From the perspective of prey, movement synchrony can represent either a
potent anti-predator strategy or a dangerous liability. Prey must
balance the costs and benefits of using conspecifics to mediate risk and
the emergent patterns of risk-driven sociality depends on the spatial
variation and trait composition of the system. Our literature review
outlined the prevailing, but not universal, trend of animals using
sociality as an antipredator strategy. Empirically, we then used
movement synchrony as a measure of social antipredator response of two
ungulates to spatial variation in predator and prey habitat domains. We
demonstrated that these responses vary based on prey vulnerability and
predator hunting modes. Prey favored asynchrony when calves were present
and within habitat domains of ambush predators but not pursuit
predators. By unifying community ecology concepts such as habitat
domains with movement ecology we provided a comprehensive evaluation of
factors mediating prey social response to predation risk.