Affiliative relationships among Sorraia mares: influence of age, dominance, kinship and reproductive state |
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Authors: | Filipa Heitor Luís Vicente |
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Institution: | 1. Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Edifício C2, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal 2. Rua Belo Horizonte, no 1, 2o esq., 2780-006, Oeiras, Portugal
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Abstract: | The influence of individual factors on dominance rank and the relationship between rank distance and patterns of aggression
predicted by models of evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) of animal conflict were investigated in a managed bachelor group
of Sorraia horses, Equus caballus. The group was composed of four to six stallions 3- to 12-years-old during the study period. The dominance hierarchy was
significantly linear and rank was not related to age, weight, height or aggressiveness. Frequency and intensity of agonistic
interactions were low, but higher-ranking stallions did not receive lower aggressiveness than lower-ranking stallions. There
was some evidence that dominance relationships were more contested among close-ranking stallions, as predicted. Agonistic-related
interactions among close-ranking stallions served similar functions to those among distant-ranking stallions, but the latter
interacted more frequently than expected for access to resting sites and/or resting partners. Therefore, we found some evidence
that agonistic-related interactions among distant-ranking stallions play a larger role in providing access to valuable and
defendable resources than those among close-ranking stallions. Nevertheless, the fact that space to escape from aggression
was limited and breeding access was independent from dominance rank may have reduced the benefits relative to costs of aggression
and therefore limited the occurrence of contests over dominance and resources. |
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