scholarly journals Males are more sensitive to their audience than females when scent-marking in the redfronted lemur

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Rachel Peckre ◽  
Alexandra Michiels ◽  
Lluìs Socias-Martìnez ◽  
Peter M. Kappeler ◽  
Claudia Fichtel
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Audience Effects ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
Opposite Sex

Audience effects, i.e. changes in behaviour caused by the presence of conspecifics, have rarely been studied in the context of olfactory communication, even though they may provide important insights into the functions of olfactory signals. Functional sex differences in scent-marking behaviours are common and influenced by the social system. To date, patterns of functional sex differences in scent-marking behaviours remain unknown in species without overt dominance relationships. We investigated sex differences in intra-group audience effects on anogenital scent-marking in a wild population of redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) by performing focal scent-marking observations. With a combination of generalised linear mixed models and exponential random graph models, we found different audience effects in both sexes. Males were overall more sensitive than females to their audience. Only males seemed to be sensitive to the presence of both members of the opposite sex and same-sex conspecifics in the audience. Females were only moderately sensitive to the presence of other females in the audience. This study offers a potential behavioural pattern associated with anogenital scent-marking that seem to differ from those described for species exhibiting female dominance, supporting the notion that the social systems co-varies with scent-marking behaviours and scent-complexity in strepsirrhines.

Why Legislative Networks? Analyzing Legislative Network Formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Wojcik
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Network Formation ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Graph Models ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Random Graph Models ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social

Are the social networks of legislators affected more by their political parties or their personal traits? How does the party organization influence the tendency of members to work collectively on a day-to-day basis? In this paper, I explore the determinants of the relationships of legislators in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. I use exponential random graph models to evaluate the relative influence of personal traits versus party influence in generating legislator relationships. Despite a focus on personalism in Brazil, the analysis reveals that the effects of political parties on tie formation are roughly equal to the effects of personal traits, suggesting that networks may make political parties much more cohesive than contemporary literature would lead us to believe.

A Weighted Network Modeling Approach for Analyzing Product Competition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaxin Cui ◽  
Faez Ahmed ◽  
Zhenghui Sha ◽  
Lijun Wang ◽  
Yan Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Network Modeling ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Graph Models ◽  
Random Graph Models ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
Product Competition

Abstract Statistical network models allow us to study the co-evolution between the products and the social aspects of a market system, by modeling these components and their interactions as graphs. In this paper, we study competition between different car models using network theory, with a focus on how product attributes (like fuel economy and price) affect which cars are considered together and which cars are finally bought by customers. Unlike past work, where most systems have been studied with the assumption that relationships between competitors are binary (i.e., whether a relationship exists or not), we allow relationships to take strengths (i.e., how strong a relationship is). Specifically, we use valued Exponential Random Graph Models and show that our approach provides a significant improvement over the baselines in predicting product co-considerations as well as in the validation of market share. This is also the first attempt to study aggregated purchase preference and car competition using valued directed networks.

The effect of social odour context on the amount of time male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, self-groom

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 879-900
Author(s):  
Ryan C. Scauzillo ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Social Information ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Target Individual ◽  
The Social ◽  
Grooming Behaviour

Abstract Communicational behaviours by individuals provide information for not only the intended target(s) of the signal but any non-target individual(s) that may be nearby. For terrestrial mammals a major form of communication and social information is through odours via scent marking and self-grooming. Self-grooming is a ubiquitous behaviour in mammals with the function thought to primarily be centred on personal care. But it has been found in rodents that self-grooming will occur in the presence of social odours thus potentially serving a communicative role. For example, male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) self-groom in the presence of a female conspecific odour but not a male conspecific odour. Most studies examining self-grooming as a form of olfactory communication have used single odour donors but in a natural environment individuals will come across complex social odour situations. Therefore, we examined how male meadow voles respond to complex social odours with regards to their self-grooming behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that self-grooming can act as a form of olfactory communication and that male meadow voles will control this behaviour measured by differences in self-grooming rates based on social contexts. Male meadow voles did not show differences in the amount of time spent self-grooming to social odours that contained a female and varying number of rival males (0, 1, 3, or 5) or if the social odour contained an acquainted or novel male. Male meadow voles did self-groom more to a social odour that contained a female and a younger male compared to when the social odour contained a female and older male. Male meadow voles appear to adjust their self-grooming behaviour based on the context of the social information. This may be a strategy that can maximize that individual’s fitness by adjusting how much information is provided to potential rivals and mates.

