Interindividual distance and influence of dominance on feeding in a natural Japanese macaque troop

In a natural troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui), the dominant-subordinate relationship restricted the feeding behavior of the subordinate in two ways: (1) the dominant drives away the subordinate through agonistic interactions; and (2) the subordinate avoids approaching the dominant without any agonistic interactions. These occurred only infrequently, and only when an interindividual distance was less than a certain distance, which is called the “tolerance/intolerance” (T/I) distance. On the other hand, the usual interindividual distance when feeding was much greater than the T/I distance. Therefore dominance has little influence on feeding in the study troop. In the study troop, the T/I distance between kin-related females was shorter than that between unrelated individuals. Although this difference may facilitate kin selection if the troop faces severe competition over concentrated food, the difference does not seem to influence survival or reproductive rate in the study troop.