Agonistic behavior and feeding competition in the largest piranha species, Pygocentrus piraya, in a zoo
In the wild, piranhas are thought to feed in groups. Previous studies on piranhas in aquariums have variously observed either social attraction or aggressive dominance. The Rio São Francisco piranha (Pygocentrus piraya) is the largest species of piranha. It is rare in aquarium collections and its social and feeding behaviors have never been studied. To […]
Feeding Competition and Agonistic Relationships Among Bwindi Gorilla beringei
Testing predictions of socioecological models, specifically that the types of feeding competition and social relationships female primates exhibit are strongly influenced by the distribution, density, and quality of food resources, requires studies of closely related populations of subjects living under different ecological conditions. I examined feeding competition and the resulting female social relationships in mountain […]
Social behavior, foraging strategies, and fecal glucocorticoids in female blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis): potential fitness benefits of high rank in a forest guenon
Abstract Socioecological theory predicts that aggressive feeding competition is associated with linear dominance hierarchies and reproductive advantages for high-ranking females. Female blue monkeys contest fruits and have a linear dominance hierarchy, yet previous research has shown no evidence that high-ranking females benefit from greater feeding success or fertility. Here, we assess whether individuals differ in […]
Food and range defence in group-living primates
Why do some primate groups contest access to food resources primarily at territorial borders (periphery defence), whereas others are more likely to contest resources in the centre of the home range (core defence)? One possibility is that central areas contain more food resources and so are more important for core-defending groups, whereas peripheral areas are […]