The use of multilayer network analysis in animal behaviour

Network analysis has driven key developments in research on animal behaviour by providing quantitative methods to study the social structures of animal groups and populations. A recent formalism, known as \emph{multilayer network analysis}, has advanced the study of multifaceted networked systems in many disciplines. It offers novel ways to study and quantify animal behaviour as connected 'layers' of interactions. In this article, we review common questions in animal behaviour that can be studied using a multilayer approach, and we link these questions to specific analyses. We outline the types of behavioural data and questions that may be suitable to study using multilayer network analysis. We detail several multilayer methods, which can provide new insights into questions about animal sociality at individual, group, population, and evolutionary levels of organisation. We give examples for how to implement multilayer methods to demonstrate how taking a multilayer approach can alter inferences about social structure and the positions of individuals within such a structure. Finally, we discuss caveats to undertaking multilayer network analysis in the study of animal social networks, and we call attention to methodological challenges for the application of these approaches. Our aim is to instigate the study of new questions about animal sociality using the new toolbox of multilayer network analysis.Comment: Thoroughly revised; title changed slightl

Maternal immune activation and strain specific interactions in the development of autism-like behaviors in mice.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are due to both genetic and environmental factors. Animal studies provide important translational models for elucidating specific genetic or environmental factors that contribute to ASD-related behavioral deficits. For example, mouse research has demonstrated a link between maternal immune activation and the expression of ASD-like behaviors. Although these studies have provided insights into the potential causes of ASD, they are limited in their ability to model the important interactions between genetic variability and environmental insults. This is of particular concern given the broad spectrum of severity observed in the human population, suggesting that subpopulations may be more susceptible to the adverse effects of particular environmental insults. It is hypothesized that the severity of effects of maternal immune activation on ASD-like phenotypes is influenced by the genetic background in mice. To test this, pregnant dams of two inbred strains (that is, C57BL/6J and BTBR T(+)tf/J) were exposed to the viral mimic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (polyI:C), and their offspring were tested for the presence and severity of ASD-like behaviors. To identify differences in immune system regulation, spleens were processed and measured for alterations in induced cytokine responses. Strain-treatment interactions were observed in social approach, ultrasonic vocalization, repetitive grooming and marble burying behaviors. Interestingly, persistent dysregulation of adaptive immune system function was only observed in BTBR mice. Data suggest that behavioral and immunological effects of maternal immune activation are strain-dependent in mice

Detecting online grooming at its earliest stages: development and validation of the Online Grooming Risk Scale

Backgrounds: Among the problematic online behaviours, online grooming, that is, a manipulative process leading to sexual solicitation between an adult and a minor, is receiving increasing attention. However, most of the studies come from qualitative data, confirming that a formalized measurement tool is still missing. Moreover, online grooming measurement mostly relies on its latest, advanced stages, when the abuse and the actual exchange of sexual material has already occurred and reported to the authorities. The aim of the present study is to develop and validate a measurement instrument grasping the earlier stages of the phenomenon.Methods: The psychometric properties of the Online Grooming Risk (henceforth, OGR) scale were assessed in a validation study conducted on 316 adolescents, and its location within a network of psychological constructs relevant to the literature was examined with a non-parametric approach, the Structural Equation Modeling based on Partial Least Squares.Results: Results confirmed reliability and validity of the OGR scale. Moreover, its association with both protective (e.g., a good family support) and risk antecedents (e.g., low self-esteem), as well as with the development of clearly sexualized references, seems also confirmed.Conclusions: The OGR tool configures itself as a useful resource in perspective of an early detection of online grooming. The study also highlights the protective role of family support and low self-esteem as a significant risk factor

An agile business process and practice meta-model

Business Process Management (BPM) encompasses the discovery, modelling, monitoring, analysis and improvement of business processes. Limitations of traditional BPM approaches in addressing changes in business requirements have resulted in a number of agile BPM approaches that seek to accelerate the redesign of business process models. Meta-models are a key BPM feature that reduce the ambiguity of business process models. This paper describes a meta-model supporting the agile version of the Business Process and Practice Alignment Methodology (BPPAM) for business process improvement, which captures process information from actual work practices. The ability of the meta-model to achieve business process agility is discussed and compared with other agile meta-models, based on definitions of business process flexibility and agility found in the literature. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Rates of agonism among female primates: a cross-taxon perspective

