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Huang P, Arlet ME, Balasubramaniam KN, Beisner BA, Bliss-Moreau E, Brent LJN, Duboscq J, García-Nisa I, Kaburu SSK, Kendal R, Konečná M, Marty PR, McCowan B, Micheletta J, Ostner J, Schülke O, Schino G, Majolo B. Relationship between dominance hierarchy steepness and rank-relatedness of benefits in primates. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae066. [PMID: 39193469 PMCID: PMC11347755 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/11/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In animal social groups, the extent to which individuals consistently win agonistic interactions and their ability to monopolize resources represent 2 core aspects of their competitive regime. However, whether these two aspects are closely correlated within groups has rarely been studied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that hierarchy steepness, which is generally used to represent power differentials between group members, predicts the variation in the distribution of fitness-related benefits (i.e. fecundity, infant survival, mating success, and feeding success) in relation to individual dominance ranks. We tested this hypothesis in primate groups using comparative phylogenetic meta-analytical techniques. Specifically, we reviewed published and unpublished studies to extract data on individual dominance ranks, their access to fitness-related benefits, and hierarchy steepness. We collected and included in our analysis a total of 153 data points, representing 27 species (including 2 chimpanzee sub-species). From these, we used 4 common methods to measure individual dominance ranks and hierarchy steepness, i.e. D ij -based normalized David's scores, randomized Elo-ratings, and David's scores and Elo-ratings estimated in Bayesian frameworks. We found that hierarchy steepness had no effect on the strength of the relationship between dominance rank and access to fitness-related benefits. Our results suggest that hierarchy steepness does not reflect between-group variation in the extent to which individual dominance affects the acquisition of fitness-related benefits in primates. Although the ability to win agonistic encounters is essential, we speculate that other behavioral strategies adopted by individuals may play crucial roles in resource acquisition in animal competitive regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengzhen Huang
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Wharf East, Lincoln, LN5 7AY, United Kingdom
- School of Ecology, Hainan University, Hainan, China
| | - Malgorzata E Arlet
- Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Krishna N Balasubramaniam
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, United Kingdom
| | - Brianne A Beisner
- Animal Resources Division, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
| | - Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, United Kingdom
| | - Julie Duboscq
- Unité Eco‑Anthropologie (EA), UMR 7206, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l’Homme 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Iván García-Nisa
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano S K Kaburu
- School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel Kendal
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Martina Konečná
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Pascal R Marty
- Wildlife Park Goldau, Parkstrasse 38, CH-6410 Goldau, Switzerland
| | - Brenda McCowan
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, United States
| | - Jérôme Micheletta
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2UP, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Ostner
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Social Evolution in Primates Group, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Schülke
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Social Evolution in Primates Group, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
| | - Bonaventura Majolo
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Wharf East, Lincoln, LN5 7AY, United Kingdom
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Konečná M, Roubová V, Wallner B, Lhota S. The Effect of Maternal Status on Time Budget in Female Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus). INT J PRIMATOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-023-00360-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
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3
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Stronger maternal social bonds and higher rank are associated with accelerated infant maturation in Kinda baboons. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Gazes RP, Schrock AE, Leard CN, Lutz MC. Dominance and social interaction patterns in brown capuchin monkey (Cebus [Sapajus] apella) social networks. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23365. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Regina Paxton Gazes
- Program in Animal Behavior Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Psychology Bucknell University Lewisburg Lewisburg USA
| | - Allie E. Schrock
- Program in Animal Behavior Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
| | - Corinne N. Leard
- Program in Animal Behavior Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania USA
| | - Meredith C. Lutz
- Program in Animal Behavior Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Mathematics Bucknell University Lewisburg Pennsylvania USA
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group University of California Davis California USA
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5
