Social organization of the spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta. II. Dominance and reproduction |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Environment Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran;2. Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran;3. Department of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, 1983963113, Tehran, Iran;4. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, 38156-8-8349, Arak, Iran;1. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X020, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa;2. School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7001, TAS, Australia;3. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X020, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa;4. Endocrine Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Pretoria, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa;5. Centre for Wildlife Management, Hatfield Experimental Farm, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X020, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa;1. Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management – Department of Life Sciences – University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy;2. Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, University “La Sapienza”, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;3. Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;1. Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan;2. Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal;1. National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1, Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan;2. Okinawa Churashima Foundation, 888 Ishikawa, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0206, Japan |
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| Abstract: | A 4-year study of the social organization of spotted hyaenas in a clan of 60–80 individuals showed that there is a separate dominance hierarchy within each sex. One female and her descendants dominated all others; matrilineal rankings were stable over time because maternal rank is inherited. Cubs of higher ranking females were able to feed at kills in competition with adults more successfully than other cubs, and male offspring of the alpha female were the only males able to dominate adult females. The mating system is highly polygynous: only the behaviourally dominant male was seen to mate, though all other resident males regularly courted females. Among females, there was no correlation between reproductive success and age, size, or social rank. It is postulated that the unusually aggressive sons of the alpha female would probably be highly successful competitors in the context of a polygynous mating system. A primary consequence of female dominance over males is that females and their young have priority of access to food in a highly competitive feeding situation. This competition may have been the selective force that produced female dominance and the associated syndrome of female virilization that is characteristic of the species. Cooperation among related females may be the basis for the matrilineal system, as has been suggested for certain primate species. |
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