Social networks in primates: smart and tolerant species have more efficient networks

Archive ouverte

Pasquaretta, Cristian | Levé, Marine | Claidière, Nicolas | van de Waal, Erica | Whiten, Andrew | Macintosh, Andrew J. J. | Pelé, Marie | Bergstrom, Mackenzie L. | Borgeaud, Christèle | Brosnan, Sarah F. | Crofoot, Margaret C. | Fedigan, Linda M. | Fichtel, Claudia | Hopper, Lydia M. | Mareno, Mary Catherine | Petit, Odile | Schnoell, Anna Viktoria | Polizzi Di Sorrentino, Eugenia | Thierry, Bernard | Tiddi, Barbara | Sueur, Cédric

Edité par CCSD ; Nature Publishing Group -

International audience. Network optimality has been described in genes, proteins and human communicative networks. In thelatter, optimality leads to the efficient transmission of information with a minimum number ofconnections. Whilst studies show that differences in centrality exist in animal networks with centralindividuals having higher fitness, network efficiency has never been studied in animal groups. Here westudied 78 groups of primates (24 species). We found that group size and neocortex ratio werecorrelated with network efficiency. Centralisation (whether several individuals are central in the group)and modularity (how a group is clustered) had opposing effects on network efficiency, showing thattolerant species have more efficient networks. Such network properties affecting individual fitness couldbe shaped by natural selection. Our results are in accordance with the social brain and culturalintelligence hypotheses, which suggest that the importance of network efficiency and information flowthrough social learning relates to cognitive abilities.

• Description
• Sujet/Public
• Outil
• Outil d'anticipation
• Mémoire et thèse
• Gestion