ORCID Profile
0000-0003-2208-7613
Current Organisations
University of California Davis
,
University of Oxford
,
Universität Zürich
,
University of Konstanz
,
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Related Links
Publications
Habitat and social factors shape individual decisions and emergent group structure during baboon collective movement
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 31-01-2017
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.19505
Abstract: For group-living animals traveling through heterogeneous landscapes, collective movement can be influenced by both habitat structure and social interactions. Yet research in collective behavior has largely neglected habitat influences on movement. Here we integrate simultaneous, high-resolution, tracking of wild baboons within a troop with a 3-dimensional reconstruction of their habitat to identify key drivers of baboon movement. A previously unexplored social influence – baboons’ preference for locations that other troop members have recently traversed – is the most important predictor of in idual movement decisions. Habitat is shown to influence movement over multiple spatial scales, from long-range attraction and repulsion from the troop’s sleeping site, to relatively local influences including road-following and a short-range avoidance of dense vegetation. Scaling to the collective level reveals a clear association between habitat features and the emergent structure of the group, highlighting the importance of habitat heterogeneity in shaping group coordination.
The performance of field sampling for parasite detection in a wild passerine
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.9242
Abstract: Parasites can impact the behavior of animals and alter the interplay with ecological factors in their environment. Studying the effects that parasites have on animals thus requires accurate estimates of infections in in iduals. However, quantifying parasites can be challenging due to several factors. Laboratory techniques, physiological fluctuations, methodological constraints, and environmental influences can introduce measurement errors, in particular when screening in iduals in the wild. These issues are pervasive in ecological studies where it is common to s le study subjects only once. Such factors should be carefully considered when choosing a s ling strategy, yet presently there is little guidance covering the major sources of error. In this study, we estimate the reliability and sensitivity of different s ling practices at detecting two internal parasites— Serratospiculoides amaculata and Isospora sp.—in a model organism, the great tit Parus major . We combine field and captive s ling to assess whether in idual parasite infection status and load can be estimated from single field s les, using different laboratory techniques—McMaster and mini‐FLOTAC. We test whether they vary in their performance, and quantify how s le processing affects parasite detection rates. We found that single field s les had elevated rates of false negatives. By contrast, s les collected from captivity over 24 h were highly reliable (few false negatives) and accurate (repeatable in the intensity of infection). In terms of methods, we found that the McMaster technique provided more repeatable estimates than the mini‐FLOTAC for S. amaculata eggs, and both techniques were largely equally suitable for Isospora oocysts. Our study shows that field s les are likely to be unreliable in accurately detecting the presence of parasites and, in particular, for estimating parasite loads in songbirds. We highlight important considerations for those designing host–parasite studies in captive or wild systems giving guidance that can help select suitable methods, minimize biases, and acknowledge possible limitations.
Collective behaviour: Movement rules under imminent threat
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2021.05.043
Abstract: Evading predator attacks requires making rapid decisions. A new study has found that instead of moving towards others, as predicted by classical models of anti-predator behaviour, homing pigeons move away from their flock when faced with an imminent attack.
An automated barcode tracking system for behavioural studies in birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-04-2018
A guide to sampling design for GPS ‐based studies of animal societies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-10-2022
Abstract: GPS‐based tracking is widely used for studying wild social animals. Much like traditional observational methods, using GPS devices requires making a number of decisions about s ling that can affect the robustness of a study's conclusions. For ex le, s ling fewer in iduals per group across more distinct social groups may not be sufficient to infer group‐ or subgroup‐level behaviours, while s ling more in iduals per group across fewer groups limits the ability to draw conclusions about populations. Here, we provide quantitative recommendations when designing GPS‐based tracking studies of animal societies. We focus on the trade‐offs between three fundamental axes of s ling effort: (1) s ling coverage—the number and allocation of GPS devices among in iduals in one or more social groups (2) s ling duration—the total amount of time over which devices collect data and (3) s ling frequency—the temporal resolution at which GPS devices record data. We first test GPS tags under field conditions to quantify how these aspects of s ling design can affect both GPS accuracy (error in absolute positional estimates) and GPS precision (error in the estimate relative position of two in iduals), demonstrating that GPS error can have profound effects when inferring distances between in iduals. We then use data from whole‐group tracked vulturine guineafowl Acryllium vulturinum to demonstrate how the trade‐off between s ling frequency and s ling duration can impact inferences of social interactions and to quantify how s ling coverage can affect common measures of social behaviour in animal groups, identifying which types of measures are more or less robust to lower coverage of in iduals. Finally, we use data‐informed simulations to extend insights across groups of different sizes and cohesiveness. Based on our results, we are able to offer a range of recommendations on GPS s ling strategies to address research questions across social organizational scales and social systems—from group movement to social network structure and collective decision‐making. Our study provides practical advice for empiricists to navigate their decision‐making processes when designing GPS‐based field studies of animal social behaviours, and highlights the importance of identifying the optimal deployment decisions for drawing informative and robust conclusions.
Effect of culture conditions and calcium phosphate coating on ectopic bone formation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOMATERIALS.2013.03.088
Abstract: This study investigated the effect of a calcium phosphate (CaP) coating onto a polycaprolactone melt electrospun scaffold and in vitro culture conditions on ectopic bone formation in a subcutaneous rat model. The CaP coating resulted in an increased alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) in ovine osteoblasts regardless of the culture conditions and this was also translated into higher levels of mineralisation. A subcutaneous implantation was performed and increasing ectopic bone formation was observed over time for the CaP-coated s les previously cultured in osteogenic media whereas the corresponding non-coated s les displayed a lag phase before bone formation occurred from 4 to 8 weeks post-implantation. Histology and immunohistochemistry revealed bone fill through the scaffolds 8 weeks post-implantation for coated and non-coated specimens and that ALP, osteocalcin and collagen 1 were present at the ossification front and in the bone tissues. Vascularisation in the vicinity of the bone tissues was also observed indicating that the newly formed bone was not deprived of oxygen and nutrients. We found that in vitro osteogenic induction was essential for achieving bone formation and CaP coating accelerated the osteogenic process. We conclude that high cell density and preservation of the collagenous and mineralised extracellular matrix secreted in vitro are factors of importance for ectopic bone formation.
The potential impacts of the songbird trade on mixed-species flocking
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
Inferring influence and leadership in moving animal groups
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 26-03-2018
Abstract: Collective decision-making is a daily occurrence in the lives of many group-living animals, and can have critical consequences for the fitness of in iduals. Understanding how decisions are reached, including who has influence and the mechanisms by which information and preferences are integrated, has posed a fundamental challenge. Here, we provide a methodological framework for studying influence and leadership in groups. We propose that in iduals have influence if their actions result in some behavioural change among their group-mates, and are leaders if they consistently influence others. We highlight three components of influence (influence instances, total influence and consistency of influence), which can be assessed at two levels (in idual-to-in idual and in idual-to-group). We then review different methods, ranging from in idual positioning within groups to information-theoretic approaches, by which influence has been operationally defined in empirical studies, as well as how such observations can be aggregated to give insight into the underlying decision-making process. We focus on the domain of collective movement, with a particular emphasis on methods that have recently been, or are being, developed to take advantage of simultaneous tracking data. We aim to provide a resource bringing together methodological tools currently available for studying leadership in moving animal groups, as well as to discuss the limitations of current methodologies and suggest productive avenues for future research. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Collective movement ecology’.
Machine learning reveals cryptic dialects that guide mate choice in a songbird
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 10-02-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.08.430277
Abstract: Culturally transmitted communication signals – such as human language or bird song – can change over time through a process of cultural drift, and may consequently enhance the separation of populations, potentially leading to reproductive isolation 1–4 . Local song dialects have been identified in bird species with relatively simple songs where in iduals show high cultural conformity 5–10 . In contrast, the emergence of cultural dialects has been regarded as unlikely 11–13 for species with more variable song, such as the zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ). Instead, it has been proposed that selection for in idual recognition and distinctiveness may lead to a complete spread across the space of acoustic and syntactical possibilities 11–15 . However, another possibility is that analytical limitations have meant that subtle but possibly salient group differences have not yet been discovered in such species. Here we show that machine learning can distinguish the songs from multiple captive zebra finch populations with remarkable precision, and that these ‘cryptic song dialects’ drive strong assortative mating in this species. We studied mating patterns across three consecutive generations using captive populations that have evolved in isolation for about 100 generations. Cross-fostering eggs within and between these populations and quantifying social interactions of the resulting offspring later in life revealed that mate choice primarily targets cultural traits that are transmitted during a short developmental time window. Detailed social networks showed that females preferentially approached males whose song resembled that of their adolescent peers. Our study shows that birds can be surprisingly sensitive to cultural traits for mating that have hitherto remained cryptic, even in this well-studied species that is used as a model for song-learning 13,14,16–28 .
Is bin-opening in cockatoos leading to an innovation arms race with humans?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.08.008
Abstract: Foraging innovations can give wild animals access to human-derived food sources
Social network architecture and the tempo of cumulative cultural evolution
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-03-2021
Abstract: The ability to build upon previous knowledge—cumulative cultural evolution—is a hallmark of human societies. While cumulative cultural evolution depends on the interaction between social systems, cognition and the environment, there is increasing evidence that cumulative cultural evolution is facilitated by larger and more structured societies. However, such effects may be interlinked with patterns of social wiring, thus the relative importance of social network architecture as an additional factor shaping cumulative cultural evolution remains unclear. By simulating innovation and diffusion of cultural traits in populations with stereotyped social structures, we disentangle the relative contributions of network architecture from those of population size and connectivity. We demonstrate that while more structured networks, such as those found in multilevel societies, can promote the recombination of cultural traits into high-value products, they also hinder spread and make products more likely to go extinct. We find that transmission mechanisms are therefore critical in determining the outcomes of cumulative cultural evolution. Our results highlight the complex interaction between population size, structure and transmission mechanisms, with important implications for future research.
Characterising shared space use networks using animal trapping data
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 12-11-2019
DOI: 10.1101/839530
Abstract: Studying the social behaviour of small or cryptic species often relies on constructing networks from sparse point-based observations of in iduals (e.g. live trapping data). Such an approach assumes that in iduals that have been asynchronously detected in the same trapping location will also be more likely to have interacted. However, there is very little guidance on how much data are required for making robust co-trapping networks. In this study, we propose that co-trapping networks broadly assume that co-trapping captures shared space use (and, subsequently, likelihood of interacting), and that it may be more parsimonious to directly model shared space use. We first use empirical data to highlight that characteristics of how animals use space can help us to establish new ways to model the potential for in iduals to co-occur. We then show that a method that explicitly models in iduals’ home ranges and subsequent overlap in space among in iduals (spatial overlap networks) requires fewer data for inferring observed networks that are correlated with the true shared space use network (relative to co-trapping networks constructed from space sharing events). Further, we show that shared space use networks based on estimating spatial overlap are also more powerful for detecting biological effects present in the true shared space use network. Finally, we discuss when it is appropriate to make inferences about social interactions from shared space use. Our study confirms the potential for using sparse trapping data from cryptic species to address a range of important questions in ecology and evolution. Characterising animal social networks requires repeated (co-)observations of in iduals. Collecting sufficient data to characterise the connections among in iduals represents a major challenge when studying cryptic organisms—such as small rodents. This study draws from existing spatial mark-recapture data to inspire an approach that constructs networks by estimating space use overlap (representing the potential for interactions) from observations of in iduals in the same location (e.g. a trap). We then use simulations to demonstrate that the method provides consistently higher correlations between inferred (or observed) networks and the true underlying network compared to current approaches, and requires fewer observations to reach higher correlations. We further demonstrate that these improvements translate to greater network accuracy and to more power for statistical hypothesis testing.
Challenges in assessing the roles of nepotism and reciprocity in cooperation networks
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Shared decision-making allows subordinates to lead when dominants monopolize resources
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-11-2020
Abstract: Subordinates lead when dominants monopolize.
