Sociality impacts many biological processes and can be tightly linked to an individual’s fitness. To maximize advantages of group living, many social animals prefer to associate with individuals that provide the most benefits, such as kin, familiar individuals or those of similar phenotype. Such social strategies are not necessarily stable over time but can vary with changing selection pressures. In particular, young individuals transitioning to independence should continuously adjust their social behavior in light of developmental changes. However, social strategies exhibited during adolescence in animals are understudied and the factors underlying social network formation during ontogeny remain elusive. Here, we tracked associations of wild great tits (Parus major) during transition to independence and across their first year of life. Both spatial and social factors predicted dyadic associations. During transition to independence in spring, fledglings initially preferred to associate with siblings and peers over non-parent adults. We found no evidence for preferred associations among juveniles of similar age or fledge weight during that time, but weak evidence for some potential inheritance of the parental social network. By autumn, after juveniles had reached full independence, they exhibited social strategies similar to those of adults by establishing stable social ties based on familiarity that persisted through winter into next spring. Overall, this research demonstrates dynamic changes in social networks during ontogeny in a species with fast life-history and limited parental care, which likely reflect changes in selective pressures. It further highlights the importance of long-term social bonds based on familiarity in this species.

中文翻译：

---

野生大山雀社交网络的个体发育

社交性影响许多生物过程，并且与个人的健康状况密切相关。为了最大限度地发挥群体生活的优势，许多群居动物更喜欢与提供最大利益的个体交往，例如亲属、熟悉的个体或具有相似表型的个体。这种社交策略不一定会随着时间的推移保持稳定，但会随着选择压力的变化而变化。尤其是向独立过渡的青少年应根据发展变化不断调整自己的社会行为。然而，动物青春期表现出的社交策略尚未得到充分研究，个体发育期间社交网络形成的潜在因素仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们追踪了野生大山雀（Parus Major）在向独立过渡期间和生命第一年的关联。空间和社会因素都预测了二元关联。在春季向独立过渡的过程中，雏鸟最初更喜欢与兄弟姐妹和同龄人交往，而不是与非父母的成年人交往。我们没有发现任何证据表明在那段时间里，年龄或体重相似的青少年之间存在偏好的联系，但没有证据表明父母社交网络有一些潜在的遗传。到了秋天，当青少年完全独立后，他们表现出与成年人相似的社会策略，通过在熟悉的基础上建立稳定的社会关系，这种关系从冬天一直持续到明年春天。总体而言，这项研究证明了生活史快、亲代照顾有限的物种在个体发育过程中社交网络的动态变化，这可能反映了选择压力的变化。它进一步强调了基于对该物种的熟悉程度而建立的长期社会纽带的重要性。