To hunt or patrol? Social composition and location mediate scent marking
decisions of a large carnivore
Abstract
While sociality is known to mediate territorial processes, it is less
clear how sociality interacts with environmental features and neighbors’
location to influence habitat selection and behavior. Scent marking, a
fundamental behavior in maintaining territories, can be utilized by
receiving conspecifics to evaluate both encounter risk and competitive
ability of the depositing individual or group. African wild dog packs
were followed in the field across 2010-2021, where researchers recorded
individual behaviors and pack composition, including scent marking
behaviors. We combined this historical and unique behavioral dataset
with co-occurring GPS collar data to make inferences on territorial
behaviors, sociality, and habitat selection across spatial scales. We
performed three analyses to determine 1) the relative probability of
scent mark placement, 2) the probability of scent marking, and 3) the
trade-off strategy between scent marking and hunting, as predicted by
habitat, neighbors’ territories, and pack social composition.
Specifically, we used resource selection function frameworks to
determine how and whether conspecifics influenced habitat selection and
behavior at multiple orders of selection. We found that conspecifics
were influential across all three analyses, and mediated the impact of
habitat on scent mark placement and probability. Scent mark placement
and probability were both influenced by the social composition of packs,
specifically pup presence, pack size, and number of overlapping
neighbors, while pack size and pack experience influenced territorial
maintenance strategy. Our findings demonstrate the importance of social
structure across scales of territorial processes, from larger-scale
habitat selection to the probability of a behavior. We demonstrate how
key behavioral theories underpinning territoriality function at the
scale of habitat selection and behavioral decision-making in a
free-ranging, large carnivore. Future research should continue to
incorporate sociality in understanding the habitat selection of animals.