scholarly journals How to Study Socially Monogamous Behavior in Secretive Animals? Using Social Network Analyses and Automated Tracking Systems to Study the Social Behavior of Prairie Voles

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Sabol ◽  
Nancy G. Solomon ◽  
Ben Dantzer
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Tracking Systems ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Automated Tracking ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Social Network Analyses

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 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.

scholarly journals I Explain, You Collaborate, He Cheats: An Empirical Study with Social Network Analysis of Study Groups in a Computer Programming Subject

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 9328
Author(s):  
Beatriz Barros ◽  
Ricardo Conejo ◽  
Amparo Ruiz-Sepulveda ◽  
Francisco Triguero-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Similarity Measures ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Plagiarism Detection ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Similar Content ◽  
Successful Students ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Social Network Analyses

Students interact with each other in order to solve computer science programming assignments. Group work is encouraged because it has been proven to be beneficial to the learning process. However, sometimes, collaboration might be confused with dishonest behaviours. This article aimed to quantitatively discern between both cases. We collected code similarity measures from students over four academic years and analysed them using statistical and social network analyses. Three studies were carried out: an analysis of the knowledge flow to identify dishonest behaviour, an analysis of the structure of the social organisation of study groups and an assessment of the relationship between successful students and social behaviour. Continuous dishonest behaviour in students is not as alarming as many studies suggest, probably due to the strict control, automatic plagiarism detection and high penalties for unethical behaviour. The boundary between both is given by the amount of similar content and regularity along the course. Three types of study groups were identified. We also found that the best performing groups were not made up of the best individual students but of students with different levels of knowledge and stronger relationships. The best students were usually the central nodes of those groups.

scholarly journals A ‘Different Class’? Homophily and Heterophily in the Social Class Networks of Britpop

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Millward ◽  
Paul Widdop ◽  
Michael Halpin
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Social Location ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Music Scenes ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Indie Music ◽  
Social Network Analyses

Social network analysis is increasingly recognised as a useful way to explore music scenes. In this article we examine the individuals who were the cultural workforce that comprised the ‘Britpop’ music scene of the 1990s. The focus of our analysis is homophily and heterophily to determine whether the clusters of friendships and working relationships of those who were ‘best connected’ in the scene were patterned by original social class position. We find that Britpop’s ‘whole network’ is heterophilic but that its ‘sub-networks’ are more likely to be social class homophilic. The sub-networks that remain heterophilic are likely to be united by other common experiences that brought individuals in the network to the same social spaces. We suggest that our findings on Britpop might be generalised to the composition of other music scenes, cultural workforces and aggregations of young people. Our study differs from research on, first, British ‘indie music’ and social class which focuses upon the construction, representation and performance of social location rather than the relationships it might shape and second, the pioneering social network analyses of music scenes which currently lack explicit emphasis on social class.

Using Social Network Analysis in the Classroom: An Experiential Activity and Tool to Enhance a Sense of Community

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 204-218
Author(s):  
Mary B. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Social Network Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Network Analyses

This article presents an experiential exercise where students learn the basics of social network analysis, relate social networks to social capital, and analyze their own networks in the classroom. Instructors of all types of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels can use this activity to teach students about social networks and build a greater sense of community in the classroom. This article provides instructions for collecting students’ social network data, teaching students about social networks as the basis for social capital, guiding students through basic social network analyses, and facilitating a discussion about ways to increase social capital for individuals and collectives. While engaging in this activity, students have opportunities to interact with other students and build high-quality relationships. In doing so, this exercise can facilitate a greater sense of community in the classroom, enrich the social capital for the collective, and promote students’ learning.

scholarly journals Social learning and networks in Nestor parrots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Daniel Donoghue
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Video Playback ◽  
Food Aversion ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Social

