Dominance relationships and coalitionary aggression against conspecifics in female carrion crows.

ABSTRACT: Cooperation is a prevailing feature of many animal systems. Coalitionary aggression, where a group of individuals engages in coordinated behaviour to the detriment of conspecific targets, is a form of cooperation involving complex social interactions. To date, evidence has been dominated by studies in humans and other primates with a clear bias towards studies of male-male coalitions. We here characterize coalitionary aggression behaviour in a group of female carrion crows consisting of recruitment, coordinated chase, and attack. The individual of highest social rank liaised with the second most dominant individual to engage in coordinated chase and attack of a lower ranked crow on several occasions. Despite active intervention by the third most highly ranked individual opposing the offend

SUBMITTER: Holtmann B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6828704 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature