Wild cricket social networks show stability across generations

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Network Science

Background:

• Animal social interactions are increasingly studied using social network analysis.
• The persistence of social network structures across generations is crucial for understanding selection and evolution.
• Multi-generational social network data has been historically limited, hindering such studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the assumption of social network structure persistence across generations.
• To investigate the temporal stability of social networks in a wild animal population.
• To explore factors influencing the predictability of social network structures over time.

Main Methods:

• Constructed annual social networks for six generations of Gryllus campestris over eight years.
• Utilized exponential random graph models (ERGMs) to analyze network structure and predict future networks.
• Compared network predictability based on temporal distance and population size similarity.

Main Results:

• Social network structures in a given year could predict network structures in other years.
• Predictive capacity was not dependent on the time lag between years.
• Population size similarity between years was a key factor in network predictability.

Conclusions:

• Cricket social network structure demonstrates stability across generations, resisting individual turnover.
• This generational stability supports the role of social networks in evolutionary processes.
• Population size influences the scalability of social behavior findings, and ERGMs are effective for network comparison.