Female Dominance and Social Structure in Alaotran Gentle Lemurs

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (10) ◽  
pp. 1235-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hapalemur Griseus ◽  
Group Movements

AbstractLemur social systems have the striking social feature, that adult females consistently evoke submissive behaviour of adult males. In the Alaotran gentle lemur, Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis, however, female dominance has not been studied yet. Here we confirm female dominance over males on the basis of a 5-month field study of the social behaviour of four groups, in the Lake Alaotra marshland of eastern Madagascar. Further, we found that dominant individuals initiated aggressive interactions significantly more often than lowerranking ones, they initiated group movements more often and higher-ranking individuals were groomed more often. The spatial configuration was remarkable, since individuals were closer in space to those more distant in rank.

scholarly journals Duality beyond Dyads: Multiplex patterning of social ties and cultural meanings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Basov ◽  
Julia Brennecke
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Network ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Shared Meanings ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interpersonal Ties ◽  
Cultural Networks ◽  
Cultural Structures

Purpose: The social and cultural duality perspective suggests dual ordering of interpersonal ties and cultural similarities. Studies to date primarily focus on cultural similarities in interpersonal dyads driven by principles such as homophily and contagion. We aim to extend these principles for socio-cultural networks and investigate potentially competing micro-principles that generate these networks, taking into account not only direct dyadic overlap between interpersonal ties and cultural structures, but also the indirect interplay between the social and the cultural. Methodology: The empirical analysis utilizes social and semantic network data gathered through ethnographic studies of five creative organizations around Europe. We apply exponential random graph models (ERGMs) for multiplex networks to model the simultaneous operation of several generative principles of socio-cultural structuring yielding multiplex dyads and triads that combine interpersonal ties with meaning sharing links. Findings: The results suggest that in addition to the direct overlap of shared meanings and interpersonal ties, socio-cultural structure formation is also affected by extra-dyadic links. Namely, expressive interpersonal ties with common third persons condition meaning sharing between individuals, while meaning sharing with common alters leads to interpersonal collaborations. Beyond dyads, the dual ordering of the social and the cultural thus operates as asymmetrical with regard to different types of interpersonal ties. Research implications: The paper shows that in addition to direct dyadic overlap, network ties with third parties play an important role for the co-constitution of the social and the cultural. Moreover, we highlight that the concept of network multiplexity can be extended beyond its application social networks to investigate competing micro-principles guiding the interplay of social and cultural structures.

scholarly journals Social behaviour and vocalizations of the tent-roosting Honduran White Bat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahana Aurora Fernandez ◽  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Stefanie Schmidt ◽  
Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Group Stability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interesting Candidate ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Contact Calls

Bats are highly gregarious animals, displaying a large spectrum of social systems with different organizational structures. One important factor shaping sociality is group stability. To maintain group cohesion and stability, bats often rely on social vocal communication. The Honduran white bat, Ectophylla alba exhibits an unusual social structure compared to other tent-roosting species. This small white-furred bat lives in perennial stable mixed-sex groups. Tent construction requires several individuals and, as the only tent roosting species so far, involves both sexes. The bats´ social system and ecology render this species an interesting candidate to study social behaviour and social vocal communication. In our study, we investigated the social behaviour and vocalizations of E. alba in the tent by observing two stable groups, including pups, in the wild. We documented 16 different behaviours, among others, play and fur chewing, a behaviour presumably used for scent-marking. Moreover, we found 10 distinct social call types in addition to echolocation calls, and, for seven call types, we were able to identify the corresponding behavioural context. Most of the social call types were affiliative, including two types of contact calls, maternal directives, pup isolation calls and a call type related to the fur-chewing behaviour. In sum, this study entails an ethogram and describes the first vocal repertoire of a tent-roosting phyllostomid bat, providing the basis for further in-depth studies about the sociality and vocal communication in E. alba .

scholarly journals Social behaviour and vocalizations of the tent-roosting Honduran white bat

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0248452
Author(s):  
Ahana Aurora Fernandez ◽  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Stefanie Schmidt ◽  
Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Group Stability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interesting Candidate ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Contact Calls

