Self-organizing dominance hierarchies in a wild primate population.

ABSTRACT: Linear dominance hierarchies, which are common in social animals, can profoundly influence access to limited resources, reproductive opportunities and health. In spite of their importance, the mechanisms that govern the dynamics of such hierarchies remain unclear. Two hypotheses explain how linear hierarchies might emerge and change over time. The 'prior attributes hypothesis' posits that individual differences in fighting ability directly determine dominance ranks. By contrast, the 'social dynamics hypothesis' posits that dominance ranks emerge from social self-organization dynamics such as winner and loser effects. While the prior attributes hypothesis is well supported in the literature, current support for the social dynamics hypothesis is limited to experimental studies that artificia

SUBMITTER: Franz M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4571707 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature