ABSTRACT
The structure and function of the geometrical organisation of animal groups has long been one focus for ethologists, ecologists, and other evolutionary biologists interested in the adaptive significance of animal sociality (Brown, 1975; Darwin, 1874; Deag, 1980; Dimond & Lazarus, 1974; Edmunds, 1974; Hamilton, 1971; Treisman, 1975; Williams, 1966; Wilson, 1975; Wittenberger, 1981). Studies of social geometry have in volved a broad range of vertebrate taxa including fish, birds, ungulates, and especially primates2. Such work has led to a proliferation of inferred or proposed, plausible functions for specific forms of geometrical organisation including increased effectiveness of foraging and locomotion, as well as enhanced detection of and defence against predators.
