Data from: Split between two worlds: automated sensing reveals links between above- and belowground social networks in a free-living mammal

Many animals socialize in two or more major ecological contexts. In
nature, these contexts often involve one situation in which space is more
constrained (e.g. shared refuges, sleeping cliffs, nests, dens or burrows)
and another situation in which animal movements are relatively free (e.g.
in open spaces lacking architectural constraints). Although it is widely
recognized that an individual's characteristics may shape its social
life, the extent to which architecture constrains social decisions within
and between habitats remains poorly understood. Here we developed a novel,
automated-monitoring system to study the effects of personality,
life-history stage and sex on the social network structure of a
facultatively social mammal, the California ground squirrel
(Otospermophilus beecheyi) in two distinct contexts: aboveground where
space is relatively open and belowground where it is relatively
constrained by burrow architecture. Aboveground networks reflected
affiliative social interactions whereas belowground networks reflected
burrow associations. Network structure in one context (belowground), along
with preferential juvenile–adult associations, predicted structure in a
second context (aboveground). Network positions of individuals were
generally consistent across years (within contexts) and between ecological
contexts (within years), suggesting that individual personalities and
behavioural syndromes, respectively, contribute to the social network
structure of these free-living mammals. Direct ties (strength) tended to
be stronger in belowground networks whereas more indirect paths
(betweenness centrality) flowed through individuals in aboveground
networks. Belowground, females fostered significantly more indirect paths
than did males. Our findings have important potential implications for
disease and information transmission, offering new insights into the
multiple factors contributing to social structures across ecological
contexts.