Network scaling reveals consistent fractal pattern in hierarchical mammalian societies
Network scaling reveals consistent fractal pattern in hierarchical mammalian societies
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DOI：
10.1098/rsbl.2008.0393
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发表时间：
2008-12-23
期刊：
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Dunbar, Robin I. M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hill, Russell A.;Bentley, R. Alexander;Dunbar, Robin I. M.
最近的研究表明，人类社会是分层结构的，在社交网络的连续层中具有一致的缩放比例。网络的每一层的大小是前一个（较小的）分组级别的三到四倍。在这里，我们表明，生活在多层次社会系统中的四种哺乳动物类群也存在类似的关系。对于大象 (Loxodonta africana)、狒狒 (Theropithecus gelada) 和狒狒 (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) 来说，社会组织的连续层的缩放比率几乎恰好为 3，表明这种分支比率可能是所有等级结构社会的一致特征。有趣的是，逆戟鲸 (Orcinus orca) 的缩放比例为 3.8，这可能意味着水生环境对社会等级组织施加了不同的限制。然而，来自一系列其他物种的间接证据表明，接近 3 的缩放比例可能广泛适用，即使在传统上尚未确定等级社会结构的物种中也是如此。这些结果将哺乳动物社会系统的等级、分形组织的起源确定为一个基本问题。
Recent studies have demonstrated that human societies are hierarchically structured with a consistent scaling ratio across successive layers of the social network; each layer of the network is between three and four times the size of the preceding (smaller) grouping level. Here we show that similar relationships hold for four mammalian taxa living in multi-level social systems. For elephant (Loxodonta africana), gelada (Theropithecus gelada) and hamadryas (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) baboon, successive layers of social organization have a scaling ratio of almost exactly 3, indicating that such branching ratios may be a consistent feature of all hierarchically structured societies. Interestingly, the scaling ratio for orca (Orcinus orca) was 3.8, which might mean that aquatic environments place different constraints on the organization of social hierarchies. However, circumstantial evidence from a range of other species suggests that scaling ratios close to 3 may apply widely, even in species where hierarchical social structures have not traditionally been identified. These results identify the origin of the hierarchical, fractal-like organization of mammalian social systems as a fundamental question.