Effects of age, reproductive state, and the number of competitors on the dominance dynamics of wild female Hanuman langurs

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 485-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Lu ◽  
Carola Borries ◽  
Anna Caselli ◽  
Andreas Koenig
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Reproductive State ◽  
Resource Holding Potential ◽  
Wild Female ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Group Contest

Female dominance hierarchies form as a result of individual differences in resource holding potential, social processes such as winner-loser effects or coalitions, and ecological conditions that favor contest competition. Contest competition is assumed to result in despotic, nepotistic, and stable hierarchies. However, female Hanuman langurs are exceptions to this pattern, with data from provisioned populations indicating despotic, yet individualistic (age-inversed) and unstable hierarchies despite strong within-group contest. We present data on hierarchical linearity, stability, and the determinants of female rank and rank change in a population of unprovisioned, wild Hanuman langurs (Ramnagar, Nepal). Based on 12 490 dyadic displacement interactions collected over 5 years from a medium-sized group (P group, mean = 6.9 adult females) and a large group (O group, mean = 13.6 adult females), stable periods (P group, ; O group, ) were identified and dominance hierarchies constructed with the program MatMan. In both groups, dominance hierarchies were linear (), with high directional consistency within dyads. Rank was negatively related with age, while the presence of maternal kin had no effect. Reproductive state affected dominance rank in the larger group, with females ascending the hierarchy prior to conception, and dropping in rank after birth. Ranks were unstable, with group size and the number of juvenile females driving the effect (GLMM, ). These results match earlier findings for provisioned populations. In female Hanuman langurs, competition seems most intense around conception and during gestation, creating rank instability, which is further exacerbated by the number of adult as well as maturing females.

scholarly journals The role of female dominance hierarchies in the mating behaviour of mosquitofish

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese Chen ◽  
Madeleine Beekman ◽  
Ashley J. W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Male Mate

While studies of sexual selection focus primarily on female choice and male–male competition, males should also exert mate choice in order to maximize their reproductive success. We examined male mate choice in mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki , with respect to female size and female dominance. We found that the number of mating attempts made by a male was predicted by the dominance rank of females in a group, with dominant females attracting more mating attempts than subordinates. The number of mating attempts made by males was independent of the female size. The observed bias in the number of mating attempts towards dominant females may be driven either by straightforward male mate choice, since dominance and female fecundity are often closely related, or via the dominant females mediating male mating behaviour by restricting their access to subordinate females.

FEMALE DOMINANCE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CAPTIVE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS: COMPARISONS WITH THE WILD

Behaviour ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 136 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 1283-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Lockard ◽  
Jennifer Scott
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Mountain Gorillas ◽  
Dominance Relationships ◽  
Western Lowland Gorillas ◽  
Lowland Gorillas

AbstractFemale dominance relationships were studied among three family groups of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) housed in large enclosures at Howletts Wild Animal Park, in Kent, England. In common with gorillas in their natural habitat, the Howletts gorillas forage throughout the day on low nutrient foods. However, the latter differ, at least from mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei), in that they also have relatively frequent access to high nutrient, high energy novel food items which are patchily distributed in time and space, and defendable. It was predicted that, despite these differences, the Howletts females would resemble mountain gorillas in forming adult female dominance hierarchies (determined from supplant interactions) in which older females that have lived in the group the longest are dominant to younger females, more recent to the group. The comparison was made with mountain gorillas as they are the only gorilla subspecies for which such data exist for wild-living populations. As predicted, an age/tenure-based dominance hierarchy was found to be the case for those groups at Howletts where there was considerable variation between the females' ages and length of group tenure. As gorillas and chimpanzees resemble more closely each other in forming age/tenure-based dominance hierarchies than they do other female-transfer primate species, it is proposed that the gorilla-chimpanzee pattern may have common phylogenetic origins. In addition, the order of progression of gorillas into their indoor living quarters appears to be a good indicator of supplant-dominance relationships among adult group members. It was also found that, despite being removed from their natural habitat, dominant males in captivity still lead their groups during group travel in the same manner that do males in the wild: either at the head, or bringing up the rear. Though primate social behaviour may be flexible depending on immediate context and life history variables, this flexibility may well remain within evolutionarily defined parameters, leading to species-typical patterns in general social interactions.

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

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1793) ◽  
pp. 20141261 ◽  
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.

Cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank, but not baseline cortisol level, are repeatable traits in adult female guinea pigs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Lynne Rystrom ◽  
Romy C. Prawitt ◽  
S. Helene Richter ◽  
Norbert Sachser ◽  
Sylvia Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Current State ◽  
Baseline Cortisol ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Endocrine Mechanism ◽  
Males And Females

Social interactions among group members often lead to the formation of stable dominance hierarchies. Glucocorticoids (i.e. cortisol) have been proposed as an endocrine mechanism underlying social behavior, and previous studies have linked baseline as well as challenge glucocorticoid concentrations to dominance rank. Since the importance of rank on fitness differs between males and females, selection pressures acting on the underlying endocrine mechanisms may differ between the sexes. In male guinea pigs, for example, it is known that cortisol responsiveness mediates social behavior and that dominance rank and cortisol responsiveness are stable within individuals over time. It is unclear whether this is also the case for female guinea pigs. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate whether cortisol concentrations are repeatable in female guinea pigs and whether female rank is correlated to baseline cortisol concentrations or cortisol responsiveness. We show that cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank were significantly repeatable but not correlated in female guinea pigs. Furthermore, baseline cortisol was not repeatable and also did not correlate to dominance rank. Our results demonstrate that baseline cortisol and cortisol responsiveness represent different biological processes; cortisol responsiveness reflects a stable trait while baseline cortisol likely fluctuates with current state. Furthermore, cortisol responsiveness as a mediator of aggressive behavior and dominance acquisition might not be important for maintaining dominance hierarchies in stable groups of females displaying minimal aggression. Overall, this study reveals the remarkable stability of cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank in an adult female rodent and lays the groundwork for future investigations into the causes and consequences of this individual variation.

The establishment and maintenance of dominance hierarchies

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Tibbetts ◽  
Juanita Pardo-Sanchez ◽  
Chloe Weise
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Dominance Relationships ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Behavioural Dynamics ◽  
Self Organizing

Animal groups are often organized hierarchically, with dominant individuals gaining priority access to resources and reproduction over subordinate individuals. Initial dominance hierarchy formation may be influenced by multiple interacting factors, including an animal's individual attributes, conventions and self-organizing social dynamics. After establishment, hierarchies are typically maintained over the long-term because individuals save time, energy and reduce the risk of injury by recognizing and abiding by established dominance relationships. A separate set of behaviours are used to maintain dominance relationships within groups, including behaviours that stabilize ranks (punishment, threats, behavioural asymmetry), as well as signals that provide information about dominance rank (individual identity signals, signals of dominance). In this review, we describe the behaviours used to establish and maintain dominance hierarchies across different taxa and types of societies. We also review opportunities for future research including: testing how self-organizing behavioural dynamics interact with other factors to mediate dominance hierarchy formation, measuring the long-term stability of social hierarchies and the factors that disrupt hierarchy stability, incorporating phenotypic plasticity into our understanding of the behavioural dynamics of hierarchies and considering how cognition coevolves with the behaviours used to establish and maintain hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

scholarly journals Complex sources of variance in female dominance rank in a nepotistic society

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Lea ◽  
Niki H. Learn ◽  
Marcus J. Theus ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Susan C. Alberts
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Female Dominance

scholarly journals Comparing proportional and ordinal dominance ranks reveals multiple competitive landscapes in an animal society

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily J Levy ◽  
Matthew N Zipple ◽  
Emily McLean ◽  
Fernando A Campos ◽  
Mauna Dasari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Studies ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Resource Access ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
Animal Societies ◽  
Better Than

AbstractAcross group-living animals, linear dominance hierarchies lead to disparities in access to resources, health outcomes, and reproductive performance. Studies of how dominance rank affects these outcomes typically employ one of several dominance rank metrics without examining the assumptions each metric makes about its underlying competitive processes. Here we compare the ability of two dominance rank metrics—ordinal rank and proportional or ‘standardized’ rank—to predict 20 distinct traits in a well-studied wild baboon population in Amboseli, Kenya. We propose that ordinal rank best predicts outcomes when competition is density-dependent, while proportional rank best predicts outcomes when competition is density-independent. We found that for 75% (15/20) of the traits, one of the two rank metrics performed better than the other. Strikingly, all male traits were better predicted by ordinal than by proportional rank, while female traits were evenly split between being better predicted by proportional or ordinal rank. Hence, male and female traits are shaped by different competitive regimes: males’ competitive environments are largely driven by density-dependent resource access (e.g., access to estrus females), while females’ competitive environments are shaped by both density-independent resource access (e.g. distributed food resources) and density-dependent resource access. However, traits related to competition for social and mating partners are an exception to this sex-biased pattern: these traits were better predicted by ordinal rank than by proportional rank for both sexes. We argue that this method of comparing how different rank metrics predict traits of interest can be used as a way to distinguish between different competitive processes operating in animal societies.

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