The role of habitat configuration in shaping animal population processes: a framework to generate quantitative predictions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-06-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-021-04967-Y
Abstract: By shaping where in iduals move, habitat configuration can fundamentally structure animal populations. Yet, we currently lack a framework for generating quantitative predictions about the role of habitat configuration in modulating population outcomes. To address this gap, we propose a modelling framework inspired by studies using networks to characterize habitat connectivity. We first define animal habitat networks, explain how they can integrate information about the different configurational features of animal habitats, and highlight the need for a bottom–up generative model that can depict realistic variations in habitat potential connectivity. Second, we describe a model for simulating animal habitat networks (available in the R package AnimalHabitatNetwork ), and demonstrate its ability to generate alternative habitat configurations based on empirical data, which forms the basis for exploring the consequences of alternative habitat structures. Finally, we lay out three key research questions and demonstrate how our framework can address them. By simulating the spread of a pathogen within a population, we show how transmission properties can be impacted by both local potential connectivity and landscape-level characteristics of habitats. Our study highlights the importance of considering the underlying habitat configuration in studies linking social structure with population-level outcomes.
Author response: Habitat and social factors shape individual decisions and emergent group structure during baboon collective movement
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 16-11-2016
Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-02-2021
Abstract: 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 in idual and the social community. Survival was primarily driven by in idual- rather than community-level social factors. Gregariousness (the number of other females each in idual 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.
A new method for characterising shared space use networks using animal trapping data
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-08-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00265-022-03222-5
Abstract: Studying the social behaviour of small or cryptic species often relies on constructing networks from sparse point-based observations of in iduals (e.g. live trapping data). A common approach assumes that in iduals that have been detected sequentially in the same trapping location will also be more likely to have come into indirect and/or direct contact. However, there is very little guidance on how much data are required for making robust networks from such data. In this study, we highlight that sequential trap sharing networks broadly capture shared space use (and, hence, the potential for contact) and that it may be more parsimonious to directly model shared space use. We first use empirical data to show that characteristics of how animals use space can help us to establish new ways to model the potential for in iduals to come into contact. We then show that a method that explicitly models in iduals’ home ranges and subsequent overlap in space among in iduals (spatial overlap networks) requires fewer data for inferring observed networks that are more strongly correlated with the true shared space use network (relative to sequential trap sharing networks). Furthermore, we show that shared space use networks based on estimating spatial overlap are also more powerful for detecting biological effects. Finally, we discuss when it is appropriate to make inferences about social interactions from shared space use. Our study confirms the potential for using sparse trapping data from cryptic species to address a range of important questions in ecology and evolution. Characterising animal social networks requires repeated (co-)observations of in iduals. Collecting sufficient data to characterise the connections among in iduals represents a major challenge when studying cryptic organisms—such as small rodents. This study draws from existing spatial mark-recapture data to inspire an approach that constructs networks by estimating space use overlap (representing the potential for contact). We then use simulations to demonstrate that the method provides consistently higher correlations between inferred (or observed) networks and the true underlying network compared to current approaches and requires fewer observations to reach higher correlations. We further demonstrate that these improvements translate to greater network accuracy and to more power for statistical hypothesis testing.
Behavioural ecology at the spatial–social interface
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-01-2023
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12934
Abstract: Spatial and social behaviour are fundamental aspects of an animal's biology, and their social and spatial environments are indelibly linked through mutual causes and shared consequences. We define the ‘spatial–social interface’ as intersection of social and spatial aspects of in iduals' phenotypes and environments. Behavioural variation at the spatial–social interface has implications for ecological and evolutionary processes including pathogen transmission, population dynamics, and the evolution of social systems. We link spatial and social processes through a foundation of shared theory, vocabulary, and methods. We provide ex les and future directions for the integration of spatial and social behaviour and environments. We introduce key concepts and approaches that either implicitly or explicitly integrate social and spatial processes, for ex le, graph theory, density‐dependent habitat selection, and niche specialization. Finally, we discuss how movement ecology helps link the spatial–social interface. Our review integrates social and spatial behavioural ecology and identifies testable hypotheses at the spatial–social interface.
Spurious inference when comparing networks
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 13-08-2019
Developmental stress predicts social network position
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-2014
Abstract: The quantity and quality of social relationships, as captured by social network analysis, can have major fitness consequences. Various studies have shown that in idual differences in social behaviour can be due to variation in exposure to developmental stress. However, whether these developmental differences translate to consistent differences in social network position is not known. We experimentally increased levels of the avian stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in nestling zebra finches in a fully balanced design. Upon reaching nutritional independence, we released chicks and their families into two free-flying rooms, where we measured daily social networks over five weeks using passive integrated transponder tags. Developmental stress had a significant effect on social behaviour: despite having similar foraging patterns, CORT chicks had weaker associations to their parents than control chicks. Instead, CORT chicks foraged with a greater number of flock mates and were less choosy with whom they foraged, resulting in more central network positions. These findings highlight the importance of taking developmental history into account to understand the drivers of social organization in gregarious species.
Socially Defined Subpopulations Reveal Demographic Variation in a Giraffe Metapopulation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-04-2021
DOI: 10.1002/JWMG.22044
Abstract: Populations are typically defined as spatially contiguous sets of in iduals, but large populations of social species can be composed of discrete social communities that often overlap in space. Masai giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi ) of Tanzania live in distinct social subpopulations that overlap spatially, enabling us to simultaneously explore environmental and social factors correlated with demographic variation in a metapopulation of ,400 adult females and calves. We considered statistically distinct communities in the social network as subpopulations and tested for variation among the 10 subpopulations in adult female survival, calf survival, and reproductive rate (calf‐to‐adult female ratio). We then related variation in demographic rates among subpopulations to differences in vegetation, soil type, proximity to 2 types of human settlements, local giraffe population density, and social metrics of relationship strength and exclusivity among adult females. We did not find any among‐subpopulation effects on adult female survival, suggesting adult female survival is buffered against environmental heterogeneity among subpopulations. Variation in calf demographic rates among subpopulations were correlated with vegetation, soils, anthropogenic factors, and giraffe population density but not with adult female relationship metrics, despite substantial spatial overlap. Subpopulations with more dense bushlands in their ranges had lower calf survival probabilities, and those closer to human settlements had higher reproductive rates, possibly because of spatial gradients in natural predation. Reproductive rates were higher in subpopulations with more volcanic soils, and calf survival probabilities were greater in subpopulations with higher local adult female densities, possibly related to higher‐quality habitat associated with fertile soils or lower predation risk, or to greater competitive ability. The variation in fitness among subpopulations suggests that giraffes do not move unhindered among resource patches to equalize reproductive success, as expected according to an ideal free distribution. The differences in calf survival and reproductive rates could rather indicate intercommunity differences in competitive ability, perception, learning, or experience. Our approach of comparing demography among spatially overlapping yet distinct socially defined subpopulations provides a biologically meaningful way to quantify environmental and social factors influencing fine‐scale demographic variation for social species. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.
Experimental manipulation of food distribution alters social networks and information transmission across environments in a food-caching bird
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
Social Barriers in Ecological Landscapes: The Social Resistance Hypothesis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2019.10.001
Abstract: Across animal societies, in iduals invest time and energy in social interactions. The social landscape that emerges from these interactions can then generate barriers that limit the ability of in iduals to disperse to, and reproduce in, groups or populations. Therefore, social barriers can contribute to the difference between the physical capacity for movement through the habitat and subsequent gene flow. We call this contributing effect 'social resistance'. We propose that social resistance can act as an agent of selection on key life-history strategies and promote the evolution of social strategies that facilitate effective dispersal. By linking landscape genetics and social behaviour, the social resistance hypothesis generates predictions integrating dispersal, connectivity, and life-history evolution.
Leaving by staying: Social dispersal in giraffes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-09-2021
Abstract: Dispersal is a critical process that shapes the structure of wild animal populations. In species that form multi‐level societies, natal dispersal might be social (associating with a different social community while remaining near the natal area), spatial (moving away from the natal area while continuing to associate with the same community) or both social and spatial (associating with a different community and moving away from the natal area). For such species, classical spatial measures of dispersal, such as distance moved, might not capture social dispersal. We examined dispersal outcomes for 67 male and 70 female giraffe calves over 7 years in a large, unfenced, ecologically heterogeneous landscape. We tested predictions about the influence of sex, food availability, low‐ and high‐impact human settlements, and local giraffe population density on social or spatial dispersal, dispersal distance, and age of dispersal. We found that dispersal is sex‐specific, with females being predominately philopatric. When dispersing, both sexes did so at a mean of 4 years of age. Most (69% of total) young males dispersed, with 84% of male dispersers associating with a different adult female social community than that of their mother, but one in four of these dispersers remained spatially near to their natal area. For adolescent males that dispersed socially but not spatially, overlapping female social communities may represent a potential pool of unrelated mating partners without the risks of travelling to unfamiliar areas. Just 26% of young females dispersed and half of these continued to associate with the adult female social community into which they were born, confirming the importance of maintaining ties among females from calf to adulthood. Furthermore, in iduals born farther from high‐impact human settlements were more likely to spatially or socially‐and‐spatially disperse, move greater distances from their natal areas, and disperse at a younger age. Our study highlights the potential importance of social structure in dispersal decisions, and of tracking social structure when studying dispersal in multi‐level societies, as effective dispersal can be attained without large‐scale spatial displacements.
Breeding alters females’ social positions by changing dominance dynamics
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-09-2023
Social information use shapes the coevolution of sociality and virulence.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2022
DOI: 10.1111/EVO.14491
Abstract: Social contacts can facilitate the spread of both survival-related information and infectious diseases, but little is known about how these processes combine to shape host and parasite evolution. Here, we use a theoretical model that captures both infection and information transmission processes to investigate how host sociality (contact effort) and parasite virulence (disease-associated mortality rate) (co)evolve. We show that selection for sociality (and in turn, virulence) depends on both the intrinsic costs and benefits of social information and infection as well as their relative prevalence in the population. Specifically, greater sociality and lower virulence evolve when the risk of infection is either low or high and social information is neither very common nor too rare. Lower sociality and higher virulence evolve when the prevalence patterns are reversed. When infection and social information are both at moderate levels in the population, the direction of selection depends on the relative costs and benefits of being infected or informed. We also show that sociality varies inversely with virulence, and that parasites may be unable to prevent runaway selection for higher contact efforts. Together, these findings provide new insights for our understanding of group living and how apparently opposing ecological processes can influence the evolution of sociality and virulence in a range of ways.
Constructing, conducting and interpreting animal social network analysis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-08-2015
The dynamics of transmission and the dynamics of networks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-04-2017
Abstract: A toy ex le depicted here highlighting the results of a study in this issue of the Journal of Animal Ecology that investigates the impact of network dynamics on potential disease outbreaks. Infections (stars) that spread by contact only (left) reduce the predicted outbreak size compared to situations where in iduals can become infected by moving through areas that previously contained infected in iduals (right). This is potentially important in species where in iduals, or in this case groups, have overlapping ranges (as depicted on the top right). Incorporating network dynamics that maintain information about the ordering of contacts (central blocks including the ordering of spatial overlap as noted by the arrows that highlight the blue group arriving after the red group in top-right of the figure) is important for capturing how a disease might not have the opportunity to spread to all in iduals. By contrast, a static or 'average' network (lower blocks) does not capture any of these dynamics. Interestingly, although static networks generally predict larger outbreak sizes, the authors find that in cases when transmission probability is low, this prediction can switch as a result of changes in the estimated intensity of contacts among in iduals. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]. Springer, A., Kappeler, P.M. & Nunn, C.L. (2017) Dynamic vs. static social networks in models of parasite transmission: Predicting Cryptosporidium spread in wild lemurs. Journal of Animal Ecology, 86, 419-433. The spread of disease or information through networks can be affected by several factors. Whether and how these factors are accounted for can fundamentally change the predicted impact of a spreading epidemic. Springer, Kappeler & Nunn () investigate the role of different modes of transmission and network dynamics on the predicted size of a disease outbreak across several groups of Verreaux's sifakas, a group-living species of lemur. While some factors, such as seasonality, led to consistent differences in the structure of social networks, using dynamic vs. static representations of networks generated differences in the predicted outbreak size of an emergent disease. These findings highlight some of the challenges associated with studying disease dynamics in animal populations, and the importance of continuing efforts to develop the network tools needed to study disease spread.
