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The function of male aggressive displays towards females in mountain gorillas

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Sicotte, Pascale
Copyright Year	2002
Abstract	In groups ofGorilla g. beringei, male aggression towards females regularly takes the form of male display. This paper examines male display towards females in two Karisoke study groups (Group 5 and Group BM) in 1989, a period when none of the females were new immigrants. Results are based on 259 hr of focal observations and 121 hr ofad libitum observations on male behaviors towards females. The goal is to see if the data are compatible with four non-mutually exclusive hypotheses to explain male displays towards females: (1) demonstration of male fighting abilities to influence female long term residence decision; (2) decrease potential competitive inequities between females; (3) provision to females of an occasion to confirm their subordinance to a male; and (4) short term influence on mating. First, male-female proximity was tested against proportion of male displays, to rule out the possibility that males display towards females simply because they happen to be close by. There was no association between proximity and male display. Dominant males were responsible for a higher proportion of displays than subordinate males. This is consistent with the idea that males display to demonstrate their fighting abilities, or their qualities as protector, since dominant males are the ones offering long term protection against infanticide and predators. Females that were in a position to transfer did not receive a higher proportion of male display, however. Long term resident dominant females received a higher proportion of displays from the dominant males, which is consistent with the idea that males attempt to decrease potential competitive inequities between females. There was an association between female appeasement reactions and male displays, which suggests that males display to create occasions for the females to confirm their subordinance to them. Estrous females did not receive a higher proportion of male displays, and there was no association between male display and copulation, suggesting that male displays are not a form of courtship aggression aimed at influencing mating in the short term.
Starting Page	277
Ending Page	289
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00328332
Journal	Primates
Volume Number	43
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	10167365
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2014-01-22
Publisher Place	Tokyo
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Gorilla g. beringei Male display Male-female relationships Zoology Animal Ecology Behavioural Sciences Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology

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