期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2019
卷号：116
期号：34
页码：16674-16675
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1900143116
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Comparing networks is challenging (1⇓–3). van Leeuwen et al. (4) use variation in networks among 4 chimpanzee groups as evidence for cultural differences in social behavior. However, social networks can be shaped by many factors. The authors control for group size, an obvious correlate of many network metrics, but do not adequately consider alternative processes that can generate differences in social networks among groups. Many are unrelated to social decisions. For example, habitat geometry can maintain highly repeatable between-generation network community structure in wild populations of songbirds (5). We illustrate why van Leeuwen et al.’s study cannot be used as evidence for culturally driven differences among chimpanzee groups using simulations (6). Briefly, we randomly placed N group members (with group sizes matching van Leeuwen.