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Rathke EM, Fischer J. Social aging in male and female Barbary macaques. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23272. [PMID: 34028075 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Aging brings about notable changes in sociality, with an increasing focus on essential partners in both humans and nonhuman primates. Several studies have shown that older nonhuman primates have fewer social partners and shift their types of interactions. The majority of these studies, however, involved only female individuals. Much less is known about the trajectory of social aging in males. We collected 2180 h of focal observation data in a large age-heterogeneous sample of 34 male and 50 female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus; age range 5-30 years) living in two social groups at the outdoor enclosure at La Forêt des Singes in Rocamadour (France). To track age-related changes in social engagement of both sexes, we used classical behavioral and social network analysis to measure age-related variation in the number of partners, the frequency of affiliative interactions, and the position in the social network (eigenvector centrality and local clustering coefficient). We found that females were more central in most social network metrics than males, that is, had more social partners and were more engaged in affiliative interactions than males. We did not find notable sex differences with age: both sexes showed a similar decline in social activity and energy-demanding activities like jumping or running. Our results thereby extend our knowledge of older nonhuman primates' social life and emphasize that age can have a similar impact on female and male social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Maria Rathke
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
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de Freslon I, Peralta JM, Strappini AC, Monti G. Understanding Allogrooming Through a Dynamic Social Network Approach: An Example in a Group of Dairy Cows. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:535. [PMID: 32851054 PMCID: PMC7417353 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For gregarious species such as domestic cattle, the social environment is a very important determinant of their welfare and fitness. Understanding the complexity of cows' relationships can assist the development of management practices that are more integrated with the cows' social behavioral processes. The two aims of this study were: (1) to determine the dynamics of affiliative relationships, as indicated by allogrooming, by means of stochastic actor-oriented modeling, in dairy cows during early lactation; (2) to explore the underlying processes and the individual attributes, such as age, social rank and reproductive state, that could shape network pattern changes in grooming contacts between individual. We observed the allogrooming behavior of a dynamic group of 38 dairy cows for 4 h per day for 30 days. Using stochastic actor-oriented models, we modeled the dynamics of weekly contacts and studied how structural processes (e.g., reciprocity, transitivity, or popularity) and individual attributes (i.e., age, social rank, and reproductive state) influence network changes. We found that cows tended to groom individuals that had previously groomed them, implying a possible cooperation. Cows that groomed more actively did not appear to have a preference for specific individuals in the herd, and in return, tended to be groomed by fewer cows over time. Older individuals groomed more cows than younger ones, indicating that allogrooming could be related to seniority. Cows groomed mainly individuals of similar age, suggesting that familiarity and growing up together enhanced social grooming. Over time, cows with higher social rank were groomed by fewer cows and individuals recently reintroduced to the group groomed more herdmates. The study of social network dynamics can be used to better understand the complexity and non-linearity of cow relationships. Our findings, along with further research, can complement and strengthen the design of improved management practices that are more in line with the natural social behavior of cows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inés de Freslon
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Preventive Veterinary Medicine Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - J M Peralta
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, United States
| | - Ana C Strappini
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Animal Science Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Gustavo Monti
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Preventive Veterinary Medicine Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
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Does rank rule? Rank-related grooming patterns in Nicobar long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis umbrosus. Primates 2020; 61:443-453. [PMID: 32108904 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00807-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Primates maintain social bonds with specific individuals in the group by directing grooming toward them. Social grooming is often targeted toward individuals with whom the most benefits can be exchanged, which are usually the high-ranking individuals. We used the Seyfarth model to investigate whether dominance rank alters the distribution of grooming in a group of Macaca fascicularis umbrosus at Great Nicobar Island. We investigated whether dominance rank predicted grooming rate in both males and females. We used social network analysis to examine whether high-ranking animals maintain a central position in the grooming network. We also investigated whether adult individuals exchange grooming for social tolerance, as indicated by physical proximity. We found that more social grooming was directed toward high-ranking females, but not high-ranking males. Social network analysis suggested that high-ranking animals are not central individuals in the distribution of grooming; rather, middle-ranking animals were major contributors to the distribution of grooming. There was no relation between the grooming rate and proximity in both males and females. Overall, our findings suggest that females prefer to direct grooming toward high-ranking partners, although the dominance hierarchy is less steep than expected for Macaca fascicularis. Thus rank-related grooming patterns may be a relatively conserved trait in this isolated island population.
