Human disturbance impacts on wildlife sociality and group sizes

Animals adjust their sociality, including grouping behaviours, as a common strategy to adapt to human disturbances and maintain individual fitness. While there is extensive research on animal sociality from evolutionary perspectives, gaps remain in integrating human impacts on group sizes, especially across a range of species taxa and disturbance contexts. We synthesise 151 studies (129 species and 8 disturbance types) to develop a conceptual framework that maps how human disturbances influence terrestrial mammal group sizes, covering anthropogenic proximate drivers and wildlife’s ecological and behavioural responses. We reveal some general trends and how outcomes are mediated by concurrent human disturbances, as well as species traits, habitat characteristics, and local human behaviours. We can improve population management and conservation efforts by disentangling the complex relationship between human disturbance and wildlife sociality.