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18 - Rank changes in female chimpanzees in Taï National Park

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2019

By
Alexander Mielke ,
Catherine Crockford  and
Roman Wittig
Edited by
Christophe Boesch  and
Roman Wittig
Edited in association with
Catherine Crockford ,
Linda Vigilant ,
Tobias Deschner  and
Fabian Leendertz
Christophe Boesch
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Roman Wittig
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Catherine Crockford
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Linda Vigilant
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Tobias Deschner
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Fabian Leendertz
Affiliation:
Robert Koch-Institut, Germany
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Summary

The social life of female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) differs between subspecies, with females in East African field sites often described as avoiding association to avoid competition, while females in Taï have been shown to be more gregarious, spending most of their time in close contact with each other, probably to avoid predation. This close association leads to increased levels of direct competition for resources, possibly increasing the benefit of having a higher dominance rank and challenging dominant group members. Female chimpanzees in Gombe have been shown to queue for rank rather than challenge others. Here, we show that female dyads in Taï do change their dominance rank at times, with at least six clear rank changes recorded in the Taï North and South communities. We discuss life events that could facilitate rank challenges. The increased flexibility in the female dominance hierarchy potentially adds a level of complexity not seen in East African chimpanzees.

Keywords

Dominance rankHierarchyPan troglodytesSocialityCompetitionBehavioural flexibilityLife history
Type
Chapter
Information
The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest
40 Years of Research
 , pp. 290 - 300
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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