Understanding Allogrooming Through a Dynamic Social Network Approach: An Example in a Group of Dairy Cows
Understanding Allogrooming Through a Dynamic Social Network Approach: An Example in a Group of Dairy Cows
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通过动态社会网络方法理解异位梳理：以奶牛群为例
DOI：
10.3389/fvets.2020.00535
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发表时间：
2020-08-04
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Monti, Gustavo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
de Freslon, Ines;Peralta, J. M.;Monti, Gustavo
对于群居物种，如家畜，社会环境是决定其福利和健康的一个非常重要的因素。了解奶牛关系的复杂性可以帮助开发与奶牛社会行为过程更紧密结合的管理实践。本研究的两个目的是：(1)通过随机因素导向模型，确定泌乳早期奶牛的附属关系动态，并通过异源梳理表明；(2)探索影响个体梳理接触网络模式变化的潜在过程和个体属性，如年龄、社会等级和生殖状态等。研究了动态组奶牛38头的异源梳理行为，每天4小时，连续30天。利用随机因素导向模型，我们建立了每周接触的动态模型，并研究了结构过程（如互惠性、传递性或受欢迎程度）和个人属性（如年龄、社会地位和生育状态）如何影响网络变化。我们发现，奶牛倾向于给以前给它们梳理毛发的个体梳理毛发，这意味着可能存在合作。更积极梳理毛发的奶牛似乎对牛群中的特定个体没有偏好，作为回报，随着时间的推移，被梳理毛发的奶牛往往更少。年长的个体比年轻的个体梳理更多的奶牛，这表明不同的梳理可能与资历有关。奶牛主要梳理年龄相近的个体，这表明熟悉和共同成长增强了社会梳理。随着时间的推移，社会地位较高的奶牛会被更少的奶牛打理，而最近被重新引入群体的个体会打理更多的牧群伴侣。社会网络动力学的研究可以更好地理解奶牛关系的复杂性和非线性。我们的发现，以及进一步的研究，可以补充和加强改进管理实践的设计，更符合奶牛的自然社会行为。
For gregarious species such as domestic cattle, the social environment is a very important determinant of their welfare and fitness. Understanding the complexity of cows' relationships can assist the development of management practices that are more integrated with the cows' social behavioral processes. The two aims of this study were: (1) to determine the dynamics of affiliative relationships, as indicated by allogrooming, by means of stochastic actor-oriented modeling, in dairy cows during early lactation; (2) to explore the underlying processes and the individual attributes, such as age, social rank and reproductive state, that could shape network pattern changes in grooming contacts between individual. We observed the allogrooming behavior of a dynamic group of 38 dairy cows for 4 h per day for 30 days. Using stochastic actor-oriented models, we modeled the dynamics of weekly contacts and studied how structural processes (e.g., reciprocity, transitivity, or popularity) and individual attributes (i.e., age, social rank, and reproductive state) influence network changes. We found that cows tended to groom individuals that had previously groomed them, implying a possible cooperation. Cows that groomed more actively did not appear to have a preference for specific individuals in the herd, and in return, tended to be groomed by fewer cows over time. Older individuals groomed more cows than younger ones, indicating that allogrooming could be related to seniority. Cows groomed mainly individuals of similar age, suggesting that familiarity and growing up together enhanced social grooming. Over time, cows with higher social rank were groomed by fewer cows and individuals recently reintroduced to the group groomed more herdmates. The study of social network dynamics can be used to better understand the complexity and non-linearity of cow relationships. Our findings, along with further research, can complement and strengthen the design of improved management practices that are more in line with the natural social behavior of cows.