Crocodile social environments dictated by male philopatry

Cameron J Baker; Céline H Frère; Craig E Franklin; Hamish A Campbell; Terri R Irwin; Ross G Dwyer

doi:10.1093/beheco/arab120

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Crocodile social environments dictated by male philopatry

Journal article

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Crocodile social environments dictated by male philopatry

Cameron J Baker, Céline H Frère, Craig E Franklin, Hamish A Campbell, Terri R Irwin and Ross G Dwyer

Behavioral Ecology, Vol.33(1), pp.156-166

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab120

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Abstract

Ecology

Crocodylus porosus

estuarine crocodile

home range

sociality

Animal Science and Zoology

Evolution

Behaviour and Systematics

Acoustic telemetry

Examining the social behaviors of solitary species can be challenging due to the rarity in which interactions occur and the large and often inaccessible areas which these animals inhabit. As shared space-use is a prerequisite for the expression of social behaviors, we can gain insights into the social environments of solitary species by examining the degree of spatial overlap between individuals. Over a 10-year period, we examined how spatial overlap amongst 105 estuarine crocodiles Crocodylus porosus was influenced by season, sex, and movement tactic. We discovered that crocodiles displayed highly consistent spatial overlaps with conspecifics between months and across years. Furthermore, male crocodiles that exhibited a greater degree of site fidelity displayed more stable social environments, while females and males that were less site-attached had more dynamic social environments with spatial overlaps between conspecifics peaking during the mating season. Our results demonstrate how long-term tracking of multiple individuals within the same population can be used to quantify the spatial structure and social environment of cryptic and solitary species.

Details

Title: Crocodile social environments dictated by male philopatry
Authors: Cameron J Baker (Corresponding Author) - University of Queensland
Céline H Frère (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Craig E Franklin (Author) - University of Queensland
Hamish A Campbell (Author) - Charles Darwin University
Terri R Irwin (Author) - Australia Zoo
Ross G Dwyer (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Publication details: Behavioral Ecology, Vol.33(1), pp.156-166
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date published: 2022
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab120
ISSN: 1465-7279
Grants: Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia, LP140100222, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99584903202621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Zoology

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