Limited and fitness-neutral effects of resource heterogeneity on sociality in a communally rearing rodent.

ABSTRACT: Contrasting scenarios have been proposed to explain how resource heterogeneity influences group living or sociality. First, sociality may result from individuals in larger groups attaining net fitness benefits by monopolizing access to resources ("resource-defense" hypothesis). Second, sociality may be the fitness-neutral outcome of multiple individuals using a territory with sufficient resources to sustain a group of conspecifics ("resource-dispersion" hypothesis). While previous studies have tended to support the resource-dispersion hypothesis, these analyses have typically examined only 1 or a few predictions, making it difficult to distinguish between the 2 alternatives. We conducted a 4-year field study of Octodon degus to quantify the effects of spatial heterogeneity in food a

SUBMITTER: Ebensperger LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6169459 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature