Group Social Structure Research Articles

Fear of predation shapes social network structure and the acquisition of foraging information in guppy shoals.

Spatio-temporal variation in predation risk is predicted to select for plastic anti-predator responses, which may in turn impact the fine-scale social structure of prey groups and processes mediated by that structure. To test these predictions, we manipulated the ambient predation risk experienced by Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) groups before quantifying their social networks and recording individual latencies to approach and solve a novel foraging task. High-risk conditions drove the formation of social networks that were more strongly assorted by body size than those exposed to low ambient risk and promoted longer durations of contact between preferred partners. Additionally, high background predation risk reduced the probability individuals would approach and solve a novel foraging task. Network-based diffusion analysis revealed that while social transmission of the task solution from knowledgeable to naive individuals occurred at a higher rate within low-risk groups, individuals in high-risk groups were particularly likely to investigate the task while shoaling with preferred social partners. Taken together, our results suggest that the structure and functional importance of prey social networks may partly depend on local predation pressure. Furthermore, by influencing individuals' access to information, fear of predation may impact decision-making in a potentially wide array of behavioural contexts.

Enquadres interativos e gestão do tópico discursivo em uma comunidade de práticas de afásicos e não afásicos.

As práticas conversacionais constituem um lócus privilegiado para análise dos fenômenos textuais e semânticos envolvidos na compreensão das relações entre linguagem e organização social em grupo. Nesse sentido, torna-se necessária a mobilização de categorias analíticas que abarquem a conversação em suas dimensões textuais e interativas. No âmbito do presente trabalho, as noções de tópico discursivo e de enquadre interativo serão utilizadas para a análise de situações conversacionais de um grupo de afásicos e não afásicos. O nosso objetivo é analisar a relação entre o enquadre interativo e o tópico discursivo em uma interação de um grupo de convivência de afásicos e não afásicos segundo as propriedades do conceito de comunidade de práticas. Pretendemos demonstrar como a gestão tópica é suscetível às configurações do enquadre em um contexto marcado pela especificidade de ser um espaço de convivência e de situações de uso da linguagem.

Kinship structures create persistent channels for language transmission

Languages are transmitted through channels created by kinship systems. Given sufficient time, these kinship channels can change the genetic and linguistic structure of populations. In traditional societies of eastern Indonesia, finely resolved cophylogenies of languages and genes reveal persistent movements between stable speech communities facilitated by kinship rules. When multiple languages are present in a region and postmarital residence rules encourage sustained directional movement between speech communities, then languages should be channeled along uniparental lines. We find strong evidence for this pattern in 982 individuals from 25 villages on two adjacent islands, where different kinship rules have been followed. Core groups of close relatives have stayed together for generations, while remaining in contact with, and marrying into, surrounding groups. Over time, these kinship systems shaped their gene and language phylogenies: Consistently following a postmarital residence rule turned social communities into speech communities.

Seasonal variation in female Asian elephant social structure in Nagarahole-Bandipur, southern India

Fission–fusion dynamics allow for individuals to deal with spatiotemporally changing food resources, with groups from a community fusing together when resources are abundant and splitting away when competition for resources is high. Such fission–fusion dynamics are often modulated by seasonal changes in resources. We examined the seasonal variation in group size and social structure of female Asian elephants, which show high fission–fusion dynamics, in a population in southern India. Females in this population form many distinct communities or clans in both the dry and wet seasons. At the population level, females were sighted in larger group sizes and associated with more uncommon females in the dry season. However, when associations among common females were considered, a greater number of stronger associations were observed in the wet season. There were no consistently significant seasonal differences in group sizes or associations at the clan level. Thus, population-level results, obtained by a combination of results from different clans, may sometimes be misleading. Female associations showed some temporal stability, with association indices being moderately correlated across consecutive seasons and years. Interestingly, average group sizes were similar across clans of different sizes, indicating a restriction on group size, possibly due to resource distribution. In spite of this restriction, most clan-mates showed low, non-zero associations amongst themselves rather than very strong associations with a small set of individuals. The resulting fluid rather than fixed groups suggest a benefit to socializing with other clan-mates. Thus, unlike the pattern usually seen, fission–fusion dynamics here is a means to maintain multiple associates under conditions of relatively constant but constrained group size, rather than being a means of increasing or decreasing group size in response to ecological factors.

