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Thierry B. Studying the Tonkean macaques of Strasbourg, a tale full of sound and fury. Primates 2023; 64:559-572. [PMID: 37597117 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01088-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, I chronicle the Strasbourg population of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) over a period of half a century. In 1972, Tonkean macaques were imported from Sulawesi, Indonesia, to eastern France, leading to the establishment of two social groups in the Strasbourg region several years later. Our research team studied the social behavior and cognitive abilities of these Tonkean macaques for four decades. The species is characterized by a high degree of social tolerance. This has proven to be very informative in comparative studies of macaque social behavior, opening a new perspective on the evolution of primate societies. Over the years, the population has grown, and more social groups have been formed. However, the fact that some of the Tonkean macaques were healthy carriers of the herpes B virus led to disagreements over their management and eventually to the elimination of the positive individuals. Many individuals from the Strasbourg population are now kept in sanctuaries, and the number of captive breeding groups is limited. We still have much to learn about Tonkean macaques and there is a need for studies carried out in their native habitat in Sulawesi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Thierry
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
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Ishizuka S, Inoue E. Sex-Specific Effects of Juvenile Offspring on their Mothers’ Social Relationships with Other Females in Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Shodoshima Island. INT J PRIMATOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-023-00355-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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3
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Fox SA, Muller MN, González NT, Enigk DK, Machanda ZP, Otali E, Wrangham R, Thompson ME. Weak, but not strong, ties support coalition formation among wild female chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210427. [PMID: 36440557 PMCID: PMC9703227 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In social species, individuals may be able to overcome competitive constraints on cooperation by leveraging relationships with familiar, tolerant partners. While strong social ties have been linked to cooperation in several social mammals, it is unclear the extent to which weak social ties can support cooperation, particularly among non-kin. We tested the hypothesis that weakly affiliative social relationships support cooperative coalition formation using 10 years of behavioural data on wild female chimpanzees. Female chimpanzees typically disperse and reside with non-kin as adults. Their social relationships are differentiated but often relatively weak, with few dyads sharing strong bonds. Females occasionally form aggressive coalitions together. Three measures of relationship quality-party association, five-metre proximity and whether a dyad groomed-positively predicted coalitions, indicating that relationship quality influenced coalition partnerships. However, dyads that groomed frequently did not form more coalitions than dyads that groomed occasionally, and kin did not cooperate more than expected given their relationship quality. Thus, strong bonds and kinship did not bolster cooperation. We conclude that cooperative coalitions among female chimpanzees depend on social tolerance but do not require strong bonds. Our findings highlight social tolerance as a distinct pathway through which females can cultivate cooperative relationships. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A. Fox
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Martin N. Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Nicole Thompson González
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210, USA
| | - Drew K. Enigk
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Zarin P. Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Emily Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Richard Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Kappeler PM, Huchard E, Baniel A, Canteloup C, Charpentier MJE, Cheng L, Davidian E, Duboscq J, Fichtel C, Hemelrijk CK, Höner OP, Koren L, Micheletta J, Prox L, Saccà T, Seex L, Smit N, Surbeck M, van de Waal E, Girard-Buttoz C. Sex and dominance: How to assess and interpret intersexual dominance relationships in mammalian societies. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.918773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes and consequences of being in a particular dominance position have been illuminated in various animal species, and new methods to assess dominance relationships and to describe the structure of dominance hierarchies have been developed in recent years. Most research has focused on same-sex relationships, however, so that intersexual dominance relationships and hierarchies including both sexes have remained much less studied. In particular, different methods continue to be employed to rank males and females along a dominance hierarchy, and sex biases in dominance are still widely regarded as simple byproducts of sexual size dimorphism. However, males and females regularly compete over similar resources when living in the same group, and sexual conflict takes a variety of forms across societies. These processes affect the fitness of both sexes, and are mitigated by intersexual hierarchies. In this study, we draw on data from free-ranging populations of nine species of mammals that vary in the degree to which members of one sex dominate members of the other sex to explore the consequences of using different criteria and procedures for describing intra- and intersexual dominance relationships in these societies. Our analyses confirmed a continuum in patterns of intersexual dominance, from strictly male-dominated species to strictly female-dominated species. All indices of the degree of female dominance were well correlated with each other. The rank order among same-sex individuals was highly correlated between the intra- and intersexual hierarchies, and such correlation was not affected by the degree of female dominance. The relative prevalence of aggression and submission was sensitive to variation in the degree of female dominance across species, with more submissive signals and fewer aggressive acts being used in societies where female dominance prevails. Thus, this study provides important insights and key methodological tools to study intersexual dominance relationships in mammals.
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Sadoughi B, Lacroix L, Berbesque C, Meunier H, Lehmann J. Effects of social tolerance on stress: hair cortisol concentrations in the tolerant Tonkean macaques ( Macaca tonkeana) and the despotic long-tailed macaques ( Macaca fascicularis). Stress 2021; 24:1033-1041. [PMID: 34756152 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2021.1998443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Group living is a source of stress and an individuals' social environment has been shown to have a significant effect on its health and well-being. However, little is known about how different social organizations affect the stress levels of their members. Is living in a hierarchical society more or less stressful than living in a more tolerant structure? Here, we assess cortisol concentrations in the hair of two macaque species with radically different dominance styles: the egalitarian Tonkean macaque (Macaca Tonkeana) and the despotic long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Hair was sampled in winter and again in late spring in two mixed-sex groups of 22 Tonkean macaques and 9 long-tailed macaques; Hair cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in the egalitarian Tonkean macaques than in the despotic long-tailed macaques, ranging from 161.13 to 938.8 pg/mg (mean ± SD 349.67 ± 126.22) and from 134.46 to 339.86 pg/mg (mean ± SD 231.2 ± 44.24), respectively. There was no difference between male and female cortisol concentrations, but hair cortisol increased with age in males. Dominance rank certainty was lower among female Tonkean macaques compared to long-tailed macaques. Our results suggest that species differences in dominance styles may translate into differences in long-term cortisol concentrations. We suggest that the higher cortisol concentrations in Tonkean macaques could be linked to the instability and lack of predictability and control around social relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Sadoughi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
- Oniris - Nantes Atlantic College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering, Nantes, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Primate Centre of Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
- Centre de Primatologie de l'Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology & Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Laurent Lacroix
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | | | - Hélène Meunier
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Primate Centre of Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
- Centre de Primatologie de l'Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Julia Lehmann
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
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Non-random associations in group housed rats (Rattus norvegicus). Sci Rep 2021; 11:15349. [PMID: 34321512 PMCID: PMC8319288 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94608-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological factors, such as predation, have traditionally been used to explain sociability. However, it is increasingly recognised that individuals within a group do not associate randomly, and that these non-random associations can generate fitness advantages. The majority of the empirical evidence on differentiated associations in group-living mammals, however, comes from a limited number of taxa and we still know very little about their occurrence and characteristics in some highly social species, such as rats (Rattus spp.). Here, using network analysis, we quantified association patterns in four groups of male fancy rats. We found that the associations between rats were not randomly distributed and that most individuals had significantly more preferred/avoided associates than expected by random. We also found that these preferences can be stable over time, and that they were not influenced by individuals’ rank position in the dominance hierarchy. Our findings are consistent with work in other mammals, but contrast with the limited evidence available for other rat strains. While further studies in groups with different demographic composition are warranted to confirm our findings, the occurrence of differentiated associations in all male groups of rats have important implications for the management and welfare of captive rat populations.
