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Static and dynamic methods in social network analysis reveal the association patterns of desert-dwelling giraffe

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Abstract

Patterns of association in animal societies vary through space and time. Understanding such variation is key to predicting inter- and intra-population variation across factors as diverse as gene flow, disease transmission, and resilience to climate change. Here, we use 3.5 years of observational data, coupled with static and dynamic methods in social network analysis, to investigate patterns of social association in wild giraffe in the northern Namib Desert, Namibia (a habitat of extreme aridity for the species). Our static analyses reveal similar robust nested social communities, but less distinct community structures, than those found in giraffe populations inhabiting less arid environments. Furthermore, results of our dynamic social network analyses show increased social connectivity in this population during the morning and hot-dry season. These temporal patterns align with patterns of thermoregulatory and sociosexual behaviour in this population. However, they differ from temporal patterns of connectivity revealed in populations in less arid environments. Combined, results of both our static and temporal analyses suggest that while the major characteristics of giraffe society persist through space and time, there is substantial variation in the strength of patterns of social connectivity both within and between populations at multiple spatiotemporal resolutions.

Significance statement

Animal social networks are inherently dynamic. Patterns of connectivity can be shaped by both social factors and habitat variation across space and time. We reveal that a population of uniquely desert-dwelling giraffe maintains a robust, albeit weaker, community structure in a habitat at the extreme edge of its natural range. We also reveal variation in intra-population temporal patterns of connectivity at both daily and seasonal resolutions. Combined, these results suggest that while the major characteristics of giraffe society persist across habitats and through time, the strength of patterns of social connectivity markedly varies in line with habitat factors both within and between populations.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Acknowledgements

We thank the reviewers for helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

Funding

This project was funded by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the School of Biology and Environmental Science (SBES) at University College Dublin (UCD). Wilderness Wildlife Trust, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Idea Wild, and Woodland Park Zoo also provided financial support and TOSCO, ATI Holidays, Karibu Safari, Ultimate Safaris, Matiti Safaris, and Charlottenberg Arabians contributed towards the purchase of a research vehicle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Emma E. Hart & Simone Ciuti

  2. Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Windhoek, Namibia

    Emma E. Hart, Julian Fennessy & Emma Wells

  3. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Leticia Herrmann & Michael Salter-Townshend

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  1. Emma E. Hart
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  2. Simone Ciuti
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  3. Leticia Herrmann
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  4. Julian Fennessy
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  5. Emma Wells
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  6. Michael Salter-Townshend
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Correspondence to Emma E. Hart.

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Ethical approval

Data were collected under the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Namibian Chamber of Environment and National Commission on Research Science and Technology research permit numbers 2162/2016, 2277/2017 and RCIV00042018, and under the University College Dublin (UCD) ethics approval number AREC-E-16–50. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the use of animals were followed.

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Communicated by D. Paul Croft.

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Hart, E.E., Ciuti, S., Herrmann, L. et al. Static and dynamic methods in social network analysis reveal the association patterns of desert-dwelling giraffe. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 76, 62 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03167-9

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