Drivers and consequences of variation in individual social connectivity

Williams, Allison; Worsley‐Tonks, Katherine E. L.; Ezenwa, Vanessa O.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.08.021

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…More socially isolated individuals that roam with fewer others might miss out on important knowledge about food resources and predators [22,23]. More mobile individuals in a multi-level society, indicated by higher betweenness, might be able to better exploit dynamic and dispersed food resources [24].…”

Section: (A) Predictions On Effects Of Sociability and Environment On Survivalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes

et al. 2021

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Studies increasingly show that social connectedness plays a key role in determining survival, in addition to natural and anthropogenic environmental factors. Few studies, however, integrated social, non-social and demographic data to elucidate what components of an animal's socio-ecological environment are most important to their survival. Female giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) form structured societies with highly dynamic group membership but stable long-term associations. We examined the relative contributions of sociability (relationship strength, gregariousness and betweenness), together with those of the natural (food sources and vegetation types) and anthropogenic environment (distance from human settlements), to adult female giraffe survival. We tested predictions about the influence of sociability and natural and human factors at two social levels: the individual and the social community. Survival was primarily driven by individual- rather than community-level social factors. Gregariousness (the number of other females each individual was observed with on average) was most important in explaining variation in female adult survival, more than other social traits and any natural or anthropogenic environmental factors. For adult female giraffes, grouping with more other females, even as group membership frequently changes, is correlated with better survival, and this sociability appears to be more important than several attributes of their non-social environment.

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Section: (A) Predictions On Effects Of Sociability and Environment On Survivalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes

et al. 2021

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“…When a group was located, the identity of all eartagged individuals, the size of the group, and its composition in terms of sex and age structure were recorded. A group was considered to be any set of individuals engaged in coordinated activity that were spatially distinct from other groups at the time of observation [16].…”

Section: (B) Group Size and Gin Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ear-tagged) individuals who were seen defecating, which allowed us to directly pair group size observations with parasite counts. Since female gazelle have a relatively fluid social structure in which individuals can move between groups [16], our study design allowed us to capture potential variability in a single individual's group size over time. However, individual group size was significantly repeatable in our dataset (R ¼ 0.311 + 0.115, CI: 0.079-0.533, p ¼ 0.001; estimated using the linear mixed model (LMM) method in the rptR package in R [17]), suggesting there is some degree of consistency in individual group size that could translate into differential infection risk.…”

Section: (B) Group Size and Gin Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social living simultaneously increases infection risk and decreases the cost of infection

Ezenwa

Worsley‐Tonks

2018

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Elevated parasite infection risk is considered to be a near-universal cost of social living. However, living in groups may also provide benefits that reduce the negative impacts of infection. These potential ‘tolerance’ benefits of living socially are theoretically possible, but have rarely been described. In this study, we used an anthelmintic treatment experiment in wild Grant's gazelles ( Nanger granti ), who are commonly infected with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), to show that social living confers both costs and benefits related to GIN parasitism. We show that although larger group size increases GIN infection risk, a key cost of GIN infection—the suppression of food intake—is simultaneously moderated by living in larger groups. Our findings help illuminate the complex role parasites play in the evolution of host social behaviour.

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“…Within animal groups, individuals typically occupy different social positions ( Aplin et al 2015 ; Williams et al 2017 ; Blaszczyk 2018 ), which can have fitness-relevant consequences. Differences in individual sociality, characterized by variation in the number and strength of connections to conspecifics and the centrality within the group, have been linked to processes such as the acquisition of information ( Aplin et al 2012 ; Kulahci and Quinn 2019 ), the spread of diseases ( Godfrey et al 2009 ; Hamede et al 2009 ), competition for resources ( Farine and Sheldon 2015 ), and survival ( Stanton and Mann 2012 ; Alberts 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social network position predicts male mating success in a small passerine

2021

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Individuals differ in the quantity and quality of their associations with conspecifics. The resulting variation in the positions that individuals occupy within their social environment can affect several aspects of life history, including reproduction. While research increasingly shows how social factors can predict dyadic mating patterns (who will breed with whom), much less is known about how an individual’s social position affects its overall likelihood to acquire mating partner(s). We studied social networks of socially monogamous blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to investigate whether the number and strength of connections to opposite-sex conspecifics, the ratio between same- and opposite-sex connections, and the tendency to move between social groups in the months prior to breeding affect individuals’ success in acquiring 1) a breeding partner and 2) an extrapair partner. After controlling for differences in spatial location, we show that males that moved more often between social groups were more likely to acquire a breeding partner. Moreover, adult males that associated with more females were more likely to sire extrapair young. The number of female associates also predicted the proportion of familiar female breeding neighbors, suggesting that familiarity among neighbors may facilitate opportunities for extrapair matings. In females, none of the network metrics significantly predicted the likelihood of acquiring a breeding or extrapair partner. Our study suggests that the positioning of males within their social environment prior to breeding can translate into future mating success, adding an important new dimension to studies of (extrapair) mating behavior.

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Drivers and consequences of variation in individual social connectivity

Cited by 20 publications

References 86 publications

Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes

Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes

Social living simultaneously increases infection risk and decreases the cost of infection

Social network position predicts male mating success in a small passerine

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