БАЗОВЫЕ ЦЕННОСТИ БЕЛОРУССКОГО ОБЩЕСТВА: ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНО- ОРИЕНТИРУЮЩИЕ КЛАСТЕРЫ И ВАРИАТИВНОСТЬ ЦЕННОСТНЫХ СТРУКТУР

The paper presents the results of the study investigating the basic val¬ues of the Belarusian society using the method of function-oriented clusters of basic values developed by N. I. Lapin. The study describes values that ensure the general integration of the Belarusian society and mediate individual’s involve¬ment in society’s life-sustaining, power and socio-cultural structures. The au¬thors carried out an analysis of the levels of support for basic values according to their types — terminal (value as a goal) or instrumental (value as a tool) — as well as according to cultural typology (traditional, modern, universal values). To examine the variability of the value structure a comparative analysis of the basic values in different age groups was conducted. Basic values of youth sub-groups in different life cycle phases and with different believer’s identification were compared. This comparative anal¬ysis helped to describe the nature of the ties between the cultural environment, life cycle phases and value structure of social groups.

Ethnic group institutions and electoral clientelism

Individual electoral clientelism involves the allocation of handouts to voters around elections. Why is this strategy common in some contexts but not in others? This article demonstrates that ethnic group institutional structure helps to explain this variation. Where ethnic groups are organized hierarchically and have centralized leadership, politicians leverage this infrastructure to mobilize voters wholesale. Where they are not, politicians forge linkages directly with voters, resulting in more electoral clientelism. I provide evidence from a set of African countries, where there is variation in the social structure of ethnic and religious groups. I show that electoral clientelism is more widespread in countries where ethnic groups have a decentralized organization. An individual-level analysis of electoral clientelism in 15 African countries further shows that members of decentralized groups are most likely to receive electoral handouts. The findings contribute to the comparative literature on clientelism and highlight how the organizational structure of intermediaries can shape strategies of clientelism.

Individual and ecological determinants of social information transmission in the wild

Social information, acquired through the observation of others, has been documented in a variety of adaptive contexts. The transmission of social information relies on social connections and therefore it is important to consider that individuals may vary in their access to, and use of, such information. Social network analysis allows for the consideration of individual variation in social connections, which until recently has been ignored in the study of social processes. Furthermore, few previous studies of social information use have considered the potential effects of traits such as dominance and personality, which have been found to influence group social structure. We used network-based diffusion analysis, which incorporates information on individual social associations, to examine whether wild flocks of black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus , utilize social information when locating novel foraging patches. Additionally, we incorporated individual traits (age, sex, dominance and exploratory personality) while examining flocks from rural and urban environments, to assess the influence of individual and habitat level characteristics on the rate of information transmission. Social information transmission was found to occur in all flocks, as individual time of discovery of the novel foraging patches was explained by network connections as predicted. However, the only individual level variable found to influence social transmission was dominance rank: dominant individuals had higher rates of information transmission than subordinates. We also found that the rate of social information transmission was higher in rural than urban environments. Our results highlight the importance of considering social associations when examining social information use. Additionally, our results suggest that dominant individuals have greater access to social information than more subordinate individuals, which may demonstrate a previously undocumented additional benefit provided by social dominance.

The effect of excluding juveniles on apparent adult olive baboons (Papio anubis) social networks.

In recent years there has been much interest in investigating the social structure of group living animals using social network analysis. Many studies so far have focused on the social networks of adults, often excluding younger, immature group members. This potentially may lead to a biased view of group social structure as multiple recent studies have shown that younger group members can significantly contribute to group structure. As proof of the concept, we address this issue by investigating social network structure with and without juveniles in wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) at Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria. Two social networks including all independently moving individuals (i.e., excluding dependent juveniles) were created based on aggressive and grooming behaviour. We used knockout simulations based on the random removal of individuals from the network in order to investigate to what extent the exclusion of juveniles affects the resulting network structure and our interpretation of age-sex specific social roles. We found that juvenile social patterns differed from those of adults and that the exclusion of juveniles from the network significantly altered the resulting overall network structure. Moreover, the removal of juveniles from the network affected individuals in specific age-sex classes differently: for example, including juveniles in the grooming network increased network centrality of adult females while decreasing centrality of adult males. These results suggest that excluding juveniles from the analysis may not only result in a distorted picture of the overall social structure but also may mask some of the social roles of individuals belonging to different age-sex classes.

