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Reconciling conflicts in a one-male society: the case of geladas (Theropithecus gelada)

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Abstract

Animals derive benefits from living in social groups but sociality also has its costs in that animals must compete with others for resources and mating opportunities. To cope with the conflict aftermath and social damage caused by competitive aggression, several group-living species use a variety of peace-keeping strategies. The affinitive post-conflict reunion of former opponents, defined as reconciliation, is the primary peace-keeping mechanism. In this study, we provide evidence for the occurrence of reconciliation and test some hypotheses on this post-conflict mechanism in geladas (Theropithecus gelada), a species often neglected in the study of post-conflict dynamics. The conciliatory contacts were uniformly distributed across the different sex–class combinations. Different from baboons, geladas did not show any particular kind of affinitive reconciliation behaviour. Notwithstanding the presence of a linear hierarchy, the dominance relationships did not affect the reconciliation dynamics. According to the valuable relationship hypothesis, coalitionary support seems to be a good predictor for a high level of conciliatory contacts. Finally, at an immediate level reconciliation plays a role in reducing renewed attacks by aggressors, which sought conciliatory contact more frequently than victims. In conclusion, even though the study of post-conflict behaviour in geladas needs to be continued, the patchy nature of their social network is a good model for testing some of the theoretical assumptions about primate conflict resolution.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the RheineZoo, Rheine (Germany): the director, Achim Joahnn, and the gelada keepers for allowing and facilitating this work; Giada Mancini and Michele Mignini for collaboration with data collection; Ivan Norscia for his invaluable comments on the manuscript; Cecilia Ragaini for language revision; and Grignolino for his important clarifying input in discussing results. This research was supported by private funding and it complies with current laws of Italy and Germany.

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  1. Centro Interdipartimentale Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Università di Pisa, via Roma 79, 56011, Calci, Pisa, Italy

    Alessia Leone & Elisabetta Palagi

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  1. Alessia Leone
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  2. Elisabetta Palagi
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Correspondence to Elisabetta Palagi.

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Leone, A., Palagi, E. Reconciling conflicts in a one-male society: the case of geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Primates 51, 203–212 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-010-0188-4

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