Group History and Social Style: The Case of Crab-Eating Monkeys - Butovskaya - 1996

Two groups of crab-eating monkeys, one formed of individuals whose mothers were high-ranking, another comprising animals whose mothers' status was low, are used to test the hypothesis of a between-group systemic variation of social relationships within a species. Using a multivariate analysis of 17 variables it is demonstrated that rank by birth affects several inter-related traits of aggressive, affiliative, and cooperative behaviour of animals regardless of their actual rank. Females whose inborn status was high exhibited a more masculine, assertive, and dominant behavioural style, were more individualistic and less dependent on other group members. Our results suggest that group history can produce a systemic effect on social relationships in conspecific populations.

Keywords

Macaques - Birth-rank - Dominance - Aggression - Affiliation

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