Macaque Societies: A Model for the Study of Social Organization

Edited by Bernard Thierry, Mewa Singh and Werner Kaumanns (2004)

Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 0521818478 (hardback) £70 / $120

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After Homo, Macaca has the widest geographical range of any primate genus, and is perhaps the best studied group of monkeys.  The 20 known species of macaque inhabit a wide range of habitats, belong to three different adaptive radiations, and vary in both morphology and behaviour. All species form multi-male, multi-female groups, with a female-biased sex ratio, female kin-bonding and male dispersal. Within this basic pattern, however, species differ in their social relationships, and in particular in their tendency to affiliate, aggressiveness and maternal behaviour.  In this volume Thierry, Singh & Kaummans aim to use our knowledge of the genus Macaca as a “Rosetta stone” (p. 5) to develop our understanding of how societies evolved by examining various aspects of macaque social organisation and exploring how evolution has shaped these societies.  Thus, although the book concerns macaques, it will be of interest to anyone studying animal social behaviour.  The book consists of 15 chapters and 13 succinct boxes that deal with specific topics related to each chapter.  It is divided into an introduction and a conclusion, and five parts concerning (i) individual attributes; (ii) demography and reproductive systems; (iii) social relationships and networks; (iii) external and internal constraints; and (iv) an outside viewpoint. 

 Part I begins with individual personalities and their neurobiological and physiological bases.  Capitanio (Chapter 2) reviews our limited knowledge of personality in non-human primates, and uses an overview of the human literature to suggest important issues for the study of personality in non-human primates, concluding that both intra- and inter-specific approaches to the study of personality may be useful in understanding social evolution in macaques.  Aureli & Schino (Chapter 3) explore the role of emotions in mediating social interactions, and provide a framework for future comparative study of emotional responses as proximate mechanisms underlying variation in social organisation across species.  Life-history traits including lifespan, age at first birth and interbirth interval influence social organisation and the development of matrilines, and Bercovitch & Harvey (Chapter 4) review three phases of reproduction: onset, maintenance and cessation, in male and female macaques.

In Part II Dittus (Chapter 5) uses demography to examine the interplay between social structure, sexual dimorphism, competition and environment.  Gachot-Neveu & Ménard (Chapter 6) examine relationships between different elements of group social dynamics and the genetic structure of macaque populations.  Soltis (Chapter 7) then reviews the variety of reproductive strategies emplyed by males and females.  Both Soltis and Paul (Box 6) examine the relationship between male dominance and paternity, with both authors making the point that currently available data suggest that a tolerant male dominance style is not linked to a weaker correlation between male dominance rank and reproductive success. 

Part III begins with an examination of macaque political systems, defined as the interplay between power structure and conflict management (Flack & de Waal, Chapter 8). The authors argue that the concept of “dominance style” should be restricted to the relationship level, and introduce “social power” as a social organisation-level concept, giving examples of how this framework might be tested from their work with pigtailed macaques.  Chapais (Chapter 9) then examines how nepotistic hierarchies vary between groups and species, concluding that the observed variation appears to reflect both ecologically driven social plasticity and evolutionary history.  Finally, Chauvin & Berman (Chapter 10) examine intergenerational behavioural continuity, and the entent to which macaques acquire and transmit behaviour via social transmission.  They make it clear that much remains unknown in this area, and that future research will require the integration of field observations and experimental data.

Part IV addresses questions concerning limits to the forms of social organisation that are available to a species.  Ménard (Chapter 11) investigates whether ecological constraints can explain inter-specific variation in social relationships, and highlights the paucity of ecological field data for macaques.  However, the available data suggest that  ecological conditions do not appear to be correlated with categories of social organisation.  Thierry (Chapter 12) examines the evidence supporting the covariation of the different components of macaque social styles, suggesting that macaques can be classified into four different social styles.  This concept of the interdependence of characters is taken further in the following chapter (13), in which Hemelrijk uses an individual-based model (DomWorld) to demonstrate that differences in just one trait – intensity of aggression – can result in many of the differences in social organisation observed in macaques.  It is therefore not necessary to invoke a separate adaptation by natural selection for each single difference observed in social organisation between species.  Rather, DomWorld generates hypotheses that require fewer adaptations by natural selection than are usually assumed.  Hemelrijk also provides possibilities for future research, using her results to make predictions for behavioural patterns that have not yet been studied in macaques.

In Part V, the editors turn to an anthropologist (Godelier, chapter 14) for an external perspective on the insular world of primatology.  Godelier closes his comments with the need to both study and protect non-human primates in the wild, and the final box (Muroyama & Eudey) addresses the question of whether macaque species have a future.  Finally, the editors’ conclusion directs our attention to ways in which the multiple dimensions of macaque societies examined in the preceding chapters might be linked together to provide an integrated view of social organisation.

As always with CUP’s Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, this book is expensive, although a more affordable paperback may appear in the future.  However, it provides many future directions for the study of macaque social behaviour, and is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the evolution of primate societies.

Jo Setchell

University of Cambridge