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Dryad

Short-term, but not long-term grooming reciprocity in a species with high fission-fusion dynamics

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Mar 08, 2023 version files 42.23 KB

Abstract

Reciprocity allows animals to balance the costs and benefits of cooperative interactions by switching roles over time. Reciprocity can be based on two different processes: partner control and partner choice. Although not mutually exclusive, the relative roles of the two processes remain debated. We investigated grooming reciprocity in wild Geoffroy's spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi), a species with low grooming rates and reduced opportunities for group members to interact due to a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics. We assessed separately the roles of partner control and partner choice in grooming exchanges and investigated the factors affecting reciprocity. We found short-term reciprocity based on partner-control with reciprocation occurring within 401 s after receiving grooming. In contrast, we did not find evidence for long-term reciprocity based on partner choice. Short-term reciprocity based on partner control was not affected by kinship, whereas reduced time spent together in the same subgroup increased the probability of short-term grooming reciprocation. Our results suggest the opportunity to interact is a potent modulator of reciprocity. In species characterized by a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics and low grooming rates, short-term reciprocation based on partner control can be favoured at the expense of partner choice.