Dataset Information

Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the functional links between social structure and population processes is a central aim of evolutionary ecology. Multiple types of interactions can be represented by networks drawn for the same population, such as kinship, dominance or affiliative networks, but the relative importance of alternative networks in modulating population processes may not be clear. We illustrate this problem, and a solution, by developing a framework for testing the importance of different types of association in facilitating the transmission of information. We apply this framework to experimental data from wild songbirds that form mixed-species flocks, recording the arrival (patch discovery) of individuals to novel foraging sites. We tested whether intraspecific and interspecific social networks predicted the spread of information about novel food sites, and found that both contributed to transmission. The likelihood of acquiring information per unit of connection to knowledgeable individuals increased 22-fold for conspecifics, and 12-fold for heterospecifics. We also found that species varied in how much information they produced, suggesting that some species play a keystone role in winter foraging flocks. More generally, these analyses demonstrate that this method provides a powerful approach, using social networks to quantify the relative transmission rates across different social relationships.

SUBMITTER: Farine DR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4345451 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds.

Farine Damien R DR Aplin Lucy M LM Sheldon Ben C BC Hoppitt William W

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20150301 1803

Understanding the functional links between social structure and population processes is a central aim of evolutionary ecology. Multiple types of interactions can be represented by networks drawn for the same population, such as kinship, dominance or affiliative networks, but the relative importance of alternative networks in modulating population processes may not be clear. We illustrate this problem, and a solution, by developing a framework for testing the importance of different types of asso ...[more]

PMID: 25673683

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Project description:The structure of animal societies is a key determinant of many ecological and evolutionary processes. Yet, we know relatively little about the factors and mechanisms that underpin detailed social structure. Among other factors, social structure can be influenced by habitat configuration. By shaping animal movement decisions, heterogeneity in habitat features, such as vegetation and the availability of resources, can influence the spatiotemporal distribution of individuals and subsequently key socioecological properties such as the local population size and density. Differences in local population size and density can impact opportunities for social associations and may thus drive substantial variation in local social structure. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal variation in population size at 65 distinct locations in a small songbird, the great tit (Parus major) and its effect on social network structure. We first explored the within-location consistency of population size from weekly samples and whether the observed variation in local population size was predicted by the underlying habitat configuration. Next, we created social networks from the birds' foraging associations at each location for each week and examined if local population size affected social structure. We show that population size is highly repeatable within locations across weeks and years and that some of the observed variation in local population size was predicted by the underlying habitat, with locations closer to the forest edge having on average larger population sizes. Furthermore, we show that local population size affected social structure inferred by four global network metrics. Using simple simulations, we then reveal that much of the observed social structure is shaped by social processes. Across different population sizes, the birds' social structure was largely explained by their preference to forage in flocks. In addition, over and above effects of social foraging, social preferences between birds (i.e. social relationships) shaped certain network features such as the extent of realized social connections. Our findings thus suggest that individual social decisions substantially contribute to shaping certain social network features over and above effects of population size alone.

Project description:BackgroundSarcoptic mange is a globally distributed parasitic disease caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. This mite has a certain degree of host specificity, although interspecific transmission can occur among phylogenetically related species or through prey-predator mediated exposure. In 2018, a wild boar (Sus scrofa) with lesions compatible with sarcoptic mange was hunted in Ports de Tortosa i Beseit Natural Park (PTB, north-eastern Spain), where an active epizootic outbreak of sarcoptic mange is affecting Iberian ibexes (Capra pyrenaica) since 2014.MethodsA complete necropsy, skin scrapings and skin digestions with hydroxide potassium were performed to confirm the diagnosis. Routine histopathological analysis, toluidine blue staining and immunohistochemistry were used to characterize the lesions and the inflammatory infiltrate. Finally, 10 specific S. scabiei microsatellites were molecularly genotyped through polymerase chain reactions in mites obtained from the affected wild boar. For phylogenetic comparison, mites obtained from sympatric Iberian ibexes and allopatric wild boars and Iberian ibexes from southern Spain were analysed.ResultsSarcoptes scabiei was visually and molecularly identified in the infested wild boar from PTB, causing skin lesions with dermal inflammatory infiltrate rich in T and B cells, which indicate an adaptive immune response. Three S. scabiei genetic clusters were identified: one included mites from southern Iberian ibexes, another included mites from southern wild boars, and a third one distinctively grouped the wild boar from PTB with the sympatric ibexes.ConclusionsTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of sarcoptic mange in wild boar in Spain and the first documented case of S. scabiei cross-transmission from a wild ruminant host to a wild boar. The wild boar presented an ordinary scabies type reaction, which is typical of the self-limiting infestations reported in other cases of interspecific transmission.

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Dataset Information

Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds.

Publications

Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds.

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