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Kalbitzer U, Chapman CA. Patterns of female social relationships in a primate with female-biased dispersal. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Rebout N, Lone JC, De Marco A, Cozzolino R, Lemasson A, Thierry B. Measuring complexity in organisms and organizations. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:200895. [PMID: 33959307 PMCID: PMC8074971 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
While there is no consensus about the definition of complexity, it is widely accepted that the ability to produce uncertainty is the most prominent characteristic of complex systems. We introduce new metrics that purport to quantify the complexity of living organisms and social organizations based on their levels of uncertainty. We consider three major dimensions regarding complexity: diversity based on the number of system elements and the number of categories of these elements; flexibility which bears upon variations in the elements; and combinability which refers to the patterns of connection between elements. These three dimensions are quantified using Shannon's uncertainty formula, and they can be integrated to provide a tripartite complexity index. We provide a calculation example that illustrates the use of these indices for comparing the complexity of different social systems. These indices distinguish themselves by a theoretical basis grounded on the amount of uncertainty, and the requirement that several aspects of the systems be accounted for to compare their degree of complexity. We expect that these new complexity indices will encourage research programmes aiming to compare the complexity levels of systems belonging to different realms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Rebout
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli, Italy
| | - Jean-Christophe Lone
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - Arianna De Marco
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli, Italy
- Parco Faunistico di Piano dell'Abatino, Poggio San Lorenzo, Italy
| | | | - Alban Lemasson
- EthoS (Ethologie Animale et Humaine), Université de Rennes, Université de Normandie, CNRS, Rennes, France
| | - Bernard Thierry
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
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Rebout N, De Marco A, Lone JC, Sanna A, Cozzolino R, Micheletta J, Sterck EHM, Langermans JAM, Lemasson A, Thierry B. Tolerant and intolerant macaques show different levels of structural complexity in their vocal communication. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200439. [PMID: 32517610 PMCID: PMC7341924 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We tested the social complexity hypothesis which posits that animals living in complex social environments should use complex communication systems. We focused on two components of vocal complexity: diversity (number of categories of calls) and flexibility (degree of gradation between categories of calls). We compared the acoustic structure of vocal signals in groups of macaques belonging to four species with varying levels of uncertainty (i.e. complexity) in social tolerance (the higher the degree of tolerance, the higher the degree of uncertainty): two intolerant species, Japanese and rhesus macaques, and two tolerant species, Tonkean and crested macaques. We recorded the vocalizations emitted by adult females in affiliative, agonistic and neutral contexts. We analysed several acoustic variables: call duration, entropy, time and frequency energy quantiles. The results showed that tolerant macaques displayed higher levels of vocal diversity and flexibility than intolerant macaques in situations with a greater number of options and consequences, i.e. in agonistic and affiliative contexts. We found no significant differences between tolerant and intolerant macaques in the neutral context where individuals are not directly involved in social interaction. This shows that species experiencing more uncertain social interactions displayed greater vocal diversity and flexibility, which supports the social complexity hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Rebout
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli, Italy
| | - Arianna De Marco
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli, Italy
- Parco Faunistico di Piano dell'Abatino, Poggio San Lorenzo, Italy
| | - Jean-Christophe Lone
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | | | | | - Jérôme Micheletta
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
- Macaca Nigra Project, Tangkoko Reserve, Batu Putih, Indonesia
| | - Elisabeth H. M. Sterck
- Department of Biology, Animal Ecology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Animal Science Department, Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswijk, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. M. Langermans
- Department Population Health Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Animal Science Department, Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswijk, The Netherlands
| | - Alban Lemasson
- EthoS (Ethologie Animale et Humaine), Université de Rennes, Université de Normandie, CNRS, Rennes, France
| | - Bernard Thierry
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
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Sulawesi Crested Macaque (Macaca nigra) Grooming Networks Are Robust to Perturbation While Individual Associations Are More Labile. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00139-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSocial and environmental disturbance occurs naturally, and species in bonded social groups should be resilient to it. Empirical evidence of social responses to disturbance in primates, however, remains limited. We constructed social networks using group-level scan samples (N = 299) to test the robustness of grooming networks in a captive group of 20 Sulawesi crested macaques (Macaca nigra) to two management interventions involving environmental and social disturbance. During the first, the institution removed six castrated males and one female, contracepted six of the nine remaining females, and moved the group to a new enclosure. The second involved the introduction of a novel, reproductive male five weeks later. Networks remained stable following the first intervention. However, after introduction of the male, the number of grooming partners and the frequency of grooming with non-maternal kin increased in female-only networks. We observed less marked increases in the grooming frequency and number of grooming partners in whole group networks. Ten weeks later, network structure was more similar to that of pre-intervention networks than post-intervention networks. Our results suggest that reproductive males play a more important role in structuring Sulawesi crested macaque social networks than castrated males, as networks expanded and relationships between non-maternal kin occurred more frequently after introduction of the reproductive male. However, network responses to interventions appeared to be temporary as networks following a period of acclimation more closely resembled pre-intervention networks than post-intervention networks. Our study demonstrates the utility of social network analysis for understanding the impact of disturbance on stable social groups.
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Amici F, Kulik L, Langos D, Widdig A. Growing into adulthood—a review on sex differences in the development of sociality across macaques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2623-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Joly M, Micheletta J, De Marco A, Langermans JA, Sterck EHM, Waller BM. Comparing physical and social cognitive skills in macaque species with different degrees of social tolerance. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2738. [PMID: 28904133 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Contemporary evolutionary theories propose that living in groups drives the selection of enhanced cognitive skills to face competition and facilitate cooperation between individuals. Being able to coordinate both in space and time with others and make strategic decisions are essential skills for cooperating within groups. Social tolerance and an egalitarian social structure have been proposed as one specific driver of cooperation. Therefore, social tolerance is predicted to be associated with enhanced cognitive skills that underpin communication and coordination. Social tolerance should also be associated with enhanced inhibition, which is crucial for suppressing automatic responses and permitting delayed gratification in cooperative contexts. We tested the performance of four closely related non-human primate species (genus Macaca) characterized by different degrees of social tolerance on a large battery of cognitive tasks covering physical and social cognition, and on an inhibitory control task. All species performed at a comparable level on the physical cognition tasks but the more tolerant species outperformed the less tolerant species at a social cognition task relevant to cooperation and in the inhibitory control task. These findings support the hypothesis that social tolerance is associated with the evolution of sophisticated cognitive skills relevant for cooperative social living.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Joly
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Jérôme Micheletta
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Arianna De Marco
- Fondazione Ethoikos, Radicondoli, Italy.,Parco Faunistico di Piano dell'Abatino, Poggio San Lorenzo, Italy
| | | | - Elisabeth H M Sterck
- Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.,Animal Ecology, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bridget M Waller
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
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Rebout N, Desportes C, Thierry B. Resource partitioning in tolerant and intolerant macaques. Aggress Behav 2017; 43:513-520. [PMID: 28449231 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Revised: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The clumped distribution of food resources promotes food defensibility and can lead to the monopolizing of resources by high-ranking individuals. However, the balance of power is set at different levels according to societies, meaning that resource partitioning should vary between them. This study investigates whether dominance asymmetry and resource partitioning are related in non-human primates by comparing two species with contrasting social styles, namely rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) which display strong social intolerance and a steep gradient of dominance, and Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana), which exhibit higher levels of tolerance and more balanced dominance relationships. Study groups were kept in semi-free ranging conditions. Animals were provided with fruit in three different clumped conditions during 30-min trials. We found that higher-ranking rhesus macaques had priority for the access to fruit: these individuals spent longer in the feeding area in the first 10-min period of trials, while lower-ranking individuals had diminished access to fruit under the most clumped condition; this was associated with sustained agonistic interactions. Dominance effects were weaker in Tonkean macaques. They exhibited co-feeding between high- and low-ranking individuals in the first period; there was no significant effect of dominance even in the most clumped condition; and frequencies of agonistic interactions remained moderate relative to the number of individuals present in the feeding area. These results show that food resources were more equitably distributed among group members in tolerant macaques than in their intolerant counterparts. Dominance gradient and social tolerance may be considered as two aspects of the same phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Rebout
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien; Strasbourg France
| | - Christine Desportes
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien; Strasbourg France
| | - Bernard Thierry
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien; Strasbourg France
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