Communication allows individuals to share information and plays a central role in determining animal social behaviour. Animals live in social networks of multiple individuals connected by links representing different interaction types. Signalling interactions form the base of the communication network (i.e., all conspecifics within signalling range) experienced by an individual and are particularly important for information exchange. Looking at interactions within a network has helped identify and explain the diverse signalling and receiving strategies adopted by animals, and may likewise...

Communication allows individuals to share information and plays a central role in determining animal social behaviour. Animals live in social networks of multiple individuals connected by links representing different interaction types. Signalling interactions form the base of the communication network (i.e., all conspecifics within signalling range) experienced by an individual and are particularly important for information exchange. Looking at interactions within a network has helped identify and explain the diverse signalling and receiving strategies adopted by animals, and may likewise help explain other social interactions. This chapter presents a network model which integrates the concepts of communication and social network. It illustrates how this model can affect information exchange in animal communities with different social structures and ecologies. Finally, it presents some concrete examples of the questions that arise and can be answered when looking at the behavioural ecology of birds from a network perspective.