SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF STRESS
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Two different types of social relationships can be found in mammalian social systems. On the one hand dominance relationships exist which are established and maintained by agonistic behaviours. As a consequence, the members of a social system are characterized by differences in social status. Dominant animals mainly display aggressive behavior, the subordinate individuals display defensive and submissive behaviours. The dominants possess priority of access to the necessities of life (e.g. food)
METHODS
The guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) used were descendants of a heterogeneous stock of 40 animals obtained from a breeder in 1975. They were kept under constant conditions (12:12 light:dark cycle; photoperiod 0700–1900h; temperature 20±2°C; relative humidity ≈60%). Commercial guinea pig diet and water were available ad lib. This diet was supplemented regularly with hay.
The animals were kept under different housing conditions: mainly in colonies, in pairs and individually. Colonies of 24
Social organization and stress
The effects of increasing population density on behaviour were studied in a first experiment. We placed a small number of guinea pigs (four males and two females) in a 16 m2 enclosure. The animals lived and reproduced in a rather peaceful way and after 20 months there were about 50 individuals in the colony. However, the astonishing point was that even at such high individual numbers no indications of increased social stress were found: the reproductive success of the females (that is the
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Which general conclusions can be drawn from these findings? When we look at the relevant literature in a comparative way five points emerge which obviously apply to most mammals:
(1) Social stratification seems to be a general phenomenon in all mammals studied so far in their natural habitats as well as in captivity. Even in species where close cooperation, social tolerance and amicable relations predominate, distinct differences in social status have been described among the adult individuals
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Professor Dr Dietrich von Holst and to Professor Dr Elisabeth Spinelli de Oliveira for valuable comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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