooperation and our concerns for fair distributions. Finally, we show that costly signalling models of cooperation can explain several properties of moral reputation, and we conclude by discussing directions for future research.

Considera-se que viver em grupo aumenta a probabilidade de transmissão de parasitos entre co-específicos, dada a maior proximidade e/ou frequência de interação entre os indivíduos. A transmissão de doenças entre diferentes espécies de hospedeiros, entre indivíduos de uma mesma espécie ou de um mesmo grupo social pode levar populações de animais selvagens ao declínio. Dada a relevância do tema, neste trabalho, buscamos contribuir para o entendimento dos fatores que afetam a ocorrência de parasitoses em primatas selvagens. Investigamos a ocorrência de parasitos intestinais em uma população selvagem de macacos-prego (Sapajus libidinosus), analisando os efeitos de três fatores distintos: proximidade geográfica entre primatas humanos e não humanos; características intrínsecas dos hospedeiros e climáticas do ambiente e, por fim, relações sociais diferenciadas. Encontramos que a sobreposição de área de vida não é suficiente para explicar a co-ocorrência de parasitos intestinais entre as diferentes espécies de hospedeiros na Fazenda Boa Vista (Piauí, Brasil). Ao considerarmos os efeitos dos hospedeiros e do ambiente sobre as parasitoses intestinais de acordo com o modo de transmissão dos parasitos, confirmamos que parasitos com diferentes ciclos de vida e modos de transmissão são afetados diferentemente por características dos hospedeiros e do ambiente: parasitos transmitidos diretamente foram afetados somente por características dos hospedeiros; parasitos transmitidos via hospedeiros intermediários foram afetados somente por características climáticas do ambiente, enquanto parasitos transmitidos via ambiente foram afetados por ambos (hospedeiros e ambiente). Por fim, ao investigarmos os efeitos das interações sociais sobre as parasitoses com base nos modos de transmissão dos parasitos, encontramos que a transmissão de parasitos, mesmo os com modo de transmissão direta, não depende exclusivamente da frequência de associação espacial entre os indivíduos. Os resultados deste trabalho contrariaram as principais premissas do efeito da socialidade sobre a transmissão de parasitos. Assim, é preciso considerar que a chance de aquisição e transmissão de parasitos em espécies sociais é complexa e está sujeita à interação de diversos fatores: individuais, ambientais e dos próprios parasitos, os quais, portanto, devem ser incorporados aos estudos de transmissão de doenças em populações de animais selvagens / Living in a group theoretically increases the probability of transmission of parasites between co-specifics, given the greater proximity and / or frequency of interaction between individuals. Transmission of diseases among different host species, among individuals of the same species or of the same social group, may lead to a decline in wild animal populations. Given the relevance of this research area, we seek to contribute in this thesis to the understanding of the factors that affect the occurrence of intestinal parasites in wild primates. We investigated the occurrence of intestinal parasites in a wild population of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus), analyzing the effects of three distinct factors: geographical proximity between human and non-human primates; intrinsic host and environment climatic characteristics of the environment and, finally, differentiated social relationships. We found that the living area overlap is not sufficient to explain the co-occurrence of intestinal parasites between the different host species at Fazenda Boa Vista (Piaui State, Brazil). When we considered the effects of host and environmental characteristics on intestinal parasites according to the mode of transmission of the parasites, we confirmed that parasites with different life cycles and modes of transmission are differently affected differently: directly transmitted parasites were affected only by host characteristics; parasites transmitted via intermediate hosts were affected only by climatic characteristics of the environment, and parasites transmitted through the environment were affected by both host and environmental characteristics. Finally, when investigating