A resident-nepotistic-tolerant dominance style in wild white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica)?

Abstract

Dominance relationships imply consistent asymmetries in social relationships. Socioecological models predict that resource distribution determines the mode of competition that animals will face and, ultimately, the nature of their social relationships. Here, we provide the first systematic investigation of dominance style in white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica). Coatis live in cohesive female-resident groups, and have a diet based on clumped (fruits) and dispersed (insects) food items, which are predicted to favour despotic and egalitarian social styles, respectively. Our results revealed moderate linearity and steepness in dominance relationships over time, with variations attributed to stages of reproductive season, rather than presumed variations in food resources. Primary social bonds and coalitions were found to mediate dominance rank. Overall, our results suggest some similarities between coatis and despotic-tolerant primate species, at least under particular ecological circumstances, and we discuss their potential for affording a deeper understanding on the sources of variation in mammal social systems.

Interrelationship among spatial cohesion, aggression rate, counter-aggression and female dominance in three lemur species

“…The underlying socioecological model was originally developed for non-human primates (Wrangham 1980), and subsequently extended to include risks of predation and infanticide (van Schaik 1989;Sterck et al 1997). More recently, the extended model has also been tested in non-primates, such as coatis and ungulates (de la O et al 2019;Szemán et al 2021). Yet critiques of this model have suggested that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable (Thierry 2008(Thierry , 2021.…”