Abstract
The dominance style concept has proven useful for understanding covariation patterns in relationship qualities, particularly among macaques. However, the dominance styles of many macaques, including Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana), have not been examined in detail. We describe patterns of bidirectionality of aggression, postconflict affiliation and kin bias in a group of wild, but provisioned Tibetan macaques over a 2-yr period in order make an initial assessment of their dominance style. Bidirectional aggression, including percentage of counteraggression (1.9%), and conciliatory tendencies (6.4%) were consistently low across partner combinations, seasons and locations (forest vs. provisioning area). In addition, females consistently displayed high levels of kin bias in affiliation and tolerance. Compared with macaque species with better known dominance styles, the Tibetan data generally fell within the range for despotic species and outside the range for relaxed species. Although other researchers have tentatively classified them as tolerant or relaxed, we conclude that Tibetan macaques display a despotic dominance style. This conclusion poses complications to explanations based both on phylogenetic inertia and socio-ecological models.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abegg, C., Petit, O., and Thierry, B. (2003). Variability in behavior frequencies and consis-tency in transactions across seasons in captive Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Aggr. Behav. 29: 81–93.
Abegg, C., Thierry, B., and Kaumanns, W. (1996). Reconciliation in three groups of lion-tailed macaques. Int.J.Primatol. 17: 803–816.
Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behaviour 49: 227–266.
Asquith, P. J. (1989). Provisioning and the study of free-ranging primates: History, effects and prospects. Yrbk.Phys.Anthropol. 32: 129–158.
Aureli, F. (1992). Post-conflict behaviour among wild long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicu-laris). Behav.Ecol.Sociobiol. 31: 329–337.
Aureli, F., Das, M., and Veenema, H. (1997). Differential kinship effect on reconciliation in three species of macaques (M.fascicularis, M.fuscata, and M.sylvanus). J.Comp.Psych. 111: 91–99.
Aureli, F., van Schaik, C. P., and van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M. (1989). Functional aspects of reconciliation among captive long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Am.J.Primatol. 19: 39–51.
Balcomb, S. R., Yeager, C. P., and Berard, J. R. (1993). Reconciliation in a group of free-ranging rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago. Am.J.Primatol. 30: 295.
Berman, C. M., Ionica, C., Dorner, M., and, Li, J.-H. (manuscript in preparation). Post-conflict affiliation between former opponent in Macaca thibetana on Mt. Huangshan, China.
Berman, C. M., and Li, J.-H. (2002). Impact of translocation, provisioning and range restriction on a group of Macaca thibetana. Int.J.Primatol. 23: 283–397.
Berman, C. M., Rasmussen, K. L. R., and Suomi, S. J. (1997). Group size, infant development and social networks in free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Anim.Behav. 53: 405–421.
Butovskaya, M. L., Kozintsev, A. G., and Kozintsev, B. A. (1994). The structure of affiliative relations in a primate community: Allogrooming in stumptailed macaques (M.arctoides). Hum.Evol. 9: 11–23.
Butovskaya, M. L., Kozintsev, A. G., and Welker, C. (1996). Conflict and reconciliation in two groups of crab-eating monkeys differing in social status by birth. Primates 27: 261–270.
Call, J. (1999). The effect of inter-opponent distance on the occurrence of reconciliation in stumptail (Macaca arctoides) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Primates 40: 515–523.
Call, J., Aureli, F., and de Waal F. B. M. (1999). Reconciliation patterns among stumptailed macaques: A multivariate approach. Anim.Behav. 58: 165–172.
Castles, D. L., Aureli, F., and de Waal, F. B. M. (1996). Variation in conciliatory tendency and relationship quality across groups of pigtail macaques. Anim.Behav. 52: 389–403.
Castles, D. L., and Whiten, A. (1998). Post-conflict behaviour of wild olive baboons. 1: Recon-ciliation, redirection and consolation. Ethology 104: 126–147.
