Dominance and social interaction patterns in brown capuchin monkey (Cebus [Sapajus] apella) social networks

Abstract

Strong, stable social bonds in primates are characterized by high levels of social affiliation, low levels of aggression, minimal stress, and affiliative reciprocity within the dyad. In relatively well-studied catarrhine monkeys, these bonds tend to form most frequently between kin, animals close in age, and animals close in rank. This results in patterns of affiliation in which kin, similarly aged animals, and like-ranked animals tend to affiliate and patterns of aggression and submission where animals tend to aggress more toward nonkin and closely ranked animals, and submit more toward distantly ranked animals. However, literature on how affiliative and agonistic relationships are organized in platyrrhine primate species like brown capuchin monkeys is limited and conflicting. In this study, we used social network analyses to characterize how age, sex, maternal kinship, and dominance rank relate to the patterns of submissive, aggressive, contact, and grooming interactions in a group of captive brown capuchin monkeys. Like catarrhine monkeys, brown capuchin monkeys showed a steep linear dominance hierarchy, tended to affiliate with kin, similarly aged animals, and like-ranked animals, and tended to aggress more toward nonkin. However, our monkeys showed a pattern of affiliation and grooming down the hierarchy that is inconsistent with grooming up the hierarchy patterns often seen in catarrhine monkey groups, suggesting that brown capuchins do not compete for access to higher ranking social partners. Higher ranking monkeys were most central to the aggression network, and lower ranking monkeys were most central to the submission network. Mid-ranking monkeys were the most central to the contact network, suggesting that they may play an important role in the affiliative cohesion of the group. These results inform our understanding of brown capuchin social behavior specifically, and of how demographic factors relate to social organization in platyrrhine primates generally.

Predictors of dominance rank and agonistic interactions in captive Livingstone’s fruit bats

“…Decisions to become involved in agonistic interactions may also be led by an animal’s resource-holding potential and ability to self-assess this value, as observed in Great Himalayan leaf-nosed bats Hipposideros armiger ( Sun et al 2019 ). Additionally, kinship may influence the initiation of agonistic interactions between conspecifics, as in brown capuchin monkeys Cebus Sapajus apella , where animals are less likely to be aggressive towards kin ( Gazes et al 2022 ). Pteropus livingstonii exhibits several different social vocalizations relating to agonistic interactions ( Courts 1996 ); however, further research is needed to investigate whether information regarding dominance rank is encoded within this species’ social vocalizations.…”

Bridging Species and Disciplines: Incorporating Sociological Frameworks into Animal Models of Addiction

“…The formation of dominance hierarchies and their impact on individual behavior has been explored in detail in species like brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus [Sapajus] apella). These studies reveal complex social interaction patterns that are influenced by an individual's position within the social hierarchy, providing a framework for understanding similar dynamics in human social structures [72].…”

Does the primate face cue personality?

“…Third, the sex-specific patterns of facial-personality links might be attributed to the sex-specific dominance strategies and rank stability. Whilst in humans the fWHR-dominance link is found only in males, because human males exhibit dominant behaviour and aggression more than females (Archer, 2004 ), in capuchins and bonobos, this link was found in both sexes (Table 1 ), as both sexes express similar levels of dominance (Gazes, Schrock, Leard, & Lutz, 2022 ; Stevens, Vervaecke, de Vries, & van Elsacker, 2007 ). Female chimpanzees exhibiting relatively stable rank across the lifespan may rely on signalling by facial morphological features compared to males, who experience dynamic changes in rank across the lifespan and depend on signalling by facial expressions and aggressive behaviour (Wilson, Weiss et al, 2020 ).…”