Predation risk shapes social networks in fission-fusion populations

Kelley, Jennifer L.; Morrell, Lesley J.; Inskip, Chloe; Croft, Darren P.; Krause, Jens

Abstract

Predation risk is often associated with group formation in prey, but recent advances in methods for analysing the social structure of animal societies make it possible to quantify the effects of risk on the complex dynamics of spatial and temporal organisation. In this paper we use social network analysis to investigate the impact of variation in predation risk on the social structure of guppy shoals and the frequency and duration of shoal splitting (fission) and merging (fusion) events. Our analyses revealed that variation in the level of predation risk was associated with divergent social dynamics, with fish in high-risk populations displaying a greater number of associations with overall greater strength and connectedness than those from low-risk sites. Temporal patterns of organisation also differed according to predation risk, with fission events more likely to occur over two short time periods (5 minutes and 20 minutes) in low-predation fish and over longer time scales ( > 1.5 hours) in high-predation fish. Our findings suggest that predation risk influences the fine-scale social structure of prey populations and that the temporal aspects of organisation play a key role in defining social systems. © 2011 Kelley et al.

Citation

Kelley, J. L., Morrell, L. J., Inskip, C., Croft, D. P., & Krause, J. (2011). Predation risk shapes social networks in fission-fusion populations. PLoS ONE, 6(8), e24280. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024280

• Acceptance Date: Aug 8, 2011
• Online Publication Date: Aug 30, 2011
• Publication Date: Aug 30, 2011
• Deposit Date: Apr 1, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Print ISSN: 1932-6203
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 8
• Article Number: ARTN e24280
• Pages: e24280
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024280
• Keywords: Predation, Social networks, Habitats, Animal sociality, Evolutionary ecology, Population ecology, Rivers
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/372118
• Publisher URL: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024280
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in PLoS ONE, 2011, v.6, issue 8