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Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Quantification of Drosophila Grooming Behavior
Published on: July 19, 2017
Conflict over grooming topography between mandrill groomers and groomees
Gabriele Schino1, Francesco De Angelis2
1Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Grooming directed to different body areas is likely to imply different costs and benefits for groomers and groomees. In this study, we investigated social influences on grooming topography in captive female mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). Subordinate groomers preferred to direct grooming to "safe" areas (the back and rump) compared to dominant groomers, while subordinate groomees did not solicit preferentially grooming to safe areas. Groomers tended to initiate grooming episodes from safe areas, while groomees solicited the switch to unsafe areas. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized source of conflict between the partners of grooming, one of the most common cooperative interactions in animals.
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