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We develop a spatially explicit, individual-based model of camelid territoriality incorporating allometric locomotion costs and energetic risks of aggression. The model reveals that body mass dictates territorial establishment, resource connectivity influences competition intensity, and confrontation costs stabilize territories by limiting expansion. These findings mechanistically link metabolic scaling, spatial structure, and social organization to explain territoriality drivers in ungulates.
Allometric scaling of metabolic costs, not just resource abundance, fundamentally shapes territoriality and competition dynamics in camelids.
Ecological theory predicts that herbivores adopt behaviors that balance energetic costs and benefits, shaping both foraging and reproductive organization. In some wild ungulates, such as camelids, males defend resource-rich areas to attract females and secure their offspring, leading to the emergence of territorial systems. However, existing territorial models rarely incorporate the well-established allometric relationships between body mass and metabolic costs. In this study, we develop a spatially explicit, individual-based model of territorial organization in camelids, in which male behavior is governed by an energy balance equation that includes allometric locomotion costs, resource acquisition, and the energetic risks of aggressive encounters. We show that (i) a body-mass-dependent threshold determines which individuals can establish and maintain territories, (ii) spatial resource connectivity strongly modulates competition intensity and territorial inequality, and (iii) confrontation costs play a key stabilizing role by limiting territorial expansion and promoting coexistence. Our results provide a mechanistic link between metabolic scaling, spatial structure, and social organization, offering new insights into the ecological and evolutionary drivers of territoriality in ungulates.