Social status is determined by synergies among interactions in multiple situations.
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We use a novel multilayer network approach to identify a cryptic reproductive heir.
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We test whether centrality in four social situations can predict an heir's identity.
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Multilayer networks outperformed single or aggregate networks.
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Multifaceted analysis of sociality provides previously unknown information.
Reproduction provides direct fitness benefits; therefore, it is important to determine why in some societies certain individuals have disproportionate access to reproductive opportunities. The social interactions that underlie reproductive hierarchies can occur in multiple situations, yet they are rarely studied in unison. The reproductive heir in the social wasp Ropalidia marginata is cryptic to human observers until the queen dies or disappears. To determine whether a reproductive heir can be identified through her behaviour, we examined four types of social situations: aggression, spatial overlap, trophallaxis and exchange of solid food. We asked whether accounting for all four social situations in a multilayer network provides more information about the structure of the society than examining each situation on its own or in an aggregate network that does not distinguish between social situations. We found that the reproductive heir had the most social interactions in the multilayer network but not in each of the social situations when considered separately or when all situations were lumped together. Our work demonstrates that multilayer networks can uncover new insights on social organization by explicitly considering the links between multiple situations of social interactions.
