ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

Identifying how dominance within and between the sexes is established is pivotal to understanding sexual selection and sexual conflict. In many species, members of one sex dominate those of the other in one-on-one interactions. Whether this results from a disparity in intrinsic attributes, such as strength and aggressiveness, or in extrinsic factors, such as social support, is currently unknown. We assessed the effects of both mechanisms on dominance in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), a spe-cies where sexual size dimorphism is low and females often dominate males. We found that individuals with greater potential social support dominated one-on-one interactions in all social contexts, irrespective of their body mass and sex. Female dominance emerged from a disparity in social support in favour of females. This disparity was a direct consequence of male-biased dispersal and the disruptive effect of dispersal on social bonds. Accordingly, the degree of female dominance varied with the demographic and kin structure of the social groups, ranging from male and female co-dominance to complete female dominance. Our study shows that social support can drive sex-biased dominance and provides empirical evidence that a sex-role-defining trait can emerge without the direct effect of sex.
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Articles
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0718-9
Social support drives female dominance in the
spotted hyaena
ColinVullioud 1,2,4, EveDavidian 1,4, BettinaWachter1, FrançoisRousset3, AlexandreCourtiol 2,4
and OliverP.Höner 1,4*
1Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany. 2Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz
Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany. 3Department of Evolutionary Genetics, ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE,
Montpellier, France. 4These authors contributed equally: Colin Vullioud, Eve Davidian, Alexandre Courtiol, Oliver P. Höner *e-mail: hoener@izw-berlin.de
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
In the format provided by the authors and unedited.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION | www.nature.com/natecolevol
This file contains:
Supplementary Notes
Supplementary Figures 1-6
Supplementary Tables 1-6
Supplementary Notes
Why the social support proxy ‘supporter-proximityis unlikely to be confounded by
residency
In this study, we tested whether the probability of a spotted hyaena to win an agonistic
interaction against a hyaena of another clan was influenced by a disparity in the proximity to
potential supporters (that is, members of the clan), as deduced from the distance between the
location of the interaction and the current core areas of activity of the clan. In territorial
species such as the spotted hyaena, the winning probability may also be influenced by
residency if the interaction takes place inside the territorial boundaries of one individual (the
resident) but not the other (the intruder)1,2. For interactions at such locations, the residency
hypothesis predicts that the resident has a higher winning probability because it perceives the
territory as a resource of higher value and thus has a higher motivation to defend it1,2. At
these locations, the potential effects of social support and residency might be confounded
because the resident usually is closer to its supporters than the intruder. In contrast, at
locations where both hyaenas are intruders (in a third clan’s territory), or both are resident
(where two neighbouring territories overlap3), social support and residency are not
confounded because the residency hypothesis predicts that both have similar motivation and
winning probabilities.
To disentangle the effects of social support and residency, we thus studied interactions
that took place at a location closer to a third clan’s current core area of activity. This revealed
that, similar to the overall analysis (Fig. 1, black square and dot in panel Social support), the
individual that was closer to its clan’s current core area of activity won the majority (71%) of
interactions (n = 105). This confirms that the winning probability is influenced by social
support and that the effect of residency is likely to be small.
Why the social support proxy ‘tenure’ is unlikely to be confounded by age
In our study, we found that the probability of winning an agonistic interaction in the context
of intraclan interactions between two immigrant males was influenced by the number of
potential supporters, as estimated by the proxy ‘tenure’. Because tenure increases with age,
effects of tenure on the winning probability could reflect effects of age rather than social
support.
To discriminate between the effects of age and tenure, we studied interactions in
which one immigrant male was older but shorter tenured than the other. Immigrant males can
be older but shorter tenured than other immigrant males when they undertake breeding
dispersal after spending time in their first chosen clan4. These older, shorter tenured males
should be more likely to win against younger, longer tenured males than vice versa if age had
a stronger effect on the outcome than tenure. Contrary to this prediction, we found that
immigrant males that were older and shorter tenured than the immigrant male they interacted
with won only 38% of interactions (n = 143). This indicates that tenure (and social support)
has a stronger effect on dominance establishment than age.
Why our results on dominance establishment are unlikely to be confounded by
winner-loser effects
Winner and loser effects refer to a self-reinforcing process whereby an individual’s past
experience of winning or losing a dyadic interaction will affect its physiological or
psychological state, and influence its probability of winning subsequent interactions; winners
will reinforce their probability of winning whereas losers will reinforce their probability of
losing, independently of disparities in intrinsic attributes or other differences in competitive
ability such as the amount of social support5,6. The reinforcement mechanism of winner-loser
effects may involve a process of generalisation; the outcome of past interactions will
influence future winning probabilities against any other individual and in different social
contexts5,7. Winner-loser effects have been proposed as an alternative to the intrinsic attribute
hypothesis to explain the emergence of linear social hierarchies6. The two hypotheses
however are not mutually exclusive and disentangling winner-loser effects from effects of
intrinsic attributes and social support on dominance establishment can be challenging5,8. Our
results are unlikely to be confounded by a generalised reinforcement emerging from winner-
loser effects for three main reasons.
