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The Amboseli ElephantsA Long-Term Perspective on a Long-Lived Mammal$
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The Amboseli Elephants: A Long-Term Perspective on a Long-Lived Mammal

Cynthia J. Moss, Harvey Croze, and Phyllis C. Lee

Print publication date: 2011

Print ISBN-13: 9780226542232

Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: February 2013

DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226542263.001.0001

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Decision Making and Leadership in Using the Ecosystem

Decision Making and Leadership in Using the Ecosystem

Chapter:
(p.246) Chapter 16 Decision Making and Leadership in Using the Ecosystem
Source:
The Amboseli Elephants
Author(s):

Hamisi Mutinda

Joyce H. Poole

Cynthia J. Moss

Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226542263.003.0016

As elephants compete for food, water, and mates, dominant groups and individuals will access higher-quality food resources and, in the case of males, a greater number of mates than those who are lower in rank. As elephants attempt to maximize their intake rate, they must make frequent decisions regarding when and where to go, with whom, and how long to stay in particular group configurations and specific locations. As predicted by optimal foraging theory, elephants must decide which groups and locations to gravitate toward or avoid so as to minimize within- and between-group competition and reduce encounters with (mainly human) predators. While foraging and mate-searching decisions by adult males are tailored to maximize individual fitness, those taken by females are likely also to be associated with increasing inclusive fitness, as is the case with many species living in kin-based social groups.

Keywords:   decision making, ecosystem, food resources, foraging, elephant groups, competition, fitness

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