What can modeling networks tell us about animal social ecology and evolution? Social networks that emerge from individuals interacting with one another underly many key processes in animal groups, such as access to environmental information and the spread of infectious diseases. Consequently, we could learn a lot about the ecology and evolution of animal societies by applying computational models of social network structure and dynamics in these contexts. I’ll show how network structure can drive differences in the spread of behaviours and infectious disease through animal groups and examine how individual variation in disease risks can transform social interaction patterns. I’ll then introduce models that explore both how differences in demography can constrain social network organisation, and the counter-intuitive ways social networks can respond to evolutionary pressures. Collectively, I hope these examples illustrate the exciting possibilities at the interface of evolutionary ecology, network science and maths. This article was published on 2025-04-22
