A framework to evaluate whether to pool or separate behaviors in a multilayer network

A multilayer network approach combines different network layers, which are connected by interlayer edges, to create a single mathematical object. These networks can contain a variety of information types and represent different aspects of a system. However, the process for selecting which information to include is not always straightforward. Using data on two agonistic behaviors in a captive population of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus), we developed a framework for investigating how pooling or splitting behaviors at the scale of dyadic relationships (between two individuals) affects individual- and group-level social properties. We designed two reference models to test whether randomizing the number of interactions across behavior types results in similar structural patterns as the observed data. Although the behaviors were correlated, the first reference model suggests that the two behaviors convey different information about some social properties and should therefore not be pooled. However, once we controlled for data sparsity, we found that the observed measures corresponded with those from the second reference model. Hence, our initial result may have been due to the unequal frequencies of each behavior. Overall, our findings support pooling the two behaviors. Awareness of how selected measurements can be affected by data properties is warranted, but nonetheless our framework disentangles these efforts and as a result can be used for myriad types of behaviors and questions. This framework will help researchers make informed and data-driven decisions about which behaviors to pool or separate, prior to using the data in subsequent multilayer network analyses.Comment: accepted for Current Zoolog

Scrub Typhus in Himalayas

Himachal Pradesh state of India is situated in the outer Himalayan ranges. During the rainy season, several cases of acute febrile illness of unknown origin occurred. Orientia tsutsugamushi was identified as the causative agent by microimmunofluorescence and PCR. Two new genotypes of O. tsutsugamushi were identified in the region

Characterizing innovators: Ecological and individual predictors of problem-solving performance

Behavioural innovation, the use of new behaviours or existing ones in novel contexts, can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences for animals. An understanding of these consequences would be incomplete without considering the traits that predispose certain individuals to exhibit innovative behaviour. Several individual and ecological variables are hypothesized to affect innovativeness, but empirical studies show mixed results. We examined the effects of dominance rank, exploratory personality, and urbanisation on the innovativeness of wild-caught black-capped chickadees using a survival analysis of their performance in two problem-solving tasks. Additionally, we provide one of the first investigations of the predictors of persistence in a problem-solving context. For lever pulling, we found a trend for dominants to outperform subordinates, particularly in rural birds, which did not align with predictions from the necessity drives innovation hypothesis. When examining possible explanations for this trend we found that older chickadees outperformed younger birds. This follow-up analysis also revealed a positive effect of exploratory personality on the lever-pulling performance of chickadees. Our results suggest that experience may foster innovation in certain circumstances, for instance via the application of previously-acquired information or skills to a novel problem. As we found different predictors for both tasks, this suggests that task characteristics influence the innovative propensity of individuals, and that their effects should be investigated experimentally

FoodNeophobia and Consumer Innovation Data

FoodNeophobia and Consumer Innovation Dat

Data from: Innovative consumers: ecological, behavioral and physiological predictors of responses to novel food

Consumer innovation, i.e. the acquisition and consumption of novel food types, has received little attention despite its predominance among animal innovations, and its potential implications for the ecology and evolution of species in a changing world. Results of the few studies that have investigated individual responses to novel foods suggest that various ecological, behavioral, and physiological variables may impact individual propensity for consumer innovation, but further work is needed to clarify these relationships. We investigated if urbanization, social rank, exploratory personality, and baseline levels of corticosterone predict food neophobia and consumer innovation responses of wild-caught black-capped chickadees (N=170) from 14 sites along an urbanization gradient. Our analyses do not support a link between food neophobia or consumer innovation and urbanization, dominance or exploratory personality. However, birds with higher levels of baseline corticosterone were quicker to contact novel food types, and more likely to consume novel foods than individuals with lower levels of the hormone. This finding suggests that physiological states that promote foraging behavior might drive individual responses to novel food. Additionally, we found that chickadees tested later in autumn were less neophobic than those tested earlier in the season, perhaps reflecting seasonal changes in food availability. Together, the ability of baseline corticosterone and date of capture to predict responses to novel food suggest that necessity may drive consumer innovation in chickadees

Innovative consumers: ecological, behavioral, and physiological predictors of responses to novel food

Consumer innovation, that is, the acquisition and consumption of novel food types, has received little attention, despite its predominance among animal innovations and its potential implications for the ecology and evolution of species in a changing world. Results of the few studies that have investigated individual responses to novel foods suggest that various ecological, behavioral, and physiological variables may affect individual propensity for consumer innovation, but further work is needed to clarify these relationships. We investigated whether urbanization, social rank, exploratory personality, and baseline levels of corticosterone predict food neophobia and consumer innovation responses of wild-caught black-capped chickadees (N = 170) from 14 sites along an urbanization gradient. Our analyses do not support a link between food neophobia or consumer innovation and urbanization, dominance, or exploratory personality. However, birds with higher levels of baseline corticosterone were quicker to contact novel food types, and more likely to consume novel foods than individuals with lower levels of the hormone. This finding suggests that physiological states that promote foraging behavior might drive individual responses to novel food. Additionally, we found that chickadees tested later in autumn were less neophobic than those tested earlier in the season, perhaps reflecting seasonal changes in food availability. Together, the ability of baseline corticosterone and date of capture to predict responses to novel food suggest that necessity may drive consumer innovation in chickadees