A practical guide for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies and estimating their uncertainty.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-11-2018
Abstract: Many animal social structures are organized hierarchically, with some in iduals monopolizing resources. Dominance hierarchies have received great attention from behavioural and evolutionary ecologists. There are many methods for inferring hierarchies from social interactions. Yet, there are no clear guidelines about how many observed dominance interactions (i.e. s ling effort) are necessary for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies, nor are there any established tools for quantifying their uncertainty. We simulate interactions (winners and losers) in scenarios of varying steepness (the probability that a dominant defeats a subordinate based on their difference in rank). Using these data, we (1) quantify how the number of interactions recorded and the steepness of the hierarchy affect the performance of five methods for inferring hierarchies, (2) propose an amendment that improves the performance of a popular method, and (3) suggest two easy procedures to measure uncertainty and steepness in the inferred hierarchy. We find that the ratio of interactions to in iduals required to infer reliable hierarchies is surprisingly low, but depends on the steepness of the hierarchy and the method used. We show that David's score and our novel randomized Elo-rating are the best methods when hierarchies are not extremely steep, where the original Elo-rating, the I&SI and the recently described ADAGIO perform less well. In addition, we show that two simple methods can be used to estimate uncertainty at the in idual and group level, and that the randomized Elo-rating repeatability provides researchers with a standardized measure valid for comparing the steepness of different hierarchies. We provide several worked ex les to guide researchers interested in studying dominance hierarchies. Methods for inferring dominance hierarchies are relatively robust. We recommend that a ratio of observed interactions to in iduals of at least 10 (for steep hierarchies), and ideally 20 serves as a good benchmark. Our simple procedures for estimating uncertainty in the observed data will facilitate evaluating whether sufficient data have been collected, while plotting the shape of the hierarchy will provide new insights into the social structure of the study organism.
Multilevel Societies in Birds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2021
Experimentally induced innovations lead to persistent culture via conformity in wild birds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-12-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE13998
Collective action in birds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.08.035
Abstract: Observing the behaviour of others is a cheap and effective way of acquiring up-to-date information about the environment. Further, an animal that changes its behaviour in response to acquiring social information effectively propagates that information forwards. Although the rules that govern how in idual birds detect and respond to social cues are often very simple, they are able to produce a erse range of collective actions from which in iduals can reap benefits that include predator avoidance and more accurate estimations of the environment. Understanding how and why in idual-level rules that favour the emergence of collective behaviour have evolved therefore requires knowledge of the ecological and social contexts in which they are expressed. The breadth of research on social behaviours in birds is an unparalleled window into the ecology of collective behaviour and provides many opportunities to test whether different species overcome different ecological challenges using similar social rules and whether the collective behaviours of birds can act as sensors for the environment.
Linking the fine‐scale social environment to mating decisions: a future direction for the study of extra‐pair paternity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12408
Data and Code for: A guide to sampling design for GPS-based studies of animal societies
Publisher: figshare
Date: 2022
Estimating uncertainty and reliability of social network data using Bayesian inference
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 09-2015
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.150367
Abstract: Social network analysis provides a useful lens through which to view the structure of animal societies, and as a result its use is increasingly widespread. One challenge that many studies of animal social networks face is dealing with limited s le sizes, which introduces the potential for a high level of uncertainty in estimating the rates of association or interaction between in iduals. We present a method based on Bayesian inference to incorporate uncertainty into network analyses. We test the reliability of this method at capturing both local and global properties of simulated networks, and compare it to a recently suggested method based on bootstrapping. Our results suggest that Bayesian inference can provide useful information about the underlying certainty in an observed network. When networks are well s led, observed networks approach the real underlying social structure. However, when s ling is sparse, Bayesian inferred networks can provide realistic uncertainty estimates around edge weights. We also suggest a potential method for estimating the reliability of an observed network given the amount of s ling performed. This paper highlights how relatively simple procedures can be used to estimate uncertainty and reliability in studies using animal social network analysis.
How feedback and feed-forward mechanisms link determinants of social dominance
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 20-04-2021
Diurnal variation in the production of vocal information about food supports a model of social adjustment in wild songbirds
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 27-02-2019
Abstract: Wintering songbirds have been widely shown to make economic foraging decisions to manage the changing balance of risks from predation and starvation over the course of the day. In this study, we ask whether the communication and use of information about food availability differ throughout the day. First, we assessed temporal variation in food-related vocal information produced in foraging flocks of tits ( Paridae ) using audio recordings at radio-frequency identification-equipped feeding stations. Vocal activity was highest in the morning and decreased into the afternoon. This pattern was not explained by there being fewer birds present, as we found that group sizes increased over the course of the day. Next, we experimentally tested the underlying causes for this diurnal calling pattern. We set up bird feeders with or without playback of calls from tits, either in the morning or in the afternoon, and compared latency to feeder discovery, accumulation of flock members, and total number of birds visiting the feeder. Irrespective of time of day, playbacks had a strong effect on all three response measures when compared to silent control trials, demonstrating that tits will readily use vocal information to improve food detection throughout the day. Thus, the diurnal pattern of foraging behaviour did not appear to affect use and production of food-related vocalizations. Instead, we suggest that, as the day progresses and foraging group sizes increase, the costs of producing calls at the food source (e.g. competition and attraction of predators) outweigh the benefits of recruiting group members (i.e. adding in iduals to large groups only marginally increases safety in numbers), causing the observed decrease in vocal activity into the afternoon. Our findings imply that in iduals make economic social adjustments based on conditions of their social environment when deciding to vocally recruit group members.
When to choose dynamic vs. static social network analysis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-11-2018
Abstract: There is increasing interest in using dynamic social networks in the study of animal sociality and its consequences. However, there is a general lack of guidance on the when and how such an approach will be valuable. The aim of this paper is to provide a guide on when to choose dynamic vs. static social network analysis, and how to choose the appropriate temporal scale for the dynamic network. I first discuss the motivations for using dynamic animal social networks. I then provide guidance on how to choose between dynamic networks and the "standard" approach of using static networks. I discuss this in the context of the temporal scale of changes observed, of their predictability and of the data availability. Dynamic networks are important in a number of scenarios. First, if the network data are being compared to independent processes, such as the spread of information or disease or environmental changes, then dynamic networks will provide more accurate estimates of spreading rates. Second, if the network has predictable patterns of change, for ex le diel cycles or seasonal changes, then dynamic networks should be used to capture the impact of these changes. Third, dynamic networks are important for studies of spread through networks when the relationship between edge weight and transmission probability is nonlinear. Finally, dynamic social networks are also useful in situations where interactions among in iduals are dense, such as in studies of captive groups. The use of static vs. dynamic network requires careful consideration, both from a research question perspective and from a data perspective, and this paper provides a guide on how to evaluate the relative importance of these.
The importance of individual‐to‐society feedbacks in animal ecology and evolution
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-10-2020
Temporal activity patterns of predators and prey across broad geographic scales
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-10-2018
Effect of ecological factors on fine‐scale patterns of social structure in African lions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-10-2020
Input data, Code, and outputs
Publisher: figshare
Date: 2022
Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-03-2015
Abstract: Understanding the functional links between social structure and population processes is a central aim of evolutionary ecology. Multiple types of interactions can be represented by networks drawn for the same population, such as kinship, dominance or affiliative networks, but the relative importance of alternative networks in modulating population processes may not be clear. We illustrate this problem, and a solution, by developing a framework for testing the importance of different types of association in facilitating the transmission of information. We apply this framework to experimental data from wild songbirds that form mixed-species flocks, recording the arrival (patch discovery) of in iduals to novel foraging sites. We tested whether intraspecific and interspecific social networks predicted the spread of information about novel food sites, and found that both contributed to transmission. The likelihood of acquiring information per unit of connection to knowledgeable in iduals increased 22-fold for conspecifics, and 12-fold for heterospecifics. We also found that species varied in how much information they produced, suggesting that some species play a keystone role in winter foraging flocks. More generally, these analyses demonstrate that this method provides a powerful approach, using social networks to quantify the relative transmission rates across different social relationships.
Cooperative breeding in a plural breeder: the vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum)
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 23-11-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.23.517633
Abstract: Cooperative breeding is widely reported across the animal kingdom. In birds, it is hypothesised to be most common in altricial species (where chicks are dependent on parental care in the nest after hatching), with few described cases in precocial species (where chicks are more independent immediately after hatching). However, cooperative breeding may also be more difficult to detect in precocial species and therefore has been overlooked. In this study, we investigate whether vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum )—which have precocial young—breed cooperatively and, if so, how care is distributed among group members. Using data collected from colour-banded in iduals in one social group of vulturine guineafowl over three different breeding seasons, we found that multiple females can attempt to reproduce in the same breeding season. Broods had close adult associates, and most of these associates exhibited four distinct cooperative breeding behaviours: babysitting, within-group chick guarding, covering the chicks under the wings and calling the chicks to food. Further, we found that offspring care is significantly male-biased, that non-mother in iduals provided most of the care each brood received, that breeding females differed in how much help they received, and that carers pay a foraging cost when providing care. Our results confirm that vulturine guineafowl are cooperative breeders, which they combine with an unusual plural-breeding social system. Our study also adds to growing evidence that cooperative breeding may be more widespread among species with precocial young than previously thought, thereby providing a counterpoint to the altriciality-cooperative breeding hypothesis.
Social Information use Shapes the Coevolution of Sociality and Virulence
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-10-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.02.323451
Abstract: Social contacts can facilitate the spread of both survival-related information and infectious diseases, but little is known about how these processes combine to shape host and parasite evolution. Here, we use a theoretical model that captures both infection and information transmission processes to investigate how host sociality (contact effort) and parasite virulence (disease-associated mortality rate) (co)evolve. We show that selection for sociality (and in turn, virulence) depends on both the intrinsic costs and benefits of social information and infection as well as their relative prevalence in the population. Specifically, greater sociality and lower virulence evolve when the risk of infection is either low or high and social information is neither very common nor too rare. Lower sociality and higher virulence evolve when the prevalence patterns are reversed. When infection and social information are both at moderate levels in the population, the direction of selection depends on the relative costs and benefits of being infected or informed. We also show that sociality varies inversely with virulence, and that parasites may be unable to prevent runaway selection for higher contact efforts. Together, these findings provide new insights for our understanding of group living and how apparently opposing ecological processes can influence the evolution of sociality and virulence in a range of ways.
Permutation tests for hypothesis testing with animal social network data: problems and potential solutions
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 04-08-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.02.232710
Abstract: Permutation tests are widely used to test null hypotheses with animal social network data, but suffer from high rates of type I and II error when the permutations do not properly simulate the intended null hypothesis. Two common types of permutations each have limitations. Pre-network (or datastream) permutations can be used to control “nuisance effects” like spatial, temporal, or s ling biases, but only when the null hypothesis assumes random social structure. Node (or node-label) permutation tests can test null hypotheses that include nonrandom social structure, but only when nuisance effects do not shape the observed network. We demonstrate one possible solution addressing these limitations: using pre-network permutations to adjust the values for each node or edge before conducting a node permutation test. We conduct a range of simulations to estimate error rates caused by confounding effects of social or non-social structure in the raw data. Regressions on simulated datasets suggest that this “double permutation” approach is less likely to produce elevated error rates relative to using only node permutations, pre-network permutations, or node permutations with simple covariates, which all exhibit elevated type I errors under at least one set of simulated conditions. For ex le, in scenarios where type I error rates from pre-network permutation tests exceed 30%, the error rates from double permutation remain at 5%. The double permutation procedure provides one potential solution to issues arising from elevated type I and type II error rates when testing null hypotheses with social network data. We also discuss alternative approaches that can provide robust inference, including fitting mixed effects models, restricted node permutations, testing multiple null hypotheses, and splitting large datasets to generate replicated networks. Finally, we highlight ways that uncertainty can be explicitly considered and carried through the analysis.
Season-specific carry-over of early-life associations in a monogamous bird species
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 30-09-2019
DOI: 10.1101/785345
Abstract: Social relationships can have important fitness consequences. Although there is increasing evidence that social relationships carry over across contexts, few studies have investigated whether relationships formed early in life are carried over to adulthood. For ex le, juveniles of monogamous species go through a major life-history stage transition—pair formation—during which the pair bond becomes a central unit of the social organization. At present, it remains unclear if pair members retain their early-life relationships after pair formation. We investigated whether same-sex associations formed early in life carry over into adulthood and whether carry-over was dependent on season, in a monogamous species. Moreover, we investigated the role of familiarity, genetic relatedness and aggression on the perseverance of social associations. We studied the social structure before and after pair formation in captive barnacle geese ( Branta leucopsis ), a highly social, long-lived, monogamous species. We constructed association networks of groups of geese before pair formation, during the subsequent breeding season, and in the following wintering season. Next, we studied how these associations carried over during seasonal changes. We found that early-life associations in females were lost during the breeding season, but resurfaced during the subsequent wintering season. In males, the early-life associations persisted across both seasons. Association persistence was not mediated by genetic relatedness or familiarity. The high level of aggressiveness of males, but not females, in the breeding season suggests that males may have played a key role in shaping both their own social environment and that of their partners. We show that early-life social relationships can be maintained well into later life. Such relationships can be sustained even if they are temporarily disrupted, for ex le due to reproductive behaviour. Our findings therefore highlight that the early-life social environment can have life-long consequences on in iduals’ social environment.
