Data from: Group density, disease, and season shape territory size and overlap of social carnivores

1. The spatial organization of a population can influence the spread of
information, behaviour, and pathogens. Territory size and territory
overlap, components of spatial organization, provide key information as
these metrics may be indicators of habitat quality, resource dispersion,
contact rates, and environmental risk (e.g., indirectly transmitted
pathogens). Furthermore, sociality and behaviour can also shape space use,
and subsequently, how space use and habitat quality together impact
demography. 2. Our study aims to identify factors shaping the spatial
organization of wildlife populations and assess the impact of epizootics
on space use. We also use network analysis to describe spatial
organization and connectivity of social groups. 3. Here, we assessed the
seasonal spatial organization of Serengeti lions and Yellowstone wolves at
the group level. We examine the factors predicting mean territory size and
mean territory overlap for each population using generalized additive
models. We further explore the mechanisms by which disease perturbations
could cause changes in spatial organization. 4. We demonstrate that lions
and wolves were similar in that group-level factors, such as number of
groups, shaped spatial organization more than population-level factors,
such as population density. Factors shaping territory size were slightly
different than factors shaping territory overlap; for example, wolf pack
size was an important predictor of territory overlap, but not territory
size. Lion spatial networks were more highly connected, while wolf spatial
networks varied seasonally. We found that resource dispersion may be more
important for driving territory size and overlap for wolves than for
lions. Additionally, canine distemper epizootics may alter lion spatial
organization, highlighting the importance of including behavioural and
movement ecology in studies of pathogen transmission dynamics. 5. We
provide insight about when we might expect to observe the impacts of
resource dispersion, disease perturbations, and other ecological factors
on spatial organization. Our work highlights the importance of monitoring
and managing social carnivore populations at the group level. Future
research should elucidate the complex relationships between demographics,
social and spatial structure, abiotic and biotic conditions, and pathogen
infections.