Social Behavior and Organization in the Macropodoidea

Abstract

This chapter describes the social behavior and organization of the macropods. Social organization is imposed on a population by its members' reactions to each other and to their environment. The chapter describes sociality in the macropod first, considering which species are found in groups and how grouping is affected by environmental variables. Then, it reviews the forms of social behavior, discussing how macropod species communicate and interact and how the behavior patterns involved are distributed across the array of species. The forms of social organization are discussed. Finally, the apparent adaptiveness of macropod social organization is discussed. Sizes of home ranges vary greatly among macropod species and seem influenced by habitat and the dispersion of resources, as well as the species' body size. Spatial relationships of social categories within groups of macropods may further demonstrate social organization.