First, we incorporated in our models a random factor that considered the identity of the
interacting individuals and correlation between interactions involving the same individual(s).
The random factor thereby largely captured the effects of individual-level traits other than
those accounted for in our model and effects of repeated interactions by a given individual or
dyad that may be attributed to winner-loser effects. By discarding the realisation of the
random effect for the computation of model predictions, the strong predictive power
associated with the model predictions shows that disparities in the amount of social support
the individuals can expect to receive and not winner-loser effects were the main predictor
of dominance establishment between pairs of individuals.
Second, in the spotted hyaena system, individuals spend most of their time within their
clan territory and mainly interact with members of their own clan. According to the winner-
loser hypothesis, an individual’s winner or loser experience within its clan should strongly
influence its winning probability in the context of interclan interactions. In contrast to this
prediction, we found that the winning probabilities in interclan interactions were primarily
determined by asymmetries in social support as quantified by the individuals’ proximity to
the core area of activity of their respective clan. Thus, an individual’s competitive ability (and
winning probability) in the context of interclan interactions was independent of its experience
as winner or loser in the context of intraclan interactions.
Third, according to the winner-loser hypothesis, an individual’s competitive ability
should be independent of the identity of its interactor. Here, we quantified social support in
social contexts that involved two members of the same clan (intraclan-native and intraclan-
mixed) based on decision rules that considered the relatedness and ancestry relationships
between the two interactors and any bystander. These rules assume that the identity of one
interactor influences the number of supporters of the other. When we applied these rules, the
outcome of intraclan interactions was correctly predicted in the great majority of cases
(Supplementary Table 3). This confirms that generalised winner-loser effects were unlikely to
be at play in these social contexts and unlikely to have confounded our results.
Although winner-loser effects do not seem to be the main determinant of dominance
establishment in spotted hyaenas, they may still play a role in maintaining the stability of
social hierarchies within a clan. For example, individuals that occupy a high social rank are,
by definition, likely to win most of their social interactions. High-ranking individuals may in
turn become more prone to initiate interactions and to participate in coalitionary social
support and may thereby reinforce their social dominance within their clan.
References
1. O’Connor, C. M. et al. Motivation but not body size influences territorial contest dynamics in a
wild cichlid fish. Anim. Behav. 107, 1929 (2015).
2. Lu, A., Borries, C., Gustison, M. L., Larney, E. & Koenig, A. Age and reproductive status
influence dominance in wild female Phayre’s leaf monkeys. Anim. Behav. 117, 145153 (2016).
3. Höner, O. P., Wachter, B., East, M. L., Runyoro, V. A., Hofer, H. The effect of prey abundance
and foraging tactics on the population dynamics of a social, territorial carnivore, the spotted
hyena. Oikos 108, 544-554 (2005).
4. Davidian, E., Courtiol, A., Wachter, B., Hofer, H. & Höner, O. P. Why do some males choose to
breed at home when most other males disperse? Sci. Adv. 2, e1501236 (2016).
5. Bonabeau, E., Theraulaz, G. & Deneubourg, J.-L. Dominance orders in animal societies: the self-
organization hypothesis revisited. Bull. Math. Biol. 61, 727757 (1999).
6. Chase, I. D., Tovey, C., Spangler-Martin, D. & Manfredonia, M. Individual differences versus
social dynamics in the formation of animal dominance hierarchies. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99,
57445749 (2002).
7. Zhou, T. et al. History of winning remodels thalamo-PFC circuit to reinforce social dominance.
Science 357, 162168 (2017).
8. Franz, M., Mclean, E., Tung, J., Altmann, J. & Alberts, S. C. Self-organizing dominance
hierarchies in a wild primate population. Proc. R. Soc. B 282, 113121 (2015).
Supplementary Figure 1
Algorithm to calculate the number of clan members supporting a spotted hyaena in a dyadic interaction with another clan member. a,
The algorithm combines decision rules that consider the origin (native or immigrant) of individuals as well as the relatedness and ancestry
relationships between the interacting parties and any bystander. Shaded boxes show the decisions of the bystander. b, c, Maternal links between
two interacting individuals (A and B) and a bystander (C) involved in two exemplary interactions. Boxes shaded in orange and green show the
decisions of the bystanders in the two exemplary interactions.
C neutral
Is C native?
Is C kin of A and B?
Is C ancestor of A?
Is A ancestor or descendant of B?
Is Ax > Bx?
Are A and B native? Is C kin of A and/or B?
C supports kin
Is C ancestor of B?
Is Cz ≥ Bz?
C supports A
C supports A
C neutral
Is Cy Ay? C supports B
C supports B C neutral
C neutral Is B ancestor of A?
Is C ancestor of B?
C supports A Is Cz Bz?
