Strauss, Eli D.
Jensen, Frants H.
Gersick, Andrew S.
Thomas, Mara
Holekamp, Kay E.
Strandburg-Peshkin, Ariana
Funding for this research was provided by:
Human Frontiers in Science Program (RGP0051/2019)
Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE1853934)
Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS1755089)
Office of Integrative Activities (OIA0939454)
Carlsbergfondet
Universität Konstanz
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
Gips-Schüle-Stiftung
Universität Konstanz
Article History
Received: 14 September 2023
Revised: 6 March 2024
Accepted: 19 March 2024
First Online: 3 April 2024
Declarations
:
: Spatial proximity with others forms the foundation of animal social environments. Consequently, in species where spatial proximity among individuals or groups is fluid, the processes by which animals split up and come together are critical determinants of how animals experience their worlds. We use simultaneous GPS tracking to examine the dynamics of merging and splitting events among pairs of spotted hyenas, and present a general framework for classifying these events based on dyadic movement patterns. We find that many quantitative measures of these events are explained by travel to and from a key location in the landscape: the group’s communal den. Our results demonstrate how social association is structured by the location of physical resources, which can become social hotspots that draw individuals to use these locations for social purposes.
: All field methods were approved by Kenya Wildlife Service under permit KWS/BRM/5001 to KEH. They conform to guidelines published by the American Society of Mammalogists (Sikes and Gannon ), and they were also approved by the IACUC at Michigan State University under approval PROTO201900126, which was issued most recently in January, 2020.
: The authors declare no competing interests.