The importance of fission–fusion social group dynamics in birds

Silk, Matthew J.; Croft, Darren P.; Tregenza, Tom; Bearhop, Stuart

doi:10.1111/ibi.12191

Cited by 117 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 152 publications

(294 reference statements)

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“…Measures of centrality could be applied at this scale to calculate whether particular locations contribute disproportionately to disease spread, in practice functioning as “super-spreader locations.” In many migratory populations, these might be expected to be hubs or migration bottlenecks (Silk et al 2014). Modularity approaches could help identify clusters of sites that are closely linked and therefore at greater risk if infection emerges in an area.…”

Section: Getting Creative With Network Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Social Network Measures in Wildlife Disease Ecology, Epidemiology, and Management

Silk¹,

Croft²,

Delahay³

et al. 2017

BioScience

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123

133

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Contact networks, behavioral interactions, and shared use of space can all have important implications for the spread of disease in animals. Social networks enable the quantification of complex patterns of interactions; therefore, network analysis is becoming increasingly widespread in the study of infectious disease in animals, including wildlife. We present an introductory guide to using social-network-analytical approaches in wildlife disease ecology, epidemiology, and management. We focus on providing detailed practical guidance for the use of basic descriptive network measures by suggesting the research questions to which each technique is best suited and detailing the software available for each. We also discuss how using network approaches can be used beyond the study of social contacts and across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Finally, we integrate these approaches to examine how network analysis can be used to inform the implementation and monitoring of effective disease management strategies.

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Section: Getting Creative With Network Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Social Network Measures in Wildlife Disease Ecology, Epidemiology, and Management

Silk¹,

Croft²,

Delahay³

et al. 2017

BioScience

Self Cite

123

133

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This fitness balance is affected by individual attributes (e.g. relatedness to other group members, sex, age, condition; Russell and Hatchwell, 2001;Clutton-Brock et al, 2002;Silk et al, 2014) and by a range of ecological factors including resource availability and competition (Koenig et al, 1992;Russell, 2004), predation intensity (Elgar, 1989;Beauchamp, 2008), disease risk (Nunn et al, 2015) and climate (Jetz and Rubenstein, 2011;Cockburn and Russell, 2011). However, testing the effects of ecological factors on levels of sociality is often challenging because many are both difficult to quantify and common to the population under study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energetics of communal roosting in chestnut-crowned babblers: implications for group dynamics and breeding phenology

Chappell

Buttemer

Russell

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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For many endotherms, communal roosting saves energy in cold conditions, but how this might affect social dynamics or breeding phenology is not well understood. Using chestnut-crowned babblers (Pomatostomus ruficeps), we studied the effects of nest use and group size on roosting energy costs. These 50 g cooperatively breeding passerine birds of outback Australia breed from late winter to early summer and roost in huddles of up to 20 in single-chambered nests. We measured babbler metabolism at three ecologically relevant temperatures: 5°C (similar to minimum nighttime temperatures during early breeding), 15°C (similar to nighttime temperatures during late breeding) and 28°C (thermal neutrality). Nest use alone had modest effects: even for solitary babblers at 5°C, it reduced nighttime energy expenditures by <15%. However, groupsize effects were substantial, with savings of up to 60% in large groups at low temperatures. Babblers roosting in groups of seven or more at 5°C, and five or more at 15°C, did not need to elevate metabolic rates above basal levels. Furthermore, even at 28°C (thermoneutral for solitary babblers), individuals in groups of four or more had 15% lower basal metabolic rate than single birds, hinting that roosting in small groups is stressful. We suggest that the substantial energy savings of communal roosting at low temperatures help explain why early breeding is initiated in large groups and why breeding females, which roost alone and consequently expend 120% more energy overnight than other group members, suffer relatively higher mortality than communally roosting group mates.

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“…There is a growing focus on understanding how an individual's personality, phenotype and condition interact to influence its social decision making and social strategy (Aplin et al, 2013;Croft et al, 2005Croft et al, , 2009Silk, Croft, Tregenza, & Bearhop, 2014;Wilson, Krause S., Dingemanse & Krause 2013). By studying variation in individual social position, it is possible to make inferences about both the mechanisms that drive population social structure in a study system (Connor, Heithaus, & Barre, 2001;Stanley & Dunbar, 2013;Wittemyer, Douglas-Hamilton, & Getz, 2005) and the consequences of following particular social strategies for individual fitness (Formica et al, 2012;McDonald, 2007;Wey et al, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

The consequences of unidentifiable individuals for the analysis of an animal social network

et al. 2015

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The importance of fission–fusion social group dynamics in birds

Cited by 117 publications

References 152 publications

Using Social Network Measures in Wildlife Disease Ecology, Epidemiology, and Management

Using Social Network Measures in Wildlife Disease Ecology, Epidemiology, and Management

Energetics of communal roosting in chestnut-crowned babblers: implications for group dynamics and breeding phenology

The consequences of unidentifiable individuals for the analysis of an animal social network

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