Lewton Jack, Rose Paul E
School of Science and the Environment, Faculty of Science & Engineering, John Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, Washington Singer Labs, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2020 Apr-Jun;23(2):178-192. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2019.1573682. Epub 2019 Feb 2.
Social network analysis (SNA) is useful for evaluating management zoo regimes to ensure that any fitness benefits of sociality are preserved in captive-housed groups. This paper explores the association patterns of 13 giraffes housed at Longleat Safari Park, UK. Wild giraffes exhibit a fission-fusion social system with preferential bonding. As zoo-housed giraffes are common, they are excellent study subjects for using SNA to investigate key aspects of sociality within a managed social environment. Social bonds were assessed over different seasons and data from two study periods (2011 and 2015) were analyzed to see consistency of "social type" (i.e., more social or more solitary). Associations showed the occurrence of consistent preferential bonds between named individuals but time of year influenced the patterns of social bonds. Female-female bonds and female-offspring bonds appeared to be strongest. For animals present in 2011 and 2015, differences in time spent socializing between years were apparent. Results suggest that giraffes may be flexible in their choice of social partner and zoo-managed herds should include a range of individuals from which each animal can choose a preferred associate.
社会网络分析（SNA）有助于评估动物园管理模式，以确保圈养群体中社会性的任何健康益处得以保留。本文探讨了英国Longleat野生动物园饲养的13只长颈鹿的关联模式。野生长颈鹿表现出具有优先联结的裂变-融合社会系统。由于圈养长颈鹿很常见，它们是利用社会网络分析来研究管理社会环境中社会性关键方面的优秀研究对象。在不同季节评估了社会联结，并分析了两个研究时期（2011年和2015年）的数据，以查看“社会类型”（即更具社会性或更孤僻）的一致性。关联显示出指定个体之间存在一致的优先联结，但一年中的时间会影响社会联结模式。雌性与雌性之间的联结以及雌性与后代之间的联结似乎最为牢固。对于在2011年和2015年都存在的动物，不同年份社交时间的差异很明显。结果表明，长颈鹿在选择社交伙伴时可能具有灵活性，动物园管理的鹿群应包括一系列个体，以便每只动物都能选择一个偏好的同伴。
