The Well-Connected Animal: Social Networks and the Wondrous Complexity of Animal Societies

by Lee Alan Dugatkin

Overview

“Combines accessible prose with solid science.”—Wall Street Journal • “Demonstrates that whatever creature you are—from a giraffe to a Tasmanian devil—life is all about who you know.”—New Scientist • “Fascinating. . . . Easily the most intriguing, thorough explanation of animal behavior ever produced.”—Library Journal (starred review) • “This book makes a fitting companion to Ed Yong’s An Immense World. An entertaining tour of what we learn as we eavesdrop on the non-human conversations all around us.”—Kirkus Reviews • “Terrific.”—Booklist

An engaging exploration of the wondrous social webs that permeate life in animal societies around the world.
 
It’s all about who you know. Whether vampire bats sharing blood meals for survival, field crickets remembering champion fighters, macaque monkeys forming grooming pacts after a deadly hurricane, or great tit birds learning the best way to steal milk—it pays to be well connected.

In this tour of the animal kingdom, evolutionary biologist Lee Alan Dugatkin reveals a new field of study, uncovering social networks that existed long before the dawn of human social media. He accessibly describes the latest findings from animal behavior, evolution, computer science, psychology, anthropology, genetics, and neurobiology, and incorporates interviews and insights from researchers he finds swimming with manta rays, avoiding pigeon poop, and stopping monkeys from stealing iPads. With Dugatkin as our guide, we investigate social networks in giraffes, elephants, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, whales, bats, and more. From animal networks in Australia and Asia to Africa, Europe, and the Americas, The Well-Connected Animal is an eye-opening exposé of wild friends, enemies, and everything in between.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226818795
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	05/15/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	555,153
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Lee Alan Dugatkin is an evolutionary biologist and historian of science in the Department of Biology at the University of Louisville. Among his many books, he is coauthor of How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog) and the author of Power in the Wild, both also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. The Networked Animal
2. The Ties That Bind
3. The Food Network
4. The Reproduction Network
5. The Power Network
6. The Safety Network
7. The Travel Network
8. The Communication Network
9. The Culture Network
10. The Health Network
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This terrific survey of how animals of different species relate to each other on individual and group levels reads like a scientific mystery as Dugatkin vividly and compellingly describes exciting breakthroughs."

Booklist

Combines accessible prose with solid science. . . . Networking, it turns out, isn’t merely a cliché for twenty-first-century social-media climbers. Many animal species—perhaps most—do it just fine without Facebook, X or cellphones. It’s noteworthy that even as loneliness in our own species has been increasingly recognized as a modern problem, network analysis among animals has revealed that deeper, stronger bonds generally result in longer lifespans. These networks cover a range of activities, including dominance interactions, vocal communication, migration, food-finding, alarm-calling, gesturing, mate selection and cultural transmission—pretty much anything that animals do, most of which have deep resonance for the lives of human beings as well. . . . Reader, I connected with this book and I think there’s a good chance you will, too."

Wall Street Journal - David Barash

One of the most talented biologists of our time lends fascinating insight into the most important part of our existence. By exploring the origins of our social connections, Dugatkin uncovers a world of cooperation, communication, and bonding in the animal kingdom that ultimately leads to ours. A beautifully written adventure into the secrets of the natural world.

Brian Hare

For many years, Dugatkin has been one of my 'go-to-guys' for learning about cutting edge research in animal behavior. The Well-Connected Animal is yet another one of his extremely thoughtful books, this time outlining what we know about social networks in diverse species, how the research is conducted, and where future studies should best focus. I’m sure many will be pleasantly surprised by the flexible, intricate, and varied social networks that many nonhumans form and use in their daily lives.

Marc Bekoff

"In the past twenty years social network analysis has revolutionized our understanding of animal societies. By studying the flow of information within animal groups, animal behaviorists have shown that sophisticated social networks 'permeate the natural world. Historian of science Dugatkin reveals the network dynamics behind giraffes’ nurseries and vampire bats’ reciprocal blood sharing, as well as the dedication necessary to collect these data. Although it may require researchers to paint numbers on honeybees, social networking theory confirms that complex social dynamics are not just for humans."

Scientific American

Sparkling. . . . A parable of the lessons that can emerge from unfettered science, if we have the courage to let it unfold.

New York Times Book Review, on "How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog)" - Marlene Zuk

Scrupulously scientific but highly accessible. . . . A stunningly provocative reflection.

Wall Street Journal, on "Power in the Wild" - David P. Barash

Long before the invention of Facebook and Twitter, animals discovered the value and peril of social networking. With engaging prose and sweeping scope, The Well-Connected Animal explores the intricate interactions that characterize animal societies and the equally compelling story of the scientists who study them.

Jonathan B. Losos

Our understanding of animal societies expands at an ever-accelerating rate. In The Well-Connected Animal, evolutionary biologist Dugatkin demonstrates that whatever creature you are—from a giraffe to a Tasmanian devil—life is all about who you know.

New Scientist, "20 Non-Fiction and Popular Science Books to Look Forward to in 2024" - Simon Ings

★ 03/01/2024

For much of history, it was assumed that human beings were the only species with complex social networks, meaning that their behavior was thought out and reasoned. Nonhumans, it was assumed, operated largely through reflexes, with perhaps a little bit of sociality. Since the beginning of the 21st century, however, these assumptions have proven to be false, and studies on animal behavior have become a common part of biological research. In this work, animal behaviorist Dugatkin (biology, Univ. of Louisville; Evolution) has skillfully woven much of that research with dozens of personal conversations with scholars and researchers on the behavior of a variety of animals worldwide. His research is impeccable and highly detailed. VERDICT This fascinating, easy-to-read work describes the how, what, and why of animal behavior, much of which is remarkably similar to humans. A must-purchase, this book presents what is easily the most intriguing, thorough explanation of animal behavior ever produced.—Steve Dixon

Library Journal

2023-12-06
An engaging exploration of the interconnectedness of the animal world.

Our belief in human exceptionalism has long included the dogma that we are the only animals that create complex social networks—but we are wrong. In this compelling book, evolutionary biologist Dugatkin, author of The Imitation Factor and Principles of Animal Behavior, notes that while the study of complex non-human social networks is a fairly young discipline, new research is occurring at a rapid pace. As one example, we now know reciprocal altruism drives vampire bats, who are most likely to share cocktails of their own blood with drinking buddies—bat friends who have done the same in the past. Another example: Dolphins help the Laguna people in Brazil by using their sonar to locate mullet; then they alert each other and nearby fishermen to the fish by slapping the water en masse, sending them into nets (and smiling dolphin mouths). Barbary macaques are prosocial animals, warning friends—but not acquaintances—of bad weather. Also prosocial are goats, who, like human teenagers, have friends, enemies, and frenemies. The author also looks at Sonso chimpanzees, who speak a rich language of more than 120 common gestures; honeybees, whose “dances” direct hives to food; the “giant dolphin mugshot book” compiled by researchers showing that dolphins teach each other to use sponge tools; and silvereye birds, who produce more than 60 syllables in a vernacular so expressive that neurologists study it to better comprehend the origins of the human spoken word. “It’s time to scratch off another item from the ‘what makes humans unique’ list,” writes Dugatkin, adding, “Everywhere, and in every context, animals are embedded in networks.” This book makes a fitting companion to Ed Yong’s An Immense World.

An entertaining tour of what we learn as we eavesdrop on the non-human conversations all around us.

Kirkus Reviews