Social Organization and Social Behavior in Two Subspecies of Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

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Abstract
Social organization and social behavior were examined in two subspecies of squirrel monkeys which differ markedly in the degree of sexual dimorphism. The Bolivian squirrel monkeys, the subspecies with greater sexual dimorphism, manifested a sexually segregated form of social organization, while the social organization of the Guyanese monkeys was sexually integrated. Dominance relationships were found to reflect these patterns of sexual segregation or integration; in the Bolivian social groups separate linear dominance hierarchies were established within each sex while the Guyanese monkeys established a single linear hierarchy which included both males and females. Relationships between males and females in the two subspecies appear to be regulated by two distinct mechanisms, dominance in the Guyanese monkeys and sexual segregation in the Bolivians.