Sex- and age-based social structures have been well documented in animals with visible aggregations. However, very little is known about the social structures of snakes. This is most likely because snakes are often considered non-social animals and are particularly difficult to observe in the wild. Here, we show that wild Butler’s Gartersnakes have an age and sex assorted social structure similar to more commonly studied social animals. To demonstrate this, we use data from a 12-year capture-mark-recapture study to identify social interactions using social network analyses. We find that the social structures of Butler’s Gartersnakes comprise sex- and age-assorted intra-species communities with older females often central and age segregation partially due to patterns of study site use. In addition, we find that females tended to increase in sociability as they aged while the opposite occurred in males. We also present evidence that social interaction may provide fitness benefits, where snakes that were part of a social network were more likely to have improved body condition. We demonstrate that conventional capture data can reveal valuable information on social structures in cryptic species. This is particularly valuable as research has consistently demonstrated that understanding social structure is important for conservation efforts. Additionally, research on the social patterns of animals without obvious social groups provides valuable insight into the evolution of group living.

中文翻译：

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社交网络揭示了巴特勒袜带蛇（Thamnophis butleri）的性别和年龄模式社会结构

基于性别和年龄的社会结构在具有明显聚集的动物中已得到充分记录。然而，人们对蛇的社会结构知之甚少。这很可能是因为蛇通常被认为是非社会性动物，并且在野外特别难以观察。在这里，我们展示了野生巴特勒吊袜带蛇具有与更常见的社会性动物类似的年龄和性别不同的社会结构。为了证明这一点，我们使用了一项为期 12 年的捕获-标记-再捕获研究的数据，通过社交网络分析来识别社交互动。我们发现巴特勒吊袜带蛇的社会结构包括性别和年龄不同的种内群落，其中年长雌性通常处于中心地位，而年龄隔离部分是由于研究地点的使用模式。此外，我们发现，随着年龄的增长，女性的社交能力往往会增加，而男性则相反。我们还提供了证据表明社交互动可能会带来健康益处，其中作为社交网络一部分的蛇更有可能改善身体状况。我们证明，传统的捕获数据可以揭示有关神秘物种社会结构的有价值的信息。这一点特别有价值，因为研究一致表明，了解社会结构对于保护工作非常重要。此外，对没有明显社会群体的动物的社会模式的研究为群体生活的进化提供了宝贵的见解。