SEVERITY OF AGONISM OF FREE-RANGING PATAS MONKEYS DIFFERS ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF DYADS

Differences in the severity of behavior used in dyadic agonistic inter actions of adult female and immature free-ranging patas monkeys (Eryth rocebus patas) were assessed. The behaviors exhibited were rank ordere d according to severity. Analysis of data from 1,353 agonistic interac tions indicated a significant difference in the severity of agonistic behaviors, based on the composition of the dyad. Interactions between two adult females contained the least severe agonism, whereas interact ions between two immature monkeys contained the most severe agonistic behaviors. When adult females and immatures interacted agonistically, the severity of the behaviors emitted and received were related to the age of the immature monkey; the older the immature, the less severe w ere the agonistic behaviors. These results support the ideas that soci al stability mediates the severity of agonism, and that agonism serves a socializing function. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.