Efficient clustering of hyenas
Even without learning about the triadic closure property, we naturally find it easier to make new friends when they are introduced by our close friends. Triadic closure property refers to a principle that if two individuals in a network have a friend in common, it becomes more likely for them to become friends themselves. Such principle is easily observed in social network services where people meet and make new friends. However, especially on facebook, people do not search for random people to be friends. They look for people with common interests or those who share similar thoughts, but in most cases, they tend to be more familiar with friends of their close friends. According to Networks, Markets, and Crowds by David Easley and Jon Kleinberg, the reasons for triadic closure property are increased opportunities for the two individuals to meet and the fact that they are both friend with same person provides trust.
Not only are humans naturally following the triadic closure property, but also some animals exhibit similar phenomenon. A new study conducted by National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) shows social structure of spotted hyenas and illustrates the importance of forming and maintaining social bonds in a triad. The study also explains how hyenas tend to be selective in forming bonds—they prefer friends of their friends. Such structure negated my thought that animals may prefer to form as large group as possible to share resource and increase chance of survival. The study assumes that hyenas exploit the advantage of triadic closure—facilitating efficient cooperation. It could have been so, but it might have been due to the reasons provided earlier—increased opportunities for the hyenas to meet themselves and the trust that formed. However, the reason behind the structure does not seem too important. Whether forming such close-knit group enhances cooperation among the hyenas or not, looking at how the principle is widely used among humans and animals, we could assume that triadic closure is somewhat efficient in social networks. Further studies might be able to observe more of these structures in other animals as well.
Reference:
https://news.upenn.edu/news/making-friends-friends-benefits-hyenas-penn-biologist-finds