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7examplesofanimaldemocracy

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MotherNatureNetwork,November4,2012
7examplesofanimaldemocracy
ByRussellMcLendon
Democracyisn'tjustahumaninvention.Scientistsnowviewmanyanimalsocietiesasdefactodemocracies,withmajorityruleensuring
groupsurvivalmorethantyrannycan.Herearesevenspeciesthatshareourdemocratictraditionofsharingdecisions.
Democracytakesflight
Queenbeesandalphachimpsaren'tvotedintooffice,butthatdoesn'tmeanthey'redespots.Scientistshavebeguntoviewmanyanimal
speciesasdefactodemocracies,wheremajorityruleensuressurvivalmorethantyrannycan.Ourownspecies'democratictendencies
datebackatleasttoourprehumanancestors.
"[S]hareddecisionmakingislikelytobeofgreatimportancefortheevolutionofstablesocialorganizations,explainingwhyitappearsto
becommoninsocialanimals,"biologistsLarissaConradtandTimothyRoperwroteina2007study,"Democracyinanimals."Most
speciesdon'tbelaborpoliticslikehumansdo,butourdemocraticrootscanbeseenacrosstheanimalkingdomwhich,inmanycases,
ismorelikeananimalrepublic.

Reddeer
ThereddeerofEurasialiveinlargeherds,spendinglotsoftimeeithergrazingorlyingdowntoruminate.Somedeerarereadytomove
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7examplesofanimaldemocracy

onbeforeothersare,andscientistshavenoticedthatherdsonlymovewhen60percentoftheadultsstandupessentiallyvotingwith
theirfeet.Evenifadominantindividualismoreexperiencedandmakesfewermistakesthanitsunderlings,herdstypicallyfavor
democraticdecisionsoverautocraticones.
Amajorreasonforthis,accordingtoresearchbybiologistsLarissaConradtandTimothyRoper,isthatgroupsarelessimpulsive:
"Democraticdecisionsaremorebeneficialprimarilybecausetheytendtoproducelessextremedecisions,ratherthanbecauseeach
individualhasaninfluenceonthedecisionperse."
Chimpanzees
Chimpanzeesandbonobosarehumans'closestbiologicalrelatives,sharingroughly98percentofourgenome,soitmakessensethat
we'dshareafewbehavioraltraits.Chimps'powerstrugglesmaybelouderandrowdierthanSenatehearingsandtownhallmeetings,but
notbymuch.
Andwhiletherearen'tformalelectionsinchimpsociety,noalphamalecanruleforlongwithoutsupportfromakeyvotingbloc:females.
"Themalehastobeacceptedbythefemalesbeforehecangainhisstatus,"accordingtotheInstitutefortheStudyofHumanAnimal
Relationships."Femalescanbeverychoosy,andifthefemalesdonotapproveofthealphamaletheywillnotlethimmatewiththem."
Afterthathappens,hemaysoonbeoverthrownbyarivalmale.
Honeybees
Whilehoneybeesandotherhighlysocialinsectslivefortheirqueen,theydon'tliveinmonarchies.Queenbeesareessentiallyjustegg
layingmachines,leavingthegruntworkofrunningthehivetoworkersanddrones.Theselesserbeesmaynotconsciouslydeliberatelike
humanvoters,buttheircollectivewillisnonethelesswhatdrivesthehive'ssuccess.
Whenscoutbeesperformawaggledancetopitchfuturenestingsites,dozensmaycompeteintryingtoswaythecolony'sdecision.It's
like"apopularitycontestwithadanceparty,"accordingtobiologistThomasSeeleyofCornellUniversity,whoreportedin2011thatbees
alsouseanothertactictobuildconsensus:Theyheadbuttanyscoutsthatstubbornlykeepdancingforalesspopularsite.It'ssortoflike
theinsectworld'sversionofanIowacaucus.
Africanbuffalo
Similartoreddeer,Africanbuffaloareherdherbivoresthatoftenmakegroupdecisionsaboutwhenandwheretomove.Inthe1990s,
researchersrealizedthatwhatinitiallylookedlike"mundanestretching"isactuallyatypeof"votingbehavior,"inwhichfemalesindicate
theirtravelpreferencesbystandingup,staringinonedirectionandthenlyingbackdown.
"Onlyadultfemalesvote,andfemalesparticipateregardlessoftheirsocialstatuswithintheherd,"biologistDavidSloanWilsonwroteina
1997study."Whentheaveragedirectionofgazeiscomparedwiththesubsequentmovementoftheherd,theaveragedeviationisonly
threedegrees,whichiswellwithinmeasurementerror.Ondaysinwhichcowsdiffersharplyintheirdirectionofgaze,theherdtendsto
splitandgrazeinseparatepatchesforthenight."
Cockroaches
Roachesdon'thavecomplexsocialstructureslikebeesandants,buttheymaystillbecapableofdemocraticdecisions.Totestthisidea,
ateamofresearcherspresented50roacheswiththreeshelters,eachofwhichcouldhold50individuals.Sinceroachespreferdarkto
light,theyquicklydividedintogroupsandfledintoshelters.
Butratherthanbehavingchaotically,theroachessplitintogroupsof25,halffillingtwosheltersandleavingthethirdempty.Whenlarger
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shelterswereintroduced,theroachesformedasinglegroupinjustoneofthem.Accordingtothestudy'sauthors,theroacheswere
strikingabalancebetweencooperationandcompetitionforresources:"Withoutelaboratecommunication,globalinformation,andexplicit
comparisonofavailableopportunities,theanimalsareabletoassesstheavailabilityofresourcesandadaptthewaytheyformgroups
amongselectedsites."
Baboons
Baboonsaremonkeys,notapes,buttheirgoverningstylesstillbearsomesimilaritiestochimpanzees.Muchlikeinchimpsociety
whereanalphamaleisoftenkeptincheckbyfemaleconsensusdominantmalebaboonsaren'tquitedictators.Accordingto
primatologistsJamesElseandPhyllisLee,yellowbaboons'groupdecisionsabouttroopmovementmaybeinfluencedbyanyadult,but
highrankingmalesandfemalesseemtohavethefinalsay.
"Alladultanimalswereobservedtodisplayorientationandappearedtoinfluencetroopchoicethroughit,"ElseandLeereportin"Primate
EcologyandConservation,"addingthat"theagreementofthetwomostinfluentialfemalesandoftenoftheadultmalewasnecessaryfor
otherindividuals'suggestionstoinfluencegroupdecisions."
Pigeons
Pigeonsrarelygetrespectoncitystreets,butaccordingtobiologistsatOxfordUniversity,theyhavecomplexsocialhierarchiesinwhich
evenlowrankingbirdscanvoteontheflock'snextflight.UsingGPStrackersattachedtotinybackpacks,theresearchersfoundthat"most
birdshaveasayindecisionmaking,[but]aflexiblesystemof'rank'ensuresthatsomebirdsaremorelikelytoleadandotherstofollow."
Thiskindofsetup,theyadd,"mayrepresentaparticularlyefficientformofdecisionmaking."
Thisarticleoriginallyappearedhere.
PhotoPaulS.Hamilton

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