Dieter Lukas
Causes and consequences of sociality
I am an evolutionary biologist focused on social systems of past and present populations from a comparative perspective. My key research achievements highlight the role of kinship in structuring social behaviour, resolve long standing questions about the evolution of animal societies, and advance novel approaches to provide insights into the evolution of social systems. My recent work unravels the fundamental assumptions underlying the field of human behavioural ecology, showing that behavioural variation in humans appears to be constrained by many of the same factors that shape behaviour in other mammals and birds. I am now revealing how the factors shaping social interactions lead to inequality in resource access and power imbalances within societies.
I am a Senior Researcher in the Comparative Behavioral Ecology group of the Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (see here for my full CV).
Research
My research reveals that where and with whom individuals live influences how they behave
Sociality
Populations do not consist of random collections of individuals, but of organised societies: individuals can live solitarily, in pairs, or in groups. I have shown that environmental conditions are a major explanation for why populations show different social organisations and behaviour.
Behaviour
Relationships among individuals vary widely: they might kill or help each other, with both sometimes occurring in the same species. I have shown how kinship among individuals shapes competition and cooperation. I am now determining how differences in behaviour link to reproductive success.
Approaches
In my research, I primarily look at trees: family trees and phylogenetic trees
Family trees
Information on the parents of individuals can reveal their ancestry and who is related to whom. This information also provides the full reproductive histories of individuals, showing if, how often, and when individuals had their children. We determine how kinship shapes behaviour and how behaviour influences reproduction.
Phylogenetic trees
To determine how the environment shapes behaviour, we perform comparisons across individuals, populations, and species. We identify when changes in sociality and behaviour occurred, what the conditions were at the time of the change, and how sociality subsequently influences physiology, morphology, and other behaviours.
Preregistrations
The following are preregistrations that have passed peer review for which we are currently collecting the data and completing the analyses. I provide links to the in-principle acceptance decisions, pdf of the preregistration, updated manuscript depending on status of the study, and where already available the data.
Peer-Reviewed Preregistration: How to succeed in human modified environments
Logan C, Shaw R, Lukas D, McCune K. (2022) Recommendation doi: rr.peercommunityin.org/articles/rec?id=200
Peer-Reviewed Preregistration: Implementing a rapid geographic range expansion - the role of behavior and habitat changes.
Logan C, McCune K, Breen A, Chen N, Lukas D (2020) Recommendation doi: 10.24072/pci.ecology.100062
Peer-Reviewed Preregistration: Investigating the rare behavior of male parental care in great-tailed grackles.
Folsom MA, MacPherson M, Lukas D, McCune KB, Bergeron L, Bond A, Blackwell A, Rowney C, Logan CJ (2020) Recommendation doi: 10.24072/pci.ecology.100054
Peer-Reviewed Preregistration: Is behavioral flexibility related to foraging and social behavior in a rapidly expanding species?
Logan C, Lukas D, Bergeron L, Folsom M, McCune K. (2019) Recommendation doi: 10.24072/pci.ecology.100026
Publications
I provide links to the final versions on the publisher's websites, the deposited open pdfs, and data. For articles that were preregistered, I also provide links to the preregistrations and the in-principle acceptance.
Bayesian reinforcement learning models reveal how great-tailed grackles improve their behavioral flexibility in serial reversal learning experiments.
Lukas D, McCune K, Blaisdell A, Johnson-Ulrich Z, MacPherson M, Seitz B, Sevchik A, Logan C (2024) doi: 10.24072/pcjournal.456
Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability.
Dezeure J, Dagorrette J, Burtschell L, Chowdhury S, Lukas D, Swedell L, Huchard E (2024) doi: 10.24072/pcjournal.464
Cross-cousin marriage among Tsimane forager–horticulturalists during demographic transition and market integration
Dalzero A, Beheim BA, Kaplan H, Stieglitz J, Hooper PL, Ross CT, Gurven M, Lukas D (2024) doi: 10.1017/ehs.2024.11
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gender gap in research productivity within academia.
Lee KGL , Mennerat A, Lukas D, Dugdale HL, Culina A (2023) doi: 10.7554/eLife.85427
Implementing a rapid geographic range expansion-the role of behavior changes.
Logan C, McCune K, LeGrande-Rolls C, Marfori Z, Hubbard J, Lukas D (2023) doi: 10.24072/pcjournal.320
Using repeatability of performance within and across contexts to validate measures of behavioral flexibility.
McCune K, Blaisdell A, Johnson-Ulrich Z, Sevchik A, Lukas D, MacPherson M, Seitz B, Logan CJ (2023) doi: 10.7717/peerj.15773
The role of climate change and niche shifts in divergent range dynamics of a sister-species pair.
Summers J, Lukas D, Logan C, Chen N (2022) doi: 10.32942/osf.io/879pe
Fitness consequences of cousin marriage: a life-history assessment in two populations.
Dalzero A, Ross CT, Lukas D (2022) doi: 10.1017/ehs.2022.55
The eco-evolutionary landscape of power relationships between males and females.
Davidian E, Surbeck M, Lukas D, Kappeler PM, Huchard E (2022) doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.04.004
The effect of dominance rank on female reproductive success in social mammals.
Shivani, Huchard E, Lukas D (2022) doi: 10.24072/pcjournal.158
Local convergence of behavior across species.
Barsbai T, Lukas D, Pondorfer A (2021) doi: 10.1126/science.abb7481
Investigating sex differences in genetic relatedness in great-tailed grackles in Tempe, Arizona to infer potential sex biases in dispersal.
