Sex and friendship in a multilevel society: behavioural patterns and associations between female and male Guinea baboons

Goffe, Adeelia S.; Zinner, Dietmar; Fischer, Julia

doi:10.1007/s00265-015-2050-6

Cited by 62 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…After we had developed a first idea about male‐male relationships and social organization, we aimed to clarify whether female‐male association patterns conformed to the savanna baboon model, where intersexual relationships are largely confined to the estrous period and lactation, or whether females associated with males throughout their reproductive cycle, as in hamadryas baboons (Goffe, Zinner, & Fischer, ). For this first analysis, we focused on 16 females of one gang.…”

Section: Male‐female Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One‐male‐units, some with secondary males (small squares), team up to form “parties,” which in turn form larger aggregations (“gangs”). The number of females per male varies considerably, as does female tenure length (Goffe et al, ). Females may maintain relations with females outside their own unit or party (Goffe et al in preparation)…”

Section: Male‐female Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Charting the neglected West: The social system of Guinea baboons

Fischer

Kopp

Pesco

et al. 2017

American J Phys Anthropol

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109

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Objectives: Primate social systems are remarkably diverse, and thus play a central role in understanding social evolution, including the biological origin of human societies. Although baboons have been prominently featured in this context, historically little was known about the westernmost member of the genus, the Guinea baboon (Papio papio). Material and Methods:Here, we summarize the findings from the first years of observations at the field site CRP Simenti in the Niokolo Koba National Park in Senegal.Results: Guinea baboons reveal a nested multi-level social organization, with reproductive units comprising one "primary" male, one to several females, young, and occasionally "secondary" males at the base of the society. Three to five units form "parties," which team up with other parties to form a "gang." Different gangs have largely overlapping home ranges and agonistic interactions between different parties or gangs are rare. Some but not all strongly socially bonded males are highly related, and population genetic and behavioral evidence indicate female-biased dispersal.Females play an important role in intersexual bond formation and maintenance, and female tenure length varies between a few weeks to several years.Discussion: While the social organization resembles that of hamadryas baboons (P. hamadryas), the social structure differs considerably, specifically in terms of low male aggressiveness and female freedom. Despite substantial differences in social organization and social structure, the acoustic structure of Guinea baboon vocalizations does not differ substantially from that of other baboon taxa. With its multi-level organization, stable bonds between males and females, as well as a high-degree of male-male cooperation and tolerance, Guinea baboons constitute an intriguing model for reconstructing human social evolution.

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Section: Male‐female Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Male‐female Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charting the neglected West: The social system of Guinea baboons

Fischer

Kopp

Pesco

et al. 2017

American J Phys Anthropol

Self Cite

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…9). The patterns we identified on a monthly timescale often suggest sudden and important changes that correspond, at least in some cases, to adult females changing primary males, as observed in the wild (Goffe et al, 2016). We suspect that stronger perturbations of the network could be linked to high ranking females changing males (such as Angele), whereas smaller perturbations could be linked to more peripheral females (such as Brigitte) changing principal male.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Detecting social (in)stability in primates from their temporal co-presence network

et al. 2019

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The stability of social relationships is important to animals living in groups, and social network analysis provides a powerful tool to help characterize and understand their (in)stability and the consequences at the group level. However, the use of dynamic social networks is still limited in this context because it requires longterm social data and new analytical tools. Here, we study the dynamic evolution of a group of 29 Guinea baboons (Papio papio) using a dataset of automatically collected cognitive tests comprising more than 16M records collected over 3 years. We first built a monthly aggregated temporal network describing the baboon's copresence in the cognitive testing booths. We then used a null model, considering the heterogeneity in the baboons' activity, to define both positive (association) and negative (avoidance) monthly networks. We tested social balance theory by combining these positive and negative social networks. The results showed that the networks were structurally balanced and that newly created edges also tended to preserve social balance. We then investigated several network metrics to gain insights into the individual level and group level social networks long-term temporal evolution. Interestingly, a measure of similarity between successive monthly networks was able to pinpoint periods of stability and instability and to show how some baboons' egonetworks remained stable while others changed radically. Our study confirms the prediction of social balance theory but also shows that large fluctuations in the numbers of triads may limit its applicability to study the dynamic evolution of animal social networks. In contrast, the use of the similarity measure proved to be very versatile and sensitive in detecting relationships' (in)stabilities at different levels. The changes we identified can be linked, at least in some cases, to females changing primary male, as observed in the wild.

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“…Instead, it is consistent with the ‘friends with benefits hypothesis’ (Ostner et al, ), which relates mating patterns to stable affiliative relationships between the sexes. The influence of male–female affiliative relationships on the distribution of male care for infants has been demonstrated in chimpanzees (Langergraber, Mitani, Watts, & Vigilant, ), and several species of baboons (Goffe, Zinner, & Fischer, ; Moscovice et al, ; Palombit et al, ; Städele et al, ; Weingrill, ) and macaques (Aureli & Yates, ; Haunhorst, Schülke, & Ostner, ; Hill, ; Kerhoas et al, ; Kulik, Amici, Langos, & Widdig, ; Massen et al, ; Ostner et al, ), but not yet in Barbary macaques (Small, ). It is possible that males establish affiliative relationships with females with whom they also preferentially mate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The male and female perspective in the link between male infant care and mating behaviour in Barbary macaques

et al. 2019

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Infant care from adult males is unexpected in species with high paternity uncertainty. Still, males of several polygynandrous primates engage in frequent affiliative interactions with infants. Two non‐exclusive hypotheses link male infant care to male mating strategies. The paternal investment hypothesis views infant care as a male strategy to maximize the survival of sired offspring, while the mating effort hypothesis predicts that females reward males who cared for their infant by preferably mating with them. Both hypotheses predict a positive relationship between infant care and matings with a particular female. However, the paternal investment hypothesis predicts that increased matings come before infant care whereas the mating effort hypothesis predicts that infant care precedes an increase in matings. Both hypotheses are usually tested from the perspective of the proportion of matings and care that individual females engage in and receive, rather than from the perspective of the care and mating behaviour of individual males. We tested the relationships between care and mating from both female and male perspectives in Barbary macaques. Mating predicted subsequent care and care predicted subsequent mating when viewed from the male but not the female perspective. Males mainly cared for infants of their main mating partners, but infants were not mainly cared for by their likely father. Males mated more with the mothers of their favourite infants, but females did not mate more with the main caretakers of their infants. We suggest that females do not choose their mating partners based on previous infant care, increasing paternity confusion. Males might try to increase paternal investment by distributing the care according to their own instead of female mating history. Further, males pursue females for mating opportunities based on previous care.

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Sex and friendship in a multilevel society: behavioural patterns and associations between female and male Guinea baboons

Cited by 62 publications

References 81 publications

Charting the neglected West: The social system of Guinea baboons

Charting the neglected West: The social system of Guinea baboons

Detecting social (in)stability in primates from their temporal co-presence network

The male and female perspective in the link between male infant care and mating behaviour in Barbary macaques

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