The Evolution of the Reproductive Unit in the Class Mammalia

Abstract

(...)"Most investigators of animal social behavior attempt to build their definitions of social units around the very important fact that different species show different dispositions in space. We then arrive at a classification based on spatial criteria" (p.40) (...)"This brings us, then, to a consideration of the reproductive unit. The reproductive unit can be considered a social structure organized to replicate itself through births. Spacing mechanisms may be weakly developed in the case of communal species or strongly manifested in the case of species exhibiting a dispersed system. If an area is defended for exclusive use, it is referred to as a territory. If, on the other hand, the foraging area of an individual is shared with others, it is generally referred to as an individual's home range (Burt, 1943)" (p.41)