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The social network structure of a wild meerkat population: 1. Inter-group interactions

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Abstract

Groups of individuals frequently interact with each other, but typically analysis of such interactions is restricted to isolated dyads. Social network analysis (SNA) provides a method of analysing polyadic interactions and is used to analyse interactions between individuals. We use a population of 12 groups (ca. 250 animals) of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta) to test whether SNA can also be used to describe and elucidate patterns of inter-group interactions. Using data collected over 24 months, we constructed two sets of networks, based on direct encounters between groups and instances of roving males visiting other groups. We analysed replicated networks of each type of interaction to investigate similarities between networks of different social interactions as well as testing their stability over time. The two network types were similar to each other when derived from long-term data, but showed significant differences in structure over shorter timescales where they varied according to seasonal and ecological conditions. Networks for both types of inter-group interaction constructed from data collected over 3 months reliably described long-term (12- and 24-month) patterns of interactions between groups, indicating a stable social structure despite variation in group sizes and sex ratios over time. The centrality of each meerkat group in roving interactions networks was unaffected by the sex ratio of its members, indicating that male meerkats preferentially visit geographically close groups rather than those containing most females. Indeed, the strongest predictors of network structure were spatial factors, suggesting that, in contrast to analyses of intra-group interactions, analyses of inter-group interactions using SNA must take spatial factors into account.

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Acknowledgements

Tim Clutton-Brock provided scientific advice, allowed us to work on the meerkat population of the Kalahari Meerkat Project and provided access to the long-term data from the project. We thank the owners of farms surrounding the Reserve for permission to study meerkats on their land and Northern Cape Conservation for allowing us to work in the Kalahari. Tom Flower, Rob Sutcliffe and Dave Bell managed the Meerkat Project with aplomb. We are greatly indebted to all the volunteers who assisted with data collection in the field. Martin Haupt of the University of Pretoria supplied invaluable logistical support. This manuscript was greatly improved by comments from two anonymous referees. JAD was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Higher Education Funding Council for England through the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Consortium. JRM was funded by a BBSRC grant to Tim Clutton-Brock.

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Author notes

  1. J. A. Drewe

    Present address: Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts, AL9 7TA, UK

  2. J. R. Madden

    Present address: Animal Behaviour Group, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wildlife Health and Conservation Medicine Group, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK

    J. A. Drewe & G. P. Pearce

  2. Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    J. A. Drewe & J. R. Madden

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  1. J. A. Drewe
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  2. J. R. Madden
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  3. G. P. Pearce
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Correspondence to J. R. Madden.

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Communicated by J. Setchell

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Drewe, J.A., Madden, J.R. & Pearce, G.P. The social network structure of a wild meerkat population: 1. Inter-group interactions. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63, 1295–1306 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0782-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0782-x

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