以色列巴伊兰大学Amiyaal Ilany等研究人员发现，等级依赖的社会遗传决定了斑点鬣狗的社会网络结构。2021年7月16日出版的《科学》杂志发表了这项成果。

利用27年来在野生斑鬣狗中收集的73,767次社会互动的数据，研究人员表明，社会遗传过程决定了后代关系的形成和维持方式。子代与其他鬣狗之间的关系与母亲的关系相似，时间长达6年，而且相似程度随母亲的社会等级而增加。母子关系的强度会影响社会遗传，并与后代的寿命呈正相关。这些结果支持这样的假设：社会关系的继承可以构造动物的社会网络，并受制于适应性的权衡。

据介绍，动物社会网络的结构影响着生存和繁殖的成功，以及病原体和信息传递。然而，决定社会结构的一般机制仍然不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Rank-dependent social inheritance determines social network structure in spotted hyenas

Author: Amiyaal Ilany, Kay E. Holekamp, Erol Akay

Issue&Volume: 2021/07/16

Abstract: The structure of animal social networks influences survival and reproductive success, as well as pathogen and information transmission. However, the general mechanisms determining social structure remain unclear. Using data from 73,767 social interactions among wild spotted hyenas collected over 27 years, we show that the process of social inheritance determines how offspring relationships are formed and maintained. Relationships between offspring and other hyenas bear resemblance to those of their mothers for as long as 6 years, and the degree of similarity increases with maternal social rank. Mother-offspring relationship strength affects social inheritance and is positively correlated with offspring longevity. These results support the hypothesis that social inheritance of relationships can structure animal social networks and be subject to adaptive tradeoffs.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abc1966

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6552/348