Social network structure is robust to parasite induced changes in contact behavior of domestic sheep

To understand infections affect populations, it’s important to understand the relationship between parasitism and social behavior. Parasites can disrupt social networks in two main ways: by changing the behavior of infected individuals—often leading to decreased activity—and by prompting uninfected individuals to alter their behavior, such as avoiding those showing signs of illness. These behavioral adjustments can shift group dynamics and influence how parasites spread.
In this study, we explored how a parasitic nematode infection influences both individual social interactions and the structure of social networks in sheep. We created three experimental treatments, each replicated across four independent groups: (1) all individuals infected (Parasitised), (2) all individuals uninfected (Non-parasitised), and (3) a mixture of infected and uninfected individuals (Mixed). We tracked social contact patterns using proximity loggers over four stages of infection: prior to infection, the pre-p..., , , # Social network structure is robust to parasite induced changes in contact behavior of domestic sheep

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp15](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp15)

These datsets were collected on a research farm in Edinburgh, Scotland (Summer 2019).

## Description of the data and file structure

##### **Datasets included:**

**1\. Lamb social contact behaviour \(collected using Sirtrack proximity loggers\)**

* Frequency, duration and total duration of contacts between lambs housed in social groups of 5 individuals, 24 hours per day for 10 weeks.
* Sheep ID (60 lambs were used in study), Logger ID (ID of proximity logger), Sex of each lamb (male or female), Treatment Group ID (three treatment groups, each with 4 replicate social groups were established: Parasitised; all lambs were infected with a parasitic nematode, Non-parasitised; all lambs remained uninfected and Mixed; part of each group were infected, and part of the group remained uninfected), Plot ID (12...,