C supports A C neutral
Is C ancestor of A?
C supports B Is Cy Ay?
C supports B C neutral
A, B interacting parties
C bystander
Ax daughter of common ancestor of A and B in line of A
Bx daughter of common ancestor of A and B in line of B
Ay daughter of common ancestor of A and C in line of A
Cy daughter of common ancestor of A and C in line of C
Bz daughter of common ancestor of B and C in line of B
Cz daughter of common ancestor of B and C in line of C
= is twin or same individual
> is older than
yes
no
C neutral Is C kin of A or B?
C supports kin C neutral Is Ax = Bx?
a
B
Bx, Bz
A
Ax, Cz
C
Ay
Cy
Time at birth
b
past
present
C
Cy, Cz
A
Ax, Ay
Bx, Bz
B
c past
present
Supplementary Figure 2
The decrease in cumulative relatedness experienced by dispersing male spotted hyaenas.
Cumulative relatedness was the sum of relatedness coefficients between an individual and all
other clan members through the maternal line. Time at 0 represents the date at which males
dispersed (n = 165 immigrant males) or started to be reproductively active in the natal clan (n
= 32 native males), respectively. Thin lines depict individual trajectories; thick lines and
shaded areas represent means ± CI95%.
0
2
4
2 0 2 4
Time (years)
Cumulative relatedness
Immigrant male
Native male
Supplementary Figure 3
The effect of dispersal and age on the social rank of spotted hyaenas. Ranks were
standardised by distributing them evenly between the highest rank (standardised rank +1) and
lowest rank (standardised rank -1), with the median rank scored as zero. For immigrant males
(n = 248), ranks were calculated one year before and after dispersal; for native males (n =
30), one year before and after the onset of reproductive activity; for females (n = 345), one
year before and after the mean dispersal age of males of 3.5 years. Boxes indicate the
interquartile range around the median (horizontal bar), and vertical bars represent cumulative
relatedness values that lie within 1.5 times the interquartile range.
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
Social rank
1yr before dispersal
1yr after dispersal
1yr before onset of
reproductive activity
1yr after onset of
reproductive activity
2.5 yrs of age
4.5 yrs of age
Supplementary Figure 4
The probability of an individual to be actively supported in a polyadic interaction as a
function of the distance to its clan’s core area of activity. The predicted probability was
calculated using a logistic regression mixed-effects model considering as response variable
the binary outcome for the support (0 = supported by no one, 1 = supported by at least one
clan member) during polyadic interactions (n = 506 interacting parties), as fixed-effect
predictor the distance to the clan’s current core area of activity, and as random effect the
individual identity. The shaded area depicts the CI95%.
0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
0 5 10 15 20
Distance to clan's current core area of activity (km)
Probability to be supported
Supplementary Figure 5
Relationship between the difference in cumulative relatedness and the difference in
potential social support between two interacting individuals. The Pearson correlation
coefficient was 0.62. The data points were jittered to reduce overlap.
● ●
●●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
40
0
40
84 0 4
D Cumulative relatedness
D Social support
Supplementary Figure 6
The body mass of female and male spotted hyaenas as a function of age. Lines represent
the predictions from the additive model for repeated measurements of 77 females and 90
males. Shaded areas depict the CI95%.
● ●
●●
●●
● ●
● ●
● ●
0
20
40
60
0 2 4 6 8 10
Age (years)
Body mass (kg)
Female
Male
Supplementary Table 1
Main hypotheses and predictions for the determinants of the establishment of
dominance relationships in spotted hyaenas
Hypothesis
Details
Prediction
Social support
The amount of social support an individual can
rely on affects its assertiveness and competitive
ability
The winning probability of the individual with
greater potential social support is higher (higher
than 50%) than that of its interactor, in all social
and sexual contexts
Intrinsic attributes:
Body mass
Larger body mass confers a competitive
advantage over an opponent
The winning probability of the heavier individual is
higher (higher than 50%) than that of its lighter
interactor, in all social and sexual contexts
Intrinsic attributes:
Sex-related
Females are more aggressive than males or differ
in other traits that provide them with a competitive
advantage over males
The winning probability of a female is higher
(higher than 50%) than that of her male interactor,
in all social contexts
Docile male
Male aggression against females impairs fitness.
To increase their chances to be chosen as mates,
males concede dominance to females when they
become reproductively active
The winning probability of an immigrant and a
reproductively active native male is lower (lower
than 50%) than that of his female interactor in all
social contexts
Ontogenetic switch
Dispersal is accompanied by ontogenetic socio-
behavioural changes; immigrants are less
aggressive and more submissive than before
emigration from their natal clan
The winning probability of an immigrant is lower
(lower than 50%) than that of his native interactor,
in all social and sexual contexts
Supplementary Table 2
Predicted winning probability of female and male spotted hyaenas during dyadic interactions as derived from the main hypotheses
tested in the study. Bold font indicates contexts for which predictions differ between at least two hypotheses and hypotheses can be
discriminated.