the effects of social interactions on the occurrence of parasites according to parasite transmission modes, we found that the transmission of parasites, even those with direct transmission, do not depend exclusively on the frequency of spatial association between individuals. The results of this work contradict the main premises about the effect of sociality on the transmission of parasites. Thus, it is necessary to consider that the likelihood of acquisition and transmission of parasites in social species is complex and is subject to the interaction of several factors: individual, environmental and of the parasites themselves, which, therefore, must be considered in studies of disease transmission in wild animal populations

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Esta dissertaÃÃo à uma etnografia sobre as formas de socialidade do Serviluz. Tem como fio condutor a narrativa de um elo entre os segmentos culturais atravÃs da qual se procura apreender a heterogeneidade das relaÃÃes sociais dos colaboradores desta pesquisa. Essa etnografia se esforÃa por elucidar os elementos simbÃlicos que atuam na dinÃmica da forma de socialidade constituÃda por eles. Busca se abster da posiÃÃo de um discurso dominante utilizando-se dos princÃpios da antropologia simÃtrica de Bruno Latour e dos ensinamentos de Roy Wagner que propÃem ver a prÃpria cultura como um instrumento para pensar a realidade. O objetivo à desvelar outros mundos possÃveis. Para tanto, o Serviluz à inicialmente apresentado num breve enfoque retrospectivo, seguido pela narrativa das vivÃncias ensejadas ao longo do trabalho de campo. Procede-se, entÃo, uma busca de identificaÃÃo da forma da rede de socialidade para explicitar as perspectivas que se cruzam em sua tessitura composta por significaÃÃes compartilhadas por homens do mar, esportistas, homens e mulheres das associaÃÃes, prostitutas, catadores de lixo, religiosos, toxicÃmanos etc. AlÃm disso, narra-se a vivÃncia de um mÃs de moradia no Serviluz que almejou objetivar uma multiplicidade de representaÃÃes simbÃlicas apresentadas nas diversas maneiras como seus habitantes desempenham suas atividades cotidianas e transmitem suas visÃes de mundo. Esta experiÃncia permitiu concluir que, para alÃm das estereotipias, a dinÃmica de socialidade do Serviluz à marcadamente composta por linhas de fugas que se territorializam em dramas humanos. No Serviluz vai-se da guerra à solidariedade, do andar solitÃrio à fofoca de rua, da toxicomania à contemplaÃÃo da natureza. Essas trajetÃrias de pertencimentos mÃltiplos propiciam representaÃÃes da realidade em que a tensÃo entre os devires assume carÃter integrativo. A dinÃmica de rede do Serviluz, portanto, nÃo pode ser reduzida a categorizaÃÃes. / This dissertation is an ethnography of the sociality forms of Serviluz. Its conducting wire is the narrative of cultural segments through which the researcher sought to capture the social relations heterogeneity of the colaborators of this research. It strives to elucidate symbolic elements that act in the dynamics of the network woven by them. This research moves away from the position of dominant discourse, using Bruno Latourâs principles of symmetrical Antropology and Roy Wagnerâs teachings, which propose the very culture as tool to think reality. The goal is to uncover other possible worlds. Therefore, Serviluz is presented retrospectivelly, and followed by the narrative of experiences in the work field. A search for identification of the forms of sociality networks succeeds the narrative, in an attempt to show perspectives and significations shared by men of the sea, sportsmen, men and women associations, garbage pickers, religious people, drug addicts, and others. Interviews collected from Serviluz inhabitants and witnessing their day-to-day activities during one month housing there were the main source of this research. This experience evidenced that, apart from stereotypes, the dynamics of sociality of Serviluz is substantially composed of scape lines of human drama. In Serviluz one might move from war to solidarity, from solitude to street gossip, from drug addiction to contemplation of nature. The tension arose from the intersection of these multiple trajectories produces the integrative character of Serviluz. Its network dynamics therefore cannot be reduced to categorizations.

