Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas
Competition is commonly reflected in aggressive interactions among groupmates as individuals try to attain or maintain higher social ranks that can offer them better access to critical resources. In this study, we investigate the factors that can shift competitive incentives against higher- or lower...
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/107093 |
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| author | Nikolaos Smit Martha M Robbins |
| author_facet | Nikolaos Smit Martha M Robbins |
| author_sort | Nikolaos Smit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Competition is commonly reflected in aggressive interactions among groupmates as individuals try to attain or maintain higher social ranks that can offer them better access to critical resources. In this study, we investigate the factors that can shift competitive incentives against higher- or lower-ranking groupmates, that is, more or less powerful individuals. We use a long-term behavioural data set on five wild groups of the two gorilla species starting in 1998, and we show that most aggression is directed from higher- to lower-ranking adult females close in rank, highlighting rank-reinforcement incentives. Yet, females directed 42% of aggression to higher-ranking females than themselves. Females targeted groupmates of higher rank with increasing number of males in the group, suggesting that males might buffer female–female aggression risk. Contrarily, they targeted females of lower rank with increasing number of females in the group, potentially because this is a low-risk option that females prefer when they have access to a larger pool of competitors to choose from. Lactating and pregnant females, especially those in the latest stage of pregnancy, targeted groupmates of higher rank than the groupmates that cycling females targeted, suggesting that energetic needs may motivate females to risk confrontation with more powerful rivals. Our study provides critical insights into the evolution of competitive behaviour, showing that aggression heuristics, the simple rules that animals use to guide their aggressive interactions, are not merely species-specific but also dependent on the conditions that populations and individuals experience. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ee1effeb4ba4274a642a3a4f61297c9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
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| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ee1effeb4ba4274a642a3a4f61297c92025-08-22T11:15:28ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-08-011410.7554/eLife.107093Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillasNikolaos Smit0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0440-1998Martha M Robbins1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6037-7542Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyCompetition is commonly reflected in aggressive interactions among groupmates as individuals try to attain or maintain higher social ranks that can offer them better access to critical resources. In this study, we investigate the factors that can shift competitive incentives against higher- or lower-ranking groupmates, that is, more or less powerful individuals. We use a long-term behavioural data set on five wild groups of the two gorilla species starting in 1998, and we show that most aggression is directed from higher- to lower-ranking adult females close in rank, highlighting rank-reinforcement incentives. Yet, females directed 42% of aggression to higher-ranking females than themselves. Females targeted groupmates of higher rank with increasing number of males in the group, suggesting that males might buffer female–female aggression risk. Contrarily, they targeted females of lower rank with increasing number of females in the group, potentially because this is a low-risk option that females prefer when they have access to a larger pool of competitors to choose from. Lactating and pregnant females, especially those in the latest stage of pregnancy, targeted groupmates of higher rank than the groupmates that cycling females targeted, suggesting that energetic needs may motivate females to risk confrontation with more powerful rivals. Our study provides critical insights into the evolution of competitive behaviour, showing that aggression heuristics, the simple rules that animals use to guide their aggressive interactions, are not merely species-specific but also dependent on the conditions that populations and individuals experience.https://elifesciences.org/articles/107093aggression heuristicshierarchyrankrisk-takinggorillas |
| spellingShingle | Nikolaos Smit Martha M Robbins Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas eLife aggression heuristics hierarchy rank risk-taking gorillas |
| title | Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| title_full | Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| title_fullStr | Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| title_short | Risk-taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| title_sort | risk taking incentives predict aggression heuristics in female gorillas |
| topic | aggression heuristics hierarchy rank risk-taking gorillas |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/107093 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nikolaossmit risktakingincentivespredictaggressionheuristicsinfemalegorillas AT marthamrobbins risktakingincentivespredictaggressionheuristicsinfemalegorillas |