Chaffin, C., Friedlen, K., and de Waal F. B. M. (1995). Dominance style of Japanese macaques compare with rhesus and stumptail macaques. Am.J.Primatol. 35: 103–116.
Chapais, B. (2004). How kinship generates dominance structures in macaques: A compara-tive perspective. In Thierry, B., Singh, M., and Kaumanns, W. (eds.), Macaque Societies: A Model for the Study of Social Organization, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Chapais, B., and Schulman, S. (1980). An evolutionary model of female dominance relation-ships in primates. J.Theor.Biol. 82: 47–89.
Cheney, D. L. (1992). Intragroup cohesion and intergroup hostility: The relation between grooming distributions and intergroup competition among female primates. Behav.Ecol. 3: 334–345.
Cohen J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Edu.Psychol.Meas. 20: 37–46.
Combes, S. L., and Altmann, J. (2001). Status change during adulthood: Life-history by-product or kin selection based on reproductive value? Proc.Roy.Soc., Lond. 268: 1367–1373.
Cooper, M. A., and Bernstein, I. S. (2002). Counter aggression and reconciliation in Assamese macaques (Mcaca assamensis). Am.J.Primatol. 56: 215–230.
Datta, S., and Beauchamp, G. (1991). Effects of group demography on dominance relation-ships among female primates. I: Mother–daughter and sister–sister relations. Am.Nat. 138: 201–226.
Delson, E. (1980). Fossil macaques, phyletic relationships and a scenario of development. In Lindburg, D. (ed.), The Macaques: Studies in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp. 31–51.
Demaria, C., and Thierry, B. (1989). Lack of effects of environmental changes on agonistic behaviour patterns in a stabilizing group of stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides). Aggr.Behav. 1: 353–360.
Demaria, C., and Thierry, B. (2001). A comparative study of reconciliation in rhesus and Tonkean macaques. Behaviour 138: 397–410.
Deng, Z.-Y. (1993). Social development of infants of Macaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China. Folia Primatol. 60: 28–35.
Deng, Z.-Y., and Zhao, Q.-K. (1987). Social structure in a wild group of Macaca thibetana at Mount Emei, China. Folia Primatol. 49: 1–10.
de Vries, H. (1995). An improved test of linearity in dominance hierarchies containing un-known or tied relationships. Anim.Behav. 50: 1375–1389.
de Waal, F. B. M. (1977). The organization of agonistic relations within two captive groups of Java monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Zeit.Tierpsychol. 44: 225–282.
de Waal, F. B. M. (1989). Dominance “style” and primate social organization. In Standen, V., and Foley, R. (eds.), Comparative Socioecology, Blackwells, Oxford, UK, pp. 243–264.
de Waal, F. B. M. (2001). The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections by a Primatologist, Basic Books, New York.
de Waal, F. B. M., and Johanowicz, D. L. (1993). Modification of reconciliation behavior through social experience: An experiment with two macaque species. Child Dev. 64: 897–908.
de Waal, F. B. M., and Luttrell, L. M. (1985). The formal hierarchy of rhesus macaques: An investigation of the bared-teeth display. Am.J.Primatol. 9: 73–85.
de Waal, F. B. M., and Luttrell, L. M. (1989). Toward a comparative socioecology of the genus Macaca: Different dominance styles in rhesus and stumptail monkeys. Am.J.Primatol. 19: 83–109.
de Waal, F. B. M., and Yoshihara, D. (1983). Reconciliation and redirected affection in rhesus monkeys. Behaviour 85: 224–241.
Fooden, J. (1980). Classification and distribution of living macaques. In Lindburg, D. (ed.), The Macaques: Studies in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Van Nostrand Reinhold. New York, pp. 1–9.
Fooden, J. (1986). Taxonomy and evolution of the Sinica group of macaques: 5. Overview of natural history. Fieldiana Zool. 29: 1–22.
