[Dataset:] Dataset for: Social network interactions shape phenotypic variation in cooperation

Social network interactions have emerged as a lynchpin in our understanding of how selection shapes phenotypic variation in social behavior. For example, indirect genetic effects (IGEs) arise when the heritable behaviors expressed by one individual stimulate or suppress behaviors in other individuals, altering evolutionary trajectories. Moreover, theory predicts that the behavioral processes that emerge from these social interactions can drive cooperation. Quantifying IGEs is challenging because it requires longitudinal data on how behavior varies across heterogeneous social landscapes. As such, we still lack an understanding of how IGEs shape behavior in animal social networks. Here, we address this gap by studying variation in cooperative behavior in a population of wire-tailed manakins. We collected repeated measures of behavior from 165 individuals using an automated data-logging approach and developed a novel subsampling framework to analyze IGEs while accounting for the dynamic interactions resulting from natural social structure. Although social phenotypes were moderately repeatable, IGEs explained significant variation in two measures of cooperation based on number of partners and centrality in the social network, respectively. Our results also show strong positive correlations between a bird’s own phenotype and his estimated IGE on interacting partners, suggesting that cooperation may beget cooperation. We find that manakins tend to assort with similar individuals, but they also have the plasticity to adjust their cooperative behavior to a dynamic social environment. These results provide the first evidence that IGEs can drive cooperation in a complex social system with long-term partnerships.