Social networks in changing environments

Abstract

Social network analysis (SNA) has become a widespread tool for the study of animal social organisation. However despite this broad applicability, SNA is currently limited by both an overly strong focus on pattern analysis as well as a lack of dynamic interaction models. Here, we use a dynamic modelling approach that can capture the responses of social networks to changing environments. Using the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, we identified the general properties of the social dynamics underlying fish social networks and found that they are highly robust to differences in population density and habitat changes. Movement simulations showed that this robustness could buffer changes in transmission processes over a surprisingly large density range. These simulation results suggest that the ability of social systems to self-stabilise could have important implications for the spread of infectious diseases and information. In contrast to habitat manipulations, social manipulations (e.g. change of sex ratios) produced strong, but short-lived, changes in network dynamics. Lastly, we discuss how the evolution of the observed social dynamics might be linked to predator attack strategies. We argue that guppy social networks are an emergent property of social dynamics resulting from predator-prey co-evolution. Our study highlights the need to develop dynamic models of social networks in connection with an evolutionary framework.

Consistency of fish‐shoal social network structure under laboratory conditions

“…Such approaches have also been used to study diffusions, such as the transmission of parasites and diseases through populations (Cross et al, 2004;Hamede et al, 2009;Weber et al, 2013), potentially allowing researchers to predict the types of interaction dynamics that might lead to rapid or sustained outbreaks. Similar approaches have been used to study the transmission and spread of information (Atton et al, 2012(Atton et al, , 2014Webster et al, 2013;Boogert et al, 2014;Farine et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 2015;Firth et al, 2016), enabling the identification of directed social learning and providing insight into the development of local traditions and cultures (Allen et al, 2013;Aplin et al, 2015).…”

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

“…To permit individual identification, each female was anesthetized with MS-222 and injected with a combination of two colored elastomer tags. This method has been extensively used in guppies (e.g., Croft et al, 2006;Morrell et al, 2008;Croft et al, 2009;Wilson et al, 2015) and does not appear to influence shoaling decisions (Croft et al, 2004). Females recovered quickly after marking and no mortalities occurred as a result of this procedure.…”

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

“…The guppy possesses several characteristics that make it an ideal system for the present study. Social network approaches have been extensively applied to probe the causes and consequences of variation in guppy social biology (Croft et al, 2004;Morrell et al, 2008;Croft et al, 2009;Wilson et al, 2015), and the guppy has frequently been used to examine questions related to the acquisition and use of social information (Dugatkin & Godin, 1993;Swaney et al, 2001;. In addition, the Trinidadian guppy has long served as a model organism for understanding the evolutionary consequences of predation risk (reviewed in Magurran, 2005).…”

“…The guppy has long served as a model system in which to investigate questions related to social information use (Dugatkin, 1992;Lachlan et al, 1998;Swaney et al, 2001;Morrell et al, 2008) and the influence of familiarity on social decision-making (Griffiths & Magurran, 1997;Lachlan et al, 1998;Swaney et al, 2001;Ward et al, 2009;Granroth-Wilding & Magurran, 2013). Guppies have also served as a popular study system in which to use social network analysis to probe the causes and consequences of variation in fine-scale social structure (Croft et al, 2006;Morrell et al, 2008;Croft et al, 2009;Wilson et al, 2015).…”