Conflicts are ubiquitous between individuals as well as between groups. Effective conflict resolution is essential for individual well-being and group functioning and often involves leadership dynamics. The evolutionary human sciences have suggested that conflict resolution is shaped by psychological heuristics, norms and ecology. There are limited empirical data, however, on conflict resolution across cultures. Using a cross-cultural database of 109 leadership dimensions coded from over 1200 text records from the eHRAF ethnographic database, exploratory analyses investigated correlates of conflict resolution. The results revealed greater evidence of conflict resolution among kin groups than political groups and greater evidence of within-group conflict resolution than between-group, which did not vary across subsistence strategies or group contexts, with two exceptions – military group conflicts were biased towards between-group contexts and religious groups biased towards within-group contexts. The strongest predictors of conflict-resolution services were other prosocial functions and included group representation and providing counsel, protection and punishment, as well as qualities of interpersonal skills and fairness. Followers received social service benefits and reduced risk of harm. For leaders who resolve conflicts, status and social benefits were potential negative predictors. These results provide a comparative view of the correlates of conflict resolution suggesting diversity across social contexts.

Following precipitous population declines as a result of intensive hunting and 20th century predator-control programmes, hybridization of the Critically Endangered red wolf Canis rufus with coyotes Canis latrans posed a significant challenge for red wolf recovery efforts. Anthropogenic mortality and hybridization continue to pose challenges; the increasing number of wolf deaths caused by humans has limited wolf population growth, facilitated the encroachment of coyotes into eastern North Carolina, and affected the formation and disbandment of breeding pairs. We assessed the effects of anthropogenic mortality on Canis breeding units during a 22-year period (1991–2013). Our results show that deaths caused by people accounted for 40.6% of breeding pair disbandment, and gunshots were the primary cause of mortality. Red wolves replaced congeneric breeding pairs > 75% of the time when pairs disbanded under natural conditions or as a result of management actions. Since the mid 2000s anthropogenic mortality has caused annual preservation rates of red wolf breeding pairs to decline by 34%, and replacement of Canis breeders by red wolves to decline by 30%. Our results demonstrate that human-caused mortality, specifically by gunshots, had a strong negative effect on the longevity of red wolf pairs, which may benefit coyotes indirectly by removing their primary competitor. Coyotes are exacerbating the decline of red wolves by pair-bonding with resident wolves whose mates have been killed.

The process by which solitary animals evolve to live in groups is a central question in biology. Conspecifics that compete for patchy resources may evolve incipient social behaviours such as group formation and conspecific tolerance when persistent aggressive interactions reduce resource access. In this investigation, a facultative group living species of whip spider was studied to understand the microhabitat resources that support group formation. Although most species of whip spider are solitary and oftentimes cannibalistic, Heterophrynus batesii sometimes aggregate in small groups at the bases of tree trunks. Twenty-five groups of whip spiders and associated tree buttress microhabitats were surveyed at Tiputini Biodiversity Station bordering Yasuní National Park in Eastern Amazonian Ecuador. Tree buttress complexity, surface area and other microhabitat variables were recorded. Heterophrynus batesii aggregated in groups of 2–8 animals and used large, buttressing, complex trees with more leaf litter relative to those available in the environment. This study showed that large groups of whip spiders require more complex microhabitats than smaller groups that were associated with more variable microhabitat parameters. These microhabitats act as patches of limited resources important for the species, and may have led to the evolution of tolerance and facultative group living.

We hypothesised that (i) increased feeding motivation will cause sheep to move further apart as a result of individuals trying to find food and (ii) in conditions of high food availability, sheep will move less and show greater social attraction. The effects of both feeding motivation and food availability on spatial distribution was examined in eight groups of food-deprived (high feeding motivation) and satiated (low feeding motivation) sheep in good or poor food resource plots in a 2 × 2 design. Distance travelled was assessed using Global Positioning System collars, grazing time using scan sampling and social cohesion using proximity collars that record the number and duration of encounters within 4 m. Food-deprived sheep in the good-resource plots grazed the most, whereas satiated sheep in the poor-resource plots grazed the least (P = 0.004). Food deprivation had no significant effect on the number or duration of encounters and feeding motivation appeared to have little effect on spatial distribution. Contrary to expectation, sheep had more encounters (P = 0.04) of a longer total duration (P = 0.02) in poor-resource plots than in good-resource plots, indicating that sheep were showing more social cohesion if food was scarce. Our findings suggest that when food is scarce, animals may come together in an attempt to share information on food availability. However, when a highly preferred food is abundant and well dispersed, they may move apart in order to maximise the intake. It is concluded that the particular details of our experiment, namely the even distribution or absence of a highly preferred food, affected spatial distribution patterns as sheep tried to find this food and maximise the intake.

Background: There is large cross-national variation in the characteristics of small, domestic-style care settings which emphasize normalized living. However, a systematic overview of existing types is lacking. This study provides an international comparison of the care concepts which have adopted a homelike philosophy in a small-scale context. Insight into their characteristics is vital for theory, planning and implementation of such dementia care settings.

Method: A literature search was performed using various electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO. In addition, “gray” literature was identified on the internet. Concepts were analyzed according to five main characteristics: physical setting, number of residents, residents' characteristics, domestic characteristics and care concept.

Results: 75 papers were included covering 11 different concept types in various countries. Similarities among concepts reflected a focus on meaningful activities centered around the daily household. Staff have integrated tasks and are part of the household, and archetypical home-style features, such as kitchens, are incorporated in the buildings. Differences among concepts were found mainly in the physical settings, numbers of residents and residents' characteristics. Some concepts have become regular dementia care settings, while others are smaller initiatives.

Conclusion: The care concepts are implemented in various ways with a changing staff role. However, many aspects of these small, homelike facilities remain unclear. Future research is needed, focusing on residents' characteristics, family, staff and costs.

Onychophora lead a cryptic lifestyle as predators in decaying logs and leaf litter. Hence, very little is known about their behaviour. They are generally assumed to possess only a limited behavioural repertoire, even though their surprisingly evolved brain suggests otherwise. Our studies on the Australian species Euperipatoides rowelli show for the first time that onychophorans are indeed capable of complex behaviour. Euperipatoides rowelli individuals form aggregations of up to 15 females, males and young. These aggregations are not random assemblages, but close social groups organized in a hierarchy based on female dominance. Food is hunted collectively, but the dominant female of a group feeds alone, before other females, males and young. Hierarchy within a group is established by aggressive-dominant and passive-subordinate behaviours, the latter leading to tolerance of body contact and aggregation. Euperipatoides rowelli from foreign groups, i.e. from different logs, are met with intense aggression, and individuals rarely aggregate. The reasons for this aggression are not clear, but we suggest that its origins lie in kin recognition. The evolution of social behaviour within the Onychophora is discussed with respect to their ecology, population genetics and phylogeny.