Absolute vs. relative morphometric traits as indicators of social rank in common elands

IF 2.6 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE

Applied Animal Behaviour Science Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-28 DOI:10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106875

Francisco Ceacero , Maxime Bruneau , Martina Komárková , Radim Kotrba

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms underlying social hierarchy formation in ungulates is crucial for elucidating the dynamics of group living and intraspecific interactions. While absolute cues are used in every study, relative ones are frequently neglected. We investigated the role of absolute and relative morphometric traits as cues for assessing social rank in common elands (Tragelaphus oryx), a gregarious ungulate species with complex fission-fusion social structures. Through detailed observations and image analysis of 17 adult females and 22 males in two captive herds, we examined the relationships between absolute and relative morphometric traits (horn, body, and dewlap size) and social rank. Initial analyses showed that most absolute variables correlate with social rank in females, while just a few relative ones weakly correlated with rank. On the contrary, only dewlap-related variables, both absolute and relative, correlated with rank in males. This result is probably connected to the different functions of horns and dewlap for each gender. After deeper modelling, age emerged as a significant predictor of social rank, with older individuals occupying higher positions within the social hierarchy, being the main determinant of rank in females (no absolute or relative influence of body, horns or dewlap morphometrics), while the relative size of the dewlap was confirmed as a main determinant of rank in males. These results suggest that individuals may rely more on cues related to dewlap size, which may offer more easily discernible signals of dominance compared to absolute morphometric traits such as horn length or body size. Our study provides valuable insights into the factors influencing social hierarchy formation in social ungulates and highlights the importance of considering both absolute and relative morphometric traits in understanding dominance signalling mechanisms.

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作为公共土地社会等级指标的绝对形态特征与相对形态特征

了解有蹄类动物社会等级形成的机制对于阐明群体生活和种内相互作用的动力学至关重要。虽然绝对线索在每项研究中都被使用，但相对线索往往被忽视。我们研究了绝对形态特征和相对形态特征在公地羚羊（Tragelaphus oryx）中作为社会等级评估线索的作用，公地羚羊是一种具有复杂分裂融合社会结构的群居有蹄类物种。通过对两个圈养象群中17只成年雌性和22只雄性的详细观察和图像分析，研究了绝对和相对形态特征（角、身体和乳头大小）与社会等级之间的关系。最初的分析表明，大多数绝对变量与女性的社会地位相关，而只有少数相对变量与地位弱相关。相反，只有与毛发相关的变量，无论是绝对的还是相对的，与男性的等级相关。这一结果可能与不同性别的角和赘肉的不同功能有关。在深入建模之后，年龄成为社会等级的重要预测因素，年龄较大的个体在社会等级中占据较高的位置，是女性等级的主要决定因素（身体、角或赘肉形态计量学没有绝对或相对影响），而赘肉的相对大小被证实是男性等级的主要决定因素。这些结果表明，与角长或体型等绝对形态特征相比，个体可能更依赖与蜕皮大小有关的线索，这可能提供更容易识别的优势信号。我们的研究为影响社会有蹄类动物社会等级形成的因素提供了有价值的见解，并强调了在理解优势信号机制时考虑绝对和相对形态特征的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Applied Animal Behaviour Science 农林科学-行为科学

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

21.70%

发文量

191

审稿时长

18.1 weeks

期刊介绍： This journal publishes relevant information on the behaviour of domesticated and utilized animals. Topics covered include: -Behaviour of farm, zoo and laboratory animals in relation to animal management and welfare -Behaviour of companion animals in relation to behavioural problems, for example, in relation to the training of dogs for different purposes, in relation to behavioural problems -Studies of the behaviour of wild animals when these studies are relevant from an applied perspective, for example in relation to wildlife management, pest management or nature conservation -Methodological studies within relevant fields The principal subjects are farm, companion and laboratory animals, including, of course, poultry. The journal also deals with the following animal subjects: -Those involved in any farming system, e.g. deer, rabbits and fur-bearing animals -Those in ANY form of confinement, e.g. zoos, safari parks and other forms of display -Feral animals, and any animal species which impinge on farming operations, e.g. as causes of loss or damage -Species used for hunting, recreation etc. may also be considered as acceptable subjects in some instances -Laboratory animals, if the material relates to their behavioural requirements