KINSHIP AND DIFFERENT DOMINANCE STYLES IN GROUPS OF 3 SPECIES OF THE GENUS MACACA (M-ARCTOIDES, M-MULATTA, MACACA-FASCICULARIS)

Single groups with small matrilines of 3 species of the genus Macaca (M. arctoides, M. mulatta, M. fascicularis) were investigated. The aim of the study was to find out how affiliative preferences towards close kin correlate with the distribution of aggression and support in agonistic encounters among individuals, and whether such tendencies differ between species with different dominance styles. It was found that aggression between kin was less frequent than between non-kin in all 3 groups. Kinship was not a decisive factor in the choice of partners for close spatial proximity in any of the 3 species. Animals preferred to groom relatives significantly more frequently only in the M. mulatta group. A kin effect was clearly expressed in the choice of objects of support in aggressive conflicts in M. mulatta and M. fascicularis, whereas in M. arctoides such an effect was absent. In the M. mulatta and M. arctoides groups, animals preferred to support victims, while in the M. fascicularis group aggressors were preferentially supported. Our data supported conclusions about differences in the number of social parameters in species with different dominance styles. In species with relaxed social hierarchies (M. arctoides), there is a strong tendency towards cohesive relations with all social categories, while in groups with rigid hierarchies (M. mulatta; M. fascicularis) cohesive tendencies are largely concentrated in the direction of related individuals.