Model and data for: Economical defense of resources structures territorial space use in a cooperative carnivore

Manuscript Abstract: Ecologists have long sought to understand space use and mechanisms underlying patterns observed in nature. We developed an optimality landscape and mechanistic territory model to understand mechanisms driving space use and compared model predictions to empirical reality. We demonstrate our approach using gray wolves (Canis lupus). In the model, simulated animals selected territories to economically acquire resources by selecting patches with greatest value, accounting for benefits, costs, and tradeoffs of defending and using space on the optimality landscape. Our approach successfully predicted and explained first- and second-order space use of wolves, including the population’s distribution, territories of individual packs, and influences of prey density, competitor density, human-caused mortality risk, and seasonality. It accomplished this using simple behavioral rules and limited data to inform the optimality landscape. Results contribute evidence that economical...