it is useful for zoology students

1. SOCIAL SYSTEM
Najam Ul Sehar Aiman
Azra Sahanawaz

2. CONTENT
Introduction
Meaning
Characteristics
Properties
Advantages

3. INTRODUCTION OF SOCIAL SYSTEM
 Social behaviour is defined as interactions among individuals, normally within
the same species that are usually beneficial to one or more of the individuals.

4. MEANING OF SOCIAL SYSTEM
 The social system consists of individuals. In the social system each of the
interacting individuals has function or role of to perform in term of the status
he occupies in the system.
 For example; in the family, parents, sons and daughter are required to
perform the certain socially recognized functions or roles.


5. CHARACTERISTICS
Remain together
Length of time
Energy expenditure
Reciprocal communication
Division of labor
Altruism and Kin Selection
Dominance and Hierarchy

6. REMAIN TOGETHER
 The first and most obvious characteristic of social behaviour involves the
number of animals of the same species that actively come together or remain
together in a group the minimum level of sociality or the smallest social group
is found between a male and a female who interact only during breeding
season or between mother and infant.
LENGTH OF TIME
 The social behaviour depends in part on the length of time or part of the life
cycle that the group remain together

7. ENERGY EXPENDITURE
 As opposed to the length of time that the members are simply in a group that
is in physical proximity to each other this element concerns the energy
actually spent in social behaviour.
Reciprocal communication
 Reciprocal communication is generally considered necessary as a mechanism
for attracting and keeping the members of a group together. This
communication may be visual, auditory, olfactory or tactile.
Division of labour
 Much social behaviour is marked by a division of labour and social structure
or what is frequently referred to as roles.

8. ALTRUISM AND KIN SELECTION
 Sometimes one animal in the group will do something to increase the survival
of another at the potential cost to its own fitness or survival. This behavior is
known as altruism. For example, if we are stranded on a deserted island and I
find food and share it with you, I am performing an altruistic act
 like deer, use a visual alarm call to warn other members of the social group
that a predator is near. But, in doing so, the individual sounding the alarm
attracts the notice of the predator, potentially risking one's own life to save
the group.
 When an altruistic act is performed for a member of one's own family it is
called kin selection. Example of this would be choosing to donate an organ to
a family member vs a non-family member.

9. DOMINANCE AND HIERARCHY
 Many social groups are organized. Just like the USA elects a president, or like a
family has parents who lead, many animal social groups are also organized by
social ranking. Many primate, canine and other social groups are organized
through a dominance hierarchy. The male or female in charge is the most
dominant, the alpha, the leader of the group, like the president.

10. PROPERTIES OF SOCIAL
SYSTEM
Communication
Cohesion
Division of labor
Permanence and impermeability

11. COMMUNICATION
 All the complex societies have some form of complex communication system. the
members of a social group make
 Gesture
 Posture
 Change color
 Raise hair
 They secant mark
 Through vocalization
 By touching
 Or special form of echolocation

12. EXAMPLES
 The waggle dance of bees
 Echolocation in bats
 Facial expression in chimpanzees.
 Vocalization in higher organisms

13. COHESION
 The individuals constituting a society tends to remain in close proximity to
one another.
Examples
 Bees live in hive
 Individual in herd of deer
 Pride of lion
 Peck of wolves

14. DIVISION OF LABOR
 In organized societies, animals of different status, sexes or age groups have
different functions in maintaining the society.
Example
 baboon and macaque young adult males often serve as front or rear guard
for group as the group moves, the old adults, dominant males remain in a
more central place and make dicision , the function of females is to bear and
bring infants and care for them.
 Bees hives also have worker, drones and queen.

15. PERMANENCE AND IMPERMEABILITY
 The individual make up a society tend to be same. There is a little migration
from the groups.
Example:
 In mammals the core of the group is formed by females who are related to
each other , the males came and go . Otherwise, membership among females
is permanent.

16. ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL
SYSTEM
Antipredation
Feeding efficiency
Information sharing
Facilitation of reproduction

17. ADVANTAGES
 Social behaviour is designed to enhance an individual’s ability to garner resources and form the
alliances that help it to survive and to reproduce.
Antipredation:
 Improved detection of predators, with more eyes, ears, there is an increased chance that one or
more individuals will detect a predator before the others and be able to warn rest of the grop.
Example:
 Individuals give alarm calls for warn about predators
 Guard behaviour in monkeys
 Mutual vigilance in bamboos, and zebra
 Mobbing in social insect.

18. FEEDING EFFICIENCY AND INFORMATION SHARING
 It is easier for a group of animals to catch a prey instead of catching it alone or
cooperative foraging is beneficial. The advantage in a group is that mutual
vigilance for predators allow each individual to spend more time foraging,
without increasing vulnerability too predators.
 Examples:
 Groups of monkeys easily detect bananas.
 Pups of wild dogs, lions and wolves are often attended by few adults, while
other are go for hunting.

19. FACILITATION OF REPRODUCTION
 Group living improve reproduction strategies. It is easier to find a mate in
group rather then in whole forest. It is the way to save energy for other
things.
Examples:
 In solitary animals like Rhino and orangutang it is difficult for them to find
mate in wide rang. It is easier to find mate in group for them.

20. DISADVANTAGES OF BEING
SOCIAL
INCREASED SICKNESS AND DISEASE
INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO PREDATORS
INCREASED COMPETITION FOR FOOD
INCREASED COMPETITION FOR MATES

21. INCREASED SICKNESS AND DISEASE
 Animals that live in close proximity to one another face higher risks of
infection than do individual animals.
 Diseases and parasites can be passed between animals living too closely
together, and this can dramatically
 decrease a group's numbers. Some animals might die as a direct result of the
sickness itself, but latent effects of infection can come in several forms, such
as decreased mobility, making it difficult to escape from predators, as well as
decreased vision and sense of smell, making it harder to find food.

22. INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO PREDATORS
 Large congregations of animals are more susceptible to predation than are
small groups or individuals.
 While large groups afford a certain amount of security, they can also make
easy targets of themselves by being easy to spot.
 During attacks, large groups have difficulty seeking hiding places, and can find
their numbers easily decreased by predators

23. INCREASED COMPETITION FOR FOOD
 The bigger the animal group, the more competitive the hunt for food
becomes.
 Predators who hunt in large packs or prides tend to expend more energy
than needed in capturing prey, as the element of surprise is not so easy to
come by.
 Predators often scavenge as a result, and many go hungry.
 Sizable assemblies of animals put pressure on food resources, and unequal
distribution of food among animals can lead to increased aggression,
starvation, and death.

24. INCREASED COMPETITION FOR MATES
 In group settings -- where there are more males than females -- direct,
aggressive competition to find a mate can become the norm.
 Ritualized fighting and displays of violence and aggression can ensue before --
and even after-- finding a mate.
 The ultimate battle here is not necessarily for survival in the strictest sense
but in the passing on of genes and reproductive success

25. EXAMPLES
Social organization in insects
Social organization in fishes
Social organization in birds
Social organization in mammals