Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems
Published on: May 5, 2015
Short-term group fission processes in macaques: a social networking approach
C Sueur1, O Petit, J L Deneubourg
1Ethologie des Primates, Département d'Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS-Strasbourg University, 23 rue Becquerel, Strasbourg, France. cedric.sueur@c-strasbourg.fr
Abstract:
Living in groups necessarily involves a certain amount of within-group competition for food. Group members may have different motivations, implying the reaching of a consensus to stay cohesive. In some cases individuals fail to reach a common decision and the group splits; this can be temporary, as seen in fission-fusion dynamics, or even irreversible. Most studies on fission-fusion dynamics published to date have focused on the influence of environmental constraints on sub-grouping patterns, but little is known about how social relationships affect individual choices for sub-groups. In this study, we used an agent-based model to understand the mechanisms underlying group fission in two semi-free-ranging groups of macaques: one group of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) and one of rhesus macaques (M. mulatta). The results showed that sub-grouping patterns were mainly influenced by affiliative relationships. Moreover, the species-specific social style appeared to affect the probability of choosing a particular sub-group. In the tolerant Tonkean macaques, mechanisms underlying sub-grouping patterns resembled anonymous mimetism, while in the nepotistic rhesus macaques, kinship influenced the mechanisms underlying group fissions. As previous studies have shown, fission-fusion society may be a way to avoid social conflicts induced either by food or by social competition.
Related Concept Videos
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Social Loafing
Impact of Groups on Individuals
Impact of Groups on Groups
Relationship Formation
