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Red deer synchronise their activity with close neighbours
Sean A Rands1, Hayley Muir1, Naomi L Terry1
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Peerj
|April 26, 2014
Summary
Red deer activity is influenced by their closest neighbors, showing synchronized behavior. This finding supports models of collective animal behavior that assume neighbor influence on individual actions.
Area of Science:
- Ethology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Mathematical Biology
Background:
- Collective animal behavior models often assume neighbor influence on individual actions.
- These assumptions regarding behavioral synchrony are rarely empirically tested.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the assumption that individual behavior in herding animals is influenced by immediate neighbors.
- To investigate behavioral synchrony in red deer (Cervus elaphus) and its relation to proximity.
Main Methods:
- Observing simultaneous behavior of paired red deer within a herd.
- Comparing behavioral synchrony between focal individuals and their closest vs. distant neighbors.
Main Results:
- Focal red deer exhibited significantly higher behavioral synchrony with their two nearest neighbors compared to more distant ones.
- Synchrony levels were also higher than with randomly selected individuals.
Conclusions:
- Individual red deer behavior is demonstrably influenced by immediate neighbors.
- The findings support the validity of assumptions used in collective animal behavior models regarding neighbor influence, even without social relationships.
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