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Carvalho C, Gaspar A, Knight A, Vicente L. Ethical and Scientific Pitfalls Concerning Laboratory Research with Non-Human Primates, and Possible Solutions. Animals (Basel) 2018; 9:E12. [PMID: 30597951 PMCID: PMC6356609 DOI: 10.3390/ani9010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2018] [Revised: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Basic and applied laboratory research, whenever intrusive or invasive, presents substantial ethical challenges for ethical committees, be it with human beings or with non-human animals. In this paper we discuss the use of non-human primates (NHPs), mostly as animal models, in laboratory based research. We examine the two ethical frameworks that support current legislation and guidelines: deontology and utilitarianism. While human based research is regulated under deontological principles, guidelines for laboratory animal research rely on utilitarianism. We argue that the utilitarian framework is inadequate for this purpose: on the one hand, it is almost impossible to accurately predict the benefits of a study for all potential stakeholders; and on the other hand, harm inflicted on NHPs (and other animals) used in laboratory research is extensive despite the increasing efforts of ethics committees and the research community to address this. Although deontology and utilitarianism are both valid ethical frameworks, we advocate that a deontological approach is more suitable, since we arguably have moral duties to NHPs. We provide suggestions on how to ensure that research currently conducted in laboratory settings shifts towards approaches that abide by deontological principles. We assert that this would not impede reasonable scientific research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constança Carvalho
- Centre for Philosophy of Science of the University of Lisbon, Department Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon 1749-016, Portugal.
| | - Augusta Gaspar
- Catolica Research Center for Psychological, Family and Social Wellbeing (CRC-W), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Palma de Cima, Lisboa 1649-023, Portugal.
| | - Andrew Knight
- Centre for Animal Welfare, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester, Winchester SO22 4NR, UK.
| | - Luís Vicente
- Centre for Philosophy of Science of the University of Lisbon, Department Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon 1749-016, Portugal.
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10
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Parameters for the Analysis of Social Bonds in Horses. Animals (Basel) 2018; 8:ani8110191. [PMID: 30373257 PMCID: PMC6262610 DOI: 10.3390/ani8110191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Social bond analysis is of major importance for the evaluation of social relationships in group housed horses. However, in equine behaviour literature, studies on social bond analysis are inconsistent. Mutual grooming (horses standing side by side and gently nipping, nuzzling, or rubbing each other), affiliative approaches (horses approaching each other and staying within one body length), and measurements of spatial proximity (horses standing with body contact or within two horse-lengths) are commonly used. In the present study, we assessed which of the three parameters is most suitable for social bond analysis in horses, and whether social bonds are affected by individual and group factors. We observed social behaviour and spatial proximity in 145 feral horses, five groups of Przewalski's horses (N = 36), and six groups of feral horses (N = 109) for 15 h per group, on three days within one week. We found grooming, friendly approaches, and spatial proximity to be robust parameters, as their correlation was affected only by the animals' sex (GLMM: N = 145, SE = 0.001, t = -2.7, p = 0.008) and the group size (GLMM: N = 145, SE < 0.001, t = 4.255, p < 0.001), but not by the horse breed, the aggression ratio, the social rank, the group, the group composition, and the individuals themselves. Our results show a trend for a correspondence between all three parameters (GLMM: N = 145, SE = 0.004, t = 1.95, p = 0.053), a strong correspondence between mutual grooming and friendly approaches (GLMM: N = 145, SE = 0.021, t = 3.922, p < 0.001), and a weak correspondence between mutual grooming and spatial proximity (GLMM: N = 145, SE = 0.04, t = 1.15, p = 0.25). We therefore suggest either using a combination of the proactive behaviour counts mutual grooming and friendly approaches, or using measurements of close spatial proximity, for the analysis of social bonds in horses within a limited time frame.
