title: Dominance hierarchy and social relationships in a group of captive black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti).
abstract: Different types of dominance hierarchies reflect different social relationships in primates. In this study, we clarified the hierarchy and social relationships in a one-male unit of captive Rhinopithecus bieti observed between August 1998 and March 1999. Mean frequency of agonistic behaviour among adult females was 0.13 interactions per hour. Adult females exhibited a linear hierarchy with a reversal of 10.9%, indicating an unstable relationship; therefore, R. bieti appears to be a relaxed/tolerant species. The lack of a relationship between the agonistic ratio of the adult male towards adult females and their ranks indicated that males did not show increased aggression towards low-ranking females. Differentiated female affiliative relationships were loosely formed in terms of the male, and to some extent influenced by female estrus, implying that relationships between the male and females is influenced by estrus and not rank alone. A positive correlation between the agonistic ratio of adult females and their ranks showed that the degree to which one female negatively impacted others decreased with reduction in rank. Similarly, a positive correlation between the agonistic ratio of females and differences in rank suggests that a female had fewer negative effects on closely ranked individuals than distantly ranked ones. These data indicate that rank may influence relationships between females. A steeper slope of regression between the agonistic ratio and inter-female rank differences indicated that the extent of the power difference in high-ranking females exerting negative effects on low-ranking ones was larger during the mating season than the birth season, suggesting that rank may influence the mating success of females.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Faculty of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, China. gcuilw@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Liang-Wei
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Lei
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710032, China. baoguoli@nwu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bao-Guo
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D016673:Colobinae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012930:Social Dominance
keywords: Dominance style; Hierarchy; Linearity; Rhinopithecus bieti; Social relationship