Marmot Social Structure

Description

Fitness consequences of social group architecture in yellow-bellied marmots. Repeated interactions between individuals form social groups. These groups are complex systems, dynamic in their nature and pattern of interaction. A large body work has explored the consequences of dyadic interactions, and how variation in social interactions alter the makeup and structure of social groups. However, less work has explored the feedback between a social group and the individuals who comprise it. Therefore, I will explore the relationship between social architecture ? the structure and makeup of all social interactions in a social group ? and fitness. I will quantify social architecture using social network analysis and a suite of measures little used in behavioral ecology. These measures describe the connectivity, general sociability, size, reciprocity, centrality, and social homophily of a group. By using a long-studied population of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) this work will provide unique insights into the adaptive value of the social group for individuals and contribute to our understanding of the evolution and maintenance of sociality.