Simulated poaching affects global connectivity and efficiency in social networks of African savanna elephants—An exemplar of how human disturbance impacts group-living species

Abstract

Selective harvest, such as poaching, impacts group-living animals directly through mortality of individuals with desirable traits, and indirectly by altering the structure of their social networks. Understanding the relationship between disturbance-induced, structural network changes and group performance in wild animals remains an outstanding problem. To address this problem, we evaluated the immediate effect of disturbance on group sociality in African savanna elephants—an example, group-living species threatened by poaching. Drawing on static association data from ten free-ranging groups, we constructed one empirically based, population-wide network and 100 virtual networks; performed a series of experiments ‘poaching’ the oldest, socially central or random individuals; and quantified the immediate change in the theoretical indices of network connectivity and efficiency of social diffusion. Although the social networks never broke down, targeted elimination of the socially central conspecifics, regardless of age, decreased network connectivity and efficiency. These findings hint at the need to further study resilience by modeling network reorganization and interaction-mediated socioecological learning, empirical data permitting. The main contribution of our work is in quantifying connectivity together with global efficiency in multiple social networks that feature the sociodemographic diversity likely found in wild elephant populations. The basic design of our simulation makes it adaptable for hypothesis testing about the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance or lethal management on social interactions in a variety of group-living species with limited, real-world data.

Glucocorticoids of European Bison in Relation to Their Status: Age, Dominance, Social Centrality and Leadership

“…Indeed, it has been shown in elephants or primates that these individuals attract attention of other individuals and are recognised as knowledge repository [ 33 , 100 ]. This could have a direct positive impact on survival of the herd as shown in elephants [ 101 ].…”

Spatial constraints and seasonal conditions but not poaching pressure are linked with elevated faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in white rhino

“…Rhinos travel in small groups (1-4) and are probably less likely than more gregarious herd animals (e.g. elephants and red deer) to have non-lethal encounters with humans and form memories about poaching events (Busch and Hayward 2009;Wiśniewska et al 2022). The ability to associate risky events with places and stimuli may be critical for animals to form adaptive responses to poaching and other risks (Bradshaw et al 2005;Busch and Hayward 2009;Wiśniewska et al 2022).…”

“…Rhinos travel in small groups (1–4) and are probably less likely than more gregarious herd animals (e.g. elephants and red deer) to have non-lethal encounters with humans and form memories about poaching events (Busch and Hayward 2009; Wiśniewska et al . 2022).…”

“…The ability to associate risky events with places and stimuli may be critical for animals to form adaptive responses to poaching and other risks (Bradshaw et al . 2005; Busch and Hayward 2009; Wiśniewska et al . 2022).…”

Spatio-temporal dynamics of attacks around deaths of wolves: A statistical assessment of lethal control efficiency in France

“…A solution would be to upgrade the analysis of observed data by simulations. For example, Wiśniewska et al (2022) used individual-based modelling to simulate poaching effects on elephant social structures. This type of modelling is useful to reproduce biological processes even for socially complex species as wolves.…”