Hemelrijk, C. K. (1990). A matrix partial correlation test used in investigations of reci-procity and other social interaction patterns at group level. J.Theor.Biol. 143: 405–420.
Hemelrijk, C. K. (1999). An individual-orientated model of the emergence of despotic and egalitarian societies. Proc.Roy.Soc.Lond.B 266(1417): 361–369.
Hill, D. A., and Okayasu, N. (1995). Absence of “youngest ascendancy” in the dominance relations of sisters in wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui). Behaviour 132: 367–379.
Hinde, R. A., and Proctor, L. P. (1977). Changes in the relationships of captive rhesus monkeys on giving birth. Behaviour 61: 304–321.
Hoelzer, G. A., Hoelzer, M. A., and Melnick, D. J. (1992). The evolutionary history of the sinica group of macaque monkeys as revealed by mtDNA restriction site analysis. Mol. Phylogenet.Evol. 1: 215–222.
Hoelzer, G. A., and Melnick, D. J. (1996). Evolutionary relationships of the macaques. In Fa, J., and Lindburg, D. G. (eds.), Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 3–19.
Judge, P. (1991). Dyadic and triadic reconciliation in pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina). Am.J.Primatol. 23: 225–237.
Judge, P. (2000). Coping with crowded conditions. In Aureli, F., and de Waal, F. B. M. (eds.), Natural Conflict Resolution, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 129–154.
Judge, P., and de Waal, F. B. M. (1997). Rhesus monkey behaviour under diverse population densities: Coping with long-term crowding. Anim.Behav. 54: 643–662.
Li, J., and Wang Q. (1996). Dominance hierarchy and its chronic changes in adult male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana). Acta Zool.Sinica 42: 330–334.
Li, J., Wang, Q. and Han, D. (1996b). Fission in a free-ranging Tibetan macaque group at Huangshan Mountain, China. Chin.Sci.Bull. 41: 1377–1381.
Li, J., Wang Q., and Li, M. (1996a). Migration of male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, Anhui Province, China. Acta Theriol.Sinica 16: 1–6.
Kawamura, S. (1965). Matriarchal social ranks in the Minoo-B group: A study of Japanese monkeys. In Imanishi, K., and Altmann, S. (eds.), Japanese Monkeys: A Collection of Translations, Emory University Press, Atlanta, pp. 66–86.
Kutsukake, N., and Castles, D. L. (2001). Reconciliation and variation in post-conflict stress in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata fuscata): Testing the integrated hypothesis. Anim. Cogn. 4: 259–268.
Matsumura, S. (1996). Postconflict affiliative contacts between former opponents among wild moor macaques. Am.J.Primatol. 38: 211–219.
Matsumura, S. (1999). The evolution of “egalitarian” and “despotic” social systems among macaques. Primates 40: 23–31.
Matsumura, S., and Kobayashi, T. (1998). A game model for dominance relations among group-living animals. Behav.Ecol.Sociobiol. 42: 77–84.
Mehlman, P. T., and Chapais, B. (1988). Differential effects of kinship, dominance, and the mating season on female allogrooming in a captive group of Macaca fuscata. Primates 29: 195–217.
Missakian, E. A. (1972). Genealogical and cross-genealogical dominance relations in a group of free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) on Cayo Santiago. Primates 13: 169–180.
Nakamichi, M. (1984). Behavioral characteristics of old female Japanese monkeys in a free-ranging group. Primates 25: 192–203.
Nakamichi, M., Itoigawa, N., Imakawa, S., and Machida, S. (1995). Dominance relations among adult females in a free-ranging group of Japanese monkeys at Katsuyama. Am. J.Primatol. 37: 241–251.
Noldus Information Technology (1998). Matman Reference Manual, Noldus Information Technology, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Ogawa, H. (1995). Bridging behavior and other affiliative interactions among male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana). Int.J.Primatol. 16: 707–729.
