Maternal rank influences the outcome of aggressive interactions between immature chimpanzees

Markham, A. Catherine; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V.; Pusey, Anne E.; Murray, Carson M.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.003

Cited by 32 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…It is likely that high-ranking individuals have a higher probability of winning aggressive interactions (cf. Markham et al 2015), and might thus more frequently initiate aggression. This was true for both sexes and throughout development, suggesting that rhesus macaques can differentiate partners depending on their rank from very early on.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sex Differences in the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

et al. 2015

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Aggressive behavior plays a central role in primate life, having a crucial effect on their reproductive performance and survival and possibly affecting the formation and maintenance of social bonds. Although aggressive behavior might serve a different function in males and females, and sex differences in aggressive behavior seem to emerge early during development, very few studies have investigated whether aggressive patterns follow different developmental trajectories in male and female primates. However, the developmental perspective is crucial to understanding when differences in adults' aggression emerge and which factors trigger them. We here analyzed aggressive interactions in rhesus macaques from birth to sexual maturation (before male dispersal), including male and female focal subjects. We further considered the partner's sex, age, and rank, as well as maternal and paternal kinship, and used powerful multivariate statistical analysis. The probability to initiate aggression was largely similar for both sexes and throughout development. Both males and females were more aggressive toward partners of the same sex and similar age. In contrast, the probability of receiving aggression mostly differed between sexes across development and depended on the social context. The probability of receiving aggression increased through development. Finally, important developmental changes appeared between 2 and 3 yr of age, indicating that this period is crucial for the development of adult social roles. Our results suggest that aggressive behavior largely serves a similar function for Int J Primatol

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sex Differences in the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

et al. 2015

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“…Juveniles and early adolescents engage in aggressive interactions occasionally (Markham et al 2015), and in captivity, adolescents display dominance in the context of play (Paquette 1994). Although distinct from adult dominance relationships, juvenile play may be important practice and have an impact later in adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent male chimpanzees do not form a dominance hierarchy with their peers

2016

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Dominance hierarchies are a prominent feature of the lives of many primate species. These hierarchies have important fitness consequences, as high rank is often positively correlated with reproduction. Although adult male chimpanzees strive for status to gain fitness benefits, the development of dominance relationships is not well understood. While two prior studies found that adolescent males do not display dominance relationships with peers, additional research at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda, indicates that adolescents there form a linear dominance hierarchy. These conflicting findings could reflect different patterns of rank acquisition across sites. An alternate possibility arises from a recent re-evaluation of age estimates at Ngogo and suggests that the report describing decided dominance relationships between adolescent males may have been due to the accidental inclusion of young adult males in the sample. To investigate these issues, we conducted a study of 23 adolescent male chimpanzees of known age during 12 months at Ngogo. Adolescent male chimpanzees exchanged pant grunts, a formal signal of submission, only 21 times. Recipients of pant grunts were late adolescent males, ranging between 14 and 16 years old. In contrast, younger adolescent males never received pant grunts from other males. Aggression between adolescent males was also rare. Analysis of pant grunts and aggressive interactions did not produce a linear dominance hierarchy among adolescent males. These data indicate that adolescent male chimpanzees do not form decided dominance relationships with their peers and are consistent with the hypothesis that the hierarchy described previously at Ngogo resulted from inaccurate age estimates of male chimpanzees. Because dominance relationships develop before adulthood in other primates, our finding that adolescent male chimpanzees do not do so is surprising. We offer possible explanations for why this is the case and suggest future studies that may help clarify the matter.

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“…Socializing with these older, past-prime aged males may help young males by facilitating their entry into the social network of adult males (11). During infancy and juvenility, males are in near constant contact with their mothers, who serve as their primary grooming partner and source of support (48–51). This changes drastically during adolescence, when males begin to travel independently of their mothers and socialize with adult males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternal kin discrimination by sons in male chimpanzees transitioning to adulthood

Sandel

Mitani

Langergraber

2019

Preprint

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20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 28 Abstract 29 30Although paternal investment explains the evolution of fatherhood from a functional perspective, 31 its evolutionary origins are unclear. Here we investigate whether a building block for paternal 32 investment, father-offspring discrimination, is present in our closest living relatives, 33 chimpanzees. Adolescent and young adult males (12 -21 years old) maintained proximity and 34 groomed with their fathers more frequently than with other males given how often they 35 associated. This discrimination did not likely increase the short-term inclusive fitness of fathers 36 or sons because the absolute time they spent in proximity or grooming did not exceed the time 37 spent in these activities by other dyads. Almost all grooming was done by sons rather than 38 fathers, suggesting that sons are responsible for observed biases in father-son behavior. Father-39 offspring discrimination could partly be explained by young males socializing with males who 40 were more likely to be their father based on their age at the time of the young male's conception.41 Two other cues of paternity, the other male's rank at the time of the young male's infancy and 42 the other male's association frequency with the young male's mother during the young male's 43 infancy/juvenility, failed to predict association-controlled proximity or grooming. Father-son 44 biases persisted even after controlling for characteristics of males that predicted paternity 45 probability, implicating other cues that we did not examine. These results suggest that an 46 important factor for the evolution of highly investing fathers in humans, father-offspring 47 discrimination, may have been present in simpler form in the last common ancestor they shared 48 with chimpanzees. 49 50 3 51 Introduction 52 53In most human societies, fathers contribute to the health and fitness of their offspring.54 Through co-evolution with sexual-division of labor, this has led to the unusual combination of 55 high fertility and low mortality responsible for our ecological dominance of the planet (1-6).56 Although human fatherhood has been well studied from this functional perspective, its evolution 57 (sensu 7) remains puzzling. Phylogenetic inertia plays a strong role in the evolution of social and 58 mating systems, with those of closely related species generally being very similar (8, 9). Yet in 59 humans' closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, females are highly promiscuous and 60 mate with many adult males during each conception cycle (10-12). Like all complex adaptations, 61 human fatherhood represents the end-product of a multi-step evolutionary sequence in which 62 more elaborate forms succeeded one another (13). For fathers to invest heavily in their offspring, 63 they must first evolve a capacity for kin discrimination, which refers to differences in behavioral 64 responses individuals show toward kin compared to non-kin using conspecific cues correlated 65 with kinship (14). 66Pair bonds play a key role in father-offs...

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Maternal rank influences the outcome of aggressive interactions between immature chimpanzees

Cited by 32 publications

References 61 publications

Sex Differences in the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Sex Differences in the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Adolescent male chimpanzees do not form a dominance hierarchy with their peers

Paternal kin discrimination by sons in male chimpanzees transitioning to adulthood

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