Hypothesis
Social
Intrinsic attributes (IA)
Docile
Ontogenetic
Social context
Sexual context
support (SS)
Body mass
Sex
male (DM)
switch (OS)
Discriminable hypotheses
Interclan§
intersex
FN = MN
FN = MI
FN > MN
FN > MI
FN > MN
FN > MI
FN = MN#
FN > MI
FN = MN
FN > MI
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ DM
SS ↔ OS
IA ↔ DM
IA ↔ OS
intrasex
FN = FN
MN = MN
MN = MI
MI = MI
FN = FN
MN = MN
MN = MI
MI = MI
FN = FN
MN = MN
MN = MI
MI = MI
FN = FN
MN = MN
MN = MI
MI = MI
FN = FN
MN = MN
MN > MI
MI = MI
SS ↔ OS
IA ↔ OS
DM ↔ OS
Intraclan-Mixed§
intersex
FN > MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
Intrasex
MN > MI
MN = MI
MN = MI
MN = MI
MN > MI
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ DM
IA ↔ OS
DM ↔ OS
Intraclan-Native
Intersex
FN = MN
FN > MN
FN > MN
FN = MN#
FN = MN
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ DM
IA ↔ DM
IA ↔ OS
Intrasex
FN = FN
MN = MN
FN = FN
MN = MN
FN = FN
MN = MN
FN = FN
MN = MN
FN = FN
MN = MN
Intraclan-Immigrant§
Intrasex
MI = MI
MI = MI
MI = MI
MI = MI
MI = MI
Interclan specific
Intersex
FN < MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
FN > MI
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ DM
SS ↔ OS
Intrasex
MN < MI
MN = MI
MN = MI
MN = MI
MN > MI
SS ↔ IA
SS ↔ DM
SS ↔ OS
IA ↔ OS
DM ↔ OS
FN, native female; MN, native male; MI, immigrant male; §assumes that immigrants are males; interactions between immigrant males who were closer to their clan’s current core area of
activity and natives from a different clan; #assumes that native males are not reproductively active in their natal clan (reproductively active native males would be predicted to submit to and
thus have lower winning probability than females).
Supplementary Table 3
The winning probabilities (in %) of the focal individuals as predicted by the models and
observed (raw) for the social support and intrinsic attributes (body mass, sex)
hypotheses. The focal individual is the individual with greater social support, the heavier
individual, and the female, respectively.
Social support
Body mass
Sex
Social context
Sexual context
n
predicted
raw
predicted
raw
predicted
raw
Interclan
intersex
200
85 (77-91)
83
57 (40-73)
62
62 (46-75)
62
intrasex
302
95 (89-98)
88
47 (23-73)
50
NA
NA
Intraclan-Mixed
intersex
421
98 (96-99)
97
79 (67-87)
83
98 (96-99)
97
intrasex
180
96 (86-99)
90
30 (08-69)
42
NA
NA
Intraclan-Native
intersex
488
76 (69-81)
67
45 (35-56)
49
50 (38-62)
52
intrasex
1313
85 (80-88)
80
31 (22-41)
43
NA
NA
Intraclan-Immigrant
intrasex
1229
93 (90-95)
85
58 (52-65)
64
NA
NA
Interclan specific§
153
97 (85-99)
88
NA
NA
NA
NA
Numbers in brackets are CI95%; n, number of interactions; NA, not applicable. Results in bold are consistent with the hypothesis
(see Supplementary Table 1). Predicted and raw probabilities differ because the model fits control for the identity of the
interacting individuals and thus remove bias from unbalanced representation. §Interactions between immigrant males who were
closer to their clan’s current core area of activity and natives of both sexes of a different clan.
