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Dynamic social networks in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

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Abstract

One of the main challenges in the study of social networks in vertebrates is to close the gap between group patterns and dynamics. Usually scan samples or transect data are recorded to provide information about social patterns of animals, but these techniques themselves do not shed much light on the underlying dynamics of such groups. Here we show an approach which captures the fission-fusion dynamics of a fish population in the wild and demonstrates how the gap between pattern and dynamics may be closed. Our analysis revealed that guppies have complex association patterns that are characterised by close strong connections between individuals of similar behavioural type. Intriguingly, the preference for particular social partners is not expressed in the length of associations but in their frequency. Finally, we show that the observed association preferences could have important consequences for transmission processes in animal social networks, thus moving the emphasis of network research from descriptive mechanistic studies to functional and predictive ones.

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Acknowledgments

ADM Wilson acknowledges financial support from research fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation and IGB. RC was supported by an IGB studentship, KB by a Nafög studentship and DPC by funding from the Leverhulme Trust. We would like to thank Kharan Deonarinesingh for assistance in the field.

Ethical standards

This research was performed in accordance with the laws, guidelines and ethical standards of the country in which they were performed (Trinidad).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of the Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany

    Alexander D. M. Wilson, Karoline K. Borner, Romain J. G. Clement & Jens Krause

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, Lübeck, Germany

    Stefan Krause

  3. Department of Physics, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

    Richard James

  4. Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Washington Singer Labs, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK

    Darren P. Croft

  5. Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    Indar W. Ramnarine

  6. Humboldt University, Faculty of Life Sciences, Berlin, Germany

    Jens Krause

  7. Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Alexander D. M. Wilson

Authors
  1. Alexander D. M. Wilson
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  2. Stefan Krause
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  3. Richard James
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  4. Darren P. Croft
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  5. Indar W. Ramnarine
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  6. Karoline K. Borner
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  7. Romain J. G. Clement
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  8. Jens Krause
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander D. M. Wilson.

Additional information

Communicated by J. Lindström

ADM Wilson and S Krause are shared first authors

Electronic supplementary material

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Fig. S1

Frequency distributions of (a) the lengths of contact with a particular nearest neighbour, (b) the lengths of social contact, and (c) the lengths of being alone in the observed data (grey diamonds) and in a simulation of the very simple model that uses unconditional probabilities p(i) and p(x) of being social and of being alone, respectively (black circles) (DOC 68 kb)

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Wilson, A.D.M., Krause, S., James, R. et al. Dynamic social networks in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 915–925 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1704-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1704-0

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