Social support drives female dominance in the spotted hyaena

@article{Vullioud2018SocialSD,
  title={Social support drives female dominance in the spotted hyaena},
  author={Colin Vullioud and Eve Davidian and Bettina Wachter and François Rousset and Alexandre Courtiol and Oliver P. H{\"o}ner},
  journal={Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
  year={2018},
  volume={3},
  pages={71-76}
}
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… 
View on Springer
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
35 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
2
Background Citations
10
Methods Citations
1
Results Citations
2

35 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

The Island of Female Power? Intersexual Dominance Relationships in the Lemurs of Madagascar
TLDR
The occurrence of female dominance in all lemur families and the interspecific variation in its extent indicate that it has evolved soon after lemurs colonized Madagascar – presumably in response to particular ecological challenges – and thatIt has since been reduced in magnitude independently in some taxa.
The interplay between social rank, physiological constraints and investment in courtship in male spotted hyenas
TLDR
It is demonstrated that the physiological costs of intrasexual competition in male spotted hyenas vary with social rank and shape behavioural trade-offs between the allocation of time and physiological resources to social integration, reproduction and self-maintenance.
Attractiveness of female sexual signaling predicts differences in female grouping patterns between bonobos and chimpanzees
TLDR
It is shown that sexual signaling affects patterns of female spatial association differently in chimpanzees and bonobos, indicating its relevance in shaping the respective social systems and highlighting that the temporal distribution of female sexual receptivity is an important factor to consider when studying mammalian sociality.
Reproduction within a hierarchical society from a female's perspective.
TLDR
The effects of rank on the various phases of reproduction, from mating to weaning, are examined and the effect of rank at these different reproductive phases leads to dramatic rank-related variation in fitness among females and their lineages.
The eco-evolutionary landscape of power relationships between males and females.
Infanticide by females is a leading source of juvenile mortality in a large social carnivore
TLDR
Of four hypotheses regarding the evolution of infanticide, the most support is found for the hypothesis thatinfanticide in spotted hyenas reflects competition over social status among matrilines.
Size, species and audience type influence heterospecific female–female competition
Female Power in Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) Is Based on Maturity, Not Body Size
TLDR
The results are consistent with the hypothesis that female leverage characterizes social structures of adult Verreaux’s sifaka more than female dominance, and future studies are needed to explore the influence of other sources of leverage and dominance, however.
Social alliances improve rank and fitness in convention-based societies
TLDR
It is found that females who are strongly allied with their group-mates are more likely to improve their status, and that upward social mobility is often achieved with support from their closest allies, suggesting that social alliances facilitate revolutionary social change.
Dominance in a socially dynamic setting: hierarchical structure and conflict dynamics in ravens' foraging groups
TLDR
The results indicate that the socially dynamic conditions ravens face during foraging do not hinder, but provide opportunities for, using (advanced) social cognition.
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 65 REFERENCES
Intersexual dominance relationships and the influence of leverage on the outcome of conflicts in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus)
TLDR
The results of this study indicate that both female sexuality and male mating strategies are involved in the shifting dominance relationships between the sexes, and post-hoc analyses indicate a sex-independent dominance hierarchy with several females occupying the top ranks.
Social organization of the spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta. II. Dominance and reproduction
Androgen levels and female social dominance in Lemur catta
TLDR
It is concluded that female dominance in ring–tailed lemurs is neither based on physical superiority nor on high androgen levels and that it is equally important to study male subordination and prenatal brain priming effects for a complete understanding of this phenomenon.
Female mate-choice drives the evolution of male-biased dispersal in a social mammal
TLDR
It is shown that male-biased dispersal in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) most probably results from an adaptive response by males to simple female mate-choice rules that have evolved to avoid inbreeding.
Female Dominance over Males in Primates: Self-Organisation and Sexual Dimorphism
TLDR
The self-organisation hypothesis is confirmed: a model based on the winner-loser effect predicts that female dominance over males increases with the percentage of males in the group, and this pattern is confirmed at several levels in empirical data.
Ontogeny of dominance in free-living spotted hyaenas: juvenile rank relations with adult females and immigrant males
TLDR
The ontogeny of rank relationships between juveniles and adults was examined in a clan of free-living spotted hyaenas and Dispersal appeared to precipitate a dramatic decline in the social status of males.
Behavioral processes and costs of co-existence in female spotted hyenas: a life history perspective
TLDR
This study shows that the frequency-dependent outcome of behavioral processes can be a key determinant of maternal reproductive success in social carnivores and have a profound influence on the reproductive career prospects of offspring.
Ontogeny of sexual size dimorphism in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
TLDR
It is demonstrated that female spotted hyenas are larger than males for most, but not all traits, and that females are larger because they grow faster, rather than exhibiting a prolonged period of growth, and proposed that later-maturing traits are more dimorphic because of a systemic increase in female growth rates during adolescence that persists through morphological maturity.
The evolution of infanticide by females in mammals
TLDR
The findings suggest that the potential direct fitness rewards of gaining access to reproductive resources have a stronger influence on the expression of female aggression than the indirect fitness costs of competing against kin.
Post-weaning maternal effects and the evolution of female dominance in the spotted hyena
TLDR
It is suggested that constraints imposed by the development of a feeding apparatus specialized for bone cracking, in combination with the intensive feeding competition characteristic of spotted hyenas, led to the evolution of female dominance.
...
...