From female choice to social structure: Modeling harem formation in camelids

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: González, Tomás Ignacio, Abramson, Guillermo, Laguna, María Fabiana
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author González, Tomás Ignacio
Abramson, Guillermo
Laguna, María Fabiana
author_facet González, Tomás Ignacio
Abramson, Guillermo
Laguna, María Fabiana
contents Herbivorous wild species constantly strive to optimize the trade-off between energy and nutrient intake and predation risk during foraging. This has led to the selection of several evolutionary traits -- such as diet, habitat selection, and behavior -- which are simultaneously shaped by the spatio-temporal variability of the habitat. Among camelid species, polygyny is a prevalent behavioral strategy that encompasses both mating and foraging activities. This group-level behavior has multiple interacting dimensions, contributing to an interesting ecological and evolutionary complexity. We developed an individual-based stochastic model in which camelid females transition between different familial groups in response to their environmental conditions, aiming to maximize individual fitness. Our results indicate that the behavioral strategy of individual females can shape, by itself, emergent population-level properties, including group size and fitness distribution. Furthermore, these properties are modulated, in a non-additive manner, by other factors such as population density, sex ratio and system heterogeneity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_22139
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From female choice to social structure: Modeling harem formation in camelids
González, Tomás Ignacio
Abramson, Guillermo
Laguna, María Fabiana
Populations and Evolution
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
Herbivorous wild species constantly strive to optimize the trade-off between energy and nutrient intake and predation risk during foraging. This has led to the selection of several evolutionary traits -- such as diet, habitat selection, and behavior -- which are simultaneously shaped by the spatio-temporal variability of the habitat. Among camelid species, polygyny is a prevalent behavioral strategy that encompasses both mating and foraging activities. This group-level behavior has multiple interacting dimensions, contributing to an interesting ecological and evolutionary complexity. We developed an individual-based stochastic model in which camelid females transition between different familial groups in response to their environmental conditions, aiming to maximize individual fitness. Our results indicate that the behavioral strategy of individual females can shape, by itself, emergent population-level properties, including group size and fitness distribution. Furthermore, these properties are modulated, in a non-additive manner, by other factors such as population density, sex ratio and system heterogeneity.
title From female choice to social structure: Modeling harem formation in camelids
topic Populations and Evolution
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22139