DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g79cnp5q8
title: Behavioral strategies and the spatial pattern formation of nesting

description: This dataset contains data from a combined field and simulation study
 regarding spatial pattern formation of nesting, described in the paper:
 “Batsleer, F., Maes, D., Bonte, D. (2021) Behavioral strategies and the
 spatial pattern formation of nesting. The American Naturalist”. The study
 investigates the relative importance of environmental and behavioral
 mechanisms in nest aggregations of the ground-nesting digger wasp Bembix
 rostrata. A field study was combined with an individual-based model that
 simulated the possible behaviors of spatial organisation of nesting. In
 the first analysis, a microhabitat model was built based on the location
 of the nests from a capture-mark-recapture study (CMR) and environmental
 variables NDVI (vegetation) and insolation (sun irradiance), derived from
 detailed remote sensing data from a drone flight. In the second analysis,
 an IBM was built that combined three possible mechanisms of nest choice to
 simulate the emerging spatial and network patterns found in the field.
 This was done by combining an environmental cue (based on the microhabitat
 model) and two relevant behavioral mechanisms related to local site
 fidelity and conspecific attraction. Strengths and combinations of the
 mechanisms could vary. Simulations were compared to the field data to find
 which combinations and strengths of mechanisms can best explain the
 emerging spatial and network patterns. The main results are that 1) the
 observed pattern in nature is best predicted by the simultaneous effect of
 a weak environmental cue and strong behavioral mechanisms. 2) individuals
 differ in their combination of mechanisms used and will either use local
 site fidelity (personal information) or conspecific attraction
 (inadvertent social information), but not both simultaneously. 3) We
 demonstrate that the nest pattern formation of a central place foraging
 insect cannot be considered as the sum of environmental and behavioral
 mechanisms.
description: The field study was collected during a capture-mark-recapture
 (CMR) study at the Belgian coast (De Panne, Westhoek nature reserve) and
 the IBM was built at the Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC) of Ghent
 University, with simulations ran on computational resources (Stevin
 Supercomputer Infrastructure) and services provided by the VSC (Flemish
 Supercomputer Center), funded by Ghent University, FWO and the Flemish
 Government. The microhabitat model was build using a GLMM with INLA, to
 adjust for spatial autocorrelation, that explained where nests are present
 according to NDVI (vegetation) and insolation (sun irradiance). An IBM was
 built in Python and simulations were compared with the field data using
 Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) analysis. This produced a MS
 accepted for publication in The American Naturalist.
description: The readme file contains a description of each of the data files,
 a list of variables and their definitions in each data file, missing data
 codes for each data file and how the data files are related to each other.
 Information regarding the separate analyses and details about field study
 and individual-based model (IBM) can be found in the associated manuscript
 referenced above, including its supplementary materials (including
 ODD-protocol for IBM). Code can be found
 at http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5212680