Bridging Strategies and Action: Towards a Method for Change Management in Danish Emergency Management Organizations

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to answer how the work of Kurt Lewin can inspire researchers today, which is one of the important questions raised by the call for papers for this special issue. The answer will be grounded in theoretical and empirical insights from recent research, conducted to develop a method for change management in Danish emergency management organizations. The theoretical insight builds on Lewin’s field theory in arguing that change processes must derive from the way in which individuals collectively perceive the situation. To respect this argument, the methodological design must concentrate on the way employees perceive changes. Another invention of Lewin proved to be relevant in this regard, notably action research. The application of a dialogical action research method resulted in rich empirical data, which proved the relevance of Lewin’s theoretical constructs and fed forward to newer theoretical perspectives on change, which have all in some respect revived Lewin’s original thoughts, particularly on the importance of social interaction and group structures for successful organizational change. Overall, this study signifies that the work of Kurt Lewin is relevant methodological framework and undergoes a conceptually revitalization among researchers today.

How much does it cost to look like a pig in a wild boar group?

Hybridization between domestic and wild species is known to widely occur and it is reported to be one of the major causes of the current biodiversity crisis. Despite this, poor attention has been deserved to the behavioural ecology of hybrids, in particular in relation to their social behaviour. We carried out a camera trap study to assess whether phenotypically anomalous colouration in wild boar, i.e. potentially introgressed with domestic pigs, affected the hierarchical structure of wild boar social groups. Chromatically anomalous wild boars (CAWs) were detected in 32 out of 531 wild boar videos. In most videos (75%) CAWs were the latest of the group, independently from their age class and group composition. Aggressions by their wild type fellows were recorded in 31.25% videos; by contrast, no aggression among wild type individuals was observed. The lack of camouflage may expose CAWs, and thus their group, to a higher predation risk, compared to wild type groups. This individual loss of local adaptation may increase predation risk by the wolf or detection by hunters, being maladaptive for the whole social group.

Structural, temporal and genetic properties of social groups in the short-lived migratory bat Nyctalus leisleri

Social groups of bats that operate under fission–fusion dynamics tend to establish and maintain non-random associations. We examined the social and genetic structure of the Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri), a species that is typical of tree-dwelling and long-distance migratory species in Europe. We used long-term co-occurrence data (capture-recapture sampling of roosting individuals) in combination with individual genetic relatedness (inferred from a set of microsatellite markers) to assess relationships between structural, temporal and genetic properties of roosting groups. Our results showed that social structure in groups of roosting Leisler’s bat was not random. Social clusters revealed by network analysis were almost identical to demographic cohorts, which indicates that Leisler’s bats are able to maintain social bonds only over a single season. After the period of active maternal care, roosting groups became smaller with a significantly higher level of genetic relatedness among adult females in contrast to the pregnancy and lactation stages. This provides some evidence that temporal social associations may be positively correlated with genetic relatedness. Low recapture rates of bats across seasons in light of natal philopatry indicates a shorter life span of individuals likely due to high mortality during long distance migratory movements. This probably has the most significant effect on the social system of this species.

Within-group behavioural consequences of between-group conflict: a prospective review

Conflict is rife in group-living species and exerts a powerful selective force. Group members face a variety of threats from extra-group conspecifics, from individuals looking for reproductive opportunities to rival groups seeking resources. Theory predicts that such between-group conflict should influence within-group behaviour. However, compared with the extensive literature on the consequences of within-group conflict, relatively little research has considered the behavioural impacts of between-group conflict. We give an overview of why between-group conflict is expected to influence subsequent behaviour among group members. We then use what is known about the consequences of within-group conflict to generate testable predictions about how between-group conflict might affect within-group behaviour in the aftermath. We consider the types of behaviour that could change and how the role of different group members in the conflict can exert an influence. Furthermore, we discuss how conflict characteristics and outcome, group size, social structure and within-group relationship quality might modulate post-conflict behavioural changes. Finally, we propose the need for consistent definitions, a broader range of examined behaviours and taxa, individual-focused data collection, complementary observational and experimental approaches, and a consideration of lasting effects if we are to understand fully the significant influence of between-group conflict on social behaviour.

Nonlethal predator effects on the turn-over of wild bird flocks.

Nonlethal predator effects arise when individuals of a prey species adjust their behaviour due to the presence of predators. Non-lethal predator effects have been shown to affect social group structure and social behaviour as well as individual fitness of the prey. In this experimental study, we used model sparrowhawks to launch attacks on flocks of wild great tits and blue tits whilst monitoring their social dynamics. We show that nonlethal attacks caused instantaneous turn-over and mixing of group composition within foraging flocks. A single experimental ‘attack’ lasting on average less than three seconds, caused the amount of turn-over expected over three hours (2.0–3.8 hours) of undisturbed foraging. This suggests that nonlethal predator effects can greatly alter group composition within populations, with potential implications for social behaviour by increasing the number of potential interaction partners, as well as longer-term consequences for pair formation and emergent effects determined by social structure such as information and disease transmission. We provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, based on in depth monitoring of a social network to comprehensively support the hypothesis that predators influence the social structure of groups, which offers new perspectives on the key drivers of social behaviour in wild populations.

