Stuff To Blow Your Mind From the Vault: The Well-Connected Animal, with Lee Alan Dugatkin
Jun 14, 2025
Join evolutionary biologist Lee Alan Dugatkin as he unpacks the intricate social networks of the animal kingdom. Discover how dolphins use sponges as tools and the fascinating communication systems among bees and chimpanzees. Learn about the unexpected connections between animal social dynamics and disease transmission in species like Tasmanian devils. Dugatkin also explores the impact of social networks on resilience, using stories like the responses of rhesus macaques to Hurricane Maria. Dive into the complexity of animal societies with insights from his book!
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Social Networks in Animals
- Social networks are groups of individuals through which information travels directly or indirectly.
- This concept applies not only to humans but also to many non-human animal societies.
Dolphin Tool Use and Networking
- Bottlenose dolphins use living sponges as tools to protect their snouts while hunting.
- They form social cliques of sponge users for sharing information about good sponge locations.
Complex Communication in Animals
- Both chimpanzees and honeybees exhibit complex communication networks despite vast differences in brain size.
- Chimpanzee communication varies by social familiarity; bees switch communication modes based on environmental conditions.
