William Atkins
Wednesday, 14 January 2009 01:17
Science -
Biology
Page 2 of 3
They stated in the abstract to their paper,
"In social primates, individuals use various tactics to compete for dominance rank. Grooming, displays and contact aggression are common components of a male chimpanzee's dominance repertoire."
And,
"The optimal combination of these behaviors is likely to differ among males with individuals exhibiting a dominance style that reflects their tendency to use cooperative and/or agonistic dominance tactics.”
For ten years the researchers observed three alpha-male chimpanzees (Frodo, Freud, and Wilkie) at the
Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania (Africa).
They collected behavioural data on these three male chimpanzees. The research team then analyzed this data to determine which tactics were used both before and after they became alpha males.
They made three conclusions:
1.
“these males differed significantly in their tendency to groom with other males”
2.
“each male's grooming patterns remained consistent before, during and after his tenure as alpha”
3. “the three males tended to groom with high- middle- and low-ranking partners equally.”
The researchers
“… suggest that body mass may be one possible determinant of differences in grooming behavior. The largest male exhibited the lowest overall grooming rates, whereas the smallest male spent the most time grooming others. This is probably because large males are more effective at physically intimidating subordinates.”
And,
“To achieve alpha status, a small male may need to compensate for reduced size by investing more time and energy in grooming, thereby ensuring coalitionary support from others. Rates of contact aggression and charging displays conformed to this prediction, suggesting that each male exhibited a different dominance ‘style’.”
Page three talks about the individual tactics by Frodo, Wilkie, and Freuw, the three chimps attaining the alpha male role at the Gombe National Park in Africa.
