What are some reason why territorial behavior might be a disadvantage to an individual organism but a benefit to species as a whole?

Answer 1

The advantage or benefit of defending a territory is that the 'owner' has access to a resource or more of a resource (or access to a better quality resource) than they would otherwise have.

Disadvantages to Individuals:

1. Being only a single organism, it cannot control as large as of a territory as a social structure. This does not apply to all beings, as many are lone creatures that control just as large if not larger territories then social groups. However; wolves for example, would not be able to upkeep there territory as a lone individual. Not only would they be lacking the support a pack offers, but they physically couldn't patrol a mass of land as a whole on there own. Not only couldn't they patrol it, but they also couldn't defend it from rival wolf packs; territory would be easily taken from the individual and would be extremely hard to keep a hold of.

Some creatures were never meant to be social; only coming together to mate, or mothers that are raising there young. Tigers, for example; not only do they tend to be anti-social toward there own species in the wild, but the Tiger is such a massive animal that the need for meat consumption would wipe a territory clean if Tigers were group creatures. I know what your thinking, "but lions do it!". Well, Lions are the only truly social Big cat; and another thing, lions have heck of a lot more prey items then Tigers. Have you seen how fast Tiger habitat is vanishing with the rest of the world? Compare the Tiger's few hundred or so hunting opportunities to Africa, which has a few thousand wildebeest in just one herd.