Supplementary Table 4
The predictive power of models predicting the probability that a hyaena wins an
interaction
Model name
Focal individual
Fixed-effect model structure
logLik
df
AIC
Tjur's D
Intersex interactions
social_inter_fullfit
most support
social_context * (body_mass_bin + sex)
-411.91
9
841.82
0.51
social_inter_nosex
most support
social_context * body_mass_bin
-413.36
6
840.72
0.51
social_inter_nomass
most support
social_context * sex
-414.65
6
841.29
0.51
social_inter_null
most support
social_context
-417.78
3
843.57
0.50
mass_inter_fullfit
heaviest
social_context * (social_support_bin + sex)
-411.91
9
841.82
0.51
mass_inter_nosex
heaviest
social_context * social_support_bin
-413.36
6
840.72
0.51
mass_inter_nosupport
heaviest
social_context * sex
-481.51
6
977.01
0.36
mass_inter_null
heaviest
social_context
-576.84
3
1161.67
0.15
sex_inter_fullfit
female
social_context * (body_mass_bin + social_support_bin)
-411.91
9
841.82
0.51
sex_inter_nosupport
female
social_context * body_mass_bin
-481.51
6
977.01
0.36
sex_inter_nomass
female
social_context * social_support_bin
-414.65
6
841.29
0.51
sex_inter_null
female
social_context
-484.60
3
977.21
0.36
Intrasex interactions
social_intra_fullfit
most support
social_context * body_mass_bin
-1010.96
6
2039.91
0.54
social_intra_null
most support
social_context
-1027.58
3
2065.17
0.54
mass_intra_fullfit
heaviest
social_context * social_support_bin
-1010.96
6
2039.91
0.54
mass_intra_null
heaviest
social_context
-1364.04
3
2738.08
0.05
The predictive power was expressed as AIC and Tjur's D. AIC measures the accuracy of a model at predicting new samples from
the (unobserved) true model. A low (high) AIC indicates high (low) predictive power. Predictive powers can only be compared
within the same sexual context, that is, within intersex or intrasex interactions. Tjur's D measures the accuracy of the fitted model
at predicting the fitted data. D is defined by the average difference between the winning probabilities of the individuals that did
actually win and the individuals that did actually lose. The predictive power increases with increasing D and a D of 0.5 represents
a substantial difference in winning probabilities. Equivalences of model results are expected because defining the focal according
to a predictor or using a covariate as a binary predictor is equivalent (see methods). +, additive effects alone; *, additive effect
together with interactions. Variables ending with the suffix _bin are binary and took 1 if the focal individual had a larger trait value
than the non-focal individual, and 0 otherwise. The variable sex also contains two levels (M/F or F/M in intersex interactions, and
M/M or F/F in intrasex interactions; with the format focal/opponent). An example of the summary output of a full model fit is
provided in Supplementary Table 6.
Supplementary Table 5
The variation in female dominance due to clan demography in spotted hyaenas
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Clan
Shamba
Lemala
Munge
Engitati
Triangle
Date
1998-09-22
2005-01-01
2005-01-01
2003-07-01
1999-01-01
N females
1
32
20
15
7
N males
4
16
21
15
6
Sum ranks females
3
736
368
178
29
Sum ranks males
12
440
493
287
62
U females
2
304
262
167
41
U males
2
208
158
58
1
Max U
4
512
420
225
42
Female dominance
0.5
0.59375
0.62381
0.74222
0.97619
Rank 1
male (N)
female (N)
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 2
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 3
female (I)
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 4
male (I)
male (N)
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 5
male (I)
female (N)
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 6
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 7
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
male (N)
Rank 8
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 9
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 10
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 11
female (N)
male (N)
male (N)
male (I)
Rank 12
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 13
female (N)
female (N)
male (N)
male (I)
Rank 14
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 15
female (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 16
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 17
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 18
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 19
male (N)
male (N)
female (N)
Rank 20
female (N)
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 21
male (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 22
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 23
female (N)
male (N)
male (I)
Rank 24
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 25
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 26
female (N)
male (N)
male (I)
Rank 27
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 28
male (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 29
female (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 30
male (N)
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 31
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 32
female (N)
female (N)
Rank 33
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 34
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 35
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 36
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 37
male (N)
male (I)
Rank 38
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 39
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 40
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 41
female (N)
male (I)
Rank 42
female (N)
Rank 43
male (I)
Rank 44
male (I)
Rank 45
male (I)
Rank 46
male (I)
Rank 47
male (I)
Rank 48
male (I)
Female dominance was calculated using the standardised Mann-Whitney U statistic of the social ranks of female and male clan
members that were >1 year of age. N, native; I, immigrant.
Supplementary Table 6
Model parameter estimates for a full model fitting the intersex interactions
Fixed effects
Term
Estimate
Cond. SE
t-value
Intercept
-1.021
0.411
-2.479
Social_context (Mixed)
1.792
0.709
2.528
Social_context (Native)
0.005
0.493
0.010
Sex (M/F)
-0.897
0.781
-1.149
Social_support_bin (TRUE)
3.556
0.552
6.444
Social_context (Mixed) : Sex (M/F)
-2.930
1.302
-2.250
Social_context (Native) : Sex (M/F)
0.518
0.924
0.561
Social_context (Mixed) : Social_support_bin (TRUE)
NA
NA
NA
Social_context (Native) : Social_support_bin (TRUE)
-1.375
0.646
-2.129
Random effects
Term
Variance
PairsID
3.841
Estimates are for the model mass_inter_fullfit (see Supplementary Table 4), where the heavier individual is considered as focal
for each interaction. For fixed effects, columns give the name of the model parameter (Term), its estimate (Estimate), the
standard error on parameter estimates conditional on other parameters being considered at their best estimate (Cond. SE), and
the ratio between the estimate and the standard error providing an effect size (t-value). The intercept is the estimate of the log-
odds of the winning success for a female that is heavier but less socially supported than its male competitor during an interclan
interaction. Other estimates correspond to departure from this baseline situation (also on the logit scale) with the factor level
under consideration indicated between parentheses (for the social context: Mixed or Native each contrasted to the baseline Inter;
for sex: M/F, indicating that the focal is a male and that the opponent is a female, contrasted to the baseline F/M, indicating the
reverse situation; for the social support: TRUE, indicating the focal is more supported than the opponent, is contrasted to the
baseline FALSE, indicating the reverse situation). The row with NA indicates that the corresponding parameter was not fitted
because no immigrant male was more socially supported than its native female opponent. For the random effects, the variance is
given on the logit scale. PairsID are the levels of the random effect correlated among dyadic interactions sharing one or both
individuals (see methods). This model produces the same fit as the models social_inter_fullfit and sex_inter_fullfit (see
Supplementary Table 4) but in contrast to these other models, its parameterisation illustrates both the effect of social support and
sex.
... Compared to the factors influencing male dominance, those that mediate female dominance in mammalian societies remain poorly understood. Nevertheless, three proximate mechanisms leading to female dominance over males have been proposed: (1) intrinsic attributes or sex-based differences in the ability to use force (e.g., body size, physical strength, aggressiveness; Watts et al., 2009); (2) extrinsic, or derived, attributes, including sex-based differences in social support (e.g., coalition and alliance partners; Vullioud et al., 2019), and (3) leverage or sex-based differences in resources that cannot be taken by force (e.g., fertilizable eggs; Lewis, 2020). ...
... Spotted hyenas live in mixed-sex matrilineal societies called 'clans, ' which are characterized by low within-group relatedness, female philopatry, and male dispersal Van Horn et al., 2004;Holekamp et al., 2012). Past studies of spotted hyenas have supported both the intrinsic attributes hypothesis (Frank, 1986) and the social support hypothesis (Vullioud et al., 2019). ...
... The social support hypothesis suggests that differential social support allows females to dominate males (Vullioud et al., 2019). Under this hypothesis, female dominance over adult males arises because females have more social support than males, driven by male-biased dispersal that leads adult males to join a new clan where they lack kinship or social ties. ...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Dominance relationships in which females dominate males are rare among mammals. Mechanistic hypotheses explaining the occurrence of female dominance suggest that females dominate males because (1) they are intrinsically more aggressive or less submissive than males, and/or (2) they have access to more social support than males. Methods Here, we examine the determinants of female dominance across ontogenetic development in spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta ) using 30 years of detailed behavioral observations from the Mara Hyena Project to evaluate these two hypotheses. Results Among adult hyenas, we find that females spontaneously aggress at higher rates than males, whereas males spontaneously submit at higher rates than females. Once an aggressive interaction has been initiated, adult females are more likely than immigrant males to elicit submission from members of the opposite sex, and both adult natal and immigrant males are more likely than adult females to offer submission in response to an aggressive act. We also find that adult male aggressors are more likely to receive social support than are adult female aggressors, and that both adult natal and immigrant males are 2–3 times more likely to receive support when attacking a female than when attacking another male. Across all age classes, females are more likely than males to be targets of aggressive acts that occur with support. Further, receiving social support does slightly help immigrant males elicit submission from adult females compared to immigrant males acting alone, and it also helps females elicit submission from other females. However, adult females can dominate immigrant males with or without support far more often than immigrant males can dominate females, even when the immigrants are supported against females. Discussion Overall, we find evidence for both mechanisms hypothesized to mediate female dominance in this species: (1) male and female hyenas clearly differ in their aggressive and submissive tendencies, and (2) realized social support plays an important role in shaping dominance relationships within a clan. Nevertheless, our results suggest that social support alone cannot explain sex-biased dominance in spotted hyenas. Although realized social support can certainly influence fight outcomes among females, adult females can easily dominate immigrant males without any support at all.
... Here, we present the first account of coordination of breeding-group choice among male spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta, a non-cooperatively breeding social carnivore that lives in multi-male-multi-female groups (clans) of up to 130 individuals [30,31]. We used 24 years of behavioural, demographic and genetic pedigree data from eight clans of a free-ranging population in Tanzania that is characterized by high local recruitment [10]. ...
... Over 80% of males born in the population choose one of the eight study clans to breed [10,39] and do so when 3.4 years old on average [10,13]; 85% of these males disperse from their birth clan and join another Crater clan as immigrant males while 15% establish themselves as reproducing 'philopatric' males in their birth clan [10]. Female philopatry is the norm [31,34]. Males were considered to have chosen a breeding clan when they displayed a sexual interest in the females and engaged in social interactions (see electronic supplementary material, S1) with the members of that clan for at least three months [35,42]. ...
... We cannot fully discard the possibility that the density dependence of the coordination among full siblings and close kin does not, at least in part, result from passive processes shaped by density-dependent genetic effects [51,52]. Yet, kinship is a strong driver of coalitionary support-a potent form of cooperation-in spotted hyenas [31,53]. The frequent coordination of breeding-clan choices therefore does create the potential for the evolution of cooperation among males [54,55]. ...
