Behavioral sequences across multiple animal species in the wild share common structural features.

ABSTRACT: Animal behavior can be decomposed into a sequence of discrete activity bouts over time. Analyzing the statistical structure of such behavioral sequences can provide insights into the drivers of behavioral decisions. Laboratory studies, predominantly in invertebrates, have suggested that behavioral sequences exhibit multiple timescales and long-range memory, but whether these results can be generalized to other taxa and to animals in natural settings remains unclear. By analyzing accelerometer-inferred predictions of behavioral states in three species of social mammals (meerkats, white-nosed coatis, and spotted hyenas) in the wild, we found surprisingly consistent structuring of behavioral sequences across all behavioral states, all individuals, and all study species. Behavioral bouts were

SUBMITTER: Minasandra P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12107123 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature