TY - JOUR
T1 - Male chimpanzees exchange political support for mating opportunities
AU - Duffy, Kimberly G.
AU - Wrangham, Richard W.
AU - Silk, Joan B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Support for this study came from grants provided to K. Duffy by the UCLA Department of Anthropology, Primate Conservation, Inc., Leakey Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and a dissertation improvement grant from the National Science Foundation (BCS-0089921) awarded to J.B. Silk and K.G. Duffy. The Kibale Chimpanzee Project received support from grants provided to R.W. Wrangham by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0416125) and by the Leakey Foundation. We wish to thank the Makerere University Biological Field Station (MUBFS), the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority for allowing us to work in Kibale National Park. We also thank the late John Barwogeza, the late Muhangyi Donor, Christopher Katongole, Francis Mugurusi, the late Christopher Muruuli, and Peter Tuhairwe for their invaluable assistance in collecting data and following chimpanzees. Thanks also go to the field manager, Katharin Pieta for logistical assistance. We appreciate comments made on an earlier version of this manuscript by Karline Janmaat. We thank Bill McGrew for useful comments on the manuscript.
PY - 2007/8/7
Y1 - 2007/8/7
N2 - Male chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, differ from males in most other mammalian taxa because they remain in their natal communities throughout their lives, form close bonds with one another, and cooperate in a range of activities [1]. However, males also compete fiercely for status within their groups [2,3], and high rank enhances male reproductive success [4,5]. Males rely partly on coalitions to achieve and maintain status [2,3,6-9], and shifts in male alliances can have dramatic political effects [2,3,6]. It is not known what benefits are obtained by low-ranking coalition partners. Here we report that the highest-ranking (alpha) male in one well-studied community of chimpanzees rewarded his allies by allowing them preferential access to mates.
AB - Male chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, differ from males in most other mammalian taxa because they remain in their natal communities throughout their lives, form close bonds with one another, and cooperate in a range of activities [1]. However, males also compete fiercely for status within their groups [2,3], and high rank enhances male reproductive success [4,5]. Males rely partly on coalitions to achieve and maintain status [2,3,6-9], and shifts in male alliances can have dramatic political effects [2,3,6]. It is not known what benefits are obtained by low-ranking coalition partners. Here we report that the highest-ranking (alpha) male in one well-studied community of chimpanzees rewarded his allies by allowing them preferential access to mates.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.001
DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.001
M3 - Letter
C2 - 17686425
AN - SCOPUS:34547426337
SN - 0960-9822
VL - 17
SP - R586-R587
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
IS - 15
ER -