Testing socially mediated estrous synchrony or asynchrony in wild baboons

Social structure of animal groups is affected by the spatial and temporal distribution of females. In particular, the extent to which fertile periods of females are temporally overlapped has been deemed as a crucial factor to determine the structure of social groups in primate species. Dominant males are less able to monopolize fertile females when there are more females being in estrous simultaneously. This provides a potential opportunity for females to manipulate their defensibility by dominant males by modifying the level of estrous overlap. Previous studies that have attempted to detect socially mediated synchrony or asynchrony of estrous cycles have produced mixed results, some of which have been questioned on methodological grounds. Here, we address this issue using an exceptionally large dataset of daily reproductive states in four troops of wild anubis baboons (Papio anubis) over 14 to 24 years (77 troop-years). We compare observed levels of estrous synchrony with null distributions obtained by a randomization procedure under the assumption that estrous cycles are mutually independent among females in the same troop. We do not find any evidence supporting synchrony or asynchrony of estrous cycles. Based on our result and those of previous studies in other species of baboons, we conclude that socially mediated synchrony or asynchrony is unlikely to play a significant role in structuring social groups in baboons. In addition, our analysis points out that care should be taken when applying randomization procedures to a dataset with missing observations. Females in some animal species have been suggested to synchronize or desynchronize their estrus cycles. This phenomenon may have a significant impact on the structure of animal societies because when there are more females simultaneously in estrus, even a dominant male is less able to defend them from other males. Previous attempts to detect non-random estrous cycles in primates have produced mixed results, and some of them have been criticized on the methodological grounds. We investigate whether wild female anubis baboons exhibit non-random estrous cycles using a larger dataset than previous studies. For a statistical analysis, we use a randomization procedure, taking a biasing effect of missing observations into consideration. Consistent with earlier studies on other species of baboons, our analysis does not find any evidence supporting estrous synchrony or asynchrony in anubis baboons.

Identifying gray wolf packs and dispersers using noninvasive genetic samples

Many animals, including gray wolves (Canis lupus), live in social groups. Genetic techniques can help reveal the structure and composition of social groups, providing valuable information about group and population dynamics. We evaluated the effectiveness of using noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) of fecal and hair samples at wolf rendezvous sites combined with spatial and genetic assignment criteria for assigning individuals to packs, detecting dispersers and lone wolves, determining the number of packs in an area, and obtaining group metrics. We applied this approach in 4 study areas covering 13,182 km2 in Idaho, USA while concurrently monitoring wolves using telemetry techniques. We assigned pack affiliation to 78–97% of individuals across study areas and identified 12 potential dispersers. We detected a successful gene flow event by reconstructing a breeding male's genotype and tracing it back to a pack of origin using genetic assignment techniques. Average pack size was consistent between our NGS- and telemetry-based counts (x¯ = 10 for both), and both methods detected similar age composition within groups (31% pups and 69% adults for NGS and 33% pups and 67% adults for telemetry). Our NGS approach has the advantage of providing pack metrics including sex ratio, inferred breeders, and intra-pack relatedness that telemetry and observational techniques alone cannot. This NGS field sampling strategy combined with our pack assignment method was successful and provides an approach for characterizing functional social groups in the absence of previously acquired NGS, telemetry, or other observational data that may not be available when sampling new areas. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Human-modified habitats change patterns of population genetic structure and group relatedness in Peter's tent-roosting bats.

Although coloniality is widespread among mammals, it is still not clear what factors influence composition of social groups. As animals need to adapt to multiple habitat and environmental conditions throughout their range, variation in group composition should be influenced by adaptive adjustment to different ecological factors. Relevant to anthropogenic disturbance, increased habitat modification by humans can alter species’ presence, density, and population structure. Therefore, it is important to understand the consequences of changes to landscape composition, in particular how habitat modification affects social structure of group‐forming organisms. Here, we combine information on roosting associations with genetic structure of Peter's tent‐roosting bats, Uroderma bilobatum to address how different habitat characteristics at different scales affect structure of social groups. By dividing analyses by age and sex, we determined that genetic structure was greater for adult females than adult males or offspring. Habitat variables explained 80% of the variation in group relatedness (mainly influenced by female relatedness) with roost characteristics contributing the most explained variation. This suggests that females using roosts of specific characteristics exhibit higher relatedness and seem to be philopatric. These females mate with more males than do more labile female groups. Results describe ecological and microevolutionary processes, which affect relatedness and social structure; findings are highly relevant to species distributions in both natural and human‐modified environments.