Article
Full-text available
When and where animals reproduce influences the social, demographic and genetic properties of the groups and populations they live in. We examined the extent to which male spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta ) coordinate their breeding-group choice. We tested whether their propensity to settle in the same group is shaped by passive processes driven by similarities in their socio-ecological background and genotype or by an adaptive process driven by kin selection. We compared the choices of 148 pairs of same-cohort males that varied in similarity and kinship. We found strong support for both processes. Coordination was highest (70% of pairs) for littermates, who share most cumulative similarity, lower (36%) among peers born in the same group to different mothers, and lowest (7%) among strangers originating from different groups and mothers. Consistent with the kin selection hypothesis, the propensity to choose the same group was density dependent for full siblings and close kin, but not distant kin. Coordination increased as the number of breeding females and male competitors in social groups increased, i.e. when costs of kin competition over mates decreased and benefits of kin cooperation increased. Our results contrast with the traditional view that breeding-group choice and dispersal are predominantly solitary processes.
... Like several species of social mammals, spotted hyaenas are organised in fission-fusion societies (Drea and Frank 2003;Smith et al. 2007) which are characterised by a nepotistic dominance hierarchical system (Kruuk 1972;Tilson and Hamilton 1984;Frank 1986;Mills 1990;Wahaj et al. 2004). Despite the strict hierarchy, the species shows a high level of social flexibility which is guaranteed by social support, cooperative behaviour and coalitions (Stratford and Periquet 2019;Vullioud et al. 2019). The reciprocal support in rearing offspring (König1997), hunting and defending territories ) is an important social tool to manage power asymmetries among individuals (Vullioud et al. 2019). ...
... Despite the strict hierarchy, the species shows a high level of social flexibility which is guaranteed by social support, cooperative behaviour and coalitions (Stratford and Periquet 2019;Vullioud et al. 2019). The reciprocal support in rearing offspring (König1997), hunting and defending territories ) is an important social tool to manage power asymmetries among individuals (Vullioud et al. 2019). For all these reasons, the spotted hyaena is a good candidate to explore the potential correlates of yawning and check for the possible presence of its contagiousness. ...
... In wild lions, Casetta et al. (2021) did not investigate if a yawn actually occurred in coincidence with a changing in the behavioural status of the first yawner, although they demonstrated that being infected by a companion's yawn provoked an alignment of the activities between the first and the second yawner. Considering the high levels of cohesion and cooperation typical of spotted hyaenas, we can reasonably hypothesise that yawn contagion can be an adaptive phenomenon also in this species and that it could help synchronise activities, especially between females due to their leading role in the groups (Stratford and Périquet 2019;Vullioud et al. 2019). This hypothesis would be worth to be investigated in the future by enlarging the datasets both on males and females and embracing the different subgroups deriving from the fission-fusion events typical of the species (Strauss et al. 2021). ...
Article
Full-text available
Yawning is a complex behaviour linked to several physiological (e.g. drowsiness, arousal, thermoregulation) and social phenomena (e.g. yawn contagion). Being yawning an evolutionary well-conserved, fixed action pattern widespread in vertebrates, it is a valuable candidate to test hypotheses on its potential functions across the different taxa. The spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), the most social and cooperative species of the Hyaenidae family, is a good model to test hypotheses on yawning correlates and significances. Through an accurate sequential analysis performed on a group of wild hyaenas, we found that yawning mainly occurred during an imminent behavioural state changing in both juveniles and adults and that seeing others’ yawn elicited a mirror response in the receiver, thus demonstrating that yawn contagion is present in this species. These results taken together suggest that yawning is linked to a behavioural state change of the yawner and that such change is caught by the observers that engage in a motor resonance phenomenon, yawn contagion, possibly effective in anticipating yawners’ motor actions. Although additional data are necessary to verify whether yawn contagion translates into subsequent motor convergence and alignment, our data suggest that both spontaneous and contagious yawning can be fundamental building blocks on the basis of animal synchronisation in highly social and cooperative species. Significant statement Yawning is pervasive in many animal species, including humans. It is considered as a polyfunctional cue that has a role in regulating social interactions. While several studies focussed on yawning functions in primates, a little amount of effort was devoted to exploring this behaviour in social carnivores. We monitored a group of wild spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), which is one of the most cooperative carnivore species. In both immature and adult subjects, we found that a subject frequently changed its behavioural state after spontaneously yawning and that seeing others’ yawn elicited a mirror response in the observer. Although additional data are necessary to verify whether yawn contagion translates into subsequent motor convergence and alignment, our data suggest that both spontaneous and contagious yawning can be fundamental building blocks on the basis of animal synchronisation in highly social and cooperative species.
