A study shakes up received ideas on male domination among primates
Paris,
Environment
According to a new scientific study, conflict between males and females is very frequent among primates, representing over half of all conflicts. The winning gender in confrontations varies considerably from one species to another 1 . Strict dominance (over 90% of confrontations won) for either gender was observed in less than 20% of the populations studied. Conducted by CNRS researchers 2 in collaboration with teams in Germany, these results will be available the week of 7 July in the journal PNAS.
- 1In lemurs, females often dominate. In baboons and chimpanzees, males occupy the top of the hierarchy. In other species such as bonobos and many South American monkeys, the situation is more balanced, with females winning, on average, 40 to 80% of intersexual conflicts, depending on the population.
- 22 – Working at the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (CNRS/IRD/University of Montpellier).
While knowledge of the female dominance spectrum among certain primate species dates back to the 1960s, research precisely quantifying the degree of one gender’s dominance over the other was lacking. A team of scientists collected data from 253 populations representing 121 primate species in order to study confrontations between males and females. It also analysed the contexts in which one or the other tend to dominate.
Scientists then tested five evolutionary hypotheses to better understand these power relations. Females tend to dominate in species [3] where they have strong control over their reproduction. Their dominance is also more frequent in societies marked by strong competition among females, or when gender confrontation involves fewer risks for smaller members. Conversely, male dominance is especially present in species [4] where they have clear physical superiority over females.
These results show that there is no single model for explaining power relations in primate societies, thereby offering new avenues for grasping the evolution of gender roles in early human societies.
Bibliography
The evolution of male-female dominance relations in primate societies. Elise Huchard, Peter M. Kappeler, Nikolaos Smit, Claudia Fichtel, Dieter Lukas. PNAS, 7 July 2025.
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2500405122
Contact
Élise Huchard
Chercheuse en écologie comportementale
