Grooming reciprocation among female primates: a meta-analysis
Year: 2007
Type: review
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: The theory of reciprocal altruism offers an explanation for the evolution of altruistic behaviours among unrelated animals. Among primates, grooming is one of the most common altruistic behaviours. Primates have been suggested to exchange grooming both for itself and for rank-related benefits. While previous meta-analyses have shown that they direct their grooming up the hierarchy and exchange it for agonistic support, no comprehensive evaluation of grooming reciprocation has been made. Here we report on a meta-analysis of grooming reciprocation among female primates based on 48 social groups belonging to 22 different species and 12 genera. The results of this meta-analysis showed that female primates groom preferentially those group mates that groom them most. To the extent allowed by the availability of kinship data, this result holds true when controlling for maternal kinship. These results, together with previous findings, suggest that primates are indeed able to exchange grooming both for itself and for different rank-related benefits.
Source: Biology Letters
Authors: Gabriele Schino, Filippo Aureli
Language: English
Topic: Primate Behavior and Ecology
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: European Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2097658665