Competitive ability determines coalition participation and partner selection during maturation in wild male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).

ABSTRACT: Social mammals often live in groups in which a dominance hierarchy is an important determinant of access to mates. In addition to competing individually, males may form coalitions of two or more to attack or intimidate rivals. Coalition formation could be particularly advantageous for adolescent males by helping them compensate for their physical and social immaturity. However, adolescents may struggle to attract effective coalition partners because of these inadequacies. Here, we examine the behavior of maturing male chimpanzees to test whether coalitions are more frequent among more or less powerful individuals. Our longitudinal study followed 18 males (ages 5 through 25 years) and utilized 1517 coalitions across 12 years of observation of the Kanyawara chimpanzee community in Kibale Nat

SUBMITTER: Enigk DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7990237 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature