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A high-ranking male mandrill advertises his status with bright facial coloration. [1]In the zoological field of ethology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system.
The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is known to maintain strict territorial boundaries, and dominance between individuals is enforced through a dominant pika invading another pika's territory, forcing the latter out. The general hierarchy of dominance has been observed (higher to lower in dominance) from male to female and adult to juvenile.
Visual communication is a common dominance signal among animals. They are an effective modality as they come at a low cost to the animal and minimize risk. The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) for example, express bright orange splotches during territorial conflict to warn competitors that they are poisonous, and thus assert their dominance over a territory.
As herd animals, horses exhibit a natural tendency for hierarchy amongst their ranks. Typically, a dominant mare takes a leadership position, with the rest of the herd falling in line behind them.
Any parent is dominant to its young offspring, so alpha adds no information. Why not refer to an alpha female as the female parent, the breeding female, the matriarch, or simply the mother? Such a designation emphasizes not the animal's dominant status, which is trivial information, but its role as pack progenitor, which is critical information.
The reason an animal will accept its dominant or submissive position in a hierarchy is because of the game theory model of aggression. [2] Based on the hawk and dove game, being a hawk (aggressive individual) or dove (submissive individual) can be beneficial depending on the fitness associated with the trait.
Among primates, social grooming plays a significant role in animal consolation behavior, whereby the primates engage in establishing and maintaining alliances through dominance hierarchies and pre-existing coalitions, and for reconciliation after conflicts.
A harem is an animal group consisting of one or two males, a number of females, and their offspring. The dominant male drives off other males and maintains the unity of the group. If present, the second male is subservient to the dominant male. As juvenile males grow, they leave the group and roam as solitary individuals or join bachelor herds ...