Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.05.27.728159

Structure and Variation in Dam-Daughter Bonds in Captive Rhesus Macaques

Beisner, B.·Ethun, K. F.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Mother-daughter relationships are central to social organization in rhesus macaques, providing the foundation for kin familiarity, affiliative bias, and intergenerational rank inheritance. Understanding how these bonds are structured is therefore important for identifying the processes that contribute to matrilineal cohesion and for anticipating risks of social instability and matriline fragmentation in captive groups. We studied 141 dam-daughter dyads in large, captive groups of rhesus macaques, using generalized linear models to examine associations between demographic variables and affiliative behaviors, and a multivariate clustering approach to characterize how these behaviors combine into distinct relationship types. Our analyses identified eight distinct dam-daughter relationship types defined by combinations of three behavioral domains: grooming, spatial closeness, and agonistic support. Generalized linear models showed that demographic variables had domain-specific effects, with family size, age gaps, and dam age differentially associated with grooming, proximity, and support. These patterns were reflected in the clustering analysis, in which dyads differed not only in overall levels of behavior but also in how behaviors combined within dyads. For example, some dyads exhibited high grooming and support despite low spatial proximity, whereas others showed consistently high expression across all domains. Together, these results demonstrate that dam-daughter bonds are multidimensional and structured through the combination of multiple behavioral domains influenced by demographic and life-history factors. Because these dyads scaffold interactions among close kin, variation in dam-daughter bond structure may influence the development and stability of broader matrilineal relationships. From an applied perspective, considering multiple behavioral domains when assessing social relationships can help identify dyads that may warrant closer monitoring and inform management strategies to support matrilineal cohesion and reduce the risk of social instability in captive groups.

Explore related subjects

animal behavior and cognitionPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Beisner, B., Ethun, K. F.. 2026-05-30. Structure and Variation in Dam-Daughter Bonds in Captive Rhesus Macaques. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.27.728159

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

A comparison of female competitive traits: Female aggression peaks at nest building but female song spans multiple contexts in a temperate songbird

Female-female competition is increasingly recognized as a key driver of female ornamentation, including birdsong, which often functions in intrasexual competition. However, the specific resources females use elaborate traits to compete for remain unclear. In addition, few studies have simultaneously investigated the use of multiple competitive traits in females, despite growing independent interest in these traits (e.g., female song and aggression). We investigated the competitive contexts of female song, aggression and calling behavior in northern house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to determine which resources females compete for across the breeding season. We simulated conspecific territorial intrusions using female song at three breeding stages representing different contexts: arrival (mate and territory acquisition), nest building (nest site and breeding status defense), and egg laying (brood defense). We tested whether female song and physical aggression varied as reproductive resources shifted across the breeding cycle. Females were significantly more aggressive during nest building, showing 5.8 times greater odds of a higher-intensity aggressive response during nest building compared to arrival. Female song output was similar across early stages but declined during egg laying, though this was not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons and individuals varied substantially in overall singing propensity. Non-song vocalizations varied by call type and breeding stage. Calls associated with aggression occurred most frequently during nest building, consistent with peak physical aggression responses. Together, these results identify nest building as the stage of highest female aggression, consistent with heightened competition over nest cavities and associated breeding status in this cavity-nesting species. In contrast, female song occurred across all stages and appears to function in multiple competitive contexts. This study provides evidence for context and mode-specific female signaling in a temperate songbird and highlights that females strategically use aggression, calls, and song to mediate social conflict across breeding contexts.

animal behavior and cognition↗
bioRxiv2026

Tracking human foragers and their prey reveals adaptive predator-prey dynamics

Hunting for mobile prey is thought to have played a key role in hominin evolution, by providing high-quality nutrition that supported the development of the exceptionally large human brain. However, human-prey dynamics remain poorly understood because studies have not yet tracked human foragers and their prey simultaneously. Here, we employ high resolution tracking of groups of human foragers (ice-fishers) and their prey (fish shoals) to study human-prey dynamics. Our results show that foragers adaptively combined personal and social information in deciding where to forage and for how long, closely matching the prey distribution. Prey responded dynamically to human exploitation, showing increased attraction to fishing activity, alongside decreased biting probability. Furthermore, we found that foragers adaptively relied on memory, preferentially returning to areas with high prey presence, particularly when their current return rate was low. Our results show how human foragers overcome the challenges of extracting invisible, mobile and reactive prey by tightly tuning patch-selection, patch-leaving and patch-return decisions to the distribution and behaviour of their prey.

animal behavior and cognition↗
bioRxiv2026

4-Dimensional Chess: Acoustic Localisation Reveals Nested Spatio-temporal Strategies in an Arboreal Communication Network

1. Adaptive behavioural strategies require animals to simultaneously navigate social and ecological domains across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Although drones and computer vision have recently transformed the study of wild animal societies, many nocturnal species and those occupying structurally complex habitats remain inaccessible to these approaches, limiting our understanding of behaviour in natural settings. 2. We aimed to determine how behavioural strategies are organised across nested spatial and temporal scales within a wild communication network. 3. We used three-dimensional acoustic localisation and source separation to track individual male Hyperolius sp. A, a nocturnal African reed frog, within a natural rainforest chorus and quantify patterns of site fidelity, movement, spatial organisation, and call-timing interactions. 4. Males exhibited significant site fidelity across nights, while chorus spatial structure varied with local caller density. Within nights, individuals followed a stereotyped behavioural sequence, descending from elevated arboreal refugia before settling into lower calling positions near breeding sites. At finer temporal scales, call-timing interactions varied according to both local competitor density and the proximity of neighbouring rivals. 5. These findings demonstrate that behavioural strategies emerge across nested spatial and temporal scales and that long-term spatial positioning, short-term movement decisions, and moment-to-moment signalling interactions are tightly linked within natural communication networks. More broadly, acoustic localisation provides a powerful framework for studying behaviour in species and habitats that remain difficult to observe using conventional approaches.

animal behavior and cognition↗