AGONISTIC BEHAVIOUR OF YOUNG RHESUS MONKEYS AFTER CHANGES INDUCED IN SOCIAL RANK OF THEIR MOTHERS

Four changes in the adult female dominance hierarchy were studied in a small, enclosed social group of rhesus monkeys. Rank changes were artificially induced by either the introduction of a 'strange' adult male at a time when the second-ranking female was in oestrus or by removal and reintroduction of the currently topranking female. Agonistic interactions were studied following each social manipulation. The mother-offspring dominance relationship was emphasized. Families (mother and offspring) were ranked in a new linear dominance hierarchy following each rank change. With one exception offspring directly reflected the rise or fall of the rank of the mother. Offspring both influenced and were influenced by the rank changes by either contributing to aggression towards other animals when the mother's rank rose or by suffering aggression simultaneously with the mother, including wounding, when the mother's rank fell. One 2 1 2-year-old female acted independently of the mother and consistently achieved a social rank higher than that of the mother when the mothers rank fell. © 1968.