Female-directed aggression by adolescent male chimpanzees primarily constitutes dominance striving, not sexual coercion.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are notable for exhibiting high levels of male-to-female aggression. Much of this aggression from adult males serves sexually coercive functions. Despite being smaller and lower-ranking than adult males, adolescent males also engage in regular aggression against adult females. Here, we test whether the primary function of this aggression is sexual coercion, as in adult males, or, alternatively, whether adolescent males use aggression to establish social dominance over females.

Materials and methods

We analyzed 1771 copulations and 1812 instances of male-initiated aggression between adolescent males (aged nine through 14 years) and adult females across 21 years of observation of the Kanyawara chimpanzee community in Kibale National Par

SUBMITTER: Enigk DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8376763 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature