Analysis of Post-agonism Reconciliation in a Captive Group of the Wedge-Capped Capuchin Monkey, Cebus olivaceus: a Pilot Study (original) (raw)
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Postconflict Behaviour in Brown Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella)
Folia Primatologica, 2009
Postconflict affiliation has been mostly studied in Old World primates, and we still lack comparative research to understand completely the functional value of reconciliation. Cebus species display great variability in social characteristics, thereby providing a great opportunity for comparative studies. We recorded 190 agonistic interactions and subsequent postconflict behaviour in a captive group of brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Only 26.8% of these conflicts were reconciled. Reconciliation was more likely to occur between opponents that supported each other more frequently and that spent more time together. Postconflict anxiety was mostly determined by conflict intensity, and none of the variables thought to measure relationship quality had a significant effect on postconflict stress.
Aggression and Reconciliation in Cebus capucinus
International Journal of Primatology, 2002
Most data relating to aggressive and conciliatory behaviors are from Old World primates. We recorded agonistic interactions and post-conflict behaviors in a group of 12 white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus). After a conflict, we followed the aggressee as the focal individual during a 10-min postconflict period. We also conducted matched-control observations on the same individual. Conflicts involving physical contact were significantly bidirectional, and conflicts without physical contact were preferably unidirectional. Reconciliation was not be demonstrated at the group level. However, reconciliation occurred in kin and non-kin male/female dyads: their conciliatory tendencies were 48.1% and 21.2%, respectively. White-faced capuchins reconciled mainly during the first minutes after the end of the conflict. In kin and non-kin male/female dyads, selective attraction occurred, and aggressors were more likely to initiate affiliative contacts than aggressees. Hold-bottom and mount while emitting loud vocalizations were the most characteristic behaviors of reconciliation. Possible links may exist between aggressive and conciliatory patterns and other social variables.
Reconciliation in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus
American Journal of Primatology, 2005
The likelihood of reconciliation (defined as preferential peaceful contact among former opponents following conflicts) has been predicted to vary positively with relationship value and compatibility, and negatively with relationship security. Long-term data on wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) indicate that dyads consisting of an adult female and an alpha male have high value and compatibility, but low security. Two studies of C. capucinus postconflict (PC) behavior were carried out at Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, Costa Rica. One study consisted of 30-min PC and matched control (MC) follows. The second study extracted PC and MC periods from long follows, yielding PC/MC periods averaging 105 min. In study 2, but not study 1, significantly more PC/MC pairs were attracted (former opponents affiliated with each other sooner in the PC period than in the MC period) than were dispersed (former opponents affiliated with each other sooner in the MC period than in the PC period). Reconciliation in study 2 could not be explained as a by-product of former opponents' tendency to seek affiliative contact with conspecifics generally, or of the spatial proximity of opponents following conflicts. Attempted reconciliation was less likely to be followed by renewed aggression when reconciliation attempts were delayed following conflicts. The data were insufficient for a formal test of differences in conciliatory tendency (the difference between the number of attracted and dispersed PC/MC pairs, divided by the total number of pairs) among dyad types to be conducted. Am. J. Primatol. 65:205–219, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
American Journal of Primatology, 2006
The ''social intelligence'' hypothesis proposes that intelligence evolved as a consequence of the need for behavioral maneuvering to deal with the complexities of social life. As a result, coalitions have received considerable attention. Here we present the patterns of coalitionary behavior observed in a semifree-ranging group of Cebus apella and explore the effects of kinship, spatial proximity, and rank. In contrast to descriptions of Old World monkeys and to some descriptions of capuchins, kinship did not influence the pattern of coalitionary behavior, although individuals tended to help those that remained in close proximity. Rank had the greatest influence on coalitions: those that interfered in conflicts (often the alpha) were higher ranking than both contestants and supported the most subordinate (younger) interactant. However, rank did not influence the coalitionary support when conflicts involved only adults. We found no evidence that individuals were making use of triadic knowledge, and most of the coalitions can best be described as protective interventions involving immatures. The overall low rate of coalitions may be due to a period of social stability. Am. J. Primatol. 68:765-776, 2006.
