Fission–fusion dynamics of a megaherbivore are driven by ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors

• Published in: Oecologia Vol. 191; no. 2; pp. 335 - 347
• Main Authors: Bond, Monica L., Lee, Derek E., Ozgul, Arpat, König, Barbara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Science + Business Media 01.10.2019; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: adults; Age; Animal behavior; anthropogenic activities; Anthropogenic factors; BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY - ORIGINAL RESEARCH; Biomedical and Life Sciences; breast feeding; Calves; Composition; Conservation; data collection; Density; Detection; Dilution; Dry season; Dynamics; Ecology; Fission; Food; Food availability; Food composition; Food resources; Food supply; Forage; Foraging habitats; Giraffa camelopardalis; Giraffidae; Grasslands; Group size; habitat preferences; Habitat selection; Habitat utilization; Human settlements; humans; Hydrology/Water Resources; Interspecific relationships; Life Sciences; mothers; Nursing; Panthera leo; Plant Sciences; Plants (botany); population density; Predation; Predators; Risk; Sex; Sex ratio; shrublands; social class; Social factors; Tanzania; Towns; Ungulates; Vegetation; vegetation structure; Wildlife conservation; Year class; Tanzania; Social systems; Grouping behaviour; Fission–fusion; Giraffe; Giraffa camelopardalis

Fission–fusion dynamics hypothetically enable animals to exploit dispersed and ephemeral food resources while minimizing predation risk. Disentangling factors affecting group size and composition of fission–fusion species facilitates their management and conservation. We used a 6-year data set of 28...