scholarly journals How does individual variation in sociality influence fitness in prairie voles?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Sabol ◽  
Connor T. Lambert ◽  
Brian Keane ◽  
Nancy G. Solomon ◽  
Ben Dantzer
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Social Network Analyses

AbstractComparative studies aid in our understanding of specific conditions favoring the initial evolution of different types of social behaviors, yet there is much unexplained intraspecific variation in the expression of social behavior that comparative studies have not yet addressed. The proximate causes of this individual variation in social behavior within a species have been examined in some species but its fitness consequences have been less frequently investigated. In this study, we quantified the fitness consequences of variation in the sociality of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). We characterized sociality of voles in semi-natural enclosures using an automated behavioral tracking system paired with social network analyses to quantify the degree of spatial and temporal co-occurrence of different voles. We then assessed the relationship between sociality with mating success (number of different conspecifics with which an individual produced offspring) and reproductive success (total number of offspring surviving to first capture). We measured the number of social connections each individual had with all voles and only with opposite-sex voles by calculating unweighted degree through social network analyses. Both female and male voles varied in the number of social connections they had with all conspecifics and with opposite-sex conspecifics. Voles with an intermediate number of social connections with voles of both sexes had higher mating success overall. In our analyses that considered all social connections with voles of both sexes, voles with an intermediate number of social connections produced more offspring. Males with a very high or low number of social connections also had the lowest average body mass. Overall, our results suggest some limit on the fitness benefits of sociality. Although there was substantial individual-variation in our measure of vole social behavior, intermediate levels of social connections may be most favorable.

scholarly journals Experimental evidence for delayed contingent cooperation among wild dwarf mongooses

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (24) ◽  
pp. 6255-6260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Kern ◽  
Andrew N. Radford
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Temporal Delay ◽  
Biological Markets ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Access To Food ◽  
Social Network Analyses ◽  
Social Network Position

Many animals participate in biological markets, with strong evidence existing for immediate cooperative trades. In particular, grooming is often exchanged for itself or other commodities, such as coalitionary support or access to food and mates. More contentious is the possibility that nonhuman animals can rely on memories of recent events, providing contingent cooperation even when there is a temporal delay between two cooperative acts. Here we provide experimental evidence of delayed cross-commodity grooming exchange in wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula). First, we use natural observations and social-network analyses to demonstrate a positive link between grooming and sentinel behavior (acting as a raised guard). Group members who contributed more to sentinel behavior received more grooming and had a better social-network position. We then used a field-based playback experiment to test a causal link between contributions to sentinel behavior and grooming received later in the day. During 3-h trial sessions, the perceived sentinel contributions of a focal individual were either up-regulated (playback of its surveillance calls, which are given naturally during sentinel bouts) or unmanipulated (playback of its foraging close calls as a control). On returning to the sleeping refuge at the end of the day, focal individuals received more grooming following surveillance-call playback than control-call playback and more grooming than a matched individual whose sentinel contributions were not up-regulated. We believe our study therefore provides experimental evidence of delayed contingent cooperation in a wild nonprimate species.

scholarly journals Comment on "Why and When 'Flawed' Social Network Analyses Still Yield Valid Tests of no Contagion"

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosma Rohilla Shalizi
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Social Network Analyses

VanderWeele et al.'s paper is a useful contribution to the on-going scientific conversation about the detection of contagion from purely observational data. It is especially helpful as a corrective to some of the more extreme statements of Lyons (2011). Unfortunately, this paper, too, goes too far in some places, and so needs some correction itself.

scholarly journals Predicting behavior change from persuasive messages using neural representational similarity and social network analyses

NeuroImage ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa K. Pegors ◽  
Steven Tompson ◽  
Matthew Brook O’Donnell ◽  
Emily B. Falk
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Persuasive Messages ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Predicting Behavior ◽  
Social Network Analyses

scholarly journals Network centrality, group density, and strength of social identification in college club sport teams

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A Graupensperger ◽  
Michael Panza ◽  
M. Blair Evans
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Level Density ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Sport Teams ◽  
Club Sport

Objective: With the underlying rationale that social identification is related to psychological health and well-being, we aimed to understand how social connections and group structure within college club sport teams relate to students’ perceptions of social identification.Method: We sampled 852 student-athletes from 35 intact same-sex college club sport teams. Using social network analyses derived from teammates’ reports of connections with one another (i.e., time spent outside of sport, and teammate friendships), we computed: outdegree centrality (i.e., self-reported connections with teammates), indegree centrality (i.e., nominations from others), and group-level density. Multilevel models were fit to test the relative effects of outdegree centrality, indegree centrality, and group-level team density on athletes’ social identification strength.Results: Outdegree centrality, indegree centrality, and team density were all positively related to the strength of athletes’ social identification with their sport team. Examining model results step-by-step, incoming nominations of social connections (i.e., indegree) were associated with social identification beyond the effects of self-reported outdegree centrality. Furthermore, team-level density was significantly related to social identification after accounting for the individual-level effects of centrality.Conclusion: Sport is a domain where participants can build social connections with peers, and sport groups offer a salient source for social identification. The current findings indicate that athletes who have greater social connections with teammates may form a stronger sense of social identification. Alongside theoretical contributions to a social identity approach to studying small groups, the current study highlights the utility of studying small groups using social network methodologies.

scholarly journals Why and When "Flawed" Social Network Analyses Still Yield Valid Tests of no Contagion

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. VanderWeele ◽  
Elizabeth L. Ogburn ◽  
Eric J. Tchetgen Tchetgen
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Social Contagion ◽  
Statistical Dependence ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Network Analyses

Lyons (2011) offered several critiques of the social network analyses of Christakis and Fowler, including issues of confounding, model inconsistency, and statistical dependence in networks. Here we show that in some settings, social network analyses of the type employed by Christakis and Fowler will still yield valid tests of the null of no social contagion, even though estimates and confidence intervals may not be valid. In particular, we show that if the alter's state is lagged by an additional period, then under the null of no contagion, the problems of model inconsistency and statistical dependence effectively disappear which allow for testing for contagion. Our results clarify the setting in which even "flawed" social network analyses are still useful for assessing social contagion and social influence.

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