Self-organizing dominance hierarchies in a wild primate population - PubMed (original) (raw)

Self-organizing dominance hierarchies in a wild primate population

Mathias Franz et al. Proc Biol Sci. 2015.

Abstract

Linear dominance hierarchies, which are common in social animals, can profoundly influence access to limited resources, reproductive opportunities and health. In spite of their importance, the mechanisms that govern the dynamics of such hierarchies remain unclear. Two hypotheses explain how linear hierarchies might emerge and change over time. The 'prior attributes hypothesis' posits that individual differences in fighting ability directly determine dominance ranks. By contrast, the 'social dynamics hypothesis' posits that dominance ranks emerge from social self-organization dynamics such as winner and loser effects. While the prior attributes hypothesis is well supported in the literature, current support for the social dynamics hypothesis is limited to experimental studies that artificially eliminate or minimize individual differences in fighting abilities. Here, we present the first evidence supporting the social dynamics hypothesis in a wild population. Specifically, we test for winner and loser effects on male hierarchy dynamics in wild baboons, using a novel statistical approach based on the Elo rating method for cardinal rank assignment, which enables the detection of winner and loser effects in uncontrolled group settings. Our results demonstrate (i) the presence of winner and loser effects, and (ii) that individual susceptibility to such effects may have a genetic basis. Taken together, our results show that both social self-organization dynamics and prior attributes can combine to influence hierarchy dynamics even when agonistic interactions are strongly influenced by differences in individual attributes. We hypothesize that, despite variation in individual attributes, winner and loser effects exist (i) because these effects could be particularly beneficial when fighting abilities in other group members change over time, and (ii) because the coevolution of prior attributes and winner and loser effects maintains a balance of both effects.

Keywords: genetic effects; linear dominance hierarchies; self-organization; winner and loser effects.

© 2015 The Author(s).

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Relationship between age, Elo score and genetic hybrid score (which measures degree of anubis background; see main text). Plotted values are based on all observed agonistic interactions. See the electronic supplementary material, figure S2 for more detailed illustrations for different groups and time periods. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Illustration of the estimated effects on k of (a) aggression intensity, (b) genetic hybrid score (which measures degree of anubis background) and (c) the interaction between age and the outcome of the agonistic interaction, which determines how strongly winning and losing predicts the outcome of future interactions. All depicted effects are calculated for the mean values of all other predictor variables. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Illustration of the predicted effects on k of aggression intensity, genetic hybrid score, interaction outcome and age, which determines the impact of winning and losing on the outcome of future interactions. Plotted values correspond to all observed agonistic interactions. Aggression intensity index categories correspond to values (a,c) below and (b,d) above the mean. The colour coding illustrates the effect of anubis background; hybrid scores vary continuously. The negative effect of age is more pronounced for (a,b) winners compared with (c,d) losers. Finally, the contrast between (a) and (c) versus (b) and (d) illustrates how values of k increase with increasing aggression intensity. (Online version in colour.)

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