Sevchik A, Logan CJ, Bergeron L, McClune K, Blackwell A, Rowney C, Lukas D. (2021) doi: 10.32942/osf.io/t6beh; Version 5 of this preprint has been peer-reviewed and recommended by Peer Community In Ecology: doi: 10.24072/pci.ecology.10007
Article: publisher's website / pdf / data / code
Preregistration: in-principle acceptance preregistration / accepted version preregistration
The Potential to Infer the Historical Pattern of Cultural Macroevolution.
Lukas D, Towner M, Borgerhoff Mulder M (2021) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0057
Monotocy and the evolution of plural breeding in mammals.
Lukas D, Clutton-Brock T (2020) doi:10.1093/beheco/araa039
Kinship across the lifespan in human communities.
Koster J, Lukas D, Nolin D, Power EA, Alvergne A, Mace R, Ross C, Kramer K, Greaves R, Caudell M, MacFarlan S, Schniter E, Quinlan R, Mattison S, Reynolds A, Yi-Sum C, Massengill E (2019) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0069
The evolution of infanticide by females in mammals.
Lukas D & Huchard E (2019) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0075
Social complexity: patterns, processes, and evolution.
Kappeler PM, Clutton-Brock T, Shultz S, Lukas D (2019) doi: 10.1007/s0026
Women's visibility in academic seminars: women ask fewer questions than men.
Carter A, Croft A, Lukas D & Sandstrom G (2018) doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202743
Social complexity and kinship in animal societies
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2018) doi: 10.1111/ele.13079
Ingredients for Understanding Brain and Behavioral Evolution: Ecology, Phylogeny, and Mechanism
Montgomery SH, Currie A, Lukas D, Boogert N, Buskell A, Cross FR, Jelbert S, Avin S, Mares R, Navarrete AF, Shigeno S & Logan C (2018) doi: 10.3819/CCBR.2018.130011
Beyond brain size: uncovering the neural correlates of behavioral and cognitive specialization
Logan CJ, Avin S, Boogert N, Buskell A, Cross FR, Currie A, Jelbert S, Lukas D, Mares R, Navarette AF, Shigeno S & Montgomtery SH (2018) doi: 10.3819/CCBR.2018.130008
The relationship between egg size and helper number in cooperative breeders: a meta-analysis across species.
Dixit T, English S & Lukas D (2017) doi: 10.7717/peerj.4028
Reply: Comparative studies need to rely both on sound natural history data and on excellent statistical analysis.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock (2017) doi: 10.1098/rsos.171211
Climate and the distribution of cooperative breeding in mammals.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock T (2017) doi: 10.1098/rsos.160897
The evolution of infanticide by males in mammalian societies.
Lukas D & Huchard E (2014) doi: 10.1126/science.1257226
Revisiting non-offspring nursing: allonursing evolves when the costs are low.
MacLeod KJ & Lukas D (2014) doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0378
Costs of mating competition limit male lifetime breeding success in polygynous mammals.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2014) doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0418
Junior scientists are sceptical of sceptics of open access: a reply to Agrawal.
Carter AJ, Horrocks NP, Huchard E, Logan CJ, Lukas D, MacLeod KJ, Marshall HM, Peck HL, Sanderson JL & Sorensen MC. (2014) doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.04.005
Evolution of social monogamy in primates is not consistently associated with male infanticide
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2014) doi: 10.1073/pnas.1401012111
The evolution of social monogamy in mammals.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2013) doi: 10.1126/science.1238677
Caring for offspring in a world of cheats.
Lukas D (2013) doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001519
Individual variation in cognitive performance: developmental and evolutionary perspectives.
Thornton A & Lukas D (2012) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0214
Life histories and the evolution of cooperative breeding in mammals.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2012) doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1433
Cooperative breeding and monogamy in mammalian societies.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2012) doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2468
The evolution of social philopatry and dispersal in female mammals.
Clutton-Brock TH & Lukas D (2012) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05232.x
Group structure, kinship, inbreeding risk and habitual female dispersal in plural-breeding mammals.
Lukas D & Clutton-Brock TH (2011) doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02385.x
Male-mediated gene flow in patrilocal primates.
Schubert G, Stoneking CJ, Arandjelovic M, Boesch C, Eckhard N, Hohmann G, Langergraber K, Lukas D, Vigilant L (2011). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021514
Comparative study of genetic variation in relation to social structures of animals.
Lukas D (2008). PhD Thesis. Universitaet Leipzig.
Y-chromosome analysis confirms highly sex-biased dispersal and suggests a low male effective population size in bonobos (Pan paniscus).
Eriksson J, Siedel H, Lukas D, Kayser M, Erler A, Hashimoto C, Hohmann G, Boesch C & Vigilant L (2006) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02845.x
To what extent does living in a group mean living with kin?
Lukas D, Reynolds V, Boesch C & Vigilant L (2005) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02560.x
Nuclear insertions help and hinder inference of the evolutionary history of gorilla mtDNA.
Thalmann O, Serre D, Hofreiter M, Lukas D, Eriksson J & Vigilant L (2005) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02382.x
Major histocompatibility complex and microsatellite variation in two populations of wild gorillas.
Lukas D, Bradley BJ, Nsubuga AM, Doran-Sheehy D, Robbins M & Vigilant L (2004) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02353.x
Commentary on previous paper: Facts, faeces and setting standards for the study of MHC genes using noninvasive samples.
Lukas D & Vigilant L (2005) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02459.x
Dispersed male networks in western gorillas.
Bradley BJ, Doran-Sheehy DM, Lukas D, Boesch C & Vigilant L (2004) doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2004.02.062
