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How resource heterogeneity and social threat shape intergroup tolerance: insights from a spatial agent-based model
Cyril C Grueter1,2,3,4,5
1Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, 6396University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology
|August 14, 2026
Summary
Intergroup tolerance in primates and humans emerges from repeated encounters driven by resource patchiness and social threats. These factors, particularly when high, synergistically increase group aggregation and familiarity.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Primatology
- Anthropology
Background:
- Intergroup tolerance is key to social evolution in primates and humans.
- Ecological factors (resource heterogeneity) and social threats (bachelor males) may drive group proximity, but their combined effects are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how resource patchiness and bachelor threat jointly influence aggregation and tolerance in mixed-sex groups.
- To understand the emergence of intergroup tolerance through encounter histories.
Main Methods:
- Developed a spatially explicit agent-based model simulating group foraging and interactions.
- Modeled resource heterogeneity, bachelor male threat, and probabilistic aggregation based on threat intensity.
- Tracked familiarity accumulation through repeated encounters and joint aggregation.
Main Results:
- Resource heterogeneity increases group overlap and encounter frequency, promoting tolerance.
- Bachelor threat induces aggregation as a protective measure.
- High resource heterogeneity and bachelor threat synergistically increase aggregation and familiarity.
Conclusions:
- Intergroup tolerance arises from encounter histories, not preprogrammed behavior.
- Simple behavioral rules in ecological and social contexts can generate complex intergroup dynamics.
- Findings offer a framework for understanding tolerance evolution in primates and humans.
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