Collective decision making and social interaction rules in mixed-species flocks of songbirds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2014
Simple foraging rules in competitive environments can generate socially structured populations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-04-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.4061
Development of New Food-Sharing Relationships in Vampire Bats
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Feeder use predicts both acquisition and transmission of a contagious pathogen in a North American songbird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-09-2015
Abstract: In idual heterogeneity can influence the dynamics of infectious diseases in wildlife and humans alike. Thus, recent work has sought to identify behavioural characteristics that contribute disproportionately to in idual variation in pathogen acquisition (super-receiving) or transmission (super-spreading). However, it remains unknown whether the same behaviours enhance both acquisition and transmission, a scenario likely to result in explosive epidemics. Here, we examined this possibility in an ecologically relevant host–pathogen system: house finches and their bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum , which causes severe conjunctivitis. We examined behaviours likely to influence disease acquisition (feeder use, aggression, social network affiliations) in an observational field study, finding that the time an in idual spends on bird feeders best predicted the risk of conjunctivitis. To test whether this behaviour also influences the likelihood of transmitting M. gallisepticum , we experimentally inoculated in iduals based on feeding behaviour and tracked epidemics within captive flocks. As predicted, transmission was fastest when birds that spent the most time on feeders initiated the epidemic. Our results suggest that the same behaviour underlies both pathogen acquisition and transmission in this system and potentially others. Identifying in iduals that exhibit such behaviours is critical for disease management.
Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-06-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.06.02.446695
Abstract: Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, in iduals should be strategic in who they interact with. One hypothesis is that in iduals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain—in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance—from winning such interactions. Here, we show that male vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically express higher-cost aggressive interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group’s hierarchy. In contrast, lower-cost aggressive interactions are expressed towards group members further down the hierarchy. By directly evaluating differences in the strategic use of higher- and lower-cost aggressive interactions towards competitors, we show that in iduals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions—such as chases—towards males found one to three ranks below themselves. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies.
Information use in foraging flocks of songbirds - no evidence for social transmission of patch quality
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 28-09-2019
DOI: 10.1101/784777
Abstract: Animals use behavioural cues from others to make decisions in a variety of contexts. There is growing evidence, from a range of taxa, that information about the locations of food patches can spread through a population via social connections. However, it is not known whether information about the quality of potential food sources transmits similarly. We studied foraging behaviour in a population of wild songbirds with known social associations, and tested whether flock members use social information about the profitability of patches to inform their foraging decisions. We provided artificial patches (ephemeral bird feeders) that appeared identical but were either profitable (contained food) or unprofitable (contained no food). If information about patch profitability spreads via social associations, we predicted that empty feeders would only be s led by in iduals that are less connected to each other than expected by chance. In contrast, we found that in iduals recorded at empty feeders were more closely associated with each other than predicted by a null model simulating random arrival of in iduals, mirroring pattern of increased connectedness among in iduals recorded at full feeders. We then simulated arrival under network-based diffusion of information, and demonstrate that the observed pattern at both full and empty feeders matches predictions derived from this post-hoc model. Our results suggest that foraging songbirds only use social cues about the location of potential food sources, but not their profitability. These findings agree with the hypothesis that in iduals balance the relative economic costs of using different information, where the costs of personally s ling a patch upon arrival is low relative to the cost of searching for patches. This study extends previous work on information spread through avian social networks, by suggesting important links between how animals use information at different stages of the acquisition process and the emerging population-level patterns of patch use.
Biofuel excision and the viability of ethanol production in the Green Triangle, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2011
Stress hormones, social associations and song learning in zebra finches
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 13-08-2018
Abstract: The use of information provided by others is a common short-cut adopted to inform decision-making. However, instead of indiscriminately copying others, animals are often selective in what, when and whom they copy. How do they decide which ‘social learning strategy’ to use? Previous research indicates that stress hormone exposure in early life may be important: while juvenile zebra finches copied their parents' behaviour when solving novel foraging tasks, those exposed to elevated levels of corticosterone (CORT) during development copied only unrelated adults. Here, we tested whether this switch in social learning strategy generalizes to vocal learning. In zebra finches, juvenile males often copy their father's song would CORT-treated juveniles in free-flying aviaries switch to copying songs of other males? We found that CORT-treated juveniles copied their father's song less accurately as compared to control juveniles. We hypothesized that this could be due to having weaker social foraging associations with their fathers, and found that sons that spent less time foraging with their fathers produced less similar songs. Our findings are in line with a novel hypothesis linking early-life stress and social learning: early-life CORT exposure may affect social learning indirectly as a result of the way it shapes social affiliations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Causes and consequences of in idual differences in cognitive abilities’.
GPS-identified, low-level nocturnal activity of vervets (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Laikipia, Kenya.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-06-2017
DOI: 10.1002/AJPA.23259
Abstract: Except for owl monkeys (Aotus spp.), all anthropoid primates are considered strictly diurnal. Recent studies leveraging new technologies have shown, however, that some diurnal anthropoids also engage in nocturnal activity. Here we examine the extent to which vervets (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and olive baboons (Papio anubis) are active at night. We deployed GPS collars with tri-axial accelerometer data loggers on 18 free-ranging adult females: 12 vervets spread among 5 social groups, and 6 olive baboons spread among 4 groups. Their locations were recorded every 15 min, and their activity levels, for 3 s/min over 7.5 months. We also used camera traps that were triggered by heat and movement at seven sleeping sites. Travel was detected on 0.4% of 2,029 vervet-nights involving 3 vervets and 1.1% of 1,109 baboon-nights involving 5 baboons. Travel was mainly arboreal for vervets but mainly terrestrial for baboons. During the night, vervets and baboons were active 13% and 15% of the time, respectively. Activity varied little throughout the night and appeared unaffected by moon phase. Our results confirm the low nocturnality of vervets and olive baboons, which we suggest is related to living near the equator with consistent 12-hr days, in contrast to other anthropoids that are more active at night. Since anthropoid primates are thought to have evolved in northern latitudes, with later dispersal to tropical latitudes, our results may have implications for understanding the evolution of anthropoid diurnality.
Winter associations predict social and extra-pair mating patterns in a wild songbird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 19-02-2020
Abstract: Despite decades of research, our understanding of the underlying causes of within-population variation in patterns of extra-pair paternity (EPP) remains limited. Previous studies have shown that extra-pair mating decisions are linked to both in idual traits and ecological factors. Here, we examine whether social associations among in iduals prior to breeding also shape mating patterns, specifically the occurrence of EPP, in a small songbird, the blue tit. We test whether associations during the non-breeding period predict (1) future social pairs, (2) breeding proximity (i.e. the distance between breeding in iduals) and (3) the likelihood that in iduals have extra-pair young together. In iduals that were more strongly associated (those that foraged more often together) during winter tended to nest closer together. This, by itself, predicts EPP patterns, because most extra-pair sires are close neighbours. However, even after controlling for spatial effects, female–male dyads with stronger social associations prior to breeding were more likely to have extra-pair young. Our findings reveal a carry-over from social associations into future mating decisions. Quantifying the long-term social environment of in iduals and studying its dynamics is a promising approach to enhance our understanding of the process of (extra-)pair formation.
Proximity as a proxy for interactions: issues of scale in social network analysis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2015
Challenges in assessing the roles of nepotism and reciprocity in cooperation networks
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-07-2018
DOI: 10.1101/372516
Abstract: Nepotism and reciprocity are not mutually exclusive explanations for cooperation, because helping decisions can depend on both kinship cues and past reciprocal help. The importance of these two factors can therefore be difficult to disentangle using observational data. We developed a res ling procedure for inferring the statistical power to detect observational evidence of nepotism and reciprocity. We first applied this procedure to simulated datasets resulting from perfect reciprocity, where the probability and duration of helping events from in idual A to B equaled that from B to A. We then assessed how the probability of detecting correlational evidence of reciprocity was influenced by (1) the number of helping observations and (2) varying degrees of simultaneous nepotism. Last, we applied the same analysis to empirical data on food sharing in v ire bats and allogrooming in mandrills and Japanese macaques. We show that at smaller s le sizes, the effect of kinship was easier to detect and the relative role of kinship was overestimated compared to the effect of reciprocal help in both simulated and empirical data, even with data simulating perfect reciprocity and imperfect nepotism. We explain the causes and consequences of this difference in power for detecting the roles of kinship versus reciprocal help. To compare the relative importance of genetic and social relationships, we therefore suggest that researchers measure the relative reliability of both coefficients in the model by plotting these coefficients and their detection probability as a function of s ling effort. We provide R scripts to allow others to do this power analysis with their own datasets.
Social network position predicts male mating success in a small passerine
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-05-2021
Abstract: In iduals differ in the quantity and quality of their associations with conspecifics. The resulting variation in the positions that in iduals 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 in idual’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 in iduals’ 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.
Relationship quality underpins pair bond formation and subsequent reproductive performance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2021
Group-level differences in social network structure remain repeatable after accounting for environmental drivers
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-2023
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.230340
Abstract: In iduals show consistent between-in idual behavioural variation when they interact with conspecifics or heterospecifics. Such patterns might underlie emergent group-specific behavioural patterns and between-group behavioural differences. However, little is known about (i) how social and non-social drivers (external drivers) shape group-level social structures and (ii) whether animal groups show consistent between-group differences in social structure after accounting for external drivers. We used automated tracking to quantify daily social interactions and association networks in 12 colonies of zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ). We quantified the effects of five external drivers (group size, group composition, ecological factors, physical environments and methodological differences) on daily interaction and association networks and tested whether colonies expressed consistent differences in day-to-day network structure after controlling for these drivers. Overall, we found that external drivers contribute significantly to network structure. However, even after accounting for the contribution of external drivers, there remained significant support for consistent between-group differences in both interaction (repeatability R : up to 0.493) and association (repeatability R : up to 0.736) network structures. Our study demonstrates how group-level differences in social behaviour can be partitioned into different drivers of variation, with consistent contributions from both social and non-social factors.
Variation in local population size predicts social network structure in wild songbirds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-10-2023
A practical guide for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies and estimating their uncertainty
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 23-02-2017
DOI: 10.1101/111146
Abstract: Many animal social structures are organized hierarchically, with dominant in iduals monopolizing resources. Dominance hierarchies have received great attention from behavioural and evolutionary ecologists. As a result, there are many methods for inferring hierarchies from social interactions. Yet, there are no clear guidelines about how many observed dominance interactions (i.e. s ling effort) are necessary for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies, nor are there any established tools for quantifying their uncertainty. In this study, we simulated interactions (winners and losers) in scenarios of varying steepness (the probability that a dominant defeats a subordinate based on their difference in rank). Using these data, we (1) quantify how the number of interactions recorded and hierarchy steepness affect the performance of three methods, (2) propose an amendment that improves the performance of a popular method, and (3) suggest two easy procedures to measure uncertainty in the inferred hierarchy. First, we found that the ratio of interactions to in iduals required to infer reliable hierarchies is surprisingly low, but depends on the hierarchy steepness and method used. We then show that David’s score and our novel randomized Elo-rating are the two best methods, whereas the original Elo-rating and the recently described ADAGIO perform less well. Finally, we propose two simple methods to estimate uncertainty at the in idual and group level. These uncertainty measures further allow to differentiate non-existent, very flat and highly uncertain hierarchies from intermediate, steep and certain hierarchies. Overall, we find that the methods for inferring dominance hierarchies are relatively robust, even when the ratio of observed interactions to in iduals is as low as 10 to 20. However, we suggest that implementing simple procedures for estimating uncertainty will benefit researchers, and quantifying the shape of the dominance hierarchies will provide new insights into the study organisms. David’s score and the randomized Elo-rating perform best. Method performance depends on hierarchy steepness and s ling effort. Generally, inferring dominance hierarchies requires relatively few observations. The R package “aniDom” allows easy estimation of hierarchy uncertainty. Hierarchy uncertainty provides insights into the shape of the dominance hierarchy.
