Proximity data-loggers increase the quantity and quality of social network data

Ryder, Thomas B.; Horton, Brent M.; Tillaart, Mike van den; Morales, Juan de Dios; Moore, Ignacio T.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0536

Cited by 52 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Even though observations of a large number of mating events may be difficult, recent progress in designing technological tools monitoring the spatial proximity between individuals might help acquiring these data (Ryder et al . ). Second, when documenting the identity of candidate mates is impossible, analytical designs may employ haplotype‐based approaches, as these facilitate the use of population genetics tools which offer more possibilities to control for the genetic structure of the population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

MHC‐disassortative mate choice and inbreeding avoidance in a solitary primate

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual selection theory suggests that choice for partners carrying dissimilar genes at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) may play a role in maintaining genetic variation in animal populations by limiting inbreeding or improving the immunity of future offspring. However, it is often difficult to establish whether the observed MHC dissimilarity among mates drives mate choice or represents a by-product of inbreeding avoidance based on MHC-independent cues. Here, we used 454-sequencing and a 10-year study of wild grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), small, solitary primates from western Madagascar, to compare the relative importance on the mate choice of two MHC class II genes, DRB and DQB, that are equally variable but display contrasting patterns of selection at the molecular level, with DRB under stronger diversifying selection. We further assessed the effect of the genetic relatedness and of the spatial distance among candidate mates on the detection of MHC-dependent mate choice. Our results reveal inbreeding avoidance, along with disassortative mate choice at DRB, but not at DQB. DRB-disassortative mate choice remains detectable after excluding all related dyads (characterized by a relatedness coefficient r > 0), but varies slightly with the spatial distance among candidate mates. These findings suggest that the observed deviations from random mate choice at MHC are driven by functionally important MHC genes (like DRB) rather than passively resulting from inbreeding avoidance and further emphasize the need for taking into account the spatial and genetic structure of the population in correlative tests of MHC-dependent mate choice.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

MHC‐disassortative mate choice and inbreeding avoidance in a solitary primate

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We noted earlier that the effective detection range can be highly variable and is not always fully accounted for in many studies [29,50], suggesting further refinement of network weightings is needed as these methods develop. The current methodology proposed in this paper remains unvalidated and fine-scale, contact network data, such as that obtained from proximity loggers, are much needed to confirm the accuracy with which these techniques truly capture social associations in marine organisms [2,51]. Terrestrial studies have taught us that the reliability with which proximity networks capture social processes can be highly variable [52] and can influence how we interpret network structure [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arrays

Jacoby

Papastamatiou

Freeman

2016

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Analyses of animal social networks have frequently benefited from techniques derived from other disciplines. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been adopted to infer social associations from time-series data gathered using remote, telemetry systems situated at provisioning sites. We adapt and modify existing inference methods to reveal the underlying social structure of wide-ranging marine predators moving through spatial arrays of passive acoustic receivers. From six months of tracking data for grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) at Palmyra atoll in the Pacific Ocean, we demonstrate that some individuals emerge as leaders within the population and that this behavioural coordination is predicted by both sex and the duration of co-occurrences between conspecifics. In doing so, we provide the first evidence of long-term, spatially extensive social processes in wild sharks. To achieve these results, we interrogate simulated and real tracking data with the explicit purpose of drawing attention to the key considerations in the use and interpretation of inference methods and their impact on resultant social structure. We provide a modified translation of the GMMEvents method for R, including new analyses quantifying the directionality and duration of social events with the aim of encouraging the careful use of these methods more widely in less tractable social animal systems but where passive telemetry is already widespread.

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, the simplest and most commonly used measure of parental effort continues to be the number of visits/unit time to the nest or per chick (correcting for brood size) as discussed above. It is generally difficult to collect large amounts of data for many individuals on these other components of provisioning effort, but this is becoming easier with developments in nest cameras (García-Navas and Sanz 2010; Stodola et al 2010), RFID tags (Mariette et al 2011), automated radio-tracking systems that can cover relatively large areas of habitat (Mitchell et al 2012;Ryder et al 2012), or accelerometers Spivey and Bishop 2013). Thus, the goal should be to take a multivariate approach to obtain an integrated measurement of individual variation in parental workload coupled with physiological analysis of these same individuals.…”

Section: Experimental Manipulation Of Workload In Free-livingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual variation in workload during parental care: can we detect a physiological signature of quality or cost of reproduction?

Williams

Fowler

2015

J Ornithol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How hard do birds work during parental care, chick rearing, or provisioning of their nestlings? And if birds do work hard, can we detect a physiological signature of individual variation in workload ability (perhaps related to 'quality') or costs associated with high workload? Here, we provide a broad conceptual perspective on these questions. Life-history theory predicts (or requires) that (1) parental care is hard work, (2) individuals that invest more in parental care benefit in terms of rearing more, larger, fitter offspring, but that (3) increased investment in parental care comes at a cost: decreased future fecundity and/or survival. However, we start by highlighting studies that are inconsistent with this conventional view, e.g., (1) females often do not pay a survival cost of increased workload (though males do), (2) some (high quality?) individuals appear to maximise numerous life-history traits, and (3) workload during parental care often does not predict productivity. We suggest that an ''exercise physiology'' perspective on parental care might be informative, but highlight the fact that existing models of exercise often involve conditions very different from that free-living animals experience while foraging (e.g., using forced exercise) and are often divorced from the critical relationship in free-living animals between exercise and acquisition of resources. We briefly review studies looking at physiological effects of workload during parental care in freeliving birds, but again highlight our surprising lack of knowledge in this area especially where experimental manipulation of workload is coupled with comprehensive, physiological analysis. Finally, we make three recommendations for how can we advance the study of physiology of parental care in chick-rearing birds: (1) experimental manipulation of workload, (2) obtaining better measures of workload, for large numbers of knownindividuals, and (3) better assessment of physiology of individual quality, and identification of specific metrics of workload-induced 'wear and tear'.

show abstract

Proximity data-loggers increase the quantity and quality of social network data

Cited by 52 publications

References 16 publications

MHC‐disassortative mate choice and inbreeding avoidance in a solitary primate

MHC‐disassortative mate choice and inbreeding avoidance in a solitary primate

Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arrays

Individual variation in workload during parental care: can we detect a physiological signature of quality or cost of reproduction?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About