The social mole-rats have often been typecast as extreme examples of mammalian sociality. With their pronounced reproductive skew, status-related contrasts in lifespan and morphology, and the suggestion of a division of labour amongst helpers, mole-rat societies have repeatedly been likened to the structurally complex societies of some eusocial insects. However, because few studies of mole-rats have quantified individual variation in growth and behaviour across long periods of development, it has remained unclear the extent to which mole-rat societies, and the features of individuals within them, should be considered unique amongst social vertebrates. In this thesis, I examine life history variation in Damaraland mole-rats Fukomys damarensis from three perspectives- growth, behaviour, and ageing- to explore how individual developmental trajectories contribute to, and are influenced by, the structure of mole-rat societies. First, I use a large longitudinal dataset to test for the presence of behavioural specialisation in non-breeding mole-rat helpers. I find no indication of individual specialisation in cooperative activities. Instead, individual differences in helping behaviour are largely the result of age-related changes in the extent to which individuals commit to all forms of helping (Chapter 3); refuting the notion of helper castes. I then focus on the variation in growth across non-breeders, developing a novel biphasic model to accurately quantify sex differences in growth and explore the influence of social effects on growth trajectories (Chapter 4). Despite the proposition of intense intrasexual competition in mole-rat societies, there was no clear signature of sex-specific competition on helper growth trajectories. A more conspicuous form of socially-mediated growth in mole-rats is the secondary growth spurt displayed by females that have acquired the dominant breeding position, causing them to become larger and more elongated. By experimentally controlling reproduction in age-matched siblings, I show that rather than being stimulated by the removal from reproductive suppression, this adaptive morphological divergence is achieved through a lengthening of the lumbar vertebrae when breeding is commenced (Chapter 5). With contrasts in size and shape following the acquisition of the breeding role, this status-related growth pattern shares similarities with growth in naked mole-rats and other social vertebrates. Breeders also show a twofold greater lifespan than non-breeders in Fukomys mole-rats, prompting the suggestion that the transition to dominance also sets individuals onto a slower ageing trajectory. To date, there is little evidence to support a physiological basis to lifespan extension in breeders. This assertion is bolstered by the absence of longer telomeres or slower rates of telomere attrition in breeding females compared to non-breeding females residing in groups (Chapter 6), each of which might be expected if breeders age more slowly. I argue that previous studies exploring status-related ageing in captive Fukomys mole-rats have overlooked the importance of demographic processes (and associated behavioural influences) on mortality schedules. Irrespective of the proximate basis of the longer lifespan of breeders, at an interspecific level the social mole-rats are unusually long-lived for their size. A recent large-scale comparative analysis concluded that prolonged lifespan is a general characteristic of all mammalian cooperative breeders, but this conclusion is premature, as in most of the major clades containing both cooperative and non-cooperative species there is no consistent trend towards lifespan extension in cooperative species (Chapter 7). In the case of mole-rats, it seems more likely that their exceptional longevity arises principally from their subterranean habits and related reductions in extrinsic mortality. Overall, these findings demonstrate that cooperative breeding has important consequences for individual life histories, but there is no strong basis for the claim that Damaraland mole-rat societies are markedly different in form than other cooperative breeding societies.