Agonism is common in group-living animals, shaping dominance relationships and ultimately impacting individual tness. Rates of agonism vary considerably among taxa, however, and explaining this variation has been central in ecological models of female social relationships in primates. Early iterations of these models posited a link to diet, with more frequent agonism predicted in frugivorous species due to the presumed greater contestability of fruits relative to other food types. Although some more recent studies have suggested that dietary categories may be poor predictors of contest competition among primates, to date there have been no broad, cross-taxa comparisons of rates of female–female agonism in relation to diet. This study tests whether dietary variables do indeed pre- dict rates of female agonism and further investigates the role of group size (i.e., number of competitors) and substrate use (i.e., degree of arboreality) on the frequency of agonism. Data from 44 wild, unprovisioned groups, including 3 strepsirhine species, 3 platyrrhines, 5 colobines, 10 cercopithecines, and 2 hominoids were analyzed using phylogenetically controlled and uncontrolled methods. Results indicate that diet does not predict agonistic rates, with trends actually being in the opposite direction than predicted for all taxa except cercopithecines. In contrast, agonistic rates are positively associated with group size and possibly degree of terrestriality. Competitor density and perhaps the risk of ghting, thus, appear more important than general diet in predicting agonism among female primates. We discuss the implications of these results for socio-ecological hypotheses

Community Structure and the Spread of Infectious Disease in Primate Social Networks

Living in a large social group is thought to increase disease risk in wild animal populations, but comparative studies have provided mixed support for this prediction. Here, we take a social network perspective to investigate whether patterns of social contact within groups influence parasite risk. Specifically, increased modularity (i.e. sub-grouping) in larger groups could offset the increased disease risk associated with living in a large group. We simulated the spread of a contagious pathogen in random social networks to generate theoretically grounded predictions concerning the relationship between social network connectivity and the success of socially transmitted pathogens. Simulations yielded the prediction that community modularity (Q) negatively impacts parasite success. No clear predictions emerged for a second network metric we considered, the eigenvector centralization index (C), as the relationship between this measure and parasite success depended on the transmission probability of parasites. We then tested the prediction that Q reduces parasite success in a phylogenetic comparative analysis of social network modularity and parasite richness across 19 primate species. Using a Bayesian implementation of phylogenetic generalized least squares and controlling for sampling effort, we found that primates living in larger groups exhibited higher Q, and as predicted by our simulations, higher Q was associated with lower richness of socially transmitted parasites. This suggests that increased modularity mediates the elevated risk of parasitism associated with living in larger groups, which could contribute to the inconsistent findings of empirical studies on the association between group size and parasite risk. Our results indicate that social networks may play a role in mediating pressure from socially transmitted parasites, particularly in large groups where opportunities for transmitting communicable diseases are abundant. We propose that parasite pressure in gregarious primates may have favored the evolution of behaviors that increase social network modularity, especially in large social groups.Human Evolutionary Biolog

Self-organization and time-stability of social hierarchies

The formation and stability of social hierarchies is a question of general relevance. Here, we propose a simple generalized theoretical model for establishing social hierarchy via pair-wise interactions between individuals and investigate its stability. In each interaction or fight, the probability of "winning" depends solely on the relative societal status of the participants, and the winner has a gain of status whereas there is an equal loss to the loser. The interactions are characterized by two parameters. The first parameter represents how much can be lost, and the second parameter represents the degree to which even a small difference of status can guarantee a win for the higher-status individual. Depending on the parameters, the resulting status distributions reach either a continuous unimodal form or lead to a totalitarian end state with one high-status individual and all other individuals having status approaching zero. However, we find that in the latter case long-lived intermediary distributions often exist, which can give the illusion of a stable society. As we show, our model allows us to make predictions consistent with animal interaction data and their evolution over a number of years. Moreover, by implementing a simple, but realistic rule that restricts interactions to sufficiently similar-status individuals, the stable or long-lived distributions acquire high-status structure corresponding to a distinct high-status class. Using household income as a proxy for societal status in human societies, we find agreement over their entire range from the low-to-middle-status parts to the characteristic high-status "tail". We discuss how the model provides a conceptual framework for understanding the origin of social hierarchy and the factors which lead to the preservation or deterioration of the societal structure.Comment: Added sections 4.1 and S2.A about agonistic interactions in animals, added sections 4.2.1 and S2.B regarding potential proxies for societal status in non-human animals, added references to sections 1 and 2. Main text: 34 pages, 11 figures. Supplementary appendices: 36 pages, 24 figure

