Indirect rival assessment in a social primate, Theropithecus gelada

2012 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliza le Roux ◽  
Thore J. Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Theropithecus Gelada ◽  
Rival Assessment

Female Reproductive Parameters in Wild Geladas (Theropithecus gelada)

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eila K. Roberts ◽  
Amy Lu ◽  
Thore J. Bergman ◽  
Jacinta C. Beehner
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Theropithecus Gelada

scholarly journals Concessions of an alpha male? Cooperative defence and shared reproduction in multi-male primate groups

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1743) ◽  
pp. 3788-3795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah Snyder-Mackler ◽  
Susan C. Alberts ◽  
Thore J. Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Natural Variation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Reproductive Skew ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Access To Resources ◽  
Theropithecus Gelada ◽  
Data Support

By living in social groups with potential competitors, animals forgo monopolizing access to resources. Consequently, debate continues over how selection might favour sociality among competitors. For example, several models exist to account for the evolution of shared reproduction in groups. The ‘concession model’ hypothesizes that dominant reproducers benefit from the presence of subordinates, and hence tolerate some reproduction by subordinates. This mutual benefit to both dominants and subordinates may provide a foundation for the formation of social groups in which multiple members reproduce—a necessary step in the evolution of cooperation. To date, however, the concession model has received virtually no support in vertebrates. Instead, the vast majority of vertebrate data support ‘limited control models’, which posit that dominant reproducers are simply unable to prevent subordinates from reproducing. Here we present the most comprehensive evidence to date in support of the concession model in a vertebrate. We examined natural variation in the number of adult males in gelada ( Theropithecus gelada ) reproductive units to assess the extent of reproductive skew in multi-male units. Dominant (‘leader’) males in units that also had subordinate (‘follower’) males had a 30 per cent longer tenure than leaders in units that did not have followers, mainly because followers actively defended the group against potential immigrants. Follower males also obtained a small amount of reproduction in the unit, which may have functioned as a concession in return for defending the unit. These results suggest that dominants and subordinates may engage in mutually beneficial reproductive transactions, thus favouring male–male tolerance and cooperation.

scholarly journals Rival assessment among northern elephant seals: evidence of associative learning during male–male contests

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 150228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Casey ◽  
Isabelle Charrier ◽  
Nicolas Mathevon ◽  
Colleen Reichmuth
Keyword(s):  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Social Knowledge ◽  
Mirounga Angustirostris ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Elephant Seals ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Dominance Relationships ◽  
Northern Elephant Seals ◽  
Rival Assessment ◽  
Male Contests

Specialized signals emitted by competing males often convey honest information about fighting ability. It is generally believed that receivers use these signals to directly assess their opponents. Here, we demonstrate an alternative communication strategy used by males in a breeding system where the costs of conflict are extreme. We evaluated the acoustic displays of breeding male northern elephant seals ( Mirounga angustirostris ), and found that social knowledge gained through prior experience with signallers was sufficient to maintain structured dominance relationships. Using sound analysis and playback experiments with both natural and modified signals, we determined that males do not rely on encoded information about size or dominance status, but rather learn to recognize individual acoustic signatures produced by their rivals. Further, we show that behavioural responses to competitors' calls are modulated by relative position in the hierarchy: the highest ranking (alpha) males defend their harems from all opponents, whereas mid-ranking (beta) males respond differentially to familiar challengers based on the outcome of previous competitive interactions. Our findings demonstrate that social knowledge of rivals alone can regulate dominance relationships among competing males within large, spatially dynamic social groups, and illustrate the importance of combining descriptive and experimental methods when deciphering the biological relevance of animal signals.

scholarly journals Alu insertion polymorphisms shared by Papio baboons and Theropithecus gelada reveal an intertwined common ancestry

Mobile DNA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerilyn A. Walker ◽  
◽  
Vallmer E. Jordan ◽  
Jessica M. Storer ◽  
Cody J. Steely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Incomplete Lineage Sorting ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Whole Genome Sequence ◽  
Lineage Sorting ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
Theropithecus Gelada ◽  
Alu Insertion ◽  
Genomic Markers ◽  
Additional Support

Abstract Background Baboons (genus Papio) and geladas (Theropithecus gelada) are now generally recognized as close phylogenetic relatives, though morphologically quite distinct and generally classified in separate genera. Primate specific Alu retrotransposons are well-established genomic markers for the study of phylogenetic and population genetic relationships. We previously reported a computational reconstruction of Papio phylogeny using large-scale whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis of Alu insertion polymorphisms. Recently, high coverage WGS was generated for Theropithecus gelada. The objective of this study was to apply the high-throughput “poly-Detect” method to computationally determine the number of Alu insertion polymorphisms shared by T. gelada and Papio, and vice versa, by each individual Papio species and T. gelada. Secondly, we performed locus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays on a diverse DNA panel to complement the computational data. Results We identified 27,700 Alu insertions from T. gelada WGS that were also present among six Papio species, with nearly half (12,956) remaining unfixed among 12 Papio individuals. Similarly, each of the six Papio species had species-indicative Alu insertions that were also present in T. gelada. In general, P. kindae shared more insertion polymorphisms with T. gelada than did any of the other five Papio species. PCR-based genotype data provided additional support for the computational findings. Conclusions Our discovery that several thousand Alu insertion polymorphisms are shared by T. gelada and Papio baboons suggests a much more permeable reproductive barrier between the two genera then previously suspected. Their intertwined evolution likely involves a long history of admixture, gene flow and incomplete lineage sorting.

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