Recent research has revealed that alpha males are surprisingly rare among primates, challenging long-held assumptions about dominance within these species. The study, conducted by a team led by primatologist Elise Huchard from the University of Montpellier in France, analyzed data from 253 populations across 121 primate species, including a diverse range of monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, and lorises.
These results show something really cool about life in primate societies. While most people think of them as male dominated, sex ratios of males clearly dominating females with >90% confrontation wins were only 17% of the populations studied. This participatory action research indicates a complexity of power influences that must be understood when considering these social structures.
Insights from the Study
One of the most positive takeaways, we think, from our study is how frequent female dominance is in highly specific contexts. Huchard noted that female dominance tends to be higher in contests between females. This trend is especially evident when males are heavily involved in raising their young. This demonstrates that social structures are not fixed, but can be malleable contingent on the environment and our behavior.
The most interesting finding the data allows us to explore is the amazing female domination, which occurs in just 13% of primate populations. Strikingly, both lemurs and bonobos exhibit this captivating pattern. In many cases, either males or females can hold the top position within their social hierarchy, seen in approximately 70% of primate species studied. Interestingly, females are known to be the alphas of the slender lorises, showcasing the rich diversity of social structures found among various species.
“For a long time we have had a completely binary view of this issue: we thought that a species was either dominated by males or females—and that this was a fixed trait,” – Elise Huchard
Complexity of Male-Female Relationships
The study also looked at how male–female interactions maintain social hierarchies. On average, just over 50% of all of these interactions within the group was between a male and a female. Throughout much of primate evolution, males would have needlessly and jealously guarded females during their menstrual cycles. The results indicate that this behavior does not equally convert to greater all-around dominance.
Huchard noted that these results strikingly reflect what has been observed in human hunter-gatherer societies. These societies tend to exhibit more egalitarian social orders than those in sedentary agricultural societies. This observation underlines the complexity and variability of gender dynamics not only among primates but across different human cultures.
“These results corroborate quite well with what we know about male-female relationships among hunter-gatherers, which were more egalitarian than in the agricultural societies that emerged later,” – Elise Huchard
Challenging Long-Standing Beliefs
These important results overturn the prevalent tenet that male domination is a universal primate characteristic. New research is digging into the hidden nuances of social hierarchies. They illustrate just how different power dynamics can be—even within closely related species.
First, she pointed out that male bonobos lack knowledge of when females are ovulating. This lack of understanding provides females with greater reproductive autonomy.
“Males never know when they are ovulating or not. As a result, (the female bonobos) can mate with whoever they want, whenever they want, much more easily,” – Elise Huchard
This study highlights the importance of continued research into primate social structures. This lays the groundwork for a more nuanced understanding of how interspecific relationships develop in a comparative framework. It further challenges researchers to question prevailing models of domination.