Dominance rank and self-scratching among wild female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

AbstractGenerally, nonreproductive sex is thought to act as “social grease,” facilitating peaceful coexistence between subjects that lack close genetic ties. However, specifc nonreproductive sexual behaviors may fulfill different functions. With this study, we aimed to test whether nonreproductive mounts in Barbary macaques are used to 1) assert dominance, 2) reinforce social relationships, and/or 3) solve conflicts. We analyzed nonreproductive mounts (N = 236) and postmount behavior in both aggressive and nonaggressive contexts, in 118 individuals belonging to two semi-free-ranging groups at La Montagne des Singes (France). As predicted by the dominance assertion hypothesis, the probability to be the mounter increased with rank difference, especially in aggressive contexts (increasing from 0.066 to 0.797 in nonaggressive contexts, and from 0.011 to 0.969 in aggressive contexts, when the rank difference was minimal vs. maximal). The strength of the social bond did not significantly predict the proportion of mounts across dyads in nonaggressive contexts, providing no support for the relationship reinforcement hypothesis. Finally, in support of the conflict resolution hypothesis, when individuals engaged in postconflict mounts, 1) the probability of being involved in further aggression decreased from 0.825 to 0.517, while 2) the probability of being involved in grooming interactions with each other increased from 0.119 to 0.606. The strength of the social bond between former opponents had no significant effect on grooming occurrence and agonistic behavior after postconflict mounts. Overall, our findings suggest that nonreproductive mounts in Barbary macaques have different functions that are not affected by the strength of the social bond.

Download Full-text

Maternal discrimination of offspring vocalizations in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Primates ◽

10.1007/bf02557735 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 231-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Kurt Hammerschmidt ◽

Julia Fischer

Keyword(s):

Macaca Sylvanus ◽

Barbary Macaques

Download Full-text

Social affiliation matters: both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships predict survival in wild female baboons

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2014.1261 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 281 (1793) ◽

pp. 20141261 ◽

Cited By ~ 116

Author(s):

Elizabeth A. Archie ◽

Jenny Tung ◽

Michael Clark ◽

Jeanne Altmann ◽

Susan C. Alberts

Keyword(s):

Animal Studies ◽

Social Connectedness ◽

Dominance Rank ◽

Limited Resource ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Adult Males ◽

Same Sex ◽

Wild Female ◽

Opposite Sex ◽

Socially Isolated

Social integration and support can have profound effects on human survival. The extent of this phenomenon in non-human animals is largely unknown, but such knowledge is important to understanding the evolution of both lifespan and sociality. Here, we report evidence that levels of affiliative social behaviour (i.e. ‘social connectedness’) with both same-sex and opposite-sex conspecifics predict adult survival in wild female baboons. In the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, adult female baboons that were socially connected to either adult males or adult females lived longer than females who were socially isolated from both sexes—females with strong connectedness to individuals of both sexes lived the longest. Female social connectedness to males was predicted by high dominance rank, indicating that males are a limited resource for females, and females compete for access to male social partners. To date, only a handful of animal studies have found that social relationships may affect survival. This study extends those findings by examining relationships to both sexes in by far the largest dataset yet examined for any animal. Our results support the idea that social effects on survival are evolutionarily conserved in social mammals.

Download Full-text

Is There a “Right” Side of Communicating Friendship? Lateralization of Social Interactions in Zoo Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11113288 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 3288

Author(s):

Marzia Baldachini ◽

Barbara Regaiolli ◽

Miquel Llorente ◽

David Riba ◽

Caterina Spiezio

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Group Level ◽

Social Ranking ◽

Macaca Sylvanus ◽

Barbary Macaques ◽

Focal Animal ◽

The Social ◽

Side Preference ◽

The Right

Social laterality in non-human primates has started to attract attention in recent years. The positioning of individuals during social interactions could possibly suggest the nature of a relationship and the social ranking of the subjects involved. The subjects of the present study were 12 adult Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) housed in a zoological garden. We carried out fourteen 210-min video-recorded sessions and we used a focal animal sampling method to collect the position of the subjects during different social interactions. Data on the position of each macaque during three types of social interactions were collected (approach, proximity and affiliative contacts). Moreover, we focused on the outcomes of dyadic agonistic encounters to build the hierarchy of the colony. For each social interaction, two conditions were considered: the side preference (being kept on the left or on the right) and the sagittal preference (being kept in front or on the rear). Bouts of preference of different positions were collected for different social interactions (approach, proximity and contacts). No group-level side preferences were found for any social interaction, suggesting that both hemispheres might be complemental and balance each other during intraspecific communication. For the sagittal preference, we found a group-level bias for proximity, with macaques being kept in front rather than on the rear by close conspecifics. This might be due to the need to detect emotions and intentions of conspecifics. Moreover, high-ranking individuals are kept more frontally than on the rear when in proximity with other macaques. More studies are needed to better investigate social laterality, possibly distinguishing more categories of social interaction, and detecting other variables that might influence the positioning preferences.

Download Full-text