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Mielke A, Preis A, Samuni L, Gogarten JF, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Flexible decision-making in grooming partner choice in sooty mangabeys and chimpanzees. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172143. [PMID: 30109053 PMCID: PMC6083658 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Living in permanent social groups forces animals to make decisions about when, how and with whom to interact, requiring decisions to be made that integrate multiple sources of information. Changing social environments can influence this decision-making process by constraining choice or altering the likelihood of a positive outcome. Here, we conceptualized grooming as a choice situation where an individual chooses one of a number of potential partners. Studying two wild populations of sympatric primate species, sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys) and western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), we tested what properties of potential partners influenced grooming decisions, including their relative value based on available alternatives and the social relationships of potential partners with bystanders who could observe the outcome of the decision. Across 1529 decision events, multiple partner attributes (e.g. dominance ranks, social relationship quality, reproductive state, partner sex) influenced choice. Individuals preferred to initiate grooming with partners of similar global rank, but this effect was driven by a bias towards partners with a high rank compared to other locally available options. Individuals also avoided grooming partners who had strong social relationships with at least one bystander. Results indicated flexible decision-making in grooming interactions in both species, based on a partner's value given the local social environment. Viewing partner choice as a value-based decision-making process allows researchers to compare how different species solve similar social problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Jan F. Gogarten
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- P3: ‘Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms’, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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Why help? Relationship quality, not strategic grooming predicts infant-care in group-living marmosets. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:108-116. [PMID: 29730031 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.02.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 02/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Cooperatively breeding common marmosets raise their infants with the help of other adult group members, but individual care-taking contribution can vary considerably. We tested four hypotheses that may explain this variation within marmoset family groups. The pay-for-help hypothesis argues that allogrooming is used strategically by parents to pay helpers for helping. The pay-for-infant-access hypothesis claims that helpers use allogrooming as payment for infant-access. The intrinsic predisposition hypothesis suggests that more affiliative individuals are also more motivated for infant-care, and the relationship quality hypothesis that individuals involved in highly affiliative relationships with main caregivers contribute more to infant-care. To test these hypotheses, we followed five marmoset family groups over a total of eight reproductive cycles, and quantified affiliative behavior, infant-carrying, and food sharing over six to 12 weeks around infant-birth. We found no evidence for either the pay-for-help or pay-for-infant-access hypotheses nor did intrinsic prosocial predisposition determine individual infant-care. Mutual dyadic affiliation, however, was positively linked to infant-carrying and food sharing in female and male breeders and in male helpers. This suggests that cooperation during infant-care is mediated by relationship quality rather than strategic grooming in marmosets. Overall, these results may also contribute to a better understanding of cooperation in humans.
