Helpers influence on territory use and maintenance in Alpine marmot groups
Authors
Pasquaretta, CristianBusia, Laura
Ferrari, Caterina
Bogliani, Giuseppe
Reale, Denis
von Hardenberg, Achaz
Affiliation
University of Pavia, Universiteé du Quebec a Montreal, Gran Paradiso National ParkPublication Date
2015-04-22
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In social mammals, territory size and shape vary according to the number and strength of neighbour individuals competing for resources. Two main theories have been proposed to explain this variability: the Group Augmentation (GA) and the realized Resource Holding Potential (rRHP) hypotheses. The first states that the outcome of the interactions among groups depends on the total number of individuals in the group while the second states that only the number of animals directly involved in intergroup competition determines this outcome. We collected data on space use of individually tagged Alpine marmots ( Marmota marmota), a cooperative breeding species that overlaps part of its territory with neighbouring groups. In accordance with the rRHP hypothesis, we found that groups having higher proportion of helpers, rather than higher total number of individuals, had lower percentage of the territory overlapping with neighbouring groups and a larger area available for individual exclusive use.Citation
Pasquaretta, C., Busia, L., Ferrari, C., Bogliani, G., Reale, D., & Von Hardenberg, A. (2015). Helpers influence on territory use and maintenance in Alpine marmot groups. Behaviour, 152(10), 1391-1412.Journal
BehaviourType
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0005-7959EISSN
1568-539Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1163/1568539X-00003284
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/