Summary: Markham et al. (2012)

Social species benefit from group living, however, social groups must also compete for resources with other groups. Competition can be a major driver influencing a group's movements and space use and has the potential to shape the evolution of sociality. Markham et al. (2012) investigated the ecological factors influencing baboon Papio cynocephalus group dominance, with a specific focus on what spatial features influence dominance and what occurs when a group is defeated. They found that the number of adult males in a group predicted which group would win a direct conflict, but they also found that a group's intensity of use of areas associated with the encounter location also predicted a win, over a longer time period (9-12 months). Losing groups  used the area surrounding the encounter location less, possibly incurring short-term costs associated with reduced access to resources. Markham et al.'s (2012) study highlights the importance of inter-group competition on social group space use.