Male spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) queue for status in social groups dominated by females

East, Marion L.

doi:10.1093/beheco/12.5.558

Cited by 161 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Given this observed reproductive skew in favor of dominant males, it remains puzzling why subordinate males do not attempt takeovers more often. One possibility is that they are queuing for the alpha position (Kokko and Johnstone 1999;Cant and English 2006), as for example mountain gorillas (Bradley et al 2005) or spotted hyenas (East and Hofer 2001), but adult mortality rates are low, and sifaka life span may reach up to 30 years (Richard et al 2002). The potential success of this tactic can therefore not be evaluated with the available data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The lemur syndrome unresolved: extreme male reproductive skew in sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a sexually monomorphic primate with female dominance

Kappeler

Schäffler

2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The primates of Madagascar (Lemuriformes) are unusual among mammals in that polygynous species lack sexual dimorphism, and females dominate males socially in most species. Moreover, lemur groups are relatively small and characterized by even adult sex ratios despite the fact that one male should be able to exclude other males from the group. One hypothesis to explain this combination of behavioral, morphological, and demographic traits (the "lemur syndrome") postulates that male-male competition is relaxed and, hence, variance in male reproductive success is low. Reproductive skew theory provides a framework for testing this and several related predictions about lemur social evolution. Specifically, low reproductive skew is also predicted if dominant males or adult females make reproductive concessions to subordinates or if the latter group successfully pursues alternative reproductive tactics. However, suitable data on paternity, demography, and behavior for a conclusive test of these predictions have not been available in the past. In this paper, we show that male reproductive success in ten groups of Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) was extremely skewed in favor of the dominant male over 9 years. Our genetic analyses also revealed that more than a third of all groups are effectively harem groups because only one male was unrelated to the resident female(s). In groups with two or more non-natal males, the dominant sired 91% of 33 infants. Together, males pursuing one of several alternative reproductive tactics, such as roaming among several groups or immigrating peacefully, sired only 11% of infants. Thus, female sifakas do not control group composition by offering reproductive opportunities to subordinate males as staying incentives, intrasexual selection is not relaxed, and dominant males prevail in a tug-of-war over subordinate males. Because male reproductive skew in sifakas is even more pronounced than in harem-living anthropoids studied to date, intrasexual selection is clearly not relaxed, and the lemur syndrome is more puzzling than ever.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The lemur syndrome unresolved: extreme male reproductive skew in sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a sexually monomorphic primate with female dominance

Kappeler

Schäffler

2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Given that coalition stability increases with partnership length [21] and that male age is a good proxy for dominance status, we hypothesize that the probability of territorial inheritance is driven by partnership tenure and position in the dominance hierarchy. Agegraded queuing for status is a common characteristic of lekking social systems [18,55,56] and the orderly nature of those queues in P. filicauda is probably key to both the demographic and social stability of this lek-mating system. Viewed cumulatively, age-specific patterns of survival and recruitment highlight the costs and benefits of status, and suggest that territorial and floater males may be subject to different demographic selection pressures.…”

Section: (B) Orderly Queues For Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate, demography and lek stability in an Amazonian bird

Ryder

Sillett

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Lekking is a rare, but iconic mating system where polygynous males aggregate and perform group displays to attract females. Existing theory postulates that demographic and environmental stability are required for lekking to be an evolutionarily viable reproductive strategy. However, we lack empirical tests for the hypotheses that lek stability is facilitated by age-specific variation in demographic rates, and by predictable, abundant resources. To address this knowledge gap, we use multistate models to examine how two demographic elements of lek stability-male survival and recruitment-vary with age, social status and phase of the El Niñ o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in a Neotropical frugivorous bird, the wiretailed manakin (Pipra filicauda). Our results show that demographic and environmental conditions were related to lek stability in the Ecuadorean Amazon. Apparent annual survival probability of territorial males was higher than that of non-territorial floaters, and recruitment probability increased as males progressed in an age-graded queue. Moreover, annual survival of territorial males and body condition of both floaters and territory holders were higher following years with El Niñ o conditions, associated with reduced rainfall and probably higher fruit production in the northern Neotropics, and lower after years with wet, La Niñ a conditions that predominated our study. Recruitment probabilities varied annually, independent of ENSO phase, and increased over our study period, but the annual mean number of territorial males per lek declined. Our results provide empirical support for hypothesized demographic and environmental drivers of lek dynamics. This study also suggests that climate-mediated changes in resource availability can affect demography and subsequent lek stability in a relatively buffered, lowland rainforest.

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“…Adult male whooping potentially advertises a male's presence in the territory to both prospective mates and male competitors (Mills, 1990). Adult immigrant males queue for social status in a linear dominance hierarchy such that a male's position in the hierarchy is determined by the length of time he has spent in the clan, relative to the tenures of other adult male clanmates (Smale et al, 1997;East & Hofer, 2001). For immigrant male spotted hyenas, length of residence in the clan has a large positive effect on reproductive success (Engh et al, 2002).…”

Section: Effect Of Call Context On Call Structure and Effects Of Calmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For immigrant male spotted hyenas, length of residence in the clan has a large positive effect on reproductive success (Engh et al, 2002). By whooping, a male may simultaneously announce his presence to females and inform prospective immigrant males about male queue length within his clan (East & Hofer, 2001;Engh et al, 2002).…”

Section: Effect Of Call Context On Call Structure and Effects Of Calmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of variation in the long-distance vocalizations of spotted hyenas

Theis

Greene

Benson‐Amram

et al. 2007

Behav

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SummaryIt has long been recognized that vocal signals communicate information about the age, sex and affective state of callers. However, the mechanisms by which these types of information are communicated are less well understood. Here we investigated variation in the acoustic properties of the long-distance vocalizations, called 'whoops', emitted by free-living spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta. Specifically we investigated whether the fundamental frequency, length and rate of whoops provide information about the caller's age, sex and/or level of arousal. We determined the latter by contrasting whoops emitted spontaneously with whoops emitted during periods of social excitement, when callers typically also exhibited visual signals associated with heightened arousal. We found that the minimum fundamental frequency of a whoop provides reliable information about the caller's general age and, for adult callers, information about sex as well. The vast majority of adult male whoop bouts were emitted spontaneously, but juveniles and adult females produced many of their bouts during periods of social excitement. Although context did not significantly affect the whoop bouts of adult females, juvenile bouts emitted during social excitement had higher maximum fundamental frequencies, greater proportions of asymmetric whoop subtypes, and reduced inter-whoop intervals. By reducing the inter-whoop intervals of bouts, juvenile hyenas significantly increased the likelihood that conspecifics would respond to whoops by approaching the caller or its social companion. Peak fundamental frequency and the relative abundance of whoop subtypes did not appreciably affect response. We discuss the potential functions of whooping by juvenile and adult hyenas in light of these findings.

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Male spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) queue for status in social groups dominated by females

Cited by 161 publications

References 33 publications

The lemur syndrome unresolved: extreme male reproductive skew in sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a sexually monomorphic primate with female dominance

The lemur syndrome unresolved: extreme male reproductive skew in sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a sexually monomorphic primate with female dominance

Climate, demography and lek stability in an Amazonian bird

Sources of variation in the long-distance vocalizations of spotted hyenas

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