An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups
One of the hardest problems in studying animal behaviour is to quantify patterns of social interaction at the group level. Recent technological developments in global positioning system (GPS) devices have opened up new avenues for locating animals with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution....
Published in: | Animal Cognition |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/an-informationtheory-approach-to-geometry-for-animal-groups(d3df79c0-0d07-4ea7-a313-7f8d205a9253).html https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/23135/1/Zuberbuhler_An_information_theory_approach_to_geometry_for_animal_groups.pdf |
id |
ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/d3df79c0-0d07-4ea7-a313-7f8d205a9253 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/d3df79c0-0d07-4ea7-a313-7f8d205a9253 2023-05-15T15:49:51+02:00 An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups Dahl, Christoph D. Ferrando, Elodie Zuberbühler, Klaus 2020-07 application/pdf https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/an-informationtheory-approach-to-geometry-for-animal-groups(d3df79c0-0d07-4ea7-a313-7f8d205a9253).html https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/23135/1/Zuberbuhler_An_information_theory_approach_to_geometry_for_animal_groups.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Dahl , C D , Ferrando , E & Zuberbühler , K 2020 , ' An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups ' , Animal Cognition , vol. 23 , no. 4 , pp. 807-817 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 Canis lupus familiaris Dominance Group decision Hierarchy Kin relation Selfish herd Siberian husky Social intelligence Spatial cognition article 2020 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 2021-12-26T14:36:43Z One of the hardest problems in studying animal behaviour is to quantify patterns of social interaction at the group level. Recent technological developments in global positioning system (GPS) devices have opened up new avenues for locating animals with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Likewise, advances in computing power have enabled new levels of data analyses with complex mathematical models to address unresolved problems in animal behaviour, such as the nature of group geometry and the impact of group-level interactions on individuals. Here, we present an information theory-based tool for the analysis of group behaviour. We illustrate its affordances with GPS data collected from a freely interacting pack of 15 Siberian huskies ( Canis lupus familiaris ). We found that individual freedom in movement decisions was limited to about 4%, while a subject’s location could be predicted with 96% median accuracy by the locations of other group members. Dominant individuals were less affected by other individuals’ locations than subordinate ones, and same-sex individuals influenced each other more strongly than opposite-sex individuals. We also found that kinship relationships increased the mutual dependencies of individuals. Moreover, the network stability of the pack deteriorated with an upcoming feeding event. Together, we conclude that information theory-based approaches, coupled with state-of-the-art bio-logging technology, provide a powerful tool for future studies of animal social interactions beyond the dyadic level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Huskies University of St Andrews: Research Portal Animal Cognition 23 4 807 817 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Canis lupus familiaris Dominance Group decision Hierarchy Kin relation Selfish herd Siberian husky Social intelligence Spatial cognition |
spellingShingle |
Canis lupus familiaris Dominance Group decision Hierarchy Kin relation Selfish herd Siberian husky Social intelligence Spatial cognition Dahl, Christoph D. Ferrando, Elodie Zuberbühler, Klaus An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
topic_facet |
Canis lupus familiaris Dominance Group decision Hierarchy Kin relation Selfish herd Siberian husky Social intelligence Spatial cognition |
description |
One of the hardest problems in studying animal behaviour is to quantify patterns of social interaction at the group level. Recent technological developments in global positioning system (GPS) devices have opened up new avenues for locating animals with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Likewise, advances in computing power have enabled new levels of data analyses with complex mathematical models to address unresolved problems in animal behaviour, such as the nature of group geometry and the impact of group-level interactions on individuals. Here, we present an information theory-based tool for the analysis of group behaviour. We illustrate its affordances with GPS data collected from a freely interacting pack of 15 Siberian huskies ( Canis lupus familiaris ). We found that individual freedom in movement decisions was limited to about 4%, while a subject’s location could be predicted with 96% median accuracy by the locations of other group members. Dominant individuals were less affected by other individuals’ locations than subordinate ones, and same-sex individuals influenced each other more strongly than opposite-sex individuals. We also found that kinship relationships increased the mutual dependencies of individuals. Moreover, the network stability of the pack deteriorated with an upcoming feeding event. Together, we conclude that information theory-based approaches, coupled with state-of-the-art bio-logging technology, provide a powerful tool for future studies of animal social interactions beyond the dyadic level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dahl, Christoph D. Ferrando, Elodie Zuberbühler, Klaus |
author_facet |
Dahl, Christoph D. Ferrando, Elodie Zuberbühler, Klaus |
author_sort |
Dahl, Christoph D. |
title |
An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
title_short |
An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
title_full |
An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
title_fullStr |
An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
title_full_unstemmed |
An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
title_sort |
information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/an-informationtheory-approach-to-geometry-for-animal-groups(d3df79c0-0d07-4ea7-a313-7f8d205a9253).html https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/23135/1/Zuberbuhler_An_information_theory_approach_to_geometry_for_animal_groups.pdf |
genre |
Canis lupus Huskies |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Huskies |
op_source |
Dahl , C D , Ferrando , E & Zuberbühler , K 2020 , ' An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups ' , Animal Cognition , vol. 23 , no. 4 , pp. 807-817 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01374-3 |
container_title |
Animal Cognition |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
807 |
op_container_end_page |
817 |
_version_ |
1766384863746719744 |