Social copying drives spatial allocation in gregarious herbivores

Social copying linked to resting patch choice in free-ranging Bos taurus is supported by a memory-free agent model matching GPS-derived patterns across 144 cows over three seasons.

• Why it matters: Resting patch selection in steep mountain valleys matters because repeatedly using flatter sites may lower energetic costs, yet the limited availability of such patches makes their use dynamics important to explain.
• What they did: High-resolution GPS tracking from 144 cows across three seasons identified recurrent resting patches on gentler slopes than expected, and a simple memory-free agent-based model tested whether social copying and individual heterogeneity generate observed patterns.
• The result: The model quantitatively reproduced sub-linear discovery of new sites over time, heterogeneous occupancy among resting patches, and similarity in patch use among individuals, implying collective dynamics can arise mainly from social copying with weaker effects of individual heterogeneity.

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