Reconciliation, affiliation between opponents after a conflict, is an important means to reduce the detrimental effects of aggression in social primates. Socially deprived (SD) rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, however, do not reconcile, while socially raised animals do. This lack of reconciliation in deprived animals may be caused by (1) a lack of secure and valuable relationships, (2) having missed the opportunity to learn reconciliation as an immature, or (3) high stress levels in social situations that prevent reconciliation. It is unclear which of these factors causes the lack of reconciliation in deprived animals. We investigated these factors using newly developed measures distinguishing between the attempt to reconcile and acceptance of this attempt in captive rhesus macaques with different rearing histories. The results suggest that the absence of reconciliatory behaviour in the SD animals is not due to lack of initiation of contact and the potential to reconcile, but to rejection of affiliative approaches by the opponent after a conflict. Although we cannot exclude that SD animals did not learn to approach opponents, the results seem best explained by the hypothesis that approaches are considered threatening and avoidance of reconciliation is caused by a high anxiety level in the SD individuals.
Postconflict behavior of spectacled leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus obscurus). I. Reconciliation
International journal of primatology, 2001
Studies of postconflict behavior have focused on Old World primates, particularly on members of the cercopithecines and chimpanzees. We present data on patterns of reconciliation in two captive groups of spectacled leaf monkeys, members of the Colobinae. Reconciliation occurred at a high rate relative to that in other primate species and within the first minute following a conflict. Friendly postconflict contact was usually initiated by aggressors in one group, and by recipients in the other. But, there was no difference in postconflict initiative to contact in comparison with MCs. These two groups showed behavioral specificity in the context of postconflict reunions. Ventroventral embracing was a common, explicit form of reconciliation. The intensity of aggression and situations in which the victim responded aggressively had no effect on the likelihood of reconciliation occurring. The postconflict behavior of both groups lends further support to the relationship-quality hypothesis . Kinship and rank distance and had no effect on reconciliation, though affiliation levels correlated positively with the tendency to reconcile. These results indicate that spectacled langurs are among the more tolerant of the species studied so far.
Primates, vol. 37, iss.3, 1996, pp.261-270, 1996
Two groups of captive macaques (M. fascicularis) were studied at Kassel University, Germany. One included animals whose mothers were high-ranking, another, those whose mothers were low-ranking. The first group was a despotic community in which conflicts were severe and occurred mainly between single individuals; the reconciliation tendency was weak, the male leader was the controlling animal, and the affiliative preferences were marked. The second group was an egalitarian community split into two mutually hostile conalitions; the conflicts were less severe, the tendency for reconciliation was strong, the male leader could control only his own bloc and had no strong affiliative ties with other group members.
American Journal of Primatology, 2011
The form of animal social systems depends on the nature of agonistic and affiliative interactions. Social network theory provides tools for characterizing social structure that go beyond simple dyadic interactions and consider the group as a whole. We show three groups of capuchin monkeys from Barro Colorado Island, Panama, where there are strong connections between key aspects of aggression, grooming, and proximity networks, and, at least among females, those who incur risk to defend their group have particular ''social personalities.'' Although there is no significant correlation for any of the network measures between giving and receiving aggression, suggesting that dominance relationships do not follow a simple hierarchy, strong correlations emerge for many measures between the aggression and grooming networks. At the local, but not global, scale, receiving aggression and giving grooming are strongly linked in all groups. Proximity shows no correlation with aggression at either the local or the global scale, suggesting that individuals neither seek out nor avoid aggressors. Yet, grooming has a global but not local connection to proximity. Extensive groomers who tend to direct their efforts at other extensive groomers also spend time in close proximity to many other individuals. These results indicate the important role that prosociality plays in shaping female social relationships. We also show that females who receive the least aggression, and thus pay low costs for group living, are most likely to participate in group defense. No consistent ''social personality'' traits characterize the males who invest in group defense. Am. J. Primatol. 73:1-13, 2011.