Social network analysis has been highlighted as a powerful tool to enhance the evidence-based management of captive-housed species through its ability to quantify the social experience of individuals. We apply this technique to explore the social structure and social roles of 50 Livingstone’s fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) housed at Jersey Zoo, Channel Islands, through the observation of associative, affiliative, and aggressive interactions over two data collection periods. We implement binomial mixture modelling and characteristic-based assortment quantification to describe the complexity and organisation of social networks, as well as a multiple regression quadratic assignment procedural (MRQAP) test to analyse the relationship between network types. We examine the effects of individual characteristics (i.e., sex, age, and dominance rank) on social role by fitting models to explain the magnitude of node metrics. Additionally, we utilize a quadratic assignment procedural (QAP) test to assess the temporal stability of social roles over two seasons. Our results indicate that P. livingstonii display a non-random network structure. Observed social networks are positively assorted by age, as well as dominance rank. The frequency of association between individuals correlates with a higher frequency of behavioural interactions, both affiliative and aggressive. Individual social roles remain consistent over ten months. We recommend that, to improve welfare and captive breeding success, relationships between individuals of similar ages and dominance levels should be allowed to persist in this group where possible, and separating individuals that interact frequently in an affiliative context should be avoided.

中文翻译：

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圈养利文斯顿果蝠 (Pteropus Livingstonii) 的社会经历。


社交网络分析被认为是一种强大的工具，可以通过量化个体的社会经验来加强对圈养物种的循证管理。我们应用这种技术，通过观察两个数据收集期间的联想、亲和和攻击性相互作用，探索了海峡群岛泽西动物园饲养的 50 只利文斯顿果蝠 ( Pteropus Livingstonii ) 的社会结构和社会角色。我们实施二项式混合建模和基于特征的分类量化来描述社交网络的复杂性和组织，以及多元回归二次分配程序（MRQAP）测试来分析网络类型之间的关系。我们通过拟合模型来解释节点指标的大小，研究个体特征（即性别、年龄和主导地位）对社会角色的影响。此外，我们利用二次分配程序（QAP）测试来评估两个季节内社会角色的时间稳定性。我们的结果表明P. Livingstonii显示出非随机网络结构。观察到的社交网络按年龄和主导地位呈正向分类。个体之间的关联频率与较高的行为互动频率相关，包括亲和性和攻击性。个人的社会角色在十个月内保持一致。我们建议，为了提高福利和圈养繁殖的成功率，应尽可能允许年龄和优势水平相似的个体之间的关系在该群体中持续存在，并应避免将在亲缘关系中频繁互动的个体分开。