Les larves de Diptères nécrophages se développant sur un cadavre font face à de fortes pressions de sélection. Nous démontrons comment cet environnement extrême aurait favorisé l’apparition de stratégies comportementales efficaces et originales, basées sur des mécanismes comme la régulation thermique mais également la socialité.Ce travail pose en premier lieu les bases du comportement de régulation thermique des larves de Diptères Calliphoridae. En effet, celles-ci sont confrontées à un environnement thermique très hétérogène, dans lequel elles vont sélectionner la zone la plus appropriée à leur activité métabolique. Bien que différentes espèces exploitent la même ressource au même moment, nous avons observé que les larves de Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vomitoria et Calliphora vicina ont chacune une température préférentielle de développement. De plus, nous démontrons que ces larves sont en recherche constante de leur température préférentielle (thermorégulation), et qu’elles adaptent leur alimentation à la température du milieu. Ce premier volet d’expérimentations illustre ainsi le rôle prépondérant de la température dans le comportement des larves. En second lieu, ce travail s'intéresse à la dimension sociale des larves nécrophages, et plus particulièrement au comportement d'agrégation. Nous avons démontré chez Lucilia sericata un fort effet attractif et rétentif des congénères, rendant manifeste une prévalence de la socialité sur la régulation thermique. Les résultats sont cependant drastiquement différents dans des conditions hétérospécifiques, où la formation du groupe varie selon les températures préférentielles et les cinétiques d’agrégation de chaque espèce. Ainsi, la température sélectionnée par un groupe hétérospécifique émerge d'un compromis entre les comportements de thermorégulation et d'agrégation. Enfin, ce travail analyse l’effet de ces stratégies comportementales sur le développement des individus.Nous montrons que le comportement de thermorégulation et l’action des congénères affectent la température sélectionnée par les larves, et donc, leur développement. De tels résultats démontrent l’existence de véritables stratégies comportementales individuelles et collectives de développement, reposant sur l’optimisation de paramètres multiples permettant aux larves de se développer au mieux dans cet écosystème extrême qu’est le cadavre en décomposition. / On a cadaver, necrophagous dipteran larvae suffer from strong selection pressures during their development. The premise of this thesis is that such an extreme, competitive and constraining environment would have favored the emergence of efficient developmental strategies, based on mechanisms such as thermal regulation but also sociality. This PhD work is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the thermal behavior of Calliphorids larvae, which are confronted with a heterogeneous thermic environment on the corps, in which they select the most appropriate area for their metabolic activity. Firstly, this part shows that larvae have a preferential developmental temperature, which is different according to the species (Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vomitoria and Calliphora vicina), although they exploit the same resource at the same time. Secondly, this part demonstrates that the larvae are always in search of this preferential temperature and thirdly, that they adapt both their displacement and their food intake according to the temperature of the nourishing substrate. This first part of experiments demonstrates that the temperature parameters have a strong effect on larval behavior. The second part of this work focuses on the social dimension of larval behavior by analyzing the influence of congeners, mainly through their active aggregation behavior. We show for Lucilia sericata a strong attractive and retentive effect of the group, making obvious that sociality prevails over thermal regulation. However, these results are radically different under heterospecific conditions where the group formation strongly depends on preferential temperatures as well as aggregation kinetics of each species. Finally, the third part of this work analyzes the effects of temperature and congeners on the development of individuals and shows that both the behavior of thermoregulation and the action of congeners impact the temperature selected by larvae, and therefore, their development. These results indicate the existence of individual and collective behavioral development strategies based on the optimization of multiple parameters that allow larvae to develop ideally in this extreme ecosystem of a decaying corpse.

<p>The social organization of animal societies has important implications for several fields of biology, from managing wild populations to developing new ecological and evolutionary theory. Although much attention has been given to the formation and maintenance of societies of group living individuals, less is known about how societies of solitary individuals have been shaped and maintained. Traditionally, the evolution of social organizations in the mammalian order Carnivora has been regarded as a directional selection process from a solitary ancestry into progressively more advanced forms of sociality. In this thesis, I tested this model against an alternative model, assuming radiation from a socially flexible ancestry. I further explored sociality, resource use and dispersal of a solitary carnivore, the wolverine (<i>Gulo gulo</i>), in the light of these two evolutionary models. Phylogenetic reconstruction generally supported that carnivore social organizations evolved through directional selection from a solitary ancestor. However, results from captive wolverine females indicated that they might have rudimentary social tendencies, which rather support that sociality in carnivores radiated from a socially flexible ancestry. Wild wolverines in northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska, adhered to the commonly found ecological niche as a largely ungulate dependent generalist carnivore. Lack of sexual asymmetry in dispersal tendencies indicated that resource competition among wolverine females probably was high. I suggest that wolverines have latent abilities to aggregate, but that their phylogenetic legacy in terms of morphology has constrained them into an ecological niche where resource abundance and distribution generally inhibit aggregations. Due to contradictory results, I suggest further research to test evolutionary theory regarding carnivore social evolution, and particularly to explore new avenues into social evolution that better explain intra-specific variation in sociality, as well as formation and maintenance of solitary social systems.</p>