Family matters: Linking population growth, kin interactions, and African elephant social groups

In many species, individuals are embedded in a network of kin with whom they interact. The interactions among kin may affect the survival and fertility rates, and thus the life history of individuals. These interactions indirectly influence both the network of kin and the dynamics of the population. In this way, non-linear feedback emerges between the kin network and individual life history rates. We describe a model that calculates the kin network of an individual while incorporating the feedback between the network and the life history of the individual. We demonstrate the use of this model for African elephant populations. We incorporate effects of the mother’s presence and matriarch age on the survival of juveniles, and of the presence of a sister on the fecundity of young females. We find that interactions between family members amplify the negative effects of poaching on the family structure and growth rate of African elephant populations. Our analysis provides a framework that can be applied to a broad range of of social species.