Affiliation Between Aggressors and Third Parties Following Conflicts in Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca, fascicularis)

Abstract

Studies on cercopithecine monkeys have shown that soon after an agonistic conflict, victims have increased rates of affiliation with the agressor—reconciliation—but not with other group members. Postconflict affiliation is thought to function to restore disturbed relationships and to reduce social tension. This study on a captive group of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) is focused on postconflict affiliative behavior of the aggressor. Increased rates of contact between female aggressors and kin of the victim occurred, as well as between female aggressors and their own kin. Furthermore, there were increased rates of contact between aggressors—males and females—and other group members. The increase in contacts with the victim's kin was selective, i.e., it could not be ascribed to the increased contact tendency with group members in general, and was not a side effect of the aggressor's proximity to the victim due to reconciliation. The increase in contacts with own kin was not selective. The fact that male aggressors do not have increased postconflict contacts with their kin or with kin of the victim is in agreement with the notion that males are less integrated in the nepotistic matrilineal network than females are. The fact that studies by others that focused on the victim evidence no increase in postconflict contacts with kin of the opponent or with other group members may be explained by the aggressor's larger influence over the postconflict situation: to reduce social tension, it might be more effective to affiliate with the aggressor than with the victim. Our findings emphasize that conflicts influence the behavior of other monkeys besides the direct contestants and, thus, indicate that the disturbance of social homeostasis is a matter of concern for all group members.