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Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT: Studies of prosocial policing in nonhuman societies traditionally focus on impartial interventions because of an underlying assumption that partial support implies a direct benefit to the intervener, thereby negating the potential for being prosocial in maintaining social stability for the benefit of the group. However, certain types of partial interventions have significant potential to be prosocial in controlling conflict, e.g. support of non-kin subordinates. Here, we propose a policing support hypothesis that some types of agonistic support serve a prosocial policing function that maintains group stability. Using seven large captive groups of rhesus macaques, we investigated the relationship between intervention type and group-level costs and benefits (rates of trauma, severe aggression, social relocation) and individual level costs and benefits (preferential sex-dyad targeting, dominance ambiguity reduction, access to mates, and return aggression). Our results show that impartial interventions and support of subordinate non-kin represent prosocial policing as both (1) were negatively associated with group-level rates of trauma and severe aggression, respectively, (2) showed no potential to confer individual dominance benefits, (3) when performed outside the mating season, they did not increase chances of mating with the beneficiary, and (4) were low-cost for the highest-ranking interveners. We recommend expanding the definition of 'policing' in nonhumans to include these 'policing support interventions'.

SUBMITTER: Beisner BA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3805604 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques.

Beisner Brianne A BA McCowan Brenda B

PloS one 20131022 10

Studies of prosocial policing in nonhuman societies traditionally focus on impartial interventions because of an underlying assumption that partial support implies a direct benefit to the intervener, thereby negating the potential for being prosocial in maintaining social stability for the benefit of the group. However, certain types of partial interventions have significant potential to be prosocial in controlling conflict, e.g. support of non-kin subordinates. Here, we propose a policing suppo ...[more]

PMID: 24167570

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Project description:BackgroundIn terms of structure and function, the skull is one of the most complicated organs in the body. It is also one of the most important parts in terms of developmental and evolutionary origins. This complexity makes it difficult to obtain evolutionary assessments if, as is usually the case with fossils, only part of the skull is available. For this reason this study involves a set of comparisons whereby the smallest functional units are studied first, and these built up, through a triple-nested hierarchical design, into more complex anatomical regions and eventually into the skull-as-a-whole. This design has been applied to macaques (Macaca) in order to reveal patterns of variation at the different levels. The profiles of such variation have been obtained both within and between species. This has lead to a search for the skull parts that have undergone similar selection pressures during evolution and comparable development patterns in both ontogeny and phylogeny.ResultsMorphometric analysis (Principal Components) was used to obtain these profiles of species and sex separations based on 77 cranial variables from 11 species of macaques. The results showed that 7 functional units could be aggregated into three functionally reasonable anatomical regions on the basis of similarities in profiles. These were: the masticatory apparatus containing mandible, lower teeth and upper teeth, the face as a whole combining maxilla (actually lower face) and upper face, and the cranium as a whole involving cranium and calvaria. Twenty-six variables were finally selected for analyzing the morphology of the whole skull. This last showed an overall profile similar to that revealed in the masticatory apparatus but also contained additional information pertaining to individual species and species-groups separations.ConclusionsThe study provides a model for carrying out analysis of species separations and sex variation simultaneously. Through this design it seems possible to see cranio-dental elements that may result from similar developmental processes, have similar functional adaptations, and show an appropriately integrated structure morphologically. This study also implies that the biological information drawn from part of skull alone, e.g. as in studies of incomplete fossils may provide misleading information.

Dataset Information

Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques.

Publications

Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques.

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