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Wubs M, Bshary R, Lehmann L. A reinforcement learning model for grooming up the hierarchy in primates. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Liao Z, Sosa S, Wu C, Zhang P. The influence of age on wild rhesus macaques' affiliative social interactions. Am J Primatol 2017; 80. [PMID: 29266298 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The social relationships that individuals experience at different life stages have a non-negligible influence on their lives, and this is particularly true for group living animals. The long lifespan of many primates makes it likely that these animals have various tactics of social interaction to adapt to complex changes in environmental or physical conditions. The different strategies used in social interaction by individuals at different life stages, and whether the position (central or peripheral) or role (initiator or recipient) of an individual in the group social network changes with age, are intriguing questions that remain to be investigated. We used social network analysis to examine age-related differences in social interaction patterns, social roles, and social positions in three affiliative social networks (approach, allogrooming, and social play) in a group of wild rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Our results showed that social interaction patterns of rhesus macaques differ between age classes in the following ways: i) young individuals tend to allocate social time to a high number of groupmates, older individuals prefer to focus on fewer, specific partners; ii) as they grow older, individuals tend to be recipients in approach interactions and initiators in grooming interactions; and iii) regardless of the different social interaction strategies, individuals of all ages occupy a central position in the group. These results reveal a possible key role played by immature individuals in group social communication, a little-explored issue which deserves closer investigation in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijie Liao
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China
| | - Sebastian Sosa
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China
| | - Chengfeng Wu
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China
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Mielke A, Samuni L, Preis A, Gogarten JF, Crockford C, Wittig RM. Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:171296. [PMID: 29291114 PMCID: PMC5717689 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Grooming interactions benefit groomers, but may have negative consequences for bystanders. Grooming limits bystanders' grooming access and ensuing alliances could threaten the bystander's hierarchy rank or their previous investment in the groomers. To gain a competitive advantage, bystanders could intervene into a grooming bout to increase their own grooming access or to prevent the negative impact of others' grooming. We tested the impact of dominance rank and social relationships on grooming intervention likelihood and outcome in two sympatric primate species, Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys). In both species, rather than increasing their own access to preferred partners, bystanders intervened mainly when an alliance between groomers could have a negative impact on them: when the lower-ranking groomer was close to the bystander in rank, when either groomer was an affiliation partner whose services they could lose, or the groomers were not yet strongly affiliated with each other. Thus, bystanders in both species appear to monitor grooming interactions and intervene based on their own dominance rank and social relationships, as well as triadic awareness of the relationship between groomers. While the motivation to intervene did not differ between species, mangabeys appeared to be more constrained by dominance rank than chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Jan F. Gogarten
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- P3: “Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms”, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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17
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Almeling L, Sennhenn-Reulen H, Hammerschmidt K, Freund AM, Fischer J. Social interactions and activity patterns of old Barbary macaques: Further insights into the foundations of social selectivity. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [PMID: 28984992 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Human aging is accompanied by a decrease in social activity and a narrowing in social networks. Studies in nonhuman primates may provide valuable comparative insights in which way aging impacts social life, in the absence of cultural conventions and an awareness of a limited lifetime. For female Barbary macaques at "La Forêt des Singes" in Rocamadour, France, we previously reported an age-associated decrease in active grooming time and network size. Here, we aimed to extend these findings by investigating in which way physical decline, spatial proximity, and aggression vary with age in female Barbary macaques. We analyzed >1,200 hr of focal observations for 46 females aged 5-29 years. As expected, older females engaged less frequently in challenging locomotor activity, such as climbing or running, than younger ones. The previously reported decrease in grooming time was not due to shorter grooming bout duration. Instead, active grooming bouts lasted even longer, which discounts the idea that manual fatigue explains the shift in grooming pattern. We found that older females tended to be spatially reclusive and that they were less frequently the targets of aggression. Although older females showed aggressive behaviors at similar rates as younger females, the proportion of low-level aggression (i.e., threats) increased with age. We suggest that these threats are not simply a signal of dominance, but also function to deter approaches by others. Overall, these findings are in line with the idea that older females aim to avoid potentially negative interactions, specifically if these are costly. In sum, these findings support the idea that shifts in female Barbary macaques' grooming activity, do not simply result from physical deterioration, but are instead due to a higher selectivity in the choice of social partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Almeling
- University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus "Primate Cognition", Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Kurt Hammerschmidt
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus "Primate Cognition", Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Julia Fischer
- University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus "Primate Cognition", Göttingen, Germany
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18
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Molesti S, Majolo B. Evidence of direct reciprocity, but not of indirect and generalized reciprocity, in the grooming exchanges of wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus
). Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Molesti
- School of Psychology; University of Lincoln; Brayford Pool United Kingdom
- Laboratoire CLLE-LTC; UMR 5263; Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès; Toulouse France
| | - Bonaventura Majolo
- School of Psychology; University of Lincoln; Brayford Pool United Kingdom
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