Personality homophily drives female friendships in a feral ungulate

Debottam Bhattacharjee; Kate J. Flay; Alan G. McElligott

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419

Personality homophily drives female friendships in a feral ungulate

Debottam Bhattacharjee^*, Kate J. Flay, Alan G. McElligott^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

3 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Similarity or homophily in personality drives preferential strong social bonds or friendships in humans and some non-human primate species. However, little is known about the general behavioral ‘decision rules’ underlying animal friendships in other taxa. We investigated a feral and free-ranging population of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to determine whether homophily in personality drives female friendships (n=30) in this social ungulate. Close spatial proximity served as an indicator of friendship, validated by affiliative body contact. A ‘bottom-up’ method revealed three personality traits – social tension, vigilance, and general dominance. We found that individuals with lower personality differences (i.e., more similar) in social tension and general dominance traits exhibited higher spatial associations, suggesting that friendships in buffalo can form based on personality homophily. Our findings offer crucial insights into the role of personalities driving complex social patterns in species beyond primates. © 2024 The Author(s).

Original language	English
Article number	111419
Journal	iScience
Volume	27
Issue number	12
Online published	5 Dec 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419
Publication status	Published - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Information for this record is supplemented by the author(s) concerned.

Research Keywords

Feral ungulates
Inter-individual differences
Partner choice
Social bonds
Social relationships
Water buffalo

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419

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LCF: The Role of Buffalo in Lantau Biodiversity Conservation
McElligott, A. G. (Principal Investigator / Project Coordinator), FLAY, K. J. (Co-Investigator) & MUMBY, H. (Co-Investigator)
1/12/22 → …
Project: Research

Cite this

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title = "Personality homophily drives female friendships in a feral ungulate",

abstract = "Similarity or homophily in personality drives preferential strong social bonds or friendships in humans and some non-human primate species. However, little is known about the general behavioral {\textquoteleft}decision rules{\textquoteright} underlying animal friendships in other taxa. We investigated a feral and free-ranging population of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to determine whether homophily in personality drives female friendships (n=30) in this social ungulate. Close spatial proximity served as an indicator of friendship, validated by affiliative body contact. A {\textquoteleft}bottom-up{\textquoteright} method revealed three personality traits – social tension, vigilance, and general dominance. We found that individuals with lower personality differences (i.e., more similar) in social tension and general dominance traits exhibited higher spatial associations, suggesting that friendships in buffalo can form based on personality homophily. Our findings offer crucial insights into the role of personalities driving complex social patterns in species beyond primates. {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s). ",

keywords = "Feral ungulates, Inter-individual differences, Partner choice, Social bonds, Social relationships, Water buffalo",

author = "Debottam Bhattacharjee and Flay, {Kate J.} and McElligott, {Alan G.}",

note = "Information for this record is supplemented by the author(s) concerned.",

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doi = "10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

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AU - Bhattacharjee, Debottam

AU - Flay, Kate J.

AU - McElligott, Alan G.

N1 - Information for this record is supplemented by the author(s) concerned.

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - Similarity or homophily in personality drives preferential strong social bonds or friendships in humans and some non-human primate species. However, little is known about the general behavioral ‘decision rules’ underlying animal friendships in other taxa. We investigated a feral and free-ranging population of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to determine whether homophily in personality drives female friendships (n=30) in this social ungulate. Close spatial proximity served as an indicator of friendship, validated by affiliative body contact. A ‘bottom-up’ method revealed three personality traits – social tension, vigilance, and general dominance. We found that individuals with lower personality differences (i.e., more similar) in social tension and general dominance traits exhibited higher spatial associations, suggesting that friendships in buffalo can form based on personality homophily. Our findings offer crucial insights into the role of personalities driving complex social patterns in species beyond primates. © 2024 The Author(s).

AB - Similarity or homophily in personality drives preferential strong social bonds or friendships in humans and some non-human primate species. However, little is known about the general behavioral ‘decision rules’ underlying animal friendships in other taxa. We investigated a feral and free-ranging population of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to determine whether homophily in personality drives female friendships (n=30) in this social ungulate. Close spatial proximity served as an indicator of friendship, validated by affiliative body contact. A ‘bottom-up’ method revealed three personality traits – social tension, vigilance, and general dominance. We found that individuals with lower personality differences (i.e., more similar) in social tension and general dominance traits exhibited higher spatial associations, suggesting that friendships in buffalo can form based on personality homophily. Our findings offer crucial insights into the role of personalities driving complex social patterns in species beyond primates. © 2024 The Author(s).

KW - Feral ungulates

KW - Inter-individual differences

KW - Partner choice

KW - Social bonds

KW - Social relationships

KW - Water buffalo

U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419

DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2589-0042

VL - 27

JO - iScience

JF - iScience

IS - 12

M1 - 111419

ER -

Personality homophily drives female friendships in a feral ungulate

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

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Projects

LCF: The Role of Buffalo in Lantau Biodiversity Conservation

Cite this