Baboons

Question 1

What group of primates do baboons belong to?

Answer 1

Cercopithecoids (OWMs), Cercopithecines (cheek-pouches)

Question 2

Why are baboons useful as referential models (3)?

Answer 2

1) Omnivorous
2) Savannah-dwelling
3) Complex social organization

Question 3

What is a common pattern in savanna baboons in terms of philopatry?

Answer 3

Female philopatric and strong FF bonds

Question 4

Which species are baboon-like?

Answer 4

Drills, Mandrills, and Geladas

Question 5

What type of group are baboons?

Answer 5

Monophyletic group

Question 6

What are some characteristics of mandrills (4)?

Answer 6

1) Forest baboons
2) Fruit-motivated omnivore
3) Males are solitary except for during breeding season when they congregate with females
4) Male coloration = dominance/rank

Question 7

What are some characteristics of Drills (3)?

Answer 7

1) Forest baboons
2) Fruit-motivated omnivore
3) multi-M/F or OMU

Question 8

What does savanna baboon social organization look like?

Answer 8

Organized in stable troops that are always together, with multiple males and females (more females than males)

Question 9

What is savanna baboon diet?

Answer 9

Generalized diet

Question 10

What is the locomotion of savanna baboons?

Answer 10

Terrestrial quadruped

Question 11

What are the 3 components of savannah baboon social structure?

Answer 11

1) FF (female philopatry)
2) FM (friendships and consortships)
3) MM (dominance and some coalitions)

Question 12

What do female-female interactions look like in savanna baboons?

Answer 12

Females form kin-clusters, where the more closely related, the higher the sociality index

Question 13

What is the spatial association index?

Answer 13

Measures how much time one spends near a particular individual, indicative of relationship

Question 14

What is the sociality index?

Answer 14

Average score for grooming/groomed, and proximity between individuals

Question 15

Which pair of females have the highest sociality index?

Answer 15

Mothers with their daughters

Question 16

How does female dominance within families work?

Answer 16

Youngest ascendancy - where younger daughters have higher reproductive value (more potential)

Question 17

Is youngest ascendancy absolutely strict?

Answer 17

No. Dominance also depends on individual characteristics

Question 18

Where does the youngest daughter of a female kin-cluster place after maturing?

Answer 18

Second to that of the mother

Question 19

Are within-family dominance hierarchies stable or changing?

Answer 19

Relationships between females are stable with few reversals

Question 20

How does female dominance between families work?

Answer 20

All females in one matriline outrank all females of another

Question 21

Are between-family dominance hierarchies stable or changing?

Answer 21

Stable but with occasional changes

Question 22

How can between-families dominance change?

Answer 22

Dominant = winner of an agonistic interaction

Question 23

How do high-ranking females fair in comparison to low-ranking females?

Answer 23

High-ranking females tend to eat better and have higher RS

Question 24

How does female dominance differ in chimpanzees versus baboons?

Answer 24

1) More dominant chimpanzee females have access to better core areas in chimpanzees since they are solitary
2) More dominant baboon females eat the better stuff in a group of females

Question 25

Who do baboons often offer coalitionary support to?

Answer 25

Those closely related to them

Question 26

What are the 2 types of male/female relationships in baboons?

Answer 26

1) Consortships
2) Friendships

Question 27

What is consortship?

Answer 27

Lower-ranking males “steal” females from a group for a few hours at a time to mate, occurring around ovulation

Question 28

What are male/female friendships?

Answer 28

Interactions between males and females outside of estrus

Question 29

What benefits does a friendship provide to a female?

Answer 29

1) Protection (from infanticide and other forms of harassment)
2) Babysitting by the male

Question 30

What benefits does a friendship provide for a male?

Answer 30

1) Perhaps increased probability of become future mates
2) The infant could be their own
3) Infants as agonistic buffers

Question 31

What do male-male relationships look like in baboons?

Answer 31

Have a hierarchy of their own and are frequently coalition partners

Question 32

What does male dominance look like among baboons?

Answer 32

1) Rank tends to predict RS
2) New immigrants are often highest-ranked because they are young and have high levels of testosterone

Question 33

What are male coalitions for?

Answer 33

Useful in consortships

Question 34

What are the characteristics of male-male coalitions?

Answer 34

They are long-lasting and occur between older and mid-ranking individuals

Question 35

What are the characteristics of Hamadryas baboons?

Answer 35

1) Neither sex philopatric (both sexes disperse) although some stay in their natal clan
2) multi-tier social structure and OMU reproductive units
3) Females are social mostly with the unit male

Question 36

How did ecological pressures shape the Hamadryas baboon society?

Answer 36

1) Ancestral female-bonded savanna baboon
2) Arid habitat = low resource density, high predation risk, and high infanticide risk, making it hard to remain together
3) Groups of females become more dispersed and rely on males for protection

Question 37

What are some characteristics of Kinda baboons (4)?

Answer 37

1) Live close to trees
2) Females remain in the troops for life and their rank is assigned at birth
3) Males move between troops and their social status changes
4) Newcomer males start at the bottom of the hierarchy

Question 38

Which sex tends to form more friendships?

Answer 38

Females generally only have 1-2 male friends, whereas males tend to have 0-8 female friends