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Inter-individual communication as a skill-component for the coordination of action

There are gender-specific differences in DNA for a given species. Not surprisingly, there are gender-specific differences in skills that appear to be associated with the gender-based differences in DNA. For example, there appear to be gender-specific skills associated with mating in many species. There appear to be age-specific differences in skills. Imprinting is a skill like imitation that appears to be associated with a maturational time-window.

Separate, uncoordinated skills

We can imagine skilled action that somehow works together without any of the individuals 'knowing' that other individuals are collaborating to produce a desirable outcome. For instance, a fish may deposit an egg-mass and another fish may come soon after to inseminate the eggs, but the two individual fish do not have to know what is happening.

Coordinated skills

Many skilled actions require coordination for collaboration to produce a desirable outcome. The coordination may only need a single bit, like a beep or a flag. A warning sound may get a herd moving. Other collaborations may need a lot more detail. The information may be from shared clues in the environment, such as the behaviour of a prey or an offspring. Other information may from from visually observing the behaviour of the collaborating other. In some cases, a single information package might suffice, while in other cases a lot of packets have to be exchanged. Some collaborations may require almost continuous exchanges, e.g. where timing coordination is critical. Sending and receiving this information must be part of the skill underlying the collaborative action.

Exchangeable skills

Some species can exchange roles in a collaboration, where a given individual acts out one role on one occasion, and another role on a different occasion, but for the same collaborative task. I have read that lions can do so for their hunting.

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