Interactions Between Third Parties and Consortship Partners in Tonkean Macaques (Macaca tonkeana)

Sexual competition is potentially disruptive for the cohesion of social groups because stress and conflicts can extend to other group members. The displays and interactions of sexual partners are liable to influence the behavior of group-mates, which may need to observe them to anticipate possible consequences. We studied 2 captive groups of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) to test whether group-mates pay more attention to consort partners, modify their activities and social interactions, and exhibit signs of stress during periods of sexual consortships. We found that group-mates approached the top-ranking male more frequently and were more frequently oriented toward the consort pair at the time of consortship than at other times. Group-mates spent less time sleeping, and devoted less time to manipulating the environment and more time to monitoring during consortship. This indicates that consortships may incur costs in individuals not involved in sexual competition. However, Tonkean macaques did not exhibit any signs of increased stress during consortship periods, as their rates of scratching and yawning did not differ between consortship and nonconsortship periods. This study shows that not only direct competitors but also other individuals monitor the behavior of sexual partners. It is likely that group-mates obtain information this way about ongoing action, and take decisions accordingly.