Vibrating Tail, Digging, Body/Face Interaction, and Lack of Barbering : Sex-Dependent Behavioral Signatures of Social Dysfunction in 3xTg-AD Mice as Compared to Mice with Normal Aging

Modeling of Alzheimer's disease (AD), classically focused on the subject-environment interaction, foresees current social neuroscience efforts as improving the predictive validity of new strategies. Here we studied social functioning among congeners in 13-14-month-old mice with normal aging in naturalistic and experimental conditions and depicted behavioral signatures of dysfunction in age-matched 3xTg-AD mice. The most sensitive variables were vibrating tail, digging, body/face and self-grooming, that can be easily used in housing routines and the assessment of strategies. Sex-specific signatures (vibrating tail, digging, and grooming) defined female 3xTg-AD mice ethogram. All animals sleep huddled while barbering was only found in females with normal aging

Los efectos de una intervención preventiva breve en ciberacoso y grooming en adolescentes

El desarrollo de intervenciones breves y económicas que reduzcan las conductas de riesgo en la adolescencia constituye un desafío para la investigación actual. Este estudio aborda la prevención de dos problemas de comportamiento online en adolescentes (ciberacoso y grooming en Internet). Dos estudios piloto evaluaron los efectos de una intervención de una hora que combinó autoafirmaciones (AA) con la teoría incremental de la personalidad (TIP) en el ciberacoso y el grooming. En el estudio 1 participaron 339 adolescentes (51% chicos, edad media = 14.12 años, DT = 0.70), que fueron asignados aleatoriamente a la intervención AA + TIP o una de dos condiciones de control. Los análisis de regresión jerárquica indicaron que la intervención AA + TIP redujo la reciprocidad entre la solicitud sexual y la interacción sexualizada con adultos, así como entre la victimización y la perpetración de ciberacoso. El estudio 2 incluyó a 214 adolescentes (50.3% chicos, edad media = 14.06 años, DT = 0.96), que fueron asignados aleatoriamente a AA + TIP o a una condición de control. Los análisis de modelos lineales jerárquicos indicaron que AA + TIP redujo la reciprocidad entre la solicitud sexual y la interacción sexualizada con adultos y redujo la perpetración de ciberacoso. Los estudios aportaron evidencia preliminar de las ventajas de la intervención AA + TIP.The development of brief and inexpensive interventions that reduce risky behaviors in adolescence constitute a challenge for current research. This study addresses the prevention of two online behavior problems in adolescents (cyberbullying and online grooming). Two pilot studies evaluated the effects of a 1-hour intervention, which combined self-affirmation (SA) with the incremental theory of personality (ITP), for cyberbullying and online grooming. Study 1 involved 339 adolescents (51% male, mean age = 14.12 years, SD = 0.70), who were randomly assigned to the SA + ITP intervention or one of two control conditions. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the SA + ITP intervention reduced the reciprocity between sexual solicitation and sexualized interaction with adults, as well as between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Study 2 included 214 adolescents (50.3% male, mean age = 14.06 years, SD = 0.96), who were randomly assigned to the SA + ITP or a control condition. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that the SA + ITP reduced the reciprocity between sexual solicitation and sexualized interaction with adults, and reduced cyberbullying perpetration. The studies provided preliminary evidence of the benefits of the SA + ITP intervention.This research was supported by a grant from the Fundación BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) (Ref.PR[18]_SOC_0096) and from the Basque Country (Ref. IT982-16)