<p>Social learning and network analyses are theorised to be of great utility in the context of behavioural conservation. For example, harnessing a species’ capacity for social learning may allow researchers to seed useful information into populations, while network analyses could provide a useful tool to monitor community stability, and predict pathways of pathogen transfer. Thus, an understanding of how individuals learn and the nature of the social networks within a population could enable the development of new behavioural based conservation interventions for species facing rapid environmental change, such as human-induced habitat modification. Parrots, the most threatened avian order worldwide, are notably underrepresented in the social learning and social network literature. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by exploring social learning and networks using two endangered species of parrot; kākā (Nestor meridionalis) and kea (Nestor notabilis). The first study explores social learning of tool use in captive kea, using a trained kea demonstrator. The results from this experiment indicate that both social learning and play behaviour facilitated the uptake of tool use, and suggests that kea are highly sensitive to social information even when presented with complex tasks. The second study assesses whether wild kākā can socially learn novel string-pulling and food aversion behaviours from video playbacks of conspecific demonstrators. Although there was no evidence to indicate that kākā learn socially, these individuals also show no notable reaction to video playback of a familiar predator. Therefore, these results are likely due to difficulties in interpreting information on the screens, and not necessarily a reflection of their ability to perceive social information. In the final study, social network analysis (SNA) was performed to map social connectivity within wellington’s urban kākā population. SNA indicates that kākā form non-random social bonds, selectively associating with some individuals more than others, and also show high levels of dissimilarity in community composition at different feeding sites. Taken together, these results provide rare empirical evidence of social learning in a parrot species and suggest that even complicated seeded behaviours can quickly spread to other individuals. These findings may also be indicative of the difficulties in conducting video playback experiments in wild conditions, which is an area in need of future research. Overall, these findings contribute to the very limited body of research on social learning and networks in parrots, and provide information of potential value in the management of these species.</p>

scholarly journals Social learning and networks in Nestor parrots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Donoghue
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Video Playback ◽  
Food Aversion ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Social

<p>Social learning and network analyses are theorised to be of great utility in the context of behavioural conservation. For example, harnessing a species’ capacity for social learning may allow researchers to seed useful information into populations, while network analyses could provide a useful tool to monitor community stability, and predict pathways of pathogen transfer. Thus, an understanding of how individuals learn and the nature of the social networks within a population could enable the development of new behavioural based conservation interventions for species facing rapid environmental change, such as human-induced habitat modification. Parrots, the most threatened avian order worldwide, are notably underrepresented in the social learning and social network literature. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by exploring social learning and networks using two endangered species of parrot; kākā (Nestor meridionalis) and kea (Nestor notabilis). The first study explores social learning of tool use in captive kea, using a trained kea demonstrator. The results from this experiment indicate that both social learning and play behaviour facilitated the uptake of tool use, and suggests that kea are highly sensitive to social information even when presented with complex tasks. The second study assesses whether wild kākā can socially learn novel string-pulling and food aversion behaviours from video playbacks of conspecific demonstrators. Although there was no evidence to indicate that kākā learn socially, these individuals also show no notable reaction to video playback of a familiar predator. Therefore, these results are likely due to difficulties in interpreting information on the screens, and not necessarily a reflection of their ability to perceive social information. In the final study, social network analysis (SNA) was performed to map social connectivity within wellington’s urban kākā population. SNA indicates that kākā form non-random social bonds, selectively associating with some individuals more than others, and also show high levels of dissimilarity in community composition at different feeding sites. Taken together, these results provide rare empirical evidence of social learning in a parrot species and suggest that even complicated seeded behaviours can quickly spread to other individuals. These findings may also be indicative of the difficulties in conducting video playback experiments in wild conditions, which is an area in need of future research. Overall, these findings contribute to the very limited body of research on social learning and networks in parrots, and provide information of potential value in the management of these species.</p>

scholarly journals Sociality and tattoo skin disease among bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah N Powell ◽  
Megan M Wallen ◽  
Madison L Miketa ◽  
Ewa Krzyszczyk ◽  
Vivienne Foroughirad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Skin Disease ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Infection Dynamics ◽  
The Social ◽  
First Year Of Life

Abstract Social behavior is an important driver of infection dynamics, though identifying the social interactions that foster infectious disease transmission is challenging. Here we examine how social behavior impacts disease transmission in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) using an easily identifiable skin disease and social network data. We analyzed tattoo skin disease (TSD) lesions based on photographs collected as part of a 34-year longitudinal study in relation to the sociality of T. aduncus using three metrics (degree, time spent socializing, and time in groups) and network structure, using the k-test. We show that calves with TSD in the second year of life associated more with TSD-positive individuals in the first year of life compared with calves that did not have TSD. Additionally, the network k-test showed that the social network links are epidemiologically relevant for transmission. However, degree, time spent in groups, and time spent socializing were not significantly different between infected and uninfected groups. Our findings indicate that association with infected individuals is predictive of an individual’s risk for TSD and that the social association network can serve as a proxy for studying the epidemiology of skin diseases in bottlenose dolphins.

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