One Step, Two Step, Network Step

What is it about?

Structures of evolving populations are traditionally derived from traits of its members. An alternativeapproach uses network metrics to define groups that evolve jointly. This supposes that selection actsnot only on who members are (i.e., traits) but also on to whom they are connected (i.e., interdependentrelationships). This paper presents a method to meaningfully quantify differences in evolutionary forcesover multiple levels of population taxonomies and tests almost 1000 multilevel partitions of 8 empiricalnetworked populations evolving over time. It shows that multilevel network metrics as selection criteriaidentifies stronger evolutionary natural selection than trait based population taxonomies.

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Why is it important?

It uses the digital online footprint (i.e. Twitter) to test and expand a long-standing theory from the field of media studies: are media messages directly consumed by the audience or are they first intermediated by opinion leaders?