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Animal networks become more connected in densely populated areas

Comparative analyses of the behaviour of individual animals across multiple populations are rare. We analysed the relationship between local population density and individual behaviour across 36 wild animal populations, which revealed that both spatial and social networks increase in connectivity with density, nonlinearly, and that there are strong differences between these networks.

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Fig. 1: Density drives network connectedness across diverse animal populations.

References

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This is a summary of: Albery, G. F. et al. Density-dependent network structuring within and across wild animal systems. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02843-z (2025).

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Animal networks become more connected in densely populated areas. Nat Ecol Evol 9, 1977–1978 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02880-8

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