Mixed company: a framework for understanding the composition and organization of mixed‐species animal groups
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-02-2020
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12591
Social and spatial effects on genetic variation between foraging flocks in a wild bird population.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-2017
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14291
Abstract: Social interactions are rarely random. In some instances, animals exhibit homophily or heterophily, the tendency to interact with similar or dissimilar conspecifics, respectively. Genetic homophily and heterophily influence the evolutionary dynamics of populations, because they potentially affect sexual and social selection. Here, we investigate the link between social interactions and allele frequencies in foraging flocks of great tits (Parus major) over three consecutive years. We constructed co-occurrence networks which explicitly described the splitting and merging of 85,602 flocks through time (fission-fusion dynamics), at 60 feeding sites. Of the 1,711 birds in those flocks, we genotyped 962 in iduals at 4,701 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). By combining genomewide genotyping with repeated field observations of the same in iduals, we were able to investigate links between social structure and allele frequencies at a much finer scale than was previously possible. We explicitly accounted for potential spatial effects underlying genetic structure at the population level. We modelled social structure and spatial configuration of great tit fission-fusion dynamics with eigenvector maps. Variance partitioning revealed that allele frequencies were strongly affected by group fidelity (explaining 27%-45% of variance) as in iduals tended to maintain associations with the same conspecifics. These conspecifics were genetically more dissimilar than expected, shown by genomewide heterophily for pure social (i.e., space-independent) grouping preferences. Genomewide homophily was linked to spatial configuration, indicating spatial segregation of genotypes. We did not find evidence for homophily or heterophily for putative socially relevant candidate genes or any other SNP markers. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of distinguishing social and spatial processes in determining population structure.
Food discovery is associated with different reliance on social learning and lower cognitive flexibility across environments in a food-caching bird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 19-05-2021
Abstract: Social learning is a primary mechanism for information acquisition in social species. Despite many benefits, social learning may be disadvantageous when independent learning is more efficient. For ex le, searching independently may be more advantageous when food sources are ephemeral and unpredictable. In idual differences in cognitive abilities can also be expected to influence social information use. Specifically, better spatial memory can make a given environment more predictable for an in idual by allowing it to better track food sources. We investigated how resident food-caching chickadees discovered multiple novel food sources in both harsher, less predictable high elevation and milder, more predictable low elevation winter environments. Chickadees at high elevation were faster at discovering multiple novel food sources and discovered more food sources than birds at low elevation. While birds at both elevations used social information, the contribution of social learning to food discovery was significantly lower at high elevation. At both elevations, chickadees with better spatial cognitive flexibility were slower at discovering food sources, likely because birds with lower spatial cognitive flexibility are worse at tracking natural resources and therefore spend more time exploring. Overall, our study supported the prediction that harsh environments should favour less reliance on social learning.
Stable multi-level social structure is maintained by habitat geometry in a wild bird population
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-11-2016
DOI: 10.1101/085944
Abstract: Social structure can have profound evolutionary and ecological implications for animal populations. Structure can arise and be maintained via social preferences or be indirectly shaped by habitat structure. Understanding how social structure emerges is important for understanding the potential links between social structure and evolutionary and ecological processes. Here, we study a large community of wild birds fitted with uniquely-coded passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and recorded on a grid of automated feeders fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) antennae. We show that both large-scale and fine-scale network communities are consistent across years in this population, despite high generational turn-over. Studying the process that generates community structure, here the movement of in idual birds across the woodland, suggests an important role of habitat geometry in shaping population-level social community structure. Our study highlights how relatively simple factors can produce apparent emergent social structure at the population scale, which has widespread implications for understanding eco-evolutionary dynamics.
Collective behaviour: Jackdaws vote to leave with their voice
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.03.070
Abstract: Making a decision as a group requires not only choosing where to go but also when to go. A new study provides experimental evidence that, in jackdaws, vocalisations facilitate synchronous early morning departures from communal roosts.
Risk Factors Associated with Uterine Rupture and Dehiscence: A Cross-Sectional Canadian Study.
Publisher: Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Date: 11-2021
Abstract: To compare maternal and perinatal risk factors associated with complete uterine rupture and uterine dehiscence. Cross-sectional study of patients with uterine rupture/dehiscence from January 1998 to December 2017 (30 years) admitted at the Labor and Delivery Unit of a tertiary teaching hospital in Canada. There were 174 (0.1%) cases of uterine disruption (29 ruptures and 145 cases of dehiscence) out of 169,356 deliveries. There were associations between dehiscence and multiparity (odds ratio [OR]: 3.2 This large cohort demonstrated that there are different risk factors associated with either uterine rupture or dehiscence. Uterine rupture still represents a great threat to fetal-maternal health and, differently from the common belief, uterine dehiscence can also compromise perinatal outcomes.
Association indices for quantifying social relationships: how to deal with missing observations of individuals or groups
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
Sigmoidal Acquisition Curves Are Good Indicators of Conformist Transmission
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-09-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-30248-5
Abstract: The potential for behaviours to spread via cultural transmission has profound implications for our understanding of social dynamics and evolution. Several studies have provided empirical evidence that local traditions can be maintained in animal populations via conformist learning (i.e. copying the majority). A conformist bias can be characterized by a sigmoidal relationship between a behavior’s prevalence in the population and an in idual’s propensity to adopt that behavior. For this reason, the presence of conformist learning in a population is often inferred from a sigmoidal acquisition curve in which the overall rate of adoption for the behavior is taken as the dependent variable. However, the validity of sigmoidal acquisition curves as evidence for conformist learning has recently been challenged by models suggesting that such curves can arise via alternative learning rules that do not involve conformity. We review these models, and find that the proposed alternative learning mechanisms either rely on faulty or unrealistic assumptions, or apply only in very specific cases. We therefore recommend that sigmoidal acquisition curves continue to be taken as evidence for conformist learning. Our paper also highlights the importance of understanding the generative processes of a model, rather than only focusing solely on the patterns produced. By studying these processes, our analysis suggests that current practices by empiricists have provided robust evidence for conformist transmission in both humans and non-human animals. Arising from: Acerbi, A. et al . Sci. Rep . 6, 36068 (2016) 0.1038/srep36068 .
Information use in foraging flocks of songbirds: no evidence for social transmission of patch quality
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2020
Hierarchically embedded interaction networks represent a missing link in the study of behavioral and community ecology.
Publisher: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.17863/CAM.51916
Hierarchically embedded interaction networks represent a missing link in the study of behavioral and community ecology
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-10-2019
Abstract: Because genes and phenotypes are embedded within in iduals, and in iduals within populations, interactions within one level of biological organization are inherently linked to interactors at others. Here, we expand the network paradigm to consider that nodes can be embedded within other nodes, and connections (edges) between nodes at one level of organization form “bridges” for connections between nodes embedded within them. Such hierarchically embedded networks highlight two central properties of biological systems: 1) processes occurring across multiple levels of organization shape connections among biological units at any given level of organization and 2) ecological effects occurring at a given level of organization can propagate up or down to additional levels. Explicitly considering the embedded structure of evolutionary and ecological networks can capture otherwise hidden feedbacks and generate new insights into key biological phenomena, ultimately promoting a broader understanding of interactions in evolutionary theory.
Deep learning‐based methods for individual recognition in small birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-07-2020
How to make methodological decisions when inferring social networks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-08-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6568
Abstract: Social network analyses allow studying the processes underlying the associations between in iduals and the consequences of those associations. Constructing and analyzing social networks can be challenging, especially when designing new studies as researchers are confronted with decisions about how to collect data and construct networks, and the answers are not always straightforward. The current lack of guidance on building a social network for a new study system might lead researchers to try several different methods and risk generating false results arising from multiple hypotheses testing. Here, we suggest an approach for making decisions when starting social network research in a new study system that avoids the pitfall of multiple hypotheses testing. We argue that best edge definition for a network is a decision that can be made using a priori knowledge about the species and that is independent from the hypotheses that the network will ultimately be used to evaluate. We illustrate this approach with a study conducted on a colonial cooperatively breeding bird, the sociable weaver. We first identified two ways of collecting data using different numbers of feeders and three ways to define associations among birds. We then evaluated which combination of data collection and association definition maximized (a) the assortment of in iduals into previously known “breeding groups” (birds that contribute toward the same nest and maintain cohesion when foraging) and (b) socially differentiated relationships (more strong and weak relationships than expected by chance). This evaluation of different methods based on a priori knowledge of the study species can be implemented in a erse array of study systems and makes the case for using existing, biologically meaningful knowledge about a system to help navigate the myriad of methodological decisions about data collection and network inference.
Observation of a black‐cheeked waxbill (Brunhilda charmosyna) cleaning a Kirk’s dik‐dik (Madoqua kirkii)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8506
Abstract: The vast majority of interspecific interactions are competitive or exploitative. Yet, some positive interspecies interactions exist, where one (commensalism) or both (mutualism) species benefit. One such interaction is cleaning mutualisms, whereby a cleaner removes parasites from a client. In this note, we document the novel observation of a black‐cheeked waxbill ( Brunhilda charmosyna ) appearing to clean a Kirk's dik‐dik ( Madoqua kirkii ), at the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia County, Kenya. The purported cleaning took place for over one minute and is notable firstly for the dik‐dik remaining still for the duration of cleaning and secondly for involving two species that are much smaller than those traditionally involved in bird–mammal cleaning interactions. Unfortunately, no further cleaning events were subsequently observed, raising questions about whether this record was opportunistic or a regular occurrence. Future observations may reveal whether this behavior is widespread and whether it involves other small passerines.
Challenges of mismatching timescales in longitudinal studies of collective behaviour
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 20-02-2023
Abstract: How in iduals’ prior experience and population evolutionary history shape emergent patterns in animal collectives remains a major gap in the study of collective behaviour. One reason for this is that the processes that can shape in idual contributions to collective actions can happen over very different timescales from each other and from the collective actions themselves, resulting in mismatched timescales. For ex le, a preference to move towards a specific patch might arise from phenotype, memory or physiological state. Although providing critical context to collective actions, bridging different timescales remains conceptually and methodologically challenging. Here, we briefly outline some of these challenges, and discuss existing approaches that have already generated insights into the factors shaping in idual contributions in animal collectives. We then explore a case study of mismatching timescales—defining relevant group membership—by combining fine-scaled GPS tracking data and daily field census data from a wild population of vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ). We show that applying different temporal definitions can produce different assignments of in iduals into groups. These assignments can then have consequences when determining in iduals' social history, and thus the conclusions we might draw on the impacts of the social environment on collective actions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Collective behaviour through time’.
Inferring social structure from temporal data
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-2015
The role of habitat configuration in shaping animal population processes: a framework to generate quantitative predictions
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 30-07-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.30.228205
Abstract: By shaping where in iduals move, habitat configuration can fundamentally structure animal populations. Yet, we currently lack a framework for generating quantitative predictions about the role of habitat configuration in modulating population outcomes. For ex le, it is well known that the social structure of animal populations can shape spreading dynamics, but it remains underexplored to what extent such dynamics are determined by the underlying habitat configuration. To address this gap, we propose a framework and model inspired by studies using networks to characterize habitat connectivity. We first define animal habitat networks, explain how they can integrate information about the different configurational features of animals’ habitats, and highlight the need for a bottom-up generative model that can depict realistic variations in habitat structural connectivity. Second, we describe a model for simulating animal habitat networks (available in the R package AnimalHabitatNetwork ), and demonstrate its ability to generate alternative habitat configurations based on empirical data, which forms the basis for exploring the consequences of alternative habitat structures. Finally, we use our framework to demonstrate how transmission properties, such as the spread of a pathogen, can be impacted by both local connectivity and landscape-level characteristics of the habitat. Our study highlights the importance of considering the underlying habitat configuration in studies linking social structure with population-level outcomes.
