Vocal alliances in Chacma baboons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Papio hamadryas ursinus</Emphasis>) |
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Authors: | Roman M Wittig Catherine Crockford Robert M Seyfarth Dorothy L Cheney |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018, USA;(2) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6241, USA |
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Abstract: | Theory predicts that females in species with matrilineal dominance hierarchies should use nepotistic support systems to maintain
their family’s rank. Female Old World monkeys, however, form alliances against other females at surprisingly low rates. Nonetheless,
in many species, females utter threat vocalizations when observing others’ disputes, suggesting that these vocalizations may
function as ‘vocal alliances’. We describe a playback experiment testing the efficacy of vocal alliances in free-ranging female
baboons. Subjects were played the same female’s threat-grunts under three separate conditions: after being threatened by the
signaller’s close relative to mimic kin support, after being threatened by a female maternally unrelated to the signaller
to mimic non-kin support, and after a friendly interaction with the signaller’s close relative as a control. Subjects responded
more strongly to the playback and avoided the signaller and her matrilineal relatives for a longer period of time in kin support
trials than in either non-kin support or no aggression trials. In contrast, there was no difference in subjects’ behaviour
between non-kin support and no aggression trials. These results corroborate observational data showing that vocal support
occurs at a higher rate than physical support in female baboons, and that kin are more likely to provide vocal support than
non-kin. We conclude that vocal support plays a similar role as physical support in the alliances of female baboons. |
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Keywords: | Vocal support Alliance Relationship Female dominance Old World monkeys Baboons Socio-ecological model |
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