title: Developmental stress predicts social network position.
abstract: The quantity and quality of social relationships, as captured by social network analysis, can have major fitness consequences. Various studies have shown that individual differences in social behaviour can be due to variation in exposure to developmental stress. However, whether these developmental differences translate to consistent differences in social network position is not known. We experimentally increased levels of the avian stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in nestling zebra finches in a fully balanced design. Upon reaching nutritional independence, we released chicks and their families into two free-flying rooms, where we measured daily social networks over five weeks using passive integrated transponder tags. Developmental stress had a significant effect on social behaviour: despite having similar foraging patterns, CORT chicks had weaker associations to their parents than control chicks. Instead, CORT chicks foraged with a greater number of flock mates and were less choosy with whom they foraged, resulting in more central network positions. These findings highlight the importance of taking developmental history into account to understand the drivers of social organization in gregarious species.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, UK nb40@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Neeltje J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Boogert
authors.affiliation: Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama.
authors.forename: Damien R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Farine
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, UK.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D012919:Social Behavior; D020308:Songbirds / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013686:Telemetry
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: corticosterone; development; foraging; social network; stress; zebra finch