{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1289"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1289","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Kin and social network structure in two populations of Octodon degus","abstract":"A growing body of evidence showing that individuals of some species live in non-kin groups suggests kin selection is not required in all species for sociality to evolve. Here I investigate two populations of Octodon degus, a South American rodent which has been shown to form kin and non-kin groups. I quantified genetic relatedness within social groups in two populations as well as social network parameters (association, strength, and clustering coefficient) in order to determine if these aspects of sociality were driven by kinship. I analyzed social network parameters relative to ecological conditions at burrow systems used by individuals to determine if ecological characteristics could explain variation in sociality. In both populations, genetic relatedness among individuals within social groups was not significantly higher than randomly selected individuals from the background population, suggesting non-kin structure is common in degus. In both populations, I found significant relationships between habitat characteristics of burrow systems and social network characteristics of individuals.","abstract_html":"A growing body of evidence showing that individuals of some species live in non-kin groups suggests kin selection is not required in all species for sociality to evolve. Here I investigate two populations of Octodon degus, a South American rodent which has been shown to form kin and non-kin groups. I quantified genetic relatedness within social groups in two populations as well as social network parameters (association, strength, and clustering coefficient) in order to determine if these aspects of sociality were driven by kinship. I analyzed social network parameters relative to ecological conditions at burrow systems used by individuals to determine if ecological characteristics could explain variation in sociality. In both populations, genetic relatedness among individuals within social groups was not significantly higher than randomly selected individuals from the background population, suggesting non-kin structure is common in degus. In both populations, I found significant relationships between habitat characteristics of burrow systems and social network characteristics of individuals.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Davis, Garrett"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hayes, Loren","Kovach, Margaret; Klug, Hope","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:11Z","subjects":["Octodontidae","Degus","Animal societies","Social behavior in animals"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/148","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hayes, Loren","Kovach, Margaret; Klug, Hope","College of Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Davis, Garrett"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Octodontidae","Degus","Animal societies","Social behavior in animals"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/148"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A growing body of evidence showing that individuals of some species live in non-kin groups suggests kin selection is not required in all species for sociality to evolve. Here I investigate two populations of Octodon degus, a South American rodent which has been shown to form kin and non-kin groups. I quantified genetic relatedness within social groups in two populations as well as social network parameters (association, strength, and clustering coefficient) in order to determine if these aspects of sociality were driven by kinship. I analyzed social network parameters relative to ecological conditions at burrow systems used by individuals to determine if ecological characteristics could explain variation in sociality. In both populations, genetic relatedness among individuals within social groups was not significantly higher than randomly selected individuals from the background population, suggesting non-kin structure is common in degus. In both populations, I found significant relationships between habitat characteristics of burrow systems and social network characteristics of individuals."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Kin and social network structure in two populations of Octodon degus"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Hayes, Loren","Kovach, Margaret; Klug, Hope","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Davis, Garrett"],"dc:date":["2014-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."],"dc:description.abstract":["A growing body of evidence showing that individuals of some species live in non-kin groups suggests kin selection is not required in all species for sociality to evolve. Here I investigate two populations of Octodon degus, a South American rodent which has been shown to form kin and non-kin groups. I quantified genetic relatedness within social groups in two populations as well as social network parameters (association, strength, and clustering coefficient) in order to determine if these aspects of sociality were driven by kinship. I analyzed social network parameters relative to ecological conditions at burrow systems used by individuals to determine if ecological characteristics could explain variation in sociality. In both populations, genetic relatedness among individuals within social groups was not significantly higher than randomly selected individuals from the background population, suggesting non-kin structure is common in degus. In both populations, I found significant relationships between habitat characteristics of burrow systems and social network characteristics of individuals."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/148"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"dc:subject":["Octodontidae","Degus","Animal societies","Social behavior in animals"],"dc:title":["Kin and social network structure in two populations of Octodon degus"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:11Z"}