MOUNTING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FEMALE JAPANESE MACAQUES - TESTING THE INFLUENCE OF DOMINANCE AND AGGRESSION

The goal of che work reported here was to determine whether female Jap anese macaques (Macaca fuscata) participated in same-sex mounting inte ractions during homosexual consortships to communicate about asymmetri es in their dominance relationships and to reduce aggression. Focal da ta were collected during 21 homosexual consortships involving 14 femal es living in a captive, mixed-sea group of 37 individuals. We identifi ed eight types of mounts, one solicitation used specifically to reques t to mount (hands-on-hindquarters solicitation), two solicitations use d specifically to request to be mounted (hindquarter and back presenta tions), and one behavior employed to facilitate mounts-in-progress (cl asping). We tested whether dominant consort partners (1) mounted more and (2) requested to mount more than their subordinate partners and wh ether subordinate consort partners (1) requested to be mounted more an d (2) facilitated mounts-in-progress more than their dominant partners . Finally, we examined whether mounting was temporally linked ro the o nset of aggressive interactions between consort partners and whether i t functioned to defuse incipient aggression. None of these predictions was supported. rill types of mounts, mount solicitations, and claspin g occurred bi-directionally within consort dyads. Mutual sexual attrac tion and gratification provided the proximate motivation for these mou nting interactions and, in turn, for the formation and maintenance of their homosexual consortships.