2015/05/14 by Amiyaal Ilany, Andrew S. Booms, Kay E. Holekamp · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · Mathematics · #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Centrality #Social network (sociolinguistics) #Biological dispersal #Ecology #Dynamic network analysis #Term (time) #Field (mathematics) #Network dynamics #Network science #Dynamics (music) #Complex network #Computer science #Biology #Sociology #Physics #Mathematics #Demography #Population
paper · doi:10.1111/ele.12447
openalex publication_date 2015/05/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Social structure influences ecological processes such as dispersal and invasion, and affects survival and reproductive success. Recent studies have used static snapshots of social networks, thus neglecting their temporal dynamics, and focused primarily on a limited number of variables that might be affecting social structure. Here, instead we modelled effects of multiple predictors of social network dynamics in the spotted hyena, using observational data collected during 20 years of continuous field research in Kenya. We tested the hypothesis that the current state of the social network affects its long-term dynamics. We employed stochastic agent-based models that allowed us to estimate the contribution of multiple factors to network changes. After controlling for environmental and individual effects, we found that network density and individual centrality affected network dynamics, but that social bond transitivity consistently had the strongest effects. Our results emphasise the significance of structural properties of networks in shaping social dynamics.