The interconnecting links between individuals in an animal social network are often defined by discrete, directed behaviours, but where these are difficult to observe, a network link (edge) may instead be defined by individuals sharing a space at the same time, which can then be used to infer a social association. The method by which these associations are defined should be informed by the biological significance of edges, and...

Aim Species richness is often strongly correlated with climate. The most commonly invoked mechanism for this climate‐richness relationship is the more‐individuals‐hypothesis ( MIH ), which predicts a cascading positive influence of climate on plant productivity, food resources, total number of individuals, and species richness. We test for a climate‐richness relationship and an underlying MIH mechanism, as well as testing comp...