Plant Metabolites and Sawfly Social Lives: Uncovering Nature’s Secret Networks

This blog post is provided by Pragya Singh and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Plant metabolites modulate social networks and lifespan in a sawfly” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Together with colleagues, Pragya explores how turnip sawflies acquire plant chemicals from non-food plants that not only boost their defenses but also, depending on group compositions concerning chemical access, reshape … Continue reading Plant Metabolites and Sawfly Social Lives: Uncovering Nature’s Secret Networks

Julie SheardNovember 20, 2024November 19, 2024Leave a comment

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

“Home sweet home”: how limiting between-group interactions of young individuals can favour epidemic fade-out in social species

This blog post is provided by L Marescot, M Franz, S Benhaiem, H Hofer, C Scherer, M L East, and S Kramer-Schadt and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “‘Keeping the kids at home’ can limit the persistence of contagious pathogens in social animals” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In 2015, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, head of the Ecological Dynamics Department and Marion East, head of the … Continue reading “Home sweet home”: how limiting between-group interactions of young individuals can favour epidemic fade-out in social species

Beth PrestonAugust 6, 2021October 27, 20211 Comment

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post, Special features

The molecular drivers of social network dynamics

The fourth in the behind-the-scenes series for the Journal of Animal Ecology’s Animal Social Network Special Issue, this blog post is provided by Ben Vernasco and Roslyn Dakin and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Testosterone‐mediated behaviour shapes the emergent properties of social networks“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology Animal Social Networks Special Issue. Hiking through dense Amazonian rainforest, you … Continue reading The molecular drivers of social network dynamics

Beth PrestonJanuary 25, 2021April 6, 2021Leave a comment

#StoryBehindThePaper, Special features

Fighting mongooses! How war can impact social relationships

The third in the behind-the-scenes series for the Journal of Animal Ecology’s Animal Social Network Special Issue, this blog post is provided by Beth Preston and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Network‐level consequences of outgroup threats in banded mongooses: Grooming and aggression between the sexes“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology Animal Social Networks Special Issue. Social networks are a … Continue reading Fighting mongooses! How war can impact social relationships

Beth PrestonJanuary 22, 2021March 26, 2021Leave a comment

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post, Special features

Integrating new technological advances and classical ecological methods to uncover the secret lives of social animals

This blog post is provided by Jennifer Smith and Noa Pinter-Wollman and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Observing the unwatchable: Integrating automated sensing, naturalistic observations and animal social network analysis in the age of big data“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology Animal Social Networks Special Issue. In recent decades, technology has radically changed our lives, with new applications and tools … Continue reading Integrating new technological advances and classical ecological methods to uncover the secret lives of social animals

Beth PrestonJanuary 20, 2021November 23, 2021Leave a comment

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post, Special features

Growing up hyena

The first in the behind-the-scenes series for the Journal of Animal Ecology’s Animal Social Network Special Issue, this blog post is provided by Julie Turner (@WanderingBiol) and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Early‐life relationships matter: Social position during early life predicts fitness among female spotted hyenas“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology Animal Social Networks Special Issue. Do you ever … Continue reading Growing up hyena

Beth PrestonJanuary 18, 2021November 23, 20211 Comment