A social network consists of nodes and edges, where usually a node represents an individual and the edges the relationships between individuals. This statement tells us that we are working with relational data. Networks are useful to see who is connected to whom and by what kind of relationship, represented by any social behaviour, where we can look at the intensity, frequency and directedness of these interactions. The position of the individual in the network may have some fitness consequences in terms of information transmission, spread of diseases and behavioural strategies (i.e. communication, grooming, etc...)(Krause, Croft, & James, 2007).
Social networks
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House mouse (Mus musculus)
The house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) is a crepuscular species (König et al., 2015) and is known to exhibit significant population structuring, diminishing its dispersal rate, which results in genetic differences among distant populations (Dean et al., 2006). The social structure is characterized by a monarchist system defined by a dominant male who usually shares his territory with several subordinate males and several adult females (Reimer & Petras, 1967). The dominant male is very aggressive towards the other conspecifics and in each group all the others males are subordinate, and depending on the study, these subordinate males can have different (Crowcroft & Rowe, 1963) or the same ranking positions (Oakeshott, 1974).
(Suricata suricatta)
(Antidorcas marsupialis)
(Syncerus caffer)
(Suricata suricatta)
High hoot of bonobos to communicate between and within parties
© Luis Fernández