Department of Psychology, Faculty of Applied Sociology, Kindai University, Higashi Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Am J Primatol. 2023 Jun;85(6):e23491. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23491. Epub 2023 Apr 7.
Grooming is one of the most common cooperative behaviors among several animal species. However, the tactics used to cope with uncooperative partners in grooming interactions remain unclear. Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) solicit grooming from partners through postural behaviors, but may not necessarily receive grooming. This study investigated the behavior of female Japanese macaques after they solicited but did not receive grooming. We predicted that unsuccessful solicitors would engage in grooming interactions with uncooperative partners if they were affiliated. If they were not affiliated, the solicitors would not do so and may seek grooming interactions with other grooming partners. We used a focal-animal sampling method, targeting 17 females at Katsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. We recognized affiliative relationships by measuring close spatial association. After unsuccessful solicitation, females tended to scratch themselves, suggesting that solicitors may experience anxiety or distress when they do not receive grooming. They also tended to be proximate with affiliated partners after solicitation, regardless of whether the solicitors received grooming from their partners. In contrast, when solicitors failed to receive grooming from unaffiliated partners, their subsequent proximity was lower than when they were groomed. Moreover, unsuccessful solicitors were likely to engage in grooming interactions with affiliated partners who were uncooperative (receivers of unsuccessful solicitations). However, they were less likely to engage in grooming interactions with unaffiliated partners and instead engaged in grooming interactions with other nearby partners. These findings indicate that female Japanese macaques decide whether to engage in grooming interactions with uncooperative partners who have not groomed solicitors based on affiliative relationships and the availability of other grooming partners. It is probable that, when the cost of searching for a grooming partner is low, female Japanese macaques are likely to switch partners, potentially leading to an increase in the benefits obtained from grooming interactions.
grooming 是几种动物物种中最常见的合作行为之一。然而，在 grooming 相互作用中应对不合作伙伴的策略仍不清楚。日本猕猴（Macaca fuscata）通过姿势行为向伙伴请求 grooming，但不一定会得到 grooming。本研究调查了雌性日本猕猴在请求但未得到 grooming 后的行为。我们预测，如果不成功的请求者与不合作的伙伴有联系，他们会参与 grooming 相互作用。如果他们没有联系，请求者不会这样做，可能会寻求与其他 grooming 伙伴的相互作用。我们使用了一个焦点动物采样方法，针对日本冈山县鹿谷的 17 只雌性。我们通过测量密切的空间关联来识别关联关系。在不成功的请求之后，雌性往往会自己抓痒，这表明请求者在没有得到 grooming 时可能会感到焦虑或不安。她们也倾向于在请求后与有联系的伙伴靠近，无论她们是否从伙伴那里得到 grooming。相比之下，当请求者未能从没有联系的伙伴那里得到 grooming 时，她们随后的接近程度低于得到 grooming 时。此外，不成功的请求者更有可能与不合作的（不成功请求的接收者）有联系的伙伴进行 grooming 相互作用。然而，他们不太可能与没有联系的伙伴进行 grooming 相互作用，而是与附近的其他伙伴进行 grooming 相互作用。这些发现表明，雌性日本猕猴根据关联关系和其他 grooming 伙伴的可用性，决定是否与未为请求者 groom 的不合作伙伴进行 grooming 相互作用。当寻找 grooming 伙伴的成本较低时，雌性日本猕猴可能更倾向于更换伙伴，这可能导致从 grooming 相互作用中获得的收益增加。
