DOMINANCE RELATIONS AMONG ADULT FEMALES IN A FREE-RANGING GROUP OF JAPANESE MONKEYS AT KATSUYAMA

Dominance relations among adult females in the Katsuyama group of Japa nese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) were analyzed. Dominance relations among female relatives of 6 or more years of age corresponded almost exactl y to those predicted by Kawamura's principles [Primates, 1:149-156, 19 58] in the four highest-ranking kin-groups. According to these princip les, 1) a mother is dominant to her daughter and 2) among sisters, the younger is dominant to the older. However, 9 of the remaining 11 midd le- and low-ranking kin-groups included dyads in which dominance relat ions did not correspond to those expected from Kawamura's principles. Within the dominance rank order, of all 74 adult females of 6 or more years of age, individuals of the high-ranking kin-groups always ranked adjacent to members of their own kin-group, while individuals in midd le- and low-ranking kin-groups tended to be ranked independently of me mbers of their own kin-groups. These results indicate that, since fema les of a high-ranking kin-group form a cohesive matrilineal unit, it m ay be very difficult for females of other kin-groups to break into the dominance rank order that exists among females of the high-ranking ki n-groups. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.