Thierry B
Laboratoire de Psychophysiologie, CNRS (URA 1295), Strasbourg, France.
J Theor Biol. 1990 Aug 23;145(4):511-22. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5193(05)80485-0.
There is growing evidence that macaque social systems represent sets of coadapted traits in which strength of hierarchies and degree of nepotism covary. A framework is developed to explain the link between dominance and kinship phenomena, assuming that power brought by alliances among non-kin is allometrically related to those involving relatives. This can account for the type of social relationships observed in "despotic" systems vs. "egalitarian" ones. When social bonds are mostly founded on kinship, lineages are closed and social power generated by coalitions among relatives may reach high levels; social power frequently outweighs the fighting abilities of single individuals, and asymmetry of dominance between group members may be marked. When lineages are more open, social bonds and alliances are less kin-biased, social relationships are more equal, and as the influence of coalitions is less important, the individual retains a certain degree of freedom in relation to the power of kin-networks. Acknowledging that the balance between individual and social power is not set at the same level across different species can explain a number of variations in rules of rank inheritance and relative dominance of males and females among macaques. The framework illustrates how epigenetic processes may shape complex features of primate social systems, and offers opportunities for testing.
越来越多的证据表明，猕猴的社会系统代表了一组共同适应的特征，其中等级制度的强度和裙带关系的程度是共同变化的。本文构建了一个框架来解释支配现象与亲属关系现象之间的联系，假设非亲属之间联盟带来的权力与涉及亲属的联盟权力呈异速生长关系。这可以解释在“专制”系统与“平等主义”系统中观察到的社会关系类型。当社会纽带主要建立在亲属关系上时，家族谱系是封闭的，亲属之间联盟产生的社会权力可能达到很高水平；社会权力常常超过单个个体 的战斗能力，群体成员之间的支配不对称可能很明显。当家族谱系更加开放时，社会纽带和联盟受亲属关系的影响较小，社会关系更加平等，而且由于联盟的影响不太重要，个体在与亲属网络的权力关系中保留一定程度的自由。认识到个体权力与社会权力之间的平衡在不同物种中并非处于同一水平，可以解释猕猴中等级继承规则以及雄性和雌性相对支配地位的一些变化。该框架说明了表观遗传过程如何塑造灵长类动物社会系统的复杂特征，并提供了检验的机会。
