Does landscape connectivity shape local and global social network structure in white-tailed deer?

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Animal Behavior
• Landscape Ecology

Background:

• Intraspecific social behavior is shaped by intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
• Research often emphasizes individual traits over environmental influences on social networks.
• Landscape structure's role in animal sociality at local and global scales is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of landscape structure on white-tailed deer social network structure.
• To analyze sociality at both individual (local) and population (global) levels.
• To understand how habitat features influence animal social behavior.

Main Methods:

• Utilized GPS collar data to infer proximity and calculate association rates for female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
• Weighted seasonal social networks using association rates to analyze social structure.
• Examined home range overlap and landscape variables (forest, grassland, agriculture) in relation to sociality.

Main Results:

• Local sociality was primarily driven by home range overlap.
• Exceptions included increased sociality during fawning with low forest connectivity and during rut with high agriculture connectivity.
• Population-level analysis suggested higher network closeness in landscapes with high forest-agriculture edge and high agriculture proportion.

Conclusions:

• Landscape features significantly influence white-tailed deer social behavior at multiple scales.
• Habitat structure can mediate social network dynamics and potentially impact disease spread.
• This study advances understanding of landscape ecology's role in wildlife social networks.