Dispersed female networks: female gorillas’ inter-group relationships influence dispersal decisions

Dispersal is a fundamental aspect of many animal societies, impacting gene flow, knowledge transmission, culture, and individual fitness. However, little is known about the information individuals use when dispersing. Mountain gorillas exhibit a flexible dispersal pattern with 50% of both sexes dispersing from their natal groups, and females often dispersing multiple times. Using two decades of data, including 152 dispersals from 56 females, we examined how familiarity with individuals in other groups influenced dispersal. We found that females avoided groups containing males from their natal group, but preferred groups containing females they had previously resided with. This suggests that females prioritise the maintenance of female relationships in their dispersal decisions, whilst reducing inbreeding risks. Joining a new group can be costly, and these pre-existing relationships may therefore reduce these dispersal costs. These findings highlight the capacity for wider-scale societie..., , , # Data for: Dispersed female networks: female gorillas’ inter-group relationships influence dispersal decisions

## Description of the data and file structure

#### **Final_model_1_anonymized.xlsx**

*Description*: Each event number represents a unique dispersal event. There are multiple rows per event, with date, ID, age, and the previous group of the female remaining consistent within each event. The column 'group' represents all the study groups, except the one in which the female resided, as potential dispersal options. The data was used for Model1a and Model1b.

The column 'Selected' can be either 1 or 0, depending on whether the female chose to join the group (1) or not (0). For each event, there is exactly one row where 'Selected' is 1, and all the other groups for that event are assigned 0.

For each group, additional information is provided:

*Variables*

nb_member: The group size, representing the number of individuals in the group older than 6 years.
nb_silverbacks: The numbe...,