Abstract
Social network analysis provides insights into patterns of group movements in primates, but fewer studies to date have focused on the dynamics of how such movements occur. In this study, we proposed and tested two hypotheses about the influence of sex on social connectivity and group movement in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana): (1) adult females are socially more connected than are adult males and (2) social connectivity facilitates the speed of collective decision-making. We collected data from 128 successful collective movements (≥ 2 individuals followed an initiator within 5 min) over a 2-month period in a group of adult Tibetan macaques at Mt. Huangshan, China. Although high-ranking individuals of both sexes in our dataset were more central in their social network than were low-ranking individuals, our results show that affiliations between females were stronger, with more preferred associations than those between males. Groups with more females reached collective decisions faster than groups with fewer females. We conclude that female Tibetan macaques use their social networks to enhance the speed of collective decision-making, which may have associated fitness benefits.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann J (1974) Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. Behaviour 49:227–267. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853974X00534
Barrett L, Henzi SP, Lusseau D (2012) Taking sociality seriously: the structure of multi-dimensional social networks as a source of information for individuals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 367:2108–2118. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0113
Bejder L, Fletcher D, Bräger S (1998) A method for testing association patterns of social animals. Anim Behav 56:719–725. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1998.0802
Berman CM, Ionica CS, Li J (2004) Dominance style among Macaca thibetana on Mt. Huangshan, China. Int J Primatol 25:1283–1312. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043963.77801.c3
Berman CM, Li J, Ogawa H, Ionica C, Yin H (2007) Primate tourism, range restriction, and infant risk among Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan, China. Int J Primatol 28:1123–1141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9199-4
Bode NWF, Franks DW, Wood AJ (2012) Leading from the front? Social networks in navigating groups. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 66:835–843. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1331-6
Cairns SJ, Schwager SJ (1987) A comparison of association indices. Anim Behav 35:1454–1469. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(87)80018-0
Clutton-Brock TH, Albon SD, Gibson RM, Guinness FE (1979) The local stag: adaptive aspects of fighting in red deer. Anim Behav 27:211–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(79)90141-6
Cords M (2002) Friendship among adult female blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). Behaviour 139:291–314. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853902760102681
Croft DP, James R, Krause J (2008) Exploring animal social networks. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Flack JC, Girvan M, de Waal FBM, Krakauer DC (2006) Policing stabilizes construction of social niches in primates. Nature 439:426–429. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04326
Franz M, Altmann J, Alberts SC (2015) Knockouts of high-ranking males have limited impact on baboon social networks. Curr Zool 61:107–113. https://doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/61.1.107
Hanneman RA, Riddle M (2005) Introduction to social network methods. University of California, Riverside, available at http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/
Henzi SP, Barrett L (2007) Coexistence in female-bonded primate groups. Adv Stud Behav 37:43–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-3454(07)37002-2
Henzi SP, Lusseau D, Weingrill T, van Schaik CP, Barrett L (2009) Cyclicity in the structure of female baboon social networks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63:1015–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0720-y
Jacobs A, Petit O (2011) Social network modeling: a powerful tool for the study of group scale phenomena in primates. Am J Primatol 73:741–747. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20932
Jacobs A, Sueur C, Deneubourg JL, Petit O (2011) Social network influences decision making during collective movements in brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus fulvus). Int J Primatol 32:721–736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-011-9497-8
Kasper C, Voelkl B (2009) A social network analysis of primate groups. Primates 50:343–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-009-0153-2
Li J, Yin H, Zhou L (2007) Non-reproductive copulation behavior among Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Huangshan, China. Primates 48:64–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-006-0002-5
Lusseau D, Conradt L (2009) The emergence of unshared consensus decisions in bottlenose dolphins. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63:1067–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0740-7
Ogawa H (2006) Wily monkeys: social intelligence of Tibetan macaques. Kyoto University Press, Kyoto
Pyritz LW, King AJ, Sueur C, Fichtel C (2011) Reaching a consensus: terminology and concepts used in coordination and decision-making research. Int J Primatol 32:1268–1278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-011-9524-9
Self S, Sheeran LK, Matheson MD, Li J, Pelton OD, Harding S et al (2013) Tourism and infant-directed aggression in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China. Anthrozoos 26:435–444. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303713X13697429463790
Silk JB (2007) The adaptive value of sociality in mammalian groups. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 362:539–559. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1994
Silk JB, Seyfarth RM, Cheney DL (1999) The structure of social relationships among female savanna baboons in Moremi Reserve, Botswana. Behaviour 136:679–703. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853999501522
Silk JB, Alberts SC, Altmann J (2003) Social bonds of female baboons enhance infant survival. Science 302:1231–1234. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1088580
Silk JB, Altmann J, Alberts SC (2006) Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) I. Variation in the strength of social bonds. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61:183–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0249-2
Silk JB, Beehner JC, Bergman TJ, Crockford C, Engh AL, Moscovice LR et al (2009) The benefits of social capital: close social bonds among female baboons enhance offspring survival. Proc R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 279(1670):3099–3104. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0681
Soltis J, Thomsen R, Matsubayashi K, Takenaka O (2000) Infanticide by resident males and female counter-strategies in wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 48:195–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650000224
Sueur C, Petit O (2008) Organization of group members at departure is driven by social structure in Macaca. Int J Primatol 29:1085–1098. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9262-9
Sueur C, Deneubourg JL, Petit O (2011a) From the first intention movement to the last joiner: macaques combine mimetic rules to optimize their collective decisions. Proc R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 278:1697–1704. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2084
Sueur C, Petit O, De Marco A, Jacobs AT, Watanabe K, Thierry B (2011b) A comparative network analysis of social style in macaques. Anim Behav 82:845–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.07.020
Treves A, Chapman CA (1996) Conspecific threat, predation avoidance, and resource defense: implications for grouping in langurs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 39:43–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650050265
Wang X, Sun L, Li J, Xia D, Sun B, Zhang D (2015) Collective movement in the Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana): early joiners write the rule of the game. PLoS One 10:e0127459. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127459
Wang X, Sun LX, Sheeran LK, Sun BH, Zhang QX, Zhang D, Xia DP, Li JH (2016) Social rank versus affiliation: which is more related to leadership during group movements in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana)? Am J Primatol 78:816–824
Whitehead H (2008) Analyzing animal societies: quantitative methods for vertebrate social analysis. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Xia D, Li J, Garber PA, Sun L, Zhu Y, Sun B (2012) Grooming reciprocity in female Tibetan macaques Macaca thibetana. Am J Primatol 74:569–579. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.21985
Zhang P, Li B, Qi X, MacIntosh AJJ, Watanabe K (2012) A proximity based social network of a group of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). Int J Primatol 33:1081–1095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-012-9608-1
Acknowledgements
We thank Debbie Lewis for her comments on this project. Our research was supported by grants to JHL from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Nos. 30970414 and 31172106) and to LKS from the National Science Foundation (OISE-1065589). We have no competing interests. This study complies with regulations of China Wildlife Conservation Association regarding the ethical treatment of research subjects, and under the law of People’s Republic of China on the protection of wildlife. The study was fully observational and our data collection did not affect the monkeys’ welfare. IACUC #A031305 and #A011403.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Fratellone, G.P., Li, JH., Sheeran, L.K. et al. Social connectivity among female Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) increases the speed of collective movements. Primates 60, 183–189 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-018-0691-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-018-0691-6