The Social Network Structure of a Wild Meerkat Population

By Jaden Fung, of the Brain Food Society

Introduction

In the article, Joah R. Madden and his team are studying the social lives of meerkats. These animals are well-known because of their complex social lives, and scientists are interested in learning how these interactions affect their behavior. They wanted to learn more about the interactions between these animals in terms of grooming, dominance, and foraging by watching eight distinct groups of meerkats. The scientists asked questions such as: What differences exist in these exchanges between groups? Within the same group, are some actions related to one another? Do these trends hold true for all meerkat populations, or are they dependent on external factors such as group structure and size? Madden and his team intend to learn more about animal behavior and the dynamics of social networks.

Method

To get a thorough understanding of meerkat behavior, researchers studied 136 meerkats from eight groups in South Africa's Kalahari Desert. This observation was made from April through July 2007. They investigated factors such as group size, leadership structure, and parasite frequency. They also monitored how frequently the meerkats interacted during foraging, grooming, and dominance displays.

Results

1. The grooming habits of meerkats varied, some meerkats got more attention than others, which suggests social hierarchies within the groups.

2. Dominance displays were seen, frequently started by the same meerkats, indicating that there were hierarchical structures. Conflicts occasionally occurred out of the blue, showing the complexity of social dynamics.

3. Cooperation and competition characterized foraging interactions, there was no clear pattern in the meerkats starting conflicts. Surprisingly grooming frequency had no noticeable impact on the unity of a group.

4. The study also showed that meerkat behavior changed with the activity and was impacted by parasite load, group size, and leadership stability. 

Conclusion

Important new information about the social dynamics of wild meerkat populations is provided by this study. Multiple factors influenced the specific behavioral patterns shown by each group. With a thorough analysis of these interactions, meerkat social dynamics were better understood by researchers.

Reference

The social network structure of a wild meerkat population: 2. Intragroup Interactions - Joah R Madden, Gareth P. Pearce, Tim Clutton-Brock (Published: November, 2009)