Abstract
Social interactions, through influence on behavioural processes, can play an important role in populations’ resilience (i.e. ability to cope with perturbations). However little is known about the effects of perturbations on the strength of social cohesion in wild populations. Long-term associations between individuals may reflect the existence of social cohesion for seizing the evolutionary advantages of social living. We explore the existence of social cohesion and its dynamics under perturbations by analysing long-term social associations, in a colonial seabird, the Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii, living in a site experiencing a shift to a perturbed regime. Our goals were namely (1) to uncover the occurrence of long-term social ties (i.e. associations) between individuals and (2) to examine whether the perturbation regime affected this form of social cohesion. We analysed a dataset of more than 3500 individuals from 25 years of monitoring by means of contingency tables and within the Social Network Analysis framework. We showed that associations between individuals are not only due to philopatry or random gregariousness but that there are social ties between individuals over the years. Furthermore, social cohesion decreased under the perturbation regime. We sustain that perturbations may lead not only to changes in individuals’ behaviour and fitness but also to a change in populations’ social cohesion. The consequences of decreasing social cohesion are still not well understood, but they can be critical for the population dynamics of social species.
Highlights
IntroductionThrough influence on behavioural processes, can play an important role in populations’ resilience (i.e. ability to cope with perturbations)
Social interactions, through influence on behavioural processes, can play an important role in populations’ resilience
Taking advantage of the long-term monitoring of this species, the knowledge of its population dynamics, and the use of tools recently developed in the Social Network Analysis (SNA) framework, we addressed the following questions: (1) are there any long-term social ties between individuals breeding in the same patch?; and (2) have perturbations, in this case a perturbation regime, affected social cohesion? We discuss the role and consequences of social cohesion in population dynamics and resilience in social species
Summary
Through influence on behavioural processes, can play an important role in populations’ resilience (i.e. ability to cope with perturbations). We explore the existence of social cohesion and its dynamics under perturbations by analysing long-term social associations, in a colonial seabird, the Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii, living in a site experiencing a shift to a perturbed regime. Our goals were namely (1) to uncover the occurrence of long-term social ties (i.e. associations) between individuals and (2) to examine whether the perturbation regime affected this form of social cohesion. Social behavioural processes, such as information sharing and decision-making, add another dimension to understanding the resilience of populations facing perturbations. The existence of social ties between neighbouring pairs in breeding colonies are rarely considered in behavioural and ecological s tudies[32] and, if true, such associations may suggest the evolution of social cohesion for exploiting the evolutionary advantages of social living (including social information sharing) for individual fitness prospects. While not all developments can or should be applied toward the study of animal societies[39], this rush of novel ideas from other disciplines is enriching behavioural e cology[40]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
