Utility of systems network analysis for understanding complexity in primate behavioral management

Network analysis focuses on the patterns of relationships that arise among interacting social and other physical entities. Its ability to mathematically represent both direct and indirect connections has made social network analysis a key approach for examining and quantifying complexity in systems, including the complexity of social relationships and social dynamics found in primate groups. To date, both standard and computational network approaches have been used to successfully identify (1) risk factors leading to deleterious aggression in captive groups of macaques, such as matrilineal fragmentation, presence of natal males, and the absence of a skewed power structure that supports conflict policing; and (2) the social dynamics, including interdependence across aggression and status networks, which underlie a critical tipping point in network structure that is predictive of deleterious aggression and social collapse.