Networks in Nature
As we have seen in class, when we observe patterns in networks, we find that there are a underlying principles explaining these patterns. It is easier for us to study patterns in human-based networks, because being humans ourselves, we can logically work our way through the thought process of individuals in a network as bonds form and break. However, extending such network theory to non-humans provides interesting analysis. In particular, the article I chose to blog about details the social behavior of hyenas, and how they choose to form bonds within their own networks.
The phrase in this article that immediately caught my eye was triadic closure. As we know, triadic closure is a defining element of many social networks. In the same fashion as we have observed in class, a hyena is more likely to bond with a friend of a friend than to a stranger. In the wild hyenas form huge clans, but simply being part of a clan doesn’t make a given hyena friends with all of the others. Through evolutionary process, hyenas have developed “algorithms” for choosing their next friend to hunt with (or do other hyena stuff). This occurrence in the hyena community really highlights one of the main ideas behind triadic closure in a network: trust. Hyenas reason, just as humans do, that it’s better to associate with a friend of a friend than a stranger.
How do hyenas know who their friends’ friends are? Years of evolution have given the species an “acute ability to recognize maternal and paternal kin”. So while hyenas aren’t searching through their friends’ mutual friends on Facebook to find new hyenas to meet, they are instead relying on developed instinctual skills to do the same process. This article discusses only the hyena “network” structure. It’s interesting to consider the networks of other species and even the networks between species.
link: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/500949/hyenas-their-own-facebook-algorithm.html