DOI: 10.5061/dryad.51b68
title: Data from: Quantifying uncertainty due to fission-fusion dynamics as a component of social complexity

description: Groups of animals (including humans) may show flexible grouping patterns,
 in which temporary aggregations or subgroups come together and split,
 changing composition over short temporal scales, i.e. fission and fusion).
 A high degree of fission-fusion dynamics may constrain the regulation of
 social relationships, introducing uncertainty in interactions between
 group members. Here we use Shannon's entropy to quantify the
 predictability of subgroup composition for three species known to differ
 in the way their subgroups come together and split over time: spider
 monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and geladas
 (Theropithecus gelada). We formulate a random expectation of entropy that
 considers subgroup size variation and sample size, against which the
 observed entropy in subgroup composition can be compared. Using the theory
 of set partitioning, we also develop a method to estimate the number of
 subgroups that the group is likely to be divided into, based on the
 composition and size of single focal subgroups. Our results indicate that
 Shannon's entropy and the estimated number of subgroups present at a
 given time provide quantitative metrics of uncertainty in the social
 environment (within which social relationships must be regulated) for
 groups with different degrees of fission-fusion dynamics. These metrics
 also represent an indirect quantification of the cognitive challenges
 posed by socially dynamic environments. Overall, our novel methodological
 approach provides new insight for understanding the evolution of social
 complexity and the mechanisms to cope with the uncertainty that results
 from fission-fusion dynamics.
description: Subgroup composition of
 spider monkeys 2009Rows correspond to
 samples every 20 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of spider
 monkeys in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, studied from 2009-2010. Values
 of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding
 to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_spider_monkeys_2009.csvSubgroup composition of spider monkeys 2013Rows correspond to samples every 20 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of spider monkeys in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, studied from 2013-2014. Values of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_spider_monkeys_2013.csvSubgroup composition of geladas 2014Rows correspond to samples every 20 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of spider monkeys in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia, studied during 2014. Values of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_geladas_2014.csvSubgroup composition of geladas 2015Rows correspond to samples every 20 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of spider monkeys in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia, studied during 2015. Values of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_geladas_2015.csvSubgroup composition of chimpanzees 2008Rows correspond to samples every 15 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, studied during 2008. Values of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_chimpanzees_2008.csvSubgroup composition of chimpanzees 2009Rows correspond to samples every 15 minutes of the subgroup composition in a group of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, studied during 2009. Values of 1 correspond to presence and 0 to absence for each column corresponding to different individuals in the group.subgroup_composition_chimpanzees_2009.csv