Bats are highly gregarious animals, displaying a large spectrum of social systems with different organizational structures. One important factor shaping sociality is group stability. To maintain group cohesion and stability, bats often rely on vocal communication. The Honduran white bat, Ectophylla alba, exhibits an unusual social structure compared to other tent-roosting species. This small white-furred bat lives in perennial stable mixed-sex groups. Tent construction requires several individuals and, as the only tent roosting species so far, involves both sexes. The bats´ social system and ecology render this species an interesting candidate to study social behaviour and vocal communication. In our study, we investigated the social behaviour and vocalizations of E. alba in the tent by observing two stable groups, including pups, in the wild. We documented 16 different behaviours, among others play and fur chewing, a behaviour presumably used for scent-marking. Moreover, we found 10 distinct social call types in addition to echolocation calls, and for seven call types we were able to identify the corresponding broad behavioural context. Most of the social call types were affiliative, including two types of contact calls, maternal directive calls, pup isolation calls and a call type related to the fur-chewing behaviour. In sum, this study entails an ethogram and describes the social vocalizations of a tent-roosting phyllostomid bat, providing the basis for further in-depth studies about the sociality and vocal communication in E. alba.

scholarly journals Diagnosing Multicollinearity in Exponential Random Graph Models

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott W Duxbury
Keyword(s):  
Random Graph ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Graph Models ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Random Graph Models ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
Inflation Factor

Exponential random graph models (ERGM) have been widely applied in the social sciences in the past ten years. However, diagnostics for ERGM have lagged behind their use. Collinearity-type problems can emerge without detection when fitting ERGM, skewing coefficients, biasing standard errors, and yielding inconsistent model estimates. This article provides a method to detect multicollinearity in ERGM. It outlines the problem and provides a method to calculate the variance inflation factor from ERGM parameters. It then evaluates the method with a Monte Carlo simulation, fitting 216,000 ERGMs and calculating the variance inflation factors for each model. The distribution of variance inflation factors is analyzed using multilevel regression to determine what network characteristics lend themselves to collinearity-type problems. The relationship between variance inflation factors and unstable standard errors (a standard sign of collinearity) is also examined. The method is shown to effectively detect multicollinearity and guidelines for interpretation are discussed.

scholarly journals Diagnosing Multicollinearity in Exponential Random Graph Models

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott W Duxbury
Keyword(s):  
Random Graph ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Graph Models ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Random Graph Models ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
Inflation Factor

Exponential random graph models (ERGM) have been widely applied in the social sciences in the past ten years. However, diagnostics for ERGM have lagged behind their use. Collinearity-type problems can emerge without detection when fitting ERGM, skewing coefficients, biasing standard errors, and yielding inconsistent model estimates. This article provides a method to detect multicollinearity in ERGM. It outlines the problem and provides a method to calculate the variance inflation factor from ERGM parameters. It then evaluates the method with a Monte Carlo simulation, fitting 216,000 ERGMs and calculating the variance inflation factors for each model. The distribution of variance inflation factors is analyzed using multilevel regression to determine what network characteristics lend themselves to collinearity-type problems. The relationship between variance inflation factors and unstable standard errors (a standard sign of collinearity) is also examined. The method is shown to effectively detect multicollinearity and guidelines for interpretation are discussed.

scholarly journals Seed exchange networks, ethnicity, and sorghum diversity

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanesse Labeyrie ◽  
Mathieu Thomas ◽  
Zachary K. Muthamia ◽  
Christian Leclerc
Keyword(s):  
Exponential Random Graph Models ◽  
Graph Models ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Seed Exchange ◽  
Crop Genetic Diversity ◽  
Random Graph Models ◽  
Kinship System ◽  
Exponential Random Graph ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Recent studies investigating the relationship between crop genetic diversity and human cultural diversity patterns showed that seed exchanges are embedded in farmers’ social organization. However, our understanding of the social processes involved remains limited. We investigated how farmers’ membership in three major social groups interacts in shaping sorghum seed exchange networks in a cultural contact zone on Mount Kenya. Farmers are members of residence groups at the local scale and of dialect groups clustered within larger ethnolinguistic units at a wider scale. The Chuka and Tharaka, who are allied in the same ethnolinguistic unit, coexist with the Mbeere dialect group in the study area. We assessed farmers’ homophily, propensity to exchange seeds with members of the same group, using exponential random graph models. We showed that homophily is significant within both residence and ethnolinguistic groups. At these two levels, homophily is driven by the kinship system, particularly by the combination of patrilocal residence and ethnolinguistic endogamy, because most seeds are exchanged among relatives. Indeed, residential homophily in seed exchanges results from local interactions between women and their in-law family, whereas at a higher level, ethnolinguistic homophily is driven by marriage endogamy. Seed exchanges and marriage ties are interrelated, and both are limited between the Mbeere and the other groups, although frequent between the Chuka and Tharaka. The impact of these social homophily processes on crop diversity is discussed.

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