Extending the open-source R package {spatsoc} with measures of intragroup social dynamics identified by a scoping review

Alec L. Robitaille , Quinn Webber, Eric Vander Wal

Beyond proximity-based social networks and home range overlap, animal telemetry data can also be used to measure intragroup social dynamics including individual position within groups, individual and group level movement directions, leadership patterns and lagged follower behaviours. We used a scoping review of literature across domains, including behavioural ecology, collective movement, and GISciences, to identify widely used metrics for measuring intragroup social dynamics that are not openly available in the R programming language.

The scoping review identified a series of metrics for measuring intragroup social dynamics that were both commonly used in the literature and not available in the R programming language at the time of the review. We developed a suite of new functions for the R package {spatsoc} to make these metrics readily available in the R programming language for broader application across study species and systems. We present a case study to illustrate these new functions for measuring intragroup social dynamics with animal telemetry data.

The open availability of these new and flexible functions in {spatsoc} will allow researchers to more comprehensively measure the multifaceted social behaviours in their study systems. Users can now start by detecting spatiotemporal groups and analysing social networks, then move to investigating the behaviours of individuals, dyads and groups within animal social groups