Predation Risk Shapes Social Networks in Fission-Fusion Populations

Kelley, Jennifer L.; Morrell, Lesley J.; Inskip, Chloe; Krause, Jens; Croft, Darren P.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024280

Cited by 98 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…For example killer whales, Orcinus orca, form a more interconnected social network when food is abundant (Foster et al, 2012). Other ecological factors that can influence social structure include predation pressure (Kelley, Morrell, Inskip, Krause, & Croft, 2011), habitat disturbance (Lattanzio & Miles, 2014) and habitat The GLMM formula in R was lmer(ScaleDamage~Treatment þ SameSex þ Sex þ (1jSite)).…”

Section: Effect On Long-term Social Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

et al. 2016

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Social structure is a fundamental component of a population that drives ecological and evolutionary processes ranging from parasite transmission to sexual selection. Nevertheless, we have much to learn about factors that explain variation in social structure. We used advances in biologging and social network analysis to experimentally test how the local habitat, and specifically habitat complexity, modulates social structure at different levels in wild populations. Sleepy lizards, Tiliqua rugosa, establish nonrandom social networks that are characterized by avoidance of some neighbours and frequent interactions with one opposite-sex individual. Using synchronous GPS locations of all adult lizards, we constructed social networks based on spatial proximity of individuals. We increased habitat structural complexity in two study populations by adding 100 short fences across the landscape. We then compared the resulting movement behaviour and social structure between these populations and two unmanipulated populations. Social connectivity (network density) and social stability, measured at weekly intervals, were greater in populations with increased habitat structural complexity. The level of agonistic interaction (quantified as scale damage) was also higher, indicating a fitness cost of greater social connectivity. However, some network parameters were unaffected by increased complexity, including disassortative mixing by sex, and at the individual level, social differentiation among associates (coefficient of variation of edge weights) and maximal interaction frequencies (maximal edge weight). This suggests divergent effects of changed ecological conditions on individual association behaviour compared to the resulting social structure of the population. Our results contrast with those from studies of more gregarious species, in which higher structural complexity in the environment relaxed the social connectivity. This shows that the response to altered ecological conditions can differ fundamentally between species or between populations, and we suggest that it depends on their tendency for gregarious behaviour.

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Section: Effect On Long-term Social Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

et al. 2016

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“…SNA allows us to address several of the aspects of sociality laid out by Wilson (1975) in an integrated, quantitative framework that can facilitate objective comparison between individuals, populations, and species (Faust & Skvoretz, 2002;Kelley et al, 2011;Wilson et al, 2013). Even more exciting, as other fields utilizing network analysis develop in parallel with behavioral ecology, cross-pollination of concepts and techniques have occurred and will continue to, thereby enriching our field with an influx of new hypotheses and methods to test them.…”

Section: The Advent Of Modern Social Network Analysis In Nonhuman Sysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since social structure is derived from behaviors shaped via natural selection, it is predicted to reflect selective pressures and phylogenetic history (e.g., Sundaresan et al, 2007;Kelley et al, 2011). However, network comparisons are often not straightforward, particularly when networks vary in size and connectedness .…”

Section: Comparative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern social network analyses have been used extensively to examine various aspects of guppy social biology, including cooperation during predator inspection (Croft et al, 2006), phenotypic assortment within shoals (Croft et al, 2004;Wilson et al, 2014), and social variation across environmental conditions (Kelley et al, 2011;Borner et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 2015). Guppies exhibit consistent between-individual variation along several personality axes, and this variation has been shown to influence group exploration (Brown & Irving, 2014), social network structure , and foraging behavior (Dyer et al, 2009).…”

Section: Social Interactions Can Facilitate the Transmission Of Informentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such patterns can be quantified as a social network, in which nodes, representing individuals, are connected by edges denoting some form of social relationship . Those studies that have examined the impacts of predation risk on network structure have found that heightened perception of risk results in more densely interconnected networks (Sundaresan et al, 2007;Kelley et al, 2011) and can drive the formation of stable social bonds between group members (Kelley et al, 2011;Heathcote et al, 2017). Such structural shifts in response to the threat of predation can have important implications for a number of social processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social dynamics, network structure, and information diffusion in fish shoals.

Hasenjager¹

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for always ensuring my library was well-stocked, and for fostering my enduring love of the natural world. Animal populations are often highly structured, with individuals differing in terms of whom they interact with and how frequently they do so. The resulting pattern of relationships constitutes a population's social network. In this dissertation, I examine how environmental variation can shape social networks and influence information flow within them. In Chapter I, I review the history of social network analysis in animal behavior research, and discuss recent insights generated by network approaches in behavioral ecology. I focus on the fields of: social learning, collective behavior, animal personalities, and cooperation. Animal network studies are often criticized for a lack of replication at the network level and an over-reliance on descriptive approaches in lieu of hypothesis testing. Small, shoaling fish may provide a means to address these concerns, as manipulative experiments can be conducted on replicate social groups under captive conditions. Chapters III-V examine the impacts of environmental variation on the social networks of Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) shoals, the social dynamics from which they emerge, and information diffusion within them. In the experiments described in Chapter III, I manipulated shoal composition in terms of within-group familiarity.Mixed shoals of familiar and unfamiliar fish exhibited greater homogeneity in network vi structure relative to other groups, which likely contributed to the rapid diffusion of foraging information observed within them. In the experiments discussed in Chapter IV, Imanipulated the within-shoal mixture of personality types. In addition to impacting frequencies of partner switching and patterns of phenotypic assortment, individual-and group-level personality variation had strong effects on the initial acquisition of novel foraging information and the speed of its transmission through a group. In the experiments in Chapter V, I manipulated the ambient predation risk perceived by groups.High-risk conditions were associated with shifts in network structure consistent with attempts to minimize predation risk. High ambient risk also impeded the acquisition and subsequent transmission of foraging information, likely due to heightened neophobia and/or an increase in the perceived costs of personal sampling. I conclude in Chapter VI by considering the broader implications of my work and highlighting promising avenues for future research.vii

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Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

Wielgus

Cornélis

Garine‐Wichatitsky

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Fission–fusion dynamics allow animals to manage costs and benefits of group living by adjusting group size. The degree of intraspecific variation in fission–fusion dynamics across the geographical range is poorly known. During 2008–2016, 38 adult female Cape buffalo were equipped with GPS collars in three populations located in different protected areas (Gonarezhou National Park and Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe; Kruger National Park, South Africa) to investigate the patterns and environmental drivers of fission–fusion dynamics among populations. We estimated home range overlap and fission and fusion events between Cape buffalo dyads. We investigated the temporal dynamics of both events at daily and seasonal scales and examined the influence of habitat and distance to water on event location. Fission–fusion dynamics were generally consistent across populations: Fission and fusion periods lasted on average between less than one day and three days. However, we found seasonal differences in the underlying patterns of fission and fusion, which point out the likely influence of resource availability and distribution in time on group dynamics: During the wet season, Cape buffalo split and associated more frequently and were in the same or in a different subgroup for shorter periods. Cape buffalo subgroups were more likely to merge than to split in open areas located near water, but overall vegetation and distance to water were very poor predictors of where fission and fusion events occurred. This study is one of the first to quantify fission–fusion dynamics in a single species across several populations with a common methodology, thus robustly questioning the behavioral flexibility of fission–fusion dynamics among environments.

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Predation Risk Shapes Social Networks in Fission-Fusion Populations

Cited by 98 publications

References 85 publications

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

Environment modulates population social structure: experimental evidence from replicated social networks of wild lizards

Social dynamics, network structure, and information diffusion in fish shoals.

Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

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