Abstract
In primate species with unidirectional dominance relationships, rank order restricts the access of nondominant females to clumped resources. However, females might attempt to bypass the rank order by reaching feeding sites before the highest ranking individuals (early arrival tactic) when there are net benefits. We therefore analyzed the order of arrival to the feeding site of the adult members of a captive group of long-tailed macaques. We used 2 experimental conditions that differed in the spatial distribution of a fixed amount of food (large vs. small patch). Though each condition induced contest competition, it was stronger in the small-patch condition. Arrival order does not correlate with dominance rank in either experimental condition. The α-male and α-female reached the feeding site 10–30 s after the beginning of the test. Some females seized on opportunities to reach the feeding site before them, especially in the large-patch condition. They used the early arrival tactic when the risks of aggression were relatively low, which subjects accomplished either by being dominant or by being nondominant but tolerated by the α-male. Social tolerance may provide individuals with an alternative means to obtain resources. In sum, variation in food abundance and distribution may affect the extent to which rank order determines order of arrival to feeding sites. A higher rank may confer priority in the choice of tactics, but not necessarily priority of access to the resources themselves.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Carole Gauthier for technical assistance, and Jean Prud’homme, Michelle Drapeau, and 2 anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. We thank Jocelyn Fournier, Pierre Thibert, and Normand Turcotte of the Animal Resources Division (Health Canada) for their support in establishing and maintaining the present colony. C. Dubuc also thanks Danièle Michaud and Claudiane Beaudoin. A contract between the Animal Resources Division (Health Canada) and the Université de Montréal and grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada provided funding for the work.
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Dubuc, C., Chapais, B. Feeding Competition in Macaca fascicularis: An Assessment of the Early Arrival Tactic. Int J Primatol 28, 357–367 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9118-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9118-8