The tradeoff between information and pathogen transmission in animal societies

Abstract

Social structure can regulate information and pathogen transmission via social contact or proximity, which ultimately affects individual fitness. In theory, the social relationships that mediate information transmission also favor the spread of socially-transmitted pathogens, creating a tradeoff between them. However, the mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of individual relationships under such pressures remain underexplored. Here, we outline the evolutionary mechanisms of social transmission while presenting evidence that network plasticity results from individuals navigating between the costs and benefits of social relationships. We provide perspectives for the development of the field, considering this underexplored social tradeoff and the evolutionary processes underlying it. We believe that the study of the social transmission tradeoff has the potential to become a major new research direction in behavioural and evolutionary ecology.