Social dominance and priority of access to drinking in Lemur macaco

Social dominance was analyzed in a group of Lemur macaco over a one-year period. A gonistic dominance was assessed by computing a dominance index for each individual in baseline conditions and in a competitive drinking situation, where success was measured as the amount of time in possession of the resource (a hottle of fruit juice). Dominance indexes during drinking competition were significantly correlated with baseline dominance indexes but were not correlated with individual drinking success. Adult females were agonistically do, omsmy over all other individuals, but were frequently challenged by juveniles of both sexes for access to the drinking bottle. In males, there was a significant negative correlation between age and dominance indexes during competition tests, and between age and drinking success. Results are analysed in the ligh of recent theories concerning the emergence of female social dominance. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.