Measuring the Dynamics of Mammalian Societies
369
ing in conditions that would be too arduous for the researcher to endure for
protracted periods. Against these undoubted benefits video equipment can
still be initially costly, with problems of equipment reliability, accessibility, and
security. Video also has a more limited field of vision than a human observer,
and because it requires transcription after the event, it may increase the duration of studies. Stewart et al. (1997) describe the use and construction of automatic video surveillance units, and Wratten (1994) provides a general background to video techniques.
Finally, although the naturalist’s preference may be to observe social behavior directly or with video, this may be uneconomical or unfeasible. Examples
of indirect measures include the frequencies of bite wounds (Woodroffe and
Macdonald 1995a), chewing of ear tags (White and Harris 1994), and hunting patterns from carcass retrieval ( Johnsingh 1983). Radiotracking has revolutionized the study of elusive mammals. Although initially used principally to
plot movements, the use of radiotracking to supplement classic fieldcraft and
as an aid to observation has long been advocated (Macdonald and Amlaner
1980). It is also possible to infer features of social behavior from the dynamic
interaction between the movements of radiotracked individuals (Macdonald
et al. 1980; Doncaster 1990). The practicalities of radiotracking are reviewed
in Kenward (1987) and analytical considerations in White and Garrot (1990).
An increasing number of software packages for analyzing tracking data are
available, such as Wildtrak (Todd 1992) and Ranges V.
Analysis of Observational Data
Context must always have been important in human interpretation of the
behavior of other animals. Even our own aphorisms (blood’s thicker than
water, do as you would be done by, and so on) reveal an intuition that presages
modern conceptual insights regarding the forces fashioning animal societies,
including our own. Today, biologists interpret behavior within a context fortified by theories of cognition, games, trait-group selection, kin selection, reciprocity, and byproduct mutualism. The traditional approach to observing animals, with roots embedded in the Aristotelian idea of ascribing properties to
animals, could yield detailed ethograms that demonstrated the defining behavioral uniqueness of each species. Interspecific comparisons of these behavioral
lexicons shed light on phylogenies even before the days of phylogenetic regression (Tinbergen 1951). The quest for more robust tools with which to elucidate the shared properties between species has, in the last 20 years, contributed
369
ing in conditions that would be too arduous for the researcher to endure for
protracted periods. Against these undoubted benefits video equipment can
still be initially costly, with problems of equipment reliability, accessibility, and
security. Video also has a more limited field of vision than a human observer,
and because it requires transcription after the event, it may increase the duration of studies. Stewart et al. (1997) describe the use and construction of automatic video surveillance units, and Wratten (1994) provides a general background to video techniques.
Finally, although the naturalist’s preference may be to observe social behavior directly or with video, this may be uneconomical or unfeasible. Examples
of indirect measures include the frequencies of bite wounds (Woodroffe and
Macdonald 1995a), chewing of ear tags (White and Harris 1994), and hunting patterns from carcass retrieval ( Johnsingh 1983). Radiotracking has revolutionized the study of elusive mammals. Although initially used principally to
plot movements, the use of radiotracking to supplement classic fieldcraft and
as an aid to observation has long been advocated (Macdonald and Amlaner
1980). It is also possible to infer features of social behavior from the dynamic
interaction between the movements of radiotracked individuals (Macdonald
et al. 1980; Doncaster 1990). The practicalities of radiotracking are reviewed
in Kenward (1987) and analytical considerations in White and Garrot (1990).
An increasing number of software packages for analyzing tracking data are
available, such as Wildtrak (Todd 1992) and Ranges V.
Analysis of Observational Data
Context must always have been important in human interpretation of the
behavior of other animals. Even our own aphorisms (blood’s thicker than
water, do as you would be done by, and so on) reveal an intuition that presages
modern conceptual insights regarding the forces fashioning animal societies,
including our own. Today, biologists interpret behavior within a context fortified by theories of cognition, games, trait-group selection, kin selection, reciprocity, and byproduct mutualism. The traditional approach to observing animals, with roots embedded in the Aristotelian idea of ascribing properties to
animals, could yield detailed ethograms that demonstrated the defining behavioral uniqueness of each species. Interspecific comparisons of these behavioral
lexicons shed light on phylogenies even before the days of phylogenetic regression (Tinbergen 1951). The quest for more robust tools with which to elucidate the shared properties between species has, in the last 20 years, contributed