The Asian giant hornet (AGH,Vespa mandarinia) is the world’s largest hornet, occurring naturally in the Indomalayan region, where it is a voracious predator of pollinating insects including honey bees. In September 2019, a nest of Asian giant hornets was detected outside of Vancouver, British Columbia; multiple individuals were detected in British Columbia and Washington state in 2020; and another nest was found and eradicated in Washington state in November 2020, indicating that the AGH may have successfully wintered in North America. Because hornets tend to spread rapidly and become pests, reliable estimates of the potential invasive range ofV. mandariniain North America are needed to assess likely human and economic impacts, and to guide future eradication attempts. Here, we assess climatic suitability for AGH in North America, and suggest that, without control, this species could establish populations across the Pacific Northwest and much of eastern North America. Predicted suitable areas for AGH in North America overlap broadly with areas where honey production is highest, as well as with species-rich areas for native bumble bees and stingless bees of the genusMeliponain Mexico, highlighting the economic and environmental necessity of controlling this nascent invasion.

Movement is an important characteristic of an animal's ecology, reflecting the perception of and response to environmental conditions. To effectively search for food, movement patterns likely depend on habitat characteristics and the sensory systems used to find prey. We examined movements associated with foraging for two sympatric species of lizards inhabiting the Great Basin Desert of southeastern Oregon. The two species have largely overlapping diets but find prey via different sensory cues, which link to their differing foraging strategies—the long‐nosed leopard lizard, Gambelia wislizenii, is a visually‐oriented predator, while the western whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris, relies more heavily on chemosensory cues to find prey. Using detailed focal observations, we characterized the habitat use and movement paths of each species. We placed markers at the location of focal animals every minute for the duration of each 30‐min observation. Afterward, we recorded whether each location was in the open or in vegetation, as well as the movement metrics of step length, path length, net displacement, straightness index, and turn angle, and then made statistical comparisons between the two species. The visual forager spent more time in open areas, moved less frequently over shorter distances, and differed in patterns of plant use compared to the chemosensory forager. Path characteristics of step length and turn angle differed between species. The visual predator moved in a way that was consistent with the notion that they require a clear visual path to stalk prey whereas the movement of the chemosensory predator increased their chances of detecting prey by venturing further into vegetation. Sympatric species can partition limited resources through differences in search behavior and habitat use.

We compared the movement patterns of foraging Colorado Checkered Whiptails (Aspidoscelis neotesselata) in 2 different habitat types: shrub-grassland and pinyon pine–juniper woodland. We characterized movement by (1) segmenting movement paths into step lengths and turn angles and (2) determining first-passage times (FPTs). Lizards differed in their pattern of movement in the 2 habitats. FPTs were shorter in the pinyon pine–juniper woodland habitat and were positively correlated with ground cover. Lizards also moved more frequently, had longer step lengths, and traveled greater total distances in the pinyon pine–juniper woodland. There were no habitat differences in turn angles, net displacement, or movement path straightness. Habitat-based differences in movement might reflect differences in prey availability and predation risk.

Background: Animal social systems can be described through four main components: social structure, social organization, mating system, and care system. Social structure describes the relationships between individuals in a population, while social organization describes the group composition, size, and spatiotemporal variation of a population. We use the frameworks of social structure and social organization to study the social system ofMicrolophus atacamensis, a lizard found in the rocky intertidal zone along the Chilean coast. The areaM. atacamensisinhabits poses specific challenges stemming from their use of two distinct habitat types in the intertidal zone: they forage in the cool areas near the water’s edge and use large rocks in more inland areas for basking and refuge.Methods: Our assessment of their social system focused on two separate populations: one to characterize social structure by means of focal observations and social network analysis, and a second to assess social organization via home range and core area analyses. Further, we examined the social system in two habitat types that comprise the intertidal zone: cobble fields and interspersed large rocks.Results: Social network analysis revealed an interconnected network with a few highly central individuals. Body size influenced the outcomes of aggressive interactions, with interactions being more common in cobble fields where males had more associates and more repeated interactions than females. Spatial analyses revealed that the social organization ofM. atacamensisis characterized by (1) high home range overlap, specifically in the cobble fields and (2) relatively exclusive core areas dispersed across both habitat types.Conclusion: A social system is composed of both cooperative and competitive behaviors. While our study focused on competitive interactions, the extent and influence of cooperative behaviors is still unclear and merits future research. We suggest thatM. atacamensishas a variable social system in which territoriality on large rocks affects access to stationary resources in that habitat (e.g., basking sites and refuges), while competition in the cobble fields could lay the foundation for a system of dominance relationships controlling access to variable food resources in cobble field areas of the intertidal zone.

We compared movement and space use patterns of foraging adult and juvenile Colorado checkered whiptails (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus) in pinyon pine–juniper woodland. Through focal observations, we characterized (1) movement paths as a series of step lengths and turn angles at 30-s intervals, and (2) habitat use reflected by the proportion of time spent in different vegetation types and in the open. Adults and juveniles differed in both movement and habitat use. Adults spent more time in the open and in association with mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), while juveniles were more frequently found in association with dead wood, grass, and juniper (Juniperus monosperma). Adults also moved greater distances than juveniles and made use of larger areas. Movement patterns differed between age classes, with adults having longer step lengths. Adults and juveniles also engaged in different step length–turn angle sequences. For both classes, movement characteristics differed with habitat type.