DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qj716
title: Data from: Familiarity affects network structure and information flow in guppy (Poecilia reticulata) shoals

description: How individuals respond toward one another can depend on the level of
 familiarity between them. Variation in the proportion of familiar
 individuals comprising a group can shape group-level outcomes and group
 members’ fitness, but less is known about how this variation shapes the
 emergence and structure of social networks or the resulting consequences
 for social processes. We formed guppy (Poecilia reticulata) groups in
 which individuals were: 1) all familiar with one another, 2) all
 unfamiliar, or 3) part of a mixed group of familiar and unfamiliar
 individuals. We then examined the fission–fusion dynamics of these shoals,
 their social network structure, and the speed and pattern by which
 foraging information diffused through them. Although fission–fusion
 dynamics were not driven by group composition, differences in social
 network structure were observed. Both familiar and unfamiliar groups
 exhibited nonrandom network structure, whereas mixed groups expressed more
 homogeneous social organization. How quickly—and in what order—individuals
 discovered foraging sites was socially influenced, but there was little
 evidence for social transmission. More likely, closely associated
 individuals discovered foraging sites at similar times to one another as a
 result of traveling together. Group composition affected the speed of
 information diffusion, with knowledge of the foraging site spreading most
 rapidly through mixed groups, potentially due to either their less
 structured networks or the dense clustering of highly social individuals
 observed in those groups. Our study joins a growing body of literature
 pointing to the importance of group composition in driving group-level
 patterns and outcomes.
description: Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Control Patch Diffusion DataProvides the latency to
 first arrive at the control "patch" for each individual in each
 group. See main text for additional details.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Food Patch Diffusion DataProvides the latency to
 first arrive at the foraging patch for each individual in each group. See
 main text for additional details.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Social NetworksProvides social networks
 for each group. Network links are weighted according to the frequency of
 distinct contact phases between each pair of individuals. See main text
 for additional details.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Familiar Focal FollowsFocal follows were
 conducted on each fish in a group on three separate occasions. Focal
 follows lasted for four minutes, during which the nearest neighbor of the
 focal individual was recorded every ten seconds. An X indicates that no
 individuals were within four body lengths of the focal individual at that
 time.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Mixed Focal FollowsFocal follows were
 conducted on each fish in a group on three separate occasions. Focal
 follows lasted for four minutes, during which the nearest neighbor of the
 focal individual was recorded every ten seconds. An X indicates that no
 individuals were within four body lengths of the focal individual at that
 time.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Unfamiliar Focal FollowsFocal follows were
 conducted on each fish in a group on three separate occasions. Focal
 follows lasted for four minutes, during which the nearest neighbor of the
 focal individual was recorded every ten seconds. An X indicates that no
 individuals were within four body lengths of the focal individual at that
 time.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Individual Level VariablesInformation on each
 individual fish is provided. This data includes: treatment, group,
 experimental block, whether or not the individual was familiar with its
 group members, standard length (mm.), the proportion of time spent active,
 the proportion of time engaged in shoaling, and the number of elapsed days
 since that individual's last habituation session. See text for
 additional details.Hasenjager and Dugatkin
 2016 Read MeProvides a ReadMe file
 to aid interpretation and use of the associated data
 files.