Primate Social Behaviors to Watch For

1) Dominance Hierarchies serve to impose order within groups

i. rank or status is measured by access to resources, which may include access to

preferred mates or the exclusion of other members from those mates

ii. rank changes throughout an individuals lifetime

iii. males are usually dominant to females, with additional hierarchies within those two

groups

2) Communication Methods include gestures, facial expressions, and vocalizations

i. high-ranking members often express dominance through mounting gestures

ii. submission can be indicated by crouching, touching, presenting the hindquarters,

and grooming, and chimps reassure by holding hands and hugging

3) Aggressive and Affiliative Strategies are balanced to preserve order.

i. dominance often is expressed through violence

ii. dominant individuals often form subgroups to consolidate power

4) Reproductive Strategies involve the use of sex to influence others

i. generally, females are receptive to males only while in estrus

ii. a few primates form consortships, where males and females stay bonded beyond the

estrus cycle, include baboons, chimpanzees, and humans

5) Mother and Infant Relationships are the basic social unit in primates

i. the mother-infant relationship is essential to the development of all primates

ii. in higher primates like chimpanzees, both daughters and sons maintain relationships

with their mothers