When good neighbors don't need fences: temporal landscape partitioning among baboon social groups

Markham, Catherine A and Guttal, Vishwesha and Alberts, Susan C and Altmann, Jeanne (2013) When good neighbors don't need fences: temporal landscape partitioning among baboon social groups. In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67 (6). pp. 875-884.

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Abstract

Intraspecific competition is a key factor shaping space-use strategies and movement decisions in many species, yet how and when neighbors utilize shared areas while exhibiting active avoidance of one another is largely unknown. Here, we investigated temporal landscape partitioning in a population of wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus). We used global positioning system (GPS) collars to synchronously record the hourly locations of five baboon social groups for similar to 900 days, and we used behavioral, demographic, and life history data to measure factors affecting use of overlap areas. Annual home ranges of neighboring groups overlapped substantially, as predicted (baboons are considered non-territorial), but home ranges overlapped less when space use was assessed over shorter time scales. Moreover, neighboring groups were in close spatial proximity to one another on fewer days than predicted by a null model, suggesting an avoidance-based spacing pattern. At all time scales examined (monthly, biweekly, and weekly), time spent in overlap areas was greater during time periods when groups fed on evenly dispersed, low-quality foods. The percent of fertile females in social groups was negatively correlated with time spent in overlap areas only during weekly time intervals. This suggests that broad temporal changes in ecological resources are a major predictor of how intensively overlap areas are used, and groups modify these ecologically driven spacing patterns at short time scales based on female reproductive status. Together, these findings offer insight into the economics of territoriality by highlighting the dynamics of spacing patterns at differing time scales.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Publisher:	Springer
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Springer.
Keywords:	Biologically Informed Gas Model; Home Range Overlap; Landscape Partitioning; Papio Cynocephalus; Territoriality; Wild Baboons
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2013 05:48
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2013 05:48
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/46810

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