Structural trade‐offs can predict rewiring in shrinking social networks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-12-2021
Abstract: There is growing evidence that organisms can respond to declining population sizes by adapting their interactions with others. Regulating connections with others could underpin resilience of biological networks spanning from social groups to ecological communities. However, our ability to predict the dynamics of shrinking social networks remains limited. Network regulation involves several trade-offs. Removing nodes (and therefore their connections) from networks reduces the number of connections among remaining nodes. Responding by forming new connections then impacts other network properties. A simple way to minimize the impact of up-regulating network connections is to form new connections or to strengthen connections, between nodes that share a lost connection with a recently removed node. I propose a simple 'second-degree rewiring' rule as a biologically plausible regulatory mechanism in shrinking social networks. I argue that two in iduals that have lost a connection with a common removed in idual will both be more likely, or more willing, to form a new, or strengthen an existing, connection among themselves. I then show that such second-degree rewiring has less impact on important structural properties of the network than forming random new connections. For ex le, in a network with phenotypic assortment, second-degree nodes are more likely to be similar than any random pair of nodes, and connecting these will better maintain assortativity. This simple rule can therefore maintain network properties without in iduals having any knowledge of the global structure of the network or the relative properties of the nodes within it. In this paper, I outline an algorithm for second-degree rewiring. I demonstrate how second-degree rewiring can have less impact than adding new, or increasing the strength of, random connections on both the in idual and whole network properties. That is, relative to randomly adding or strengthening connections, second-degree rewiring has less impact on mean degree, assortativity, clustering and network density. I then demonstrate empirically, using social networks of great tits (Parus major), that in iduals that previously shared connections to a removed conspecific were more likely to form a new connection or to strengthen their connection, relative to other in iduals in the same population. This study highlights how developing a better mechanistic understanding of the structural properties of networks, and the consequences of adding new connections, can provide useful insights into how organisms are likely to regulate their interactions in shrinking populations.
Development of new food-sharing relationships among nonkin vampire bats
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 29-01-2019
DOI: 10.1101/534321
Abstract: In an in idualized animal society, social bonds can foster cooperation and enhance survival and reproduction. Cooperative bonds often exist among kin, but nonkin can also develop high-investment cooperative bonds that share similarities with human friendship. How do such bonds form? One theory suggests that strangers should ‘test the waters’ of a new relationship by making small initial cooperative investments and gradually escalating them with good partners. This ‘raising-the-stakes’ strategy is demonstrated by human strangers in short-term economic games, but it remains unclear whether it applies to helping in a natural long-term social bond. Here we show evidence that unfamiliar v ire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) selectively escalate low-cost investments in allogrooming before developing higher-cost food-sharing relationships. We introduced females from geographically distant sites in pairs or groups and observed that bats established new reciprocal grooming relationships, and that increasing grooming rates predicted the occurrence of first food donations, at which point grooming rates no longer increased. New food-sharing relationships emerged reciprocally in 14% of female pairs, typically over 10-15 months, and developed faster when strangers lacked alternative familiar partners. A gradual grooming-to-sharing transition among past strangers suggests that ‘raising the stakes’ might be more evident when tracking multiple cooperative behaviours as new relationships form, rather than measuring a single behavior in an established relationship. ‘Raising the stakes’ could play a similar underappreciated role across a broader spectrum of social decisions with long-term consequences, such as joining a new social group or forming a long-term pair-bond. V ire bats form long-term cooperative social bonds that involve reciprocal food sharing. How do two unrelated bats go from being strangers to having a high-investment food-sharing relationship? We introduced unfamiliar bats and found evidence that low-cost grooming paves the way for higher-cost food donations. Food sharing emerged in a reciprocal fashion and it emerged faster when two strangers did not have access to their original groupmates. The bats that formed new food-sharing relationships had a history of escalating reciprocal grooming up until the food sharing began. Our finding that unfamiliar nonkin v ire bats appear to gradually and selectively transition from low-cost to high-cost cooperative behaviors is the first evidence that nonhuman in iduals ‘raise the stakes’ when forming new cooperative relationships.
The role of social and ecological processes in structuring animal populations: a case study from automated tracking of wild birds
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 04-2015
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.150057
Abstract: Both social and ecological factors influence population process and structure, with resultant consequences for phenotypic selection on in iduals. Understanding the scale and relative contribution of these two factors is thus a central aim in evolutionary ecology. In this study, we develop a framework using null models to identify the social and spatial patterns that contribute to phenotypic structure in a wild population of songbirds. We used automated technologies to track 1053 in iduals that formed 73 737 groups from which we inferred a social network. Our framework identified that both social and spatial drivers contributed to assortment in the network. In particular, groups had a more even sex ratio than expected and exhibited a consistent age structure that suggested local association preferences, such as preferential attachment or avoidance. By contrast, recent immigrants were spatially partitioned from locally born in iduals, suggesting differential dispersal strategies by phenotype. Our results highlight how different scales of social decision-making, ranging from post-natal dispersal settlement to fission–fusion dynamics, can interact to drive phenotypic structure in animal populations.
Machine learning reveals cryptic dialects that explain mate choice in a songbird
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-03-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-28881-W
Abstract: Culturally transmitted communication signals – such as human language or bird song – can change over time through cultural drift, and the resulting dialects may consequently enhance the separation of populations. However, the emergence of song dialects has been considered unlikely when songs are highly in idual-specific, as in the zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ). Here we show that machine learning can nevertheless distinguish the songs from multiple captive zebra finch populations with remarkable precision, and that ‘cryptic song dialects’ predict strong assortative mating in this species. We examine mating patterns across three consecutive generations using captive populations that have evolved in isolation for about 100 generations. We cross-fostered eggs within and between these populations and used an automated barcode tracking system to quantify social interactions. We find that females preferentially pair with males whose song resembles that of the females’ adolescent peers. Our study shows evidence that in zebra finches, a model species for song learning, in iduals are sensitive to differences in song that have hitherto remained unnoticed by researchers.
Connecting the data landscape of long‐term ecological studies: The SPI‐Birds data hub
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2020
Abstract: The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long‐term studies of in idually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad‐scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long‐term studies of birds, we have created the SPI‐Birds Network and Database ( www.spibirds.org )—a large‐scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of in idually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI‐Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million in idual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI‐Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community‐derived data and meta‐data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta‐data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI‐Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI‐Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community‐specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much‐needed large‐scale ecological data integration.
Efficient movement strategies mitigate the energetic cost of dispersal
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.13763
Abstract: Dispersal is a critical, but costly, stage of life. During the active phase of dispersal—called transience—in iduals face many costs, from increased mortality to reduced foraging opportunities. One cost that is often assumed, but rarely explicitly tested, is the energy expended in making large dispersal movements. However, this cost is not only determined by the distance in idual’s move, but also how they move. Using high‐resolution GPS tracking of dispersing and resident vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ), we show that transient in iduals exhibit distinct movement behaviours—travelling farther, faster and straighter—that result in a significant reduction in the energetic costs of making large displacements. This strategy allows dispersing birds to travel, on average, 33.8% farther each day with only a 4.1% cost increase and without spending more time moving. Our study suggests that adaptive movement strategies can largely mitigate movement costs during dispersal, and that such strategies may be common.
Spurious inference when comparing networks
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-05-2019
DOI: 10.1101/619957
Abstract: Comparing networks is challenging. Social networks can be shaped by many factors. Failing to adequately consider non-social processes, including s ling artefacts, can lead to spurious conclusions about differences in social networks among groups. Here we demonstrate that incorrect application of statistical testing methods when comparing networks can generate very high rates of false positives. We then show that null models, specifically pre-network permutation tests, can control for non-social differences in networks and substantially reduce rates of false positives.
Beyond the dyad: uncovering higher-order structure within cohesive animal groups
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 30-05-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.30.494018
Abstract: Revealing the consequences of social structure in animal societies is largely determined by our ability to accurately estimate functionally relevant patterns of social contact among in iduals. To date, studies have predominantly built up social structure from dyadic connections. However, many associations or interactions can involve more than two in iduals participating together, which current approaches cannot distinguish from independent sets of dyadic connections. Here we demonstrate the application of higher-order networks to detect the central roles of dominance and sex in structuring social groups of vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ). Specifically, we find that while females and low-ranking group members engage in more dyadic interactions, males and more dominant group members are substantially more likely to be observed forming hyperlinks—edges that contain more than two in iduals (e.g. a triad). These results demonstrate how higher-order networks can provide a deeper understanding of the multidimensionality in the difference of centrality among group members.
The multilevel society of a small-brained bird
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2019.09.072
Abstract: Animal societies can be organised in multiple hierarchical tiers [1]. Such multilevel societies, where stable groups move together through the landscape, overlapping and associating preferentially with specific other groups, are thought to represent one of the most complex forms of social structure in vertebrates. For ex le, hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) live in units consisting of one male and one or several females, or of several solitary males, that group into clans. These clans then come together with solitary bachelor males to form larger bands [2]. This social structure means that in iduals have to track many different types of relationships at the same time [1,3]. Here, we provide detailed quantitative evidence for the presence of a multilevel society in a small-brained bird, the vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). We demonstrate that this species lives in large, multi-male, multi-female groups that associate preferentially with specific other groups, both during the day and at night-time communal roosts.
Shared decision-making drives collective movement in wild baboons
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 19-06-2015
Abstract: How do groups of animals, including humans, make decisions that affect the entire group? Evidence collected from schooling animals suggests that the process is somewhat democratic, with nearest neighbors and the majority shaping overall collective behavior. In animals with hierarchical social structures such as primates or wolves, however, such democracy may be complicated by dominance. Strandburg-Peshkin et al. monitored all the in iduals within a baboon troop continuously over the course of their daily activities. Even within this highly socially structured species, movement decisions emerged via a shared process. Thus, democracy may be an inherent trait of collective behavior. Science , this issue p. 1358
Selection for territory acquisition is modulated by social network structure in a wild songbird
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-02-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JEB.12587
Movement and conformity interact to establish local behavioural traditions in animal populations
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-12-2018
Experimental Evidence that Social Relationships Determine Individual Foraging Behavior
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2015.09.075
Abstract: Social relationships are fundamental to animals living in complex societies. The extent to which in iduals base their decisions around their key social relationships, and the consequences this has on their behavior and broader population level processes, remains unknown. Using a novel experiment that controlled where in idual wild birds (great tits, Parus major) could access food, we restricted mated pairs from being allowed to forage at the same locations. This introduced a conflict for pair members between maintaining social relationships and accessing resources. We show that in iduals reduce their own access to food in order to sustain their relationships and that in idual foraging activity was strongly influenced by their key social counterparts. By affecting where in iduals go, social relationships determined which conspecifics they encountered and consequently shaped their other social associations. Hence, while resource distribution can determine in iduals' spatial and social environment, we illustrate how key social relationships themselves can govern broader social structure. Finally, social relationships also influenced the development of social foraging strategies. In response to forgoing access to resources, maintaining pair bonds led in iduals to develop a flexible "scrounging" strategy, particularly by scrounging from their pair mate. This suggests that behavioral plasticity can develop to ameliorate conflicts between social relationships and other demands. Together, these results illustrate the importance of considering social relationships for explaining behavioral variation due to their significant impact on in idual behavior and demonstrate the consequences of key relationships for wider processes.
Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-01-2022
Abstract: Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, in iduals should be strategic in whom they interact with. One hypothesis is that in iduals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain—in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance—from winning such interactions. Here, we show that male vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically express higher-cost aggressive interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group's hierarchy. By contrast, lower-cost aggressive interactions are expressed towards group members further down the hierarchy. By directly evaluating differences in the strategic use of higher- and lower-cost aggressive interactions towards competitors, we show that in iduals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions—such as chases—towards males found one to three ranks below themselves. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.
Pathways of information transmission among wild songbirds follow experimentally imposed changes in social foraging structure
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 06-2016
Abstract: Animals regularly use information from others to shape their decisions. Yet, determining how changes in social structure affect information flow and social learning strategies has remained challenging. We manipulated the social structure of a large community of wild songbirds by controlling which in iduals could feed together at automated feeding stations (selective feeders). We then provided novel ephemeral food patches freely accessible to all birds and recorded the spread of this new information. We demonstrate that the discovery of new food patches followed the experimentally imposed social structure and that birds disproportionately learnt from those whom they could forage with at the selective feeders. The selective feeders reduced the number of conspecific information sources available and birds subsequently increased their use of information provided by heterospecifics. Our study demonstrates that changes to social systems carry over into pathways of information transfer and that in iduals learn from tutors that provide relevant information in other contexts.
