Agonistic Strategies and Spatial Distribution in Captive Sooty Mangabeys (Cercocebus Atys)

Abstract

Summary.-The aim of this article is to study the relationship between the dominance hierarchy and the spatial distribution of a group of captive sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys). The analysis of the spatial distribution of individuals in relation to their rank in the dominance hierarchy showed a clear linear hierarchy in which the dominant individual was located in central positions with regard to the rest of the group members. The large open enclosure where the group was living allowed them to adopt a high-risk agonistic strategy in which individuals attacked other individuals whose rank was significantly different from their own. The comparison of the results with a previous study of mangabeys showed that, although the dominance ranks of both groups were similar, the fact that they lived in facilities with different layouts caused different agonistic strategies to emerge and allowed the dominant individual to assume different spatial locations.Although the social organization of humans has been studied for decades by a variety of social scientists (such as social psychologists, sociologists and politicians), the organization of individuals in social groups is a very common phenomenon in nature. Moreover, the patterns of social structure observed in some species are often as complex as the social patterns observed in humans. Because of the proximity between species, nonhuman primate societies provide a phylogenic point of view that helps highlight some features observed in human societies. Therefore, besides the interest in nonhuman primate societies in and of themselves, studying them may also provide a clearer picture of some features of human societies. For example, the patterns of aggression, dominance hierarchy, and affiliative behaviors observed in

Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys

“…We chose these two species because they differ in a number of variables that are likely to influence grooming interventions. They differ markedly in their tolerance around and monopolizability of resources: sooty mangabeys display strong within-group contest competition [ 46 , 78 ] and highly linear, steep dominance hierarchies in both sexes [ 2 , 46 ] where rank usually defines the outcome of competition (98% of aggressions down the hierarchy in females, 88% in males; A. Mielke 2017, unpublished data). Adult male mangabeys do not groom each other.…”