Effect of Group Size and Individual Characteristics on Intergroup Encounters in Primates

Bibliographic Data

ID11280433
AuthorsB Majolo (0000-0002-0235-3040, University of Lincoln, corresponding author), Aurora deBortoli Vizioli (National Research Council), Laura Martínez-Íñigo (0000-0002-2880-1163, University of Lincoln), Julia Lehmann (0000-0001-7278-1705, University of Roehampton)
Year2020
Volume41
Issue2
Pages325-341
Publication date2020-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0164-0291 • E-ISSN: 1573-8604
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10764-019-00119-5
OpenAlexW3000368901
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited61

Intergroup encounters are common in nonhuman primates and can vary from affiliative to aggressive. We extracted data from the literature to test five different hypotheses: 1) where there are group size differences between opposing groups, whether the larger group is more likely to win an intergroup encounter than the smaller group; 2) whether the likelihood of a group engaging in aggressive intergroup encounters increases with group size; and 3–5) whether dominant, older individuals, and/or males are more likely to participate aggressively in intergroup encounters than subordinate, younger individuals and/or females. Our data set comprised 52 studies on 31 primate species (3 lemur species, 5 New World monkeys, 19 Old World monkeys, and 4 apes). We found that the larger group is more likely to win an encounter against a smaller group than vice versa. We found no significant relationship between group size and propensity to be aggressive during intergroup encounters. We found weak/no support for the effect of age, dominance rank, and sex on the frequency of aggression displayed toward outgroup individuals during intergroup encounters. Species- and population-specific differences in inter- and intragroup competition and in the degree of the unequal distribution of resources across group members may explain why age, dominance rank, and sex are not strong predictors of aggression during intergroup encounters

Aggression · Agonistic behaviour · Animal ecology · Biology · Lemur · Old World · Outgroup · Population · Primate · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Demography · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Psychology · Social Psychology · Ecology

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