Supplementary material for A practical guide for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies and estimating their uncertainty
Publisher: Open Science Framework
Date: 2022
Group size and composition influence collective movement in a highly social terrestrial bird
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 10-11-2020
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.59902
Abstract: A challenge of group-living is to maintain cohesion while navigating through heterogeneous landscapes. Larger groups benefit from information pooling, translating to greater ‘collective intelligence’, but face increased coordination challenges. If these facets interact, we should observe a non-linear relationship between group size and collective movement. We deployed high-resolution GPS tags to vulturine guineafowl from 21 distinct social groups and used continuous-time movement models to characterize group movements across five seasons. Our data revealed a quadratic relationship between group size and movement characteristics, with intermediate-sized groups exhibiting the largest home-range size and greater variation in space use. Intermediate-sized groups also had higher reproductive success, but having more young in the group reduced home-range size. Our study suggests the presence of an optimal group size, and composition, for collective movement.
A guide to null models for animal social network analysis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-04-2017
The social transmission of stress in animal collectives
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-05-2022
Abstract: The stress systems are powerful mediators between the organism's systemic dynamic equilibrium and changes in its environment beyond the level of anticipated fluctuations. Over- or under-activation of the stress systems' responses can impact an animal's health, survival and reproductive success. While physiological stress responses and their influence on behaviour and performance are well understood at the in idual level, it remains largely unknown whether—and how—stressed in iduals can affect the stress systems of other group members, and consequently their collective behaviour. Stressed in iduals could directly signal the presence of a stressor (e.g. via an alarm call or pheromones), or an acute or chronic activation of the stress systems could be perceived by others (as an indirect cue) and spread via social contagion. Such social transmission of stress responses could then lify the effects of stressors by impacting social interactions, social dynamics and the collective performance of groups. As the neuroendocrine pathways of the stress response are highly conserved among vertebrates, transmission of physiological stress states could be more widespread among non-human animals than previously thought. We therefore suggest that identifying the extent to which stress transmission modulates animal collectives represents an important research avenue.
Permutation tests for hypothesis testing with animal social network data: Problems and potential solutions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-10-2021
Abstract: Permutation tests are widely used to test null hypotheses with animal social network data, but suffer from high rates of type I and II error when the permutations do not properly simulate the intended null hypothesis. Two common types of permutations each have limitations. Pre‐network (or datastream) permutations can be used to control ‘nuisance effects’ like spatial, temporal or s ling biases, but only when the null hypothesis assumes random social structure. Node (or node‐label) permutation tests can test null hypotheses that include nonrandom social structure, but only when nuisance effects do not shape the observed network. We demonstrate one possible solution addressing these limitations: using pre‐network permutations to adjust the values for each node or edge before conducting a node permutation test. We conduct a range of simulations to estimate error rates caused by confounding effects of social or non‐social structure in the raw data. Regressions on simulated datasets suggest that this ‘double permutation’ approach is less likely to produce elevated error rates relative to using only node permutations, pre‐network permutations or node permutations with simple covariates, which all exhibit elevated type I errors under at least one set of simulated conditions. For ex le, in scenarios where type I error rates from pre‐network permutation tests exceed 30%, the error rates from double permutation remain at 5%. The double permutation procedure provides one potential solution to issues arising from elevated type I and type II error rates when testing null hypotheses with social network data. We also discuss alternative approaches that can provide robust inference, including fitting mixed effects models, restricted node permutations, testing multiple null hypotheses and splitting large datasets to generate replicated networks. Finally, we highlight ways that uncertainty can be explicitly considered and carried through the analysis.
Experimental disturbances reveal group-level costs of social instability
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 14-11-2018
Abstract: In group-living species, social stability is an important trait associated with the evolution of complex behaviours such as cooperation. While the drivers of stability in small groups are relatively well studied, little is known about the potential impacts of unstable states on animal societies. Temporary changes in group composition, such as a social group splitting and recombining (i.e. a disturbance event), can result in in iduals having to re-establish their social relationships, thus taking time away from other tasks such as foraging or vigilance. Here, we experimentally split socially stable groups of captive zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ), and quantified the effects of repeated disturbance events on (1) group foraging efficiency, and (2) co-feeding associations when subgroups were recombined. We found that the efficiency of groups to deplete a rich, but ephemeral, resource patch decreased after just a single short disturbance event. Automated tracking of in iduals showed that repeated disturbances reduced efficiency by causing social relationships to become more differentiated and weaker, resulting in fewer in iduals simultaneously accessing the patch. Our experiment highlights how short-term disturbances can severely disrupt social structure and group functionality, revealing potential costs associated with group instability that can have consequences for the evolution of animal societies.
Social bet-hedging in vampire bats
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-2017
Abstract: Helping kin or nonkin can provide direct fitness benefits, but helping kin also benefits indirect fitness. Why then should organisms invest in cooperative partnerships with nonkin, if kin relationships are available and more beneficial? One explanation is that a kin-limited support network is too small and risky. Even if additional weaker partnerships reduce immediate net cooperative returns, in iduals extending cooperation to nonkin can maintain a larger social network which reduces the potential costs associated with losing a primary cooperation partner. Just as financial or evolutionary bet-hedging strategies can reduce risk, investing in quantity of social relationships at the expense of relationship quality (‘social bet-hedging’) can reduce the risks posed by unpredictable social environments. Here, we provide evidence for social bet-hedging in food-sharing v ire bats. When we experimentally removed a key food-sharing partner, females that previously fed a greater number of unrelated females suffered a smaller reduction in food received. Females that invested in more nonkin bonds did not do better under normal conditions, but they coped better with partner loss. Hence, loss of a key partner revealed the importance of weaker nonkin bonds. Social bet-hedging can have important implications for social network structure by influencing how in iduals form relationships.
A primer on the relationship between group size and group performance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Wild female vervet monkeys change grooming patterns and partners when freed from feeding constraints
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Drivers of alloparental provisioning of fledglings in a colonially breeding bird
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-02-2021
Abstract: Reproduction is costly. Despite this, evidence suggests that parents sometimes feed unrelated offspring. Several hypotheses could explain this puzzling phenomenon. Adults could feed unrelated offspring that are 1) of their close social associates to facilitate these juveniles’ integration into their social network (the social inheritance hypothesis), 2) potential extrapair offspring, 3) at a similar developmental stage as their own, 4) coercing feeding by begging, or 5) less-developed (to enhance their survival, which could benefit the adult or its offspring the group augmentation hypothesis). Colonial breeders are ideal for investigating the relative importance of these hypotheses because offspring are often kept in crèches where adults can exhibit allofeeding. Using automated monitoring of replicated captive zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) colonies, we found that while parents selectively fed their own offspring, they also consistently fed unrelated offspring (32.48% of feeding events). Social relationships among adults prior to breeding did not predict allofeeding, nor was allofeeding directed toward potential genetic offspring. Instead, adults with more-developed offspring preferentially fed less-developed non-offspring over non-offspring at a similar developmental stage as their own offspring, and this tendency was not explained by differences in begging behavior. Our study suggests that allofeeding is consistent with group augmentation, potentially benefiting adults through colony maintenance or increased offspring survival.
A guide to sampling design for GPS-based studies of animal societies
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 29-01-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.29.478280
Abstract: GPS-based tracking is widely used for studying wild social animals. Much like traditional observational methods, using GPS devices requires making a number of decisions about s ling that can affect the robustness of a study’s conclusions. For ex le, s ling fewer in iduals per group across more distinct social groups may not be sufficient to infer group- or subgroup-level behaviours, while s ling more in iduals per group across fewer groups limits the ability to draw conclusions about populations. Here, we provide quantitative recommendations when designing GPS-based tracking studies of animal societies. We focus on the trade-offs between three fundamental axes of s ling effort: 1) s ling coverage—the number and allocation of GPS devices among in iduals in one or more social groups 2) s ling duration—the total amount of time over which devices collect data 3) s ling frequency—the temporal resolution at which GPS devices record data. We first test GPS tags under field conditions to quantify how these aspects of s ling design can affect both GPS accuracy (error in absolute positional estimates) and GPS precision (error in the estimate relative position of two in iduals), demonstrating that GPS error can have profound effects when inferring distances between in iduals. We then use data from whole-group tracked vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ) to demonstrate how the trade-off between s ling frequency and s ling duration can impact inferences of social interactions and to quantify how s ling coverage can affect common measures of social behaviour in animal groups, identifying which types of measures are more or less robust to lower coverage of in iduals. Finally, we use data-informed simulations to extend insights across groups of different sizes and cohesiveness. Based on our results, we are able to offer a range of recommendations on GPS s ling strategies to address research questions across social organizational scales and social systems—from group movement to social network structure and collective decision-making. Our study provides practical advice for empiricists to navigate their decision-making processes when designing GPS-based field studies of animal social behaviours, and highlights the importance of identifying the optimal deployment decisions for drawing informative and robust conclusions.
Cooperative breeding and the emergence of multilevel societies in birds.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-01-2022
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.13950
Abstract: Multilevel societies (MLSs), where social levels are hierarchically nested within each other, are considered one of the most complex forms of animal societies. Although thought to mainly occurs in mammals, it is suggested that MLSs could be under-detected in birds. Here, we propose that the emergence of MLSs could be common in cooperatively breeding birds, as both systems are favoured by similar ecological and social drivers. We first investigate this proposition by systematically comparing evidence for multilevel social structure in cooperative and non-cooperative birds in Australia and New Zealand, a global hotspot for cooperative breeding. We then analyse non-breeding social networks of cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) to reveal their structured multilevel society, with three hierarchical social levels that are stable across years. Our results confirm recent predictions that MLSs are likely to be widespread in birds and suggest that these societies could be particularly common in cooperatively breeding birds.
Author response: Group size and composition influence collective movement in a highly social terrestrial bird
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 30-09-2020
A multidimensional framework for studying social predation strategies.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-08-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-017-0245-0
Abstract: Social predation-the act of hunting and feeding with others-is one of the most successful life-history traits in the animal kingdom. Although many predators hunt and feed together, a ersity of mechanisms exist by which in iduals forage socially. However, a comprehensive framework capturing this ersity is lacking, preventing us from better understanding cooperative forms of predation, and how such behaviours have evolved and been maintained over time. We outline a framework of social predation that describes five key behavioural dimensions: sociality, communication, specialization, resource sharing, and dependence. By reviewing ex les of social predation, we demonstrate the strength of a multidimensional approach, highlighting key commonalities and differences among species, and informative cross-dimensional correlations. These patterns highlight different potential evolutionary pathways and end-points across a multidimensional social predation spectrum.
Social decision-making in a wild parrot relies on both individual recognition and intrinsic markers
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 03-10-2023
Foraging synchrony drives resilience in human–dolphin mutualism
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 30-01-2023
Abstract: Interactions between humans and nature have profound consequences, which rarely are mutually beneficial. Further, behavioral and environmental changes can turn human–wildlife cooperative interactions into conflicts, threatening their continued existence. By tracking fine-scale behavioral interactions between artisanal fishers and wild dolphins targeting migratory mullets, we reveal that foraging synchrony is key to benefiting both predators. Dolphins herd mullet schools toward the coast, increasing prey availability within the reach of the net-casting fishers, who gain higher foraging success—but only when matching the casting behavior with the dolphins’ foraging cues. In turn, when dolphins approach the fishers’ nets closely and cue fishers in, they e for longer and modify their active foraging echolocation to match the time it takes for nets to sink and close over mullets—but only when fishers respond to their foraging cues appropriately. Using long-term demographic surveys, we show that cooperative foraging generates socioeconomic benefits for net-casting fishers and ca. 13% survival benefits for cooperative dolphins by minimizing spatial overlap with bycatch-prone fisheries. However, recent declines in mullet availability are threatening these short- and long-term benefits by reducing the foraging success of net-casting fishers and increasing the exposure of dolphins to bycatch in the alternative fisheries. Using a numerical model parametrized with our empirical data, we predict that environmental and behavioral changes are pushing this traditional human–dolphin cooperation toward extinction. We propose two possible conservation actions targeting fishers’ behavior that could prevent the erosion of this century-old fishery, thereby safeguarding one of the last remaining cases of human–wildlife cooperation.