Ogawa, H. (1999). Tachimawaru Saru: Social Intelligence of Tibetan Macaques, Kyoto University Press, Kyotos. (Translated into English by A. Yanagie)
Ogawa, H., and Takahashi, H. (2003). Triadic position of Tibetan macaques huddling at a sleeping site. Int.J.Primatol. 24: 591–606.
Okamoto, K., and Matsumura, S. (2002). Intergroup encounters in wild moor macaques (Macaca maurus). Primates 43: 119–123.
Petit, O., Abegg, C., and Thierry, B. (1997). Acomparative study of aggression and conciliation in three cercopithecine monkeys (Macaca fuscata, Macaca nigra, Papio papio). Behaviour 134: 415–432.
Preuschoft, S., and van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M. (1995). Variations in primate affiliative facial displays: An exercise in behavior phylogeny. In Preuschoft, S. (ed.), Laughter and Smiling in Macaques: An Evolutionary Perspective, Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht, pp. 195–219.
Rowell, T. E. (1966). Hierarchy in the organization of a captive baboon group. Anim.Behav. 14: 430–443.
Sade, D. S. (1972). Sociometrics of Macaca mulatta I. Linkages and cliques in grooming matri-ces. Folia Primatol. 18: 196–222.
Schino, G., Rosati, L., and Aureli, F. (1998). Intragroup variation in conciliatory tendencies in captive Japanese macaques. Behaviour 135: 897–912.
Sterck, E. H. M., Watts, D., and van Schaik, C. P. (1997). The evolution of female social rela-tionships in nonhuman primates. Behav.Ecol.Sociobiol. 41: 291–309.
Thierry, B. (1985). Patterns of agonistic interactions in three species of macaque (M.mulatta, M.fascicularis, M.tonkeana). Aggr.Behav. 11: 223–233.
Thierry, B. (1990a). Feedback loop between kinship and dominance: The macaque model. J.Theor.Biol. 145: 511–521.
Thierry, B. (1990b). The state of equilibrium among agonistic behavior patterns in a group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). CR Acad.Sci.Paris 310: III, 35–40.
Thierry, B. (2000). Covariation of conflict management patterns in macaque societies. In Aureli, F., and de Waal, F. B. M. (eds.), Natural Conflict Resolution, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 106–128.
Thierry, B., Demaria, C., Preuschoft, S., and Desportes, C. (1989). Structural convergence be-tween silent bared-teeth display and relaxed open-mouth display in the Tonkean macaque (Macaca tonkeana). Folia Primatol. 52: 178–184.
Veenema, H. C., Das, M., and Aureli, F. (1994). Methodological improvements for the study of reconciliation. Behav.Proc. 31: 29–38.
Verbeek, P., and de Waal, F. B. M. (1997). Postconflict behavior of captive brown capuchins in the presence and absence of attractive food. Int.J.Primatol. 18: 703–725.
Wada, K., Xiong, C. P., and Wang, Q.-S. (1987). On the distribution of Tibetan and rhesus monkeys in southern Anhui Province, China. Acta Theriol.Sinica 7: 148–176.
Xiong, C. P. (1984). Ecological studies of the stump-tailed macaque. Acta Theriol.Sinica 4:1–9.
Zhao, Q.-K. (1996). Etho-ecology of Tibetan macaques at Mount Emei, China. In Fa, J., and Lindburg, D. G. (ed.), Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 263–289.
Zhao, Q.-K. (1997). Intergroup interactions in Thibetan macaques at Mt. Emei, China. Am.J. Phys.Anthropol. 104: 459–470.
Zhao, Q.-K., Deng, Z., and Xu, J. (1991). Natural foods and their ecological implications for Macaca thibetana at Mount Emei, China. Folia Primatol. 57: 1–15.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berman, C.M., Ionica, C.S. & Li, J. Dominance Style Among Macaca thibetana on Mt. Huangshan, China. International Journal of Primatology 25, 1283–1312 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043963.77801.c3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043963.77801.c3