Animal sociology

Japanese: 動物社会学 - どうぶつしゃかいがく（英語表記）animal sociology

A branch of ecology that studies animal societies. The definition of society varies by scholar, but generally refers to a group of animals in which there is a deep organic relationship between the individuals. A distinction is made between species societies, i.e. relationships between individuals of the same species, and interspecies societies, which include relationships between individuals of two or more different species, but the term more often refers to the former. There has been much research into species societies with clearly orderly social structures, such as the ranking system and leadership system of Japanese macaques, the territorial system of birds, and the division of labor seen in ants and honeybees. It is also closely related to ethology.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

動物の社会を研究する生態学の一分野。社会の定義は学者により異なるが，一般に個体相互間に深い有機的関連のある動物集団をさす。同種の個体間の関係すなわち種社会と，2種以上の異種個体間関係をも含めた種間社会とが区別されるが，前者をさす場合のほうが多い。種社会でも明瞭に秩序ある社会構造，たとえばニホンザル社会の順位制，リーダー制，鳥類のなわばり制，アリ，ミツバチなどにみられる分業体制などについてよく研究されている。動物行動学とも深く関連する。

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