Individual variation in local interaction rules can explain emergent patterns of spatial organization in wild baboons
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 19-04-2017
Abstract: Researchers have long noted that in iduals occupy consistent spatial positions within animal groups. However, an in idual's position depends not only on its own behaviour, but also on the behaviour of others. Theoretical models of collective motion suggest that global patterns of spatial assortment can arise from in idual variation in local interaction rules. However, this prediction remains untested. Using high-resolution GPS tracking of members of a wild baboon troop, we identify consistent inter-in idual differences in within-group spatial positioning. We then apply an algorithm that identifies what number of conspecific group members best predicts the future location of each in idual (we call this the in idual's neighbourhood size ) while the troop is moving. We find clear variation in the most predictive neighbourhood size, and this variation relates to in iduals' propensity to be found near the centre of their group. Using simulations, we show that having different neighbourhood sizes is a simple candidate mechanism capable of linking variation in local in idual interaction rules—in this case how many conspecifics an in idual interacts with—to global patterns of spatial organization, consistent with the patterns we observe in wild primates and a range of other organisms.
The role of behavioural variation in the success of artisanal fishers who interact with dolphins
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-03-2022
Abstract: Understanding the dynamics of small-scale fisheries requires considering the ersity of behaviours and skills of fishers. Fishers may have different abilities and tactics that can translate into different fishing outcomes. Here, we investigate variation in fishing behaviours among traditional net-casting fishers that are assisted by wild dolphins, and how this variation interacts with environmental conditions and influences fishing success. By combining in situ environmental s ling with fine-scale behavioural tracking from overhead videos, we found a higher probability of catching fish among fishers well-positioned in the water and that cast their nets wide-open and closer to dolphins. These differences in net-casting performance affect their chance of catching any fish over and above environmental conditions related to fish availability. This finding suggests that fishers’ success may not be simply an outcome of variations in resource availability, but also result from subtle variations in fishing behaviours. We discuss how such behavioural variations can represent skills acquired over the years, and how such skills can be crucial for fishers to benefit and keep interacting with dolphins. Our study demonstrates the role of behavioural variation in the dynamics of a century-old fishery and highlights the need to consider fishers’ behaviours in co-management of small-scale fisheries.
Feeder density enhances house finch disease transmission in experimental epidemics
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 12-03-2018
Abstract: Anthropogenic food provisioning of wildlife can alter the frequency of contacts among hosts and between hosts and environmental sources of pathogens. Despite the popularity of garden bird feeding, few studies have addressed how feeders influence host contact rates and disease dynamics. We experimentally manipulated feeder density in replicate aviaries containing captive, pathogen-naive, groups of house finches ( Haemorhous mexicanus ) and continuously tracked behaviours at feeders using radio-frequency identification devices. We then inoculated one bird per group with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (Mg), a common bacterial pathogen for which feeders are fomites of transmission, and assessed effects of feeder density on house finch behaviour and pathogen transmission. We found that pathogen transmission was significantly higher in groups with the highest density of bird feeders, despite a significantly lower rate of intraspecific aggressive interactions relative to the low feeder density groups. Conversely, among naive group members that never showed signs of disease, we saw significantly higher concentrations of Mg-specific antibodies in low feeder density groups, suggesting that birds in low feeder density treatments had exposure to subclinical doses of Mg. We discuss ways in which the density of garden bird feeders could play an important role in mediating the intensity of Mg epidemics. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Anthropogenic resource subsidies and host–parasite dynamics in wildlife'.
Wild zebra finches that nest synchronously have long-term stable social ties
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-09-2021
Abstract: Many animals live and breed in colonies, and yet, with just a few exceptions, the value of the social bonds between colony members has rarely been examined. Social ties are important for group coordination at collective tasks, and social coordination can facilitate synchronized reproduction among colony members. Synchronized reproduction in turn can lify the benefits of coloniality, such as social foraging and predator avoidance. We conducted a field study to investigate whether synchronized reproduction among in iduals in replicated colonies is linked to the strength of their social bond, and whether these strong bonds are maintained beyond the reproductive period. We PIT-tagged wild zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), monitoring their reproduction and social foraging over two consecutive years. We then used social network analysis to characterize the strength of social bonds among birds in the population. We show that birds that are more synchronized in their reproductive timing (and breed in the same colony) had significantly stronger social ties both during and after reproduction than expected by chance. Our long-term s ling also revealed that the strong social ties between synchronized breeders were carried over across years. Our study reveals a strong correspondence between synchronized breeding and the social structure of the breeding colony. This suggests that the synchrony between pairs is not a simple process based on opportunity, but a mechanism underpinned by more complex sociality, which could be carried over to other behavioural contexts. The maintenance of cross-contextual social ties across years suggests that social structure could have extensive consequences on the overall life history of in iduals in addition to playing a key role for the reproductive dynamics of colonial breeders.
Using optimal foraging theory to infer how groups make collective decisions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2022.06.010
Abstract: Studying animal behavior as collective phenomena is a powerful tool for understanding social processes, including group coordination and decision-making. However, linking in idual behavior during group decision-making to the preferences underlying those actions poses a considerable challenge. Optimal foraging theory, and specifically the marginal value theorem (MVT), can provide predictions about in idual preferences, against which the behavior of groups can be compared under different models of influence. A major strength of formally linking optimal foraging theory to collective behavior is that it generates predictions that can easily be tested under field conditions. This opens the door to studying group decision-making in a range of species a necessary step for revealing the ecological drivers and evolutionary consequences of collective decision-making.
Early-Life Stress Triggers Juvenile Zebra Finches to Switch Social Learning Strategies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2015
A contact-based social network of lizards is defined by low genetic relatedness among strongly connected individuals
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
How feedback and feed-forward mechanisms link determinants of social dominance.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12838
Abstract: In many animal societies, in iduals differ consistently in their ability to win agonistic interactions, resulting in dominance hierarchies. These differences arise due to a range of factors that can influence in iduals' abilities to win agonistic interactions, spanning from genetically driven traits through to in iduals' recent interaction history. Yet, despite a century of study since Schjelderup-Ebbe's seminal paper on social dominance, we still lack a general understanding of how these different factors work together to determine in iduals' positions in hierarchies. Here, we first outline five widely studied factors that can influence interaction outcomes: intrinsic attributes, resource value asymmetry, winner-loser effects, dyadic interaction-outcome history and third-party support. A review of the evidence shows that a variety of factors are likely important to interaction outcomes, and thereby in iduals' positions in dominance hierarchies, in erse species. We propose that such factors are unlikely to determine dominance outcomes independently, but rather form part of feedback loops whereby the outcomes of previous agonistic interactions (e.g. access to food) impact factors that might be important in subsequent interactions (e.g. body condition). We provide a conceptual framework that illustrates the multitude potential routes through which such feedbacks can occur, and how the factors that determine the outcomes of dominance interactions are highly intertwined and thus rarely act independently of one another. Further, we generalise our framework to include multi-generational feed-forward mechanisms: how interaction outcomes in one generation can influence the factors determining interaction outcomes in the next generation via a range of parental effects. This general framework describes how interaction outcomes and the factors determining them are linked within generations via feedback loops, and between generations via feed-forward mechanisms. We then highlight methodological approaches that will facilitate the study of feedback loops and dominance dynamics. Lastly, we discuss how our framework could shape future research, including: how feedbacks generate variation in the factors discussed, and how this might be studied experimentally how the relative importance of different feedback mechanisms varies across timescales the role of social structure in modulating the effect of feedbacks on hierarchy structure and stability and the routes of parental influence on the dominance status of offspring. Ultimately, by considering dominance interactions as part of a dynamic feedback system that also feeds forward into subsequent generations, we will understand better the factors that structure dominance hierarchies in animal groups.
Individual personalities predict social behaviour in wild networks of great tits (Parus major)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-09-2013
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12181
Abstract: Social environments have an important effect on a range of ecological processes, and form a crucial component of selection. However, little is known of the link between personality, social behaviour and population structure. We combine a well-understood personality trait with large-scale social networks in wild songbirds, and show that personality underpins multiple aspects of social organisation. First, we demonstrate a relationship between network centrality and personality with 'proactive' (fast-exploring) in iduals associating weakly with greater numbers of conspecifics and moving between flocks. Second, temporal stability of associations relates to personality: 'reactive' (slow-exploring) birds form synergistically stable relationships. Finally, we show that personality influences social structure, with males non-randomly distributed across groups. These results provide strong evidence that songbirds follow alternative social strategies related to personality. This has implications not only for the causes of social network structure but also for the strength and direction of selection on personality in natural populations.
Behavioural ecology at the spatial-social interface
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 11-02-2022
Social network architecture and the tempo of cumulative cultural evolution
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-12-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.04.411934
Abstract: The ability to build upon previous knowledge—cumulative cultural evolution—is a hallmark of human societies. While cumulative cultural evolution depends on the interaction between social systems, cognition and the environment, there is increasing evidence that cumulative cultural evolution is facilitated by larger and more structured societies. However, such effects may be interlinked with patterns of social wiring, thus the relative importance of social network architecture as an additional factor shaping cumulative cultural evolution remains unclear. By simulating innovation and diffusion of cultural traits in populations with stereotyped social structures, we disentangle the relative contributions of network architecture from those of population size and connectivity. We demonstrate that while more structured networks, such as those found in multilevel societies, can promote the recombination of cultural traits into high-value products, they also hinder spread and make products more likely to go extinct. We find that transmission mechanisms are therefore critical in determining the outcomes of cumulative cultural evolution. Our results highlight the complex interaction between population size, structure and transmission mechanisms, with important implications for future research.
Proximity to humans affects local social structure in a giraffe metapopulation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2020
The role of habitat configuration in shaping social structure: a gap in studies of animal social complexity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2019
Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 24-08-2019
DOI: 10.1101/746545
Abstract: Natural populations and communities consist of in iduals that differ in their phenotypes. There is increasing evidence in community ecology that consistent intraspecific variation in behaviour changes the outcome of ecological interactions. Differences in intra- and inter-specific interactions are expected to play a major role in determining patterns of species coexistence and community structure. However, the question of whether in iduals vary in their propensity to associate with heterospecifics has been neglected. We used social network analysis to characterise pattern of heterospecific associations in wild mixed-species flocks of songbirds, and assessed whether in iduals adopt consistent social strategies in their broader, heterospecific, social environment. We quantified heterospecific foraging associations using data from a large automatically monitored PIT-tagged population of birds, involving more than 300 000 observations of flock membership, collected over three winters, for two tit species (Paridae), blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus , and great tits, Parus major . We assessed in idual consistency in interspecific social preferences over both short-term (week-to-week) and longer-term (year-to-year) timescales for a total of 4610 in iduals, and found that blue tits and great tits exhibited marked and consistent intraspecific differences in heterospecific social phenotypes in terms of both absolute and relative number of associates. Further, we found that these consistent differences were significantly greater than expected from spatial and temporal differences in population densities. Heterospecific associations represent a major component of the social environment for many species, and our results show that in iduals vary consistently in their social decisions with respect to heterospecifics. These findings provide support for the notion that intraspecific trait variation contributes to patterns at community and ecosystem levels.
Demographic processes in animal networks are a question of time: a comment on Shizuka and Johnson
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-06-2020
Cooperative breeding and the emergence of multilevel societies in birds
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 06-10-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.04.462904
Abstract: Multilevel societies (MLSs), where social levels are hierarchically nested within each other, are considered one of the most complex forms of animal societies. Although thought to mainly occur in mammals, it is suggested that MLSs could be under-detected in birds. Here we propose that the emergence of MLSs could be common in cooperatively breeding birds, as both systems are favoured by similar ecological and social drivers. We first investigate this proposition by systematically comparing evidence for multilevel social structure in cooperative and non-cooperative birds in Australia and New Zealand, global hotspots for cooperative breeding. We then analyse non-breeding social networks of cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens ( Malurus cyaneus ) to reveal their structured multilevel society, with three hierarchical social levels that are stable across years. Our results confirm recent predictions that MLSs are likely to be widespread in birds and suggest that these societies could be particularly common in cooperatively breeding birds.
Related Organisations
University Of Oxford
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Related Funding Activities
Social Drivers Of Extra-pair Paternity
Start Date: 2018
End Date: 2017
Funder: German Research Foundation
View Funded ActivityThe Role Of Interaction Structure In Eco-evolutionary Dynamics (EcoEvoInteract)
Start Date: 2017
End Date: 2017
Funder: German Research Foundation
View Funded Activity