This post is an edit that I wrote to expand on the “Living In Groups” section on Wikipedia’s “Ethology” page. You can visit the page here.

Benefits and costs of group living

One advantage of group living can be decreased predation. If the number of predator attacks stays the same despite increasing prey group size, each prey may have a reduced risk of predator attacks through the dilution effect¹. Additionally, a predator that is confused by a mass of individuals can find it more difficult to single out one target. For this reason, the zebra’s stripes offer not only camouflage in a habitat of tall grasses, but also the advantage of blending into a herd of other zebras². In groups, prey can also actively reduce their predation risk through more effective defense tactics, or through earlier detection of predators through increased vigilance¹.

Another advantage of group living can be an increased ability to forage for food. Group members may exchange information about food sources between one another, facilitating the process of resource location¹.  Honeybees are a notable example of this, using the waggle dance to communicate the location of flowers to the rest of their hive³. Predators also receive benefits from hunting in groups, through using better strategies and being able to take down larger prey¹. (more…)