Flora & Fauna: Secrets Of Social Creatures

"The Well-Connected Animal

By Lee Alan Dugatkin

Chicago, 264 pages, $29

'Only connect," wrote E.M. Forster. Lots of animals already do, writes Lee Alan Dugatkin, a professor of biology at the University of Louisville. Mr. Dugatkin's "The Well-Connected Animal" combines accessible prose with solid science as he details the social networks of nonhuman animals. "These networks," he writes, "stand as a tribute to the complexity, depth, and wonder of life in animal societies."

Until recently, students of animal behavior pooh-poohed complex social networks in animals, believing that their mental capacities didn't allow for elaborate patterned relationships. But "researchers have come to discover that being embedded in social networks plays a critical role in almost every aspect of animal life: what they eat, how they protect themselves, whom they mate with, the dynamics of parent-offspring relations, power struggles, navigation, communication, play, cooperation, culture, and more." Networking, it turns out, isn't merely a cliche for 21st-century social-media climbers. Many animal species -- perhaps most -- do it just fine without Facebook, X or cellphones. It's noteworthy that even as loneliness in our own species has been increasingly recognized as a modern problem, network analysis among animals has revealed that deeper, stronger bonds generally result in longer lifespans.

These networks cover a range of activities, including dominance interactions, vocal communication, migration, food-finding, alarm-calling, gesturing, mate selection and cultural transmission -- pretty much anything that animals do, most of which have deep resonance for the lives of human beings as well.

Drawing on research in animal behavior, anthropology, computer science, evolution, genetics, neurobiology, psychology and sociology, "The Well-Connected Animal" explores social networks in dolphins, elephants, field crickets, giraffes, honeybees, manta rays, Tasmanian devils, vampire bats, whales and more. An additional payoff, beyond insights into the critters, is being introduced to the scientists conducting each fascinating research project." [1]

1. REVIEW --- Summer Books -- Shortcuts: Flora & Fauna: Secrets Of Social Creatures. Barash, David.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 25 May 2024: C.16.