DIFFERENTIAL KINSHIP EFFECT ON RECONCILIATION IN 3 SPECIES OF MACAQUES (MACACA-FASCICULARIS, MACACA-FUSCATA, AND MACACA-SYLVANUS)

Macaque societies are typically characterized by despotic dominance st yles and strong bonds between related individuals. Interspecies variat ion in dominance style, however, has been recently documented. This st udy investigated whether kinship effects on social interactions vary d epending on the species dominance style. Reconciliation was chosen as a measure of relationship quality between group members. Groups of Jap anese (Macaca fuscata) and long-tailed (M. fascicularis) macaques were selected for their highly despotic style, and Barbary (M. sylvanus) m acaques were chosen for their lower level of despotism. The findings c onfirmed the hypothesis that kinship effects on reconciliation are str onger the more despotic the species is. Barbary macaque nonkin reconci led more often than nonkin of the other 2 species. In addition, the di fferences in reconciliation frequency between kin and nonkin were less pronounced among the less despotic Barbary macaques.