Criteria for the Formation and Dynamics of Sport Land through Urban Non-Place (with a Focus on the Experiences of Mashhad)

Open, arid, unbuilt spaces by roadside, in neighborhoods and urban areas are of hidden urban areas that despite numerous potential, they are left unused. Due to lack of proper public sport places in the cities, by changing into open sports ground, these spaces can be a good opportunity to improve the quality of life, organization of urban spaces, neighborhood orientation, and development of public services and welfare. Although transforming the urban non-spaces into spaces to dynamic sports spaces has happened in some cities based on article 110 of the Municipal Act, the neglect of social and economic structure of consumer groups, non-functional hierarchy of sports grounds, lack of attention to the texture and the absence of clear standards and criteria to choose the kind of exercise in proportion to the size and orientation of user groups have reducing the productivity of the land. The aim of this study is to identify criteria to categorize temporary outdoor sports grounds and classify them according to the criteria extracted. The method of study is based on field research methods and techniques of hierarchical analysis, fuzzy logic models and integrating layers. The results of this research is to develop different standards in terms of social, economic, physical, environmental and management issues about grouping these lands to increase productivity and efficiency. The criteria are determined in terms of location analysis, evaluation and grouping of land. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4S1p65

Temperature modifies activity, inter-individual relationships and group structure in a fish.

A host of abiotic factors modify fish social behavior. However, few studies have characterized the effects of temperature on behavior. In this study, brown trout Salmo trutta fry were reared at 5 different temperatures (4°C, 6°C, 8°C, 10°C, and 12°C). In order to characterize group structure, 3 behavioral parameters were investigated: group social structure (based on inter-individual distances), inter-individual relationships (based on physical contacts), and individual activity. These behavioral parameters were studied at the emergence stage, which corresponds to a switch from a social gregarious life in the gravel to a solitary one in the water column. Data analysis showed that the inter-individual distances increased with increasing temperature, particularly the nearest neighbor distance. The mean number of physical contacts between fry increased at both low and high temperatures. At high temperatures, most fry moved apart from each other after a physical contact. Swimming activity decreased at both the lower and upper temperatures (18% of activity at 4°C, 38% at 8°C, and 12% at 12°C). This study showed that temperature modifies brown trout fry activity, inter-individual relationships, and social behavior, which all affect group cohesion before emergence and can influence their survival and dispersal.

Stability and strength of male-female associations in a promiscuous primate society

Close associations between adult males and lactating females occur in several promiscuous primate species. Benefits gained by males from such bonds may include increases in offspring fitness through paternal effort (the “mate-then-care” hypothesis) and/or subsequent mating opportunities with the female (the “care-then-mate” hypothesis). Heterosexual friendships between males and females have been described as tightly linked to the presence of a dependent infant, but few studies have investigated whether these associations may be longer, starting before an infant birth and lasting after its independence, and whether they may vary in strength across time and dyads. We investigated the stability and strength of heterosexual bonds in two groups of wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) to test whether male-female associations (1) last from offspring conception to independence, as expected under the mate-then-care hypothesis, (2) last after maternal cycling resumption and increase male mating success, as expected under the care-then-mate hypothesis, and (3) vary in strength depending on female reproductive state, age and rank. Our results show that most male-female bonds were already present at offspring conception, were maintained during pregnancy and lactation and disappeared when mothers resumed cycling. Moreover, heterosexual bonds were most intense during early lactation and for high-ranking females, and did not predict subsequent mating activity. Those findings favour the mate-then-care hypothesis, and confirm that male paternity assessment may, at least partially, rely on mating history. Overall, stable heterosexual friendships exist outside early lactation and last longer than previously thought, suggesting that male-female bonds could play an important and under-appreciated role on the social structure of groups in promiscuous primate societies.

Urban Identity in Castile in the 15th century

Identities in the urban world are mental constructs of varying degrees of complexity that are built on the structure of the social groups to which they refer. But urban identity was a complex system also constructed based upon responsibilities and efforts, which served to cultivate common work. In Castile the towns and cities had a high capacity for management and organisation from their creation. The common identity was represented by the oligarchic government and the cities only brought before the king rivalries among themselves. This lack of sovereign urban identity leads to the supposition that the ambitions were absorbed in the feelings of identity with the community of the kingdom and monarchy would reserve an unquestionable leading role for the cities.