Sicotte Pascale
Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500, University Dr., N.W., Calgary AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Primates. 2002 Oct;43(4):277-89. doi: 10.1007/BF02629603.
In groups of Gorilla g. beringei, male aggression towards females regularly takes the form of male display. This paper examines male display towards females in two Karisoke study groups (Group 5 and Group BM) in 1989, a period when none of the females were new immigrants. Results are based on 259 hr of focal observations and 121 hr of ad libitum observations on male behaviors towards females. The goal is to see if the data are compatible with four non-mutually exclusive hypotheses to explain male displays towards females: (1) demonstration of male fighting abilities to influence female long term residence decision; (2) decrease potential competitive inequities between females; (3) provision to females of an occasion to confirm their subordinance to a male; and (4) short term influence on mating. First, male-female proximity was tested against proportion of male displays, to rule out the possibility that males display towards females simply because they happen to be close by. There was no association between proximity and male display. Dominant males were responsible for a higher proportion of displays than subordinate males. This is consistent with the idea that males display to demonstrate their fighting abilities, or their qualities as protector, since dominant males are the ones offering long term protection against infanticide and predators. Females that were in a position to transfer did not receive a higher proportion of male display, however. Long term resident dominant females received a higher proportion of displays from the dominant males, which is consistent with the idea that males attempt to decrease potential competitive inequities between females. There was an association between female appeasement reactions and male displays, which suggests that males display to create occasions for the females to confirm their subordinance to them. Estrous females did not receive a higher proportion of male displays, and there was no association between male display and copulation, suggesting that male displays are not a form of courtship aggression aimed at influencing mating in the short term.
在山地大猩猩群体中，雄性对雌性的攻击行为通常表现为雄性展示。本文研究了1989年卡里索克研究的两个群体（第5组和BM组）中雄性对雌性的展示行为，这一时期没有雌性是新移民。研究结果基于对雄性针对雌性行为的259小时焦点观察和121小时随意观察。目的是检验这些数据是否与四个并非相互排斥的假说来解释雄性对雌性的展示行为：（1）展示雄性战斗能力以影响雌性长期居留决定；（2）减少雌性之间潜在的竞争不平等；（3）为雌性提供确认其对雄性从属地位的机会；（4）对交配的短期影响。首先，测试了雄性与雌性的接近程度与雄性展示比例之间的关系，以排除雄性仅仅因为碰巧靠近雌性而对其展示的可能性。接近程度与雄性展示之间没有关联。优势雄性展示的比例高于从属雄性。这与雄性展示以证明其战斗能力或作为保护者的品质的观点一致，因为优势雄性是提供防止杀婴和捕食者长期保护的一方。然而，有能力迁移的雌性并没有收到更高比例的雄性展示。长期居留的优势雌性从优势雄性那里收到的展示比例更高，这与雄性试图减少雌性之间潜在竞争不平等的观点一致。雌性的安抚反应与雄性展示之间存在关联，这表明雄性展示是为了给雌性创造确认其对雄性从属地位的机会。处于发情期的雌性并没有收到更高比例的雄性展示，并且雄性展示与交配之间没有关联，这表明雄性展示不是旨在短期内影响交配的求偶攻击形式。
