Mechanisms Underlying the Behavioral Ecology of Group Formation

This chapter discusses topics related to spatiotemporal models, including energetic effects and the evolution of group structure. It is proposed that research on the “stress-gradient” hypothesis may become a program representative of “integrative” social biology, as indicated by recent studies using California mice, Peromyscus californicus, as subjects. Positive and negative effects of social mammals are addressed for their roles in community assembly, emphasizing “bottom-up,” “top-down,” and indirect effects. A case study of competitive coexistence between two taxa in Costa Rican riparian habitat is presented, demonstrating that mammalian species may, at once, be inferior or mutualistic with members of other Classes, particularly, insects and birds, respectively. Topics discussed in this chapter pertain, as well, to conservation of species diversity.