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Male baboons mature more slowly than females, reaching full adult maturity at around 10-12 years of age. After the onset of puberty at 5-7 years, the sub-adult period lasts 3-5 years while the male continues to grow, though there is considerable variation between individuals. Here, we present data on the behavioral changes that accompany the physical maturation of male olive baboons (Papio anubis) as they transition through each developmental stage. This research was conducted on a fully habituated wild troop at the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Laikipia, Kenya. We use long-term grooming data (2018-2023) to show that males have significantly more grooming partners as they get older (n=48, p<.001). We then use behavioral data collected in June and July 2023 to compare the social behaviors of males from three developmental stages: juveniles (n=5), males who recently became sub-adults (n=4), and males who have been sub-adults for over a year (n=5). The differences between these three groups show the effect of puberty on behavior: juveniles were observed in social play significantly more often than sub-adults (p=.006), while males who recently underwent puberty tended to groom less often than either juveniles or older sub-adults (p=.091). Our focal data also revealed variation in the age at which males reached each developmental stage. Further research is needed to determine causes and consequences of the variation in age at puberty and the potential long-term consequences of this variation on the males’ social behavior.
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The development of sex differences in play in wild white‐faced capuchins ( Cebus capucinus )
Abstract Many mammalian species display sex differences in the frequency of play behavior, yet the animal literature includes few longitudinal studies of play, which are important for understanding the developmental timing of sex differences and the evolutionary functions of play. We analyzed social play, solitary play, and grooming using an 18‐year data set on 38 wild white‐faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) followed since infancy. Rates of each behavior were measured as the proportion of point samples taken during focal follows in which the individual engaged in each behavior. To determine sex differences in these rates, we ran a series of generalized linear mixed models, considering both linear and quadratic effects of age, and chose the optimal model for each of the three behavioral outcomes based on information criteria. Rates of both social play and solitary play decreased with age, with the exception of social play in males, which increased in the early juvenile period before decreasing. Male and female capuchins had different developmental patterns of social play, with males playing more than females during most of the juvenile period, but they did not display meaningful sex differences in solitary play rates. Additionally, males and females had different patterns of grooming over the lifespan: males participated in grooming at low rates throughout their lives, while adult females participated in grooming at much higher rates, peaking around age 11 years before declining. We suggest that male and female white‐faced capuchins may adopt alternative social bonding strategies, including different developmental timing and different behaviors (social play for males vs. grooming for females). Our results were consistent with two functional hypotheses of play, the practice and bonding hypotheses. This study demonstrates that play behavior may be critical for the development of sex‐specific social strategies and emphasizes the importance of developmental perspectives on social behaviors.
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- PAR ID:
- 10443930
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Journal of Primatology
- Volume:
- 84
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 0275-2565
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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