Research results on social networking
Being socially strongly networked is not always advantageous in animals. This is the result of a research group around Robin Morrison from the University of Zurich. Mining social contacts is therefore accompanied by complex advantages and disadvantages, depending on the size of the group and gender. Under certain conditions, it can be an advantage to show little socially.
Morrison and her team have evaluated data that come from observations on 164 wild mountain gorillas in Rwandic Vulkan National Park. The animals usually form groups of about twelve individuals with a dominant males, but sometimes differ from females taking the lead. Observations flowed into the study that span a period of 21 years. They allow conclusions to be drawn on how the social life of the animals affects their health.
Social contacts: when you become a source of stress
According to the data, sociable female animals become less sick in smaller groups (recognizable by external disease signs, or data from necropsia), but also have fewer offspring than in larger groups. A different picture arises in male gorillas. Such with stronger social integration are less often violated in fights, but are more likely to develop – and in relation to a much more than the females.
This not only seems to be because more social contacts have a higher risk of infection, as the experts emphasize. “Males may have to spend more energy in narrow social bonds to defend the females and the offspring, and the associated stress could affect their immune function,” says Morrison in a press release.
To be socially strongly networked is therefore often advantageous, but sometimes not. In addition to the group size and gender, this also depends on the stability of the social association and its conflicts with other groups, as can be seen from the study. There may be a wide range of social characteristics in social animals, including humans. “More and stronger social bonds are not just better,” says Sam Ellis from the University of Exeter, who was involved in the study. “In some situations, social characteristics that we previously regarded as misfires can offer important advantages.”
Reading tip
