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Grouping and Predation

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Aggregation; Living in groups; Sociality

Introduction

The formation of groups is one of the most conspicuous and striking behaviors seen in animals. It is observed across a diverse range of living organisms, from colonies of multicell slime molds to human cities that rely on extensive and complex infrastructure. The reasons we may observe a set of individuals in closer proximity to one another than expected from a random distribution are varied. Animals that are usually asocial may aggregate around a food resource, such as brown bears (Ursus arctos) feeding on migrating salmon in rivers, or aggregation may emerge simply from a lack of dispersal, where offspring tend to be found in close proximity to their parents and other relatives. In many other cases, however, aggregations are a result of social attraction, where individuals actively seek out the company of others. Once such groups form, they can be very stable, with the group moving as a unit, synchronizing their activity...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Christos Ioannou

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  1. Christos Ioannou
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Correspondence to Christos Ioannou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

    Russell Jackson

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Ioannou, C. (2017). Grouping and Predation. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2699-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2699-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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