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All animals exhibit some combination of spatial and social behaviours. A diversity of interactions occurs between such behaviours, producing emergent phenomena atthe spatial–social interface. Untangling and interrogating these complex, intertwined processes can be vital for identifying the mechanisms, causes and consequences of behavioural variation in animal ecology. Nevertheless, the integrated study of the interactions between spatial and social phenotypes and environments (at the spatial–social interface) is in its relative infancy. In this theme issue, we present a collection of papers chosen to expand the spatial–social interface along several theoretical, methodological and empirical dimensions. They detail new perspectives, methods, study systems and more, as well as offering roadmaps for applied outputs and detailing exciting new directions for the field to move in the future. In this Introduction, we outline the contents of these papers, placing them in the context of what comes before, and we synthesize a number of takeaways and future directions for the spatial–social interface. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The spatial–social interface: a theoretical and empirical integration’.
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Behavioural ecology at the spatial–social interface
ABSTRACT Spatial and social behaviour are fundamental aspects of an animal's biology, and their social and spatial environments are indelibly linked through mutual causes and shared consequences. We define the ‘spatial–social interface’ as intersection of social and spatial aspects of individuals' phenotypes and environments. Behavioural variation at the spatial–social interface has implications for ecological and evolutionary processes including pathogen transmission, population dynamics, and the evolution of social systems. We link spatial and social processes through a foundation of shared theory, vocabulary, and methods. We provide examples and future directions for the integration of spatial and social behaviour and environments. We introduce key concepts and approaches that either implicitly or explicitly integrate social and spatial processes, for example, graph theory, density‐dependent habitat selection, and niche specialization. Finally, we discuss how movement ecology helps link the spatial–social interface. Our review integrates social and spatial behavioural ecology and identifies testable hypotheses at the spatial–social interface.
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- PAR ID:
- 10397978
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biological Reviews
- Volume:
- 98
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1464-7931
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 868-886
- Size(s):
- p. 868-886
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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