... Like several primate species, spotted hyenas live in fission-fusion societies organized in a strict nepotistic but highly cooperative system (Drea and Frank, 2003;Smith et al., 2007) where the members of the clan support each other in rearing offspring (Konig, 1997), hunting, and defending territories . The females are dominant over males and reach their high ranking status by forming alliances with other females (Vullioud et al., 2019). The leverage advantage of low-ranking females over the dominants can be an important tool to manipulate power asymmetries among individuals. ...
... While the amount of social play in immature hyenas did not differ between the sexes (Tanner et al., 2007), adult females have been observed engaging in play fighting more than males (Kruuk, 1972;Fagen, 1981;Mills, 1994). Social play between adult females of spotted hyenas can reflect their need to cooperate and form alliances for territorial defense and control over males (Vullioud et al., 2019). ...
Article
Play is generally considered an immature affair. However, adult play is present in several mammal species living in complex social systems. Here, I hypothesize that adult social play is favored by natural selection in those species characterized by high level of social tolerance and/or by the need of others’ cooperation to reach a goal (i.e., leverage). The integration and comparison of bio-behavioral data on non-human primates and wild social carnivores allows drawing a comprehensive picture on the importance of adult play in facing unpredictable, novel social situations and in overcoming stressful experiences. The ability to cope with potentially competitive interactions through play can favor the emergence of egalitarian societies. A further interesting and beneficial aspect of adult play is its role in synchronizing group activities and favoring collective decision making by renovating the motivation to cooperate in groupmates. As a last step, some considerations about the presence of adult play in the most egalitarian and cooperative human groups (e.g., hunter-gatherer societies) allows discussing the apparent dichotomy between cultural and biological evolution of certain behavioral traits, including social play in adulthood.
... Accordingly, females may be more or less dominant depending on their reproductive state: for example, female mouse lemurs win more intersexual conflicts during the reproductive season than outside of it (Hohenbrink et al., 2016), and in many monogamous birds, females are more dominant over males when they are sexually receptive (Smith, 1980). Finally, social support and coalitions can also influence the outcome of agonistic interactions in different taxa (Weiß and Kotrschal, 2004;Markham et al., 2015), and may shape emerging hierarchies and reinforce established ones (Bissonnette et al., 2009;Strauss and Holekamp, 2019;Vullioud et al., 2019). In mammals, female philopatry is frequent (Greenwood, 1980), and philopatric females often ground their dominance relationships on social support (Clutton-Brock and Huchard, 2013a), which may further influence the outcome of intersexual interactions, as shown in spotted hyenas (Vullioud et al., 2019). ...
... Finally, social support and coalitions can also influence the outcome of agonistic interactions in different taxa (Weiß and Kotrschal, 2004;Markham et al., 2015), and may shape emerging hierarchies and reinforce established ones (Bissonnette et al., 2009;Strauss and Holekamp, 2019;Vullioud et al., 2019). In mammals, female philopatry is frequent (Greenwood, 1980), and philopatric females often ground their dominance relationships on social support (Clutton-Brock and Huchard, 2013a), which may further influence the outcome of intersexual interactions, as shown in spotted hyenas (Vullioud et al., 2019). However, few studies have examined the influence of social support on intersexual dominance in species where males are generally dominant over females. ...
Article
Full-text available
Intersexual dominance, which is measured by the probability that members of one sex elicit submission of members of the other sex during agonistic interactions, is often skewed in favor of males. However, even in sexually dimorphic species, several factors may influence intersexual dominance. Here, we use an 8-year dataset to examine the dynamics of intersexual dominance in wild-living mandrills ( Mandrillus sphinx ). Mandrills exhibit an extreme male-biased sexual size dimorphism but females show pronounced kin-differentiated social relationships and occasionally form coalitions against males. We established intersexual hierarchies across consecutive 6-month time blocks, representing either mating or birth seasons. Although females appeared to outrank 11% of males, they elicited male submission in only 2% of agonistic interactions against males. This discrepancy is likely due to the temporary residency of most males in the exceptionally large mandrill groups, the sexually coercive male mating strategies and the scarce number of agonistic interactions within most dyads, that may limit hierarchical inferences. In a second step, we found that the intersexual hierarchy mixes the intrasexual ones respecting their respective order. Females outranked mostly young and old males during the mating (vs. birth) season and social integration was positively correlated to dominance status in both sexes. In a third step, we found that females win more conflicts against young or old males which are closer to them in the intersexual hierarchy. These results extend our understanding of female-male dominance relationships by indicating that female mandrills occasionally outrank males who are considerably larger than them, and that a combination of demographic and social factors can influence the intersexual hierarchy.
... Causes of dominance rank are, thus, more complex and do not depend merely on body size. For instance, dominance rank may depend on other processes such as coalitional support (Vullioud et al., 2019), or the self-reinforcing effect of winning and losing competitive interactions (Franz et al., 2015), the so-called "winner-loser effect, " which is prevalent in the animal kingdom (Hsu et al., 2006). The winner-loser effect causes winners to be more likely to win subsequent fights and losers to be more likely to lose them. ...