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Social ties drive post-fission group choice in blue monkeys
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|September 23, 2025
Summary
Female blue monkeys prioritize strong social bonds and familiar males when groups split. They may separate from relatives if infant safety is at risk, highlighting complex social decision-making during group fission.
Area of Science:
- Primatology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Group fissions are rare events offering opportunities for social selection.
- Understanding mate choice during fission is crucial for social species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the factors influencing post-fission group choice in female blue monkeys.
- To determine if social ties, relatedness, or infanticide risk drive group restructuring.
Main Methods:
- Utilized temporal network analysis to model female social ties before and after group fission.
- Employed conditional logit models to assess the impact of social relationships and risks on group choice.
Main Results:
- Females preferentially maintained ties with consistent, strong affiliative partners.
- Relatedness influenced tie maintenance only when infanticide risks were similar.
- Infanticide-vulnerable females were more likely to join groups with the original resident male.
Conclusions:
- Female blue monkeys strategically select groupmates based on consistent social bonds and familiar males.
- Individualized relationships and offspring protection override kinship in fission decisions.
- Sociality and decision-making are intricately linked, influencing group structure and survival.
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