Sanjay Prasher | Searcharxiv

arXiv2021

A comparison of low-cost behavioral observation software applications and recommendations for use

In the field of animal behavior and behavioral ecology, many standardized methods to observe animal behavior were established in the last decades. While the protocols remained similar, behavioral researchers can take advantage of technological advancements to enter observations directly onto a handheld computer (phone, tablet, etc.), saving time and potentially increasing fidelity of recordings. However, we now have the choice between many different platforms for recording behavioral observations. Our challenge is choosing the most appropriate platform that fits a particular study question, research design, budget, and desired amount of preparatory time. Here, we review six low-cost software applications for handheld computers that are available for real-time entry of behavioral observations: Animal Behaviour Pro, Animal Observer, BORIS, CyberTracker, Prim8, and ZooMonitor. We discuss the preliminary decisions that have to be made about the study design, and we assess the six applications by providing the advantages and disadvantages of each platform and an overall application comparison. Our goal is to help researchers make calculated decisions about what behavioral observation platform is best for their study system and question.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2020

A framework to evaluate whether to pool or separate behaviors in a multilayer network

A multilayer network approach combines different network layers, which are connected by interlayer edges, to create a single mathematical object. These networks can contain a variety of information types and represent different aspects of a system. However, the process for selecting which information to include is not always straightforward. Using data on two agonistic behaviors in a captive population of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus), we developed a framework for investigating how pooling or splitting behaviors at the scale of dyadic relationships (between two individuals) affects individual- and group-level social properties. We designed two reference models to test whether randomizing the number of interactions across behavior types results in similar structural patterns as the observed data. Although the behaviors were correlated, the first reference model suggests that the two behaviors convey different information about some social properties and should therefore not be pooled. However, once we controlled for data sparsity, we found that the observed measures corresponded with those from the second reference model. Hence, our initial result may have been due to the unequal frequencies of each behavior. Overall, our findings support pooling the two behaviors. Awareness of how selected measurements can be affected by data properties is warranted, but nonetheless our framework disentangles these efforts and as a result can be used for myriad types of behaviors and questions. This framework will help researchers make informed and data-driven decisions about which behaviors to pool or separate, prior to using the data in subsequent multilayer network analyses.

physics.soc-ph↗