Td. Sambrook et al., PRIORITY OF ACCESS AND GROOMING PATTERNS OF FEMALES IN A LARGE AND A SMALL-GROUP OF OLIVE BABOONS, Animal behaviour, 50, 1995, pp. 1667-1682
The theoretical basis of Seyfarth's priority of access model of female
cercopithecine grooming was critically examined and alternative model
s suggested. These models, named 'engagement', 'interference' and 'ran
k difference', generated different predicted grooming distributions by
assuming the operation of different constraints. These constraints we
re, respectively, the time available for grooming, active interference
on the part of higher ranked animals and a depression of grooming rel
ations as rank difference between animals grew. These priority of acce
ss models were compared with observed grooming patterns in two groups
of free-ranging olive baboons, Papio cynocephalus anubis: one large, o
ne small. The fit of these models was poor. An alternative method of e
xamining the effects of rank on grooming behaviour using multiple regr
ession was successful. In the small troop the rank of the groomee expl
ained a significant amount of the variance in grooming whilst the rank
distance between groomer and groomee did not. In the large troop the
opposite effect was found. In the light of these results the merits of
bottom-up modelling versus top-down description are discussed. The qu
estion of group Size in primates and its relationship to social comple
xity are addressed. (C) 1995 The Association for the Study of Animal B
ehaviour