Key players and hierarchical organization of prairie dog social networks

The use of social network theory in evaluating animal social groups has gained traction in recent years. Despite the utility of social network analysis in describing attributes of social groups, it remains unclear how comparable this approach is to traditional behavioral observational studies. Using data on Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) social interactions we describe social networks from three populations. We then compare those social networks to groups identified by traditional behavioral approaches and explore whether individuals group together based on similarities. The social network social groups identified by social network analysis were consistent with those identified by more traditional behavioral approaches. However, fine-grained social sub-structuring was revealed only with social network analysis. We found variation in the patterns of interactions among prairie dog social groups that was largely independent of the behavioral attributes or genetics of the individuals within those groups. We detected that some social groups include disproportionately well-connected individuals acting as hubs or bridges. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that social networks analysis is a robust and efficient tool for examining social dynamics.

近年来，社交网络理论在动物社会群体评估领域的应用逐渐获得关注。尽管社交网络分析在描述社会群体属性方面具备显著实用价值，但该方法与传统行为观测研究的可比性仍未明确。本研究基于Gunnison草原犬鼠（Cynomys gunnisoni）的社交互动数据，对三个种群的社交网络进行了系统刻画。随后，研究团队将上述社交网络与传统行为方法所界定的群体开展对比，并探究个体是否会基于相似性聚集形成群体。经社交网络分析识别出的社会群体，与传统行为方法得到的群体结果具有较高一致性。但仅通过社交网络分析，才能揭示出精细化的社会亚结构特征。研究发现，草原犬鼠不同社会群体间的互动模式存在显著差异，且该差异在很大程度上独立于群体内个体的行为属性与遗传特征。此外，本研究观测到部分社会群体中存在连接度远超平均水平的个体，它们承担着枢纽或桥梁的社交功能。本研究为日益增多的相关研究证据增添了新的佐证，证实社交网络分析是探究动物社会动态的可靠且高效的研究工具。