Palagi Elisabetta, Norscia Ivan
Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Calci, Pisa, Italy.
Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Unit of Cognitive Primatology & Primate Center, CNR, Rome, Italy.
PLoS One. 2015 Nov 16;10(11):e0142150. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142150. eCollection 2015.
However despotic a social group may be, managing conflicts of interest is crucial to preserve group living benefits, mainly based on cooperation. In despotic groups, post-conflict management via reconciliation (the first post-conflict reunion between former opponents) can occur, even if conciliatory rates are considerably different. Lemur catta is defined as a despotic species because groups are characterized by a strict linear hierarchy maintained by the adult females (the dominant sex) mainly via aggression. Reconciliation was reported in one out of four captive groups of L. catta. Here we investigate which variables influence the occurrence of reconciliation in these despotic groups. We analyzed 2339 Post Conflict (PC)-Matched Control (MC) observation pairs, collected on eight groups (five in the Berenty forest, Madagascar; three hosted at the Pistoia Zoo, Italy). Since L. catta is characterized by steep female dominance but shows female-female coalitionary support, we expected to confirm the presence of reconciliation in the study species. Consistently, we found reconciliation in one captive group and two wild groups, thus providing the first evidence of the presence of this phenomenon in wild L. catta. Moreover, because this species is a seasonal breeder (with mating occurring once a year), we expected seasonal fluctuations in reconciliation levels. Via a GLMM analysis using data from all wild groups and on a captive group followed for more than one year, we found that season (but not rank; individuals' identity, sex, and age; or group identity) significantly affected individual reconciliation rates, and such rates were lowest during the mating period. Thus, reconciliation can be present in groups in which dominants strongly influence and limit social relationships (steep dominance hierarchy) except when the advantages of intra-group cooperation are overcome by competition, as occurs in seasonal breeders when reproduction is at stake. We conclude that in despotic social groups in which coalitions are observed, the right question is not if but when reconciliation can be present.
无论一个社会群体有多专制，管理利益冲突对于维护主要基于合作的群体生活益处至关重要。在专制群体中，即使和解率差异很大，也可能通过和解（冲突后前对手之间的首次重逢）来进行冲突后管理。环尾狐猴被定义为专制物种，因为群体的特征是由成年雌性（占主导地位的性别）主要通过攻击维持严格的线性等级制度。在四分之一的圈养环尾狐猴群体中报告了和解现象。在此，我们研究哪些变量会影响这些专制群体中和解的发生。我们分析了在八个群体（五个在马达加斯加的贝伦蒂森林；三个饲养在意大利皮斯托亚动物园）收集的2339对冲突后（PC）匹配对照（MC）观察数据。由于环尾狐猴的特点是雌性占主导地位且表现出雌性之间的联盟支持，我们预期能证实该研究物种中存在和解现象。一致地，我们在一个圈养群体和两个野生群体中发现了和解现象，从而首次提供了野生环尾狐猴存在这种现象的证据。此外，由于该物种是季节性繁殖者（每年交配一次），我们预期和解水平会有季节性波动。通过使用来自所有野生群体和一个跟踪一年以上的圈养群体的数据进行广义线性混合模型分析，我们发现季节（而非等级、个体身份、性别和年龄或群体身份）显著影响个体和解率，且在交配期和解率最低。因此，除了在季节性繁殖者繁殖受到威胁时竞争克服了群体内合作的优势这种情况外，和解可以存在于主导者强烈影响和限制社会关系（陡峭的等级制度）的群体中。我们得出结论，在观察到联盟的专制社会群体中，正确的问题不是是否存在和解，而是何时会出现和解。
