Social network dynamics under experimental manipulations of predation risk and food abundance in wild rock hyraxes.

Abstract

Understanding how animals respond to ecological constraints is crucial for interpreting the dynamics of social networks in the wild. We investigated how experimentally induced changes in perceived predation risk and food abundance influence the social behaviour of wild rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), using experimental manipulations and a meta-analytical framework. We used proximity sensors, trail cameras and observations to record multiple aspects of social interactions. Elevated predation risk caused hyraxes to prioritize spatial adjustments over social rewiring, leading to a slight decrease in sociality and increased social stability within groups. Bachelor males and adult females exhibited greater behavioural adjustments, with solitary individuals interacting more with social groups to mitigate predation risk. In contrast, increased food abundance led to forced proximity at feeding patches, promoting social interactions and clustering within groups. Bachelor males connected social units without increasing network transitivity. Both manipulations highlighted that hyraxes preserve group structure and individual social bonds while exhibiting compensatory social behaviours. Our findings emphasize the possible role of space use in shaping short-term social network dynamics and underscore the stability of animal social structures under mild environmental perturbations. This study also demonstrates the utility of a meta-analytical approach for disentangling context-dependent social responses in complex ecological systems.