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A study on the association of alpha males and females during the non-breeding season in wild Capuchin monkeys examined whether alpha males are the preferred mate for females and, secondly, whether female-alpha status and relationship to the alpha-male can be explained through the individual characteristics and or social network of the female. [4]
For many animal societies, an individual's position in the dominance hierarchy corresponds with their opportunities to reproduce. [6] In hierarchically social animals, dominant individuals may exert control over others. For example, in a herd of feral goats it is a large male that is dominant and maintains discipline and coherence of the flock.
Visual communication is a common dominance signal among animals. They are an effective modality as they come at a low cost to the animal and minimize risk. The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) for example, express bright orange splotches during territorial conflict to warn competitors that they are poisonous, and thus assert their dominance over a territory.
As a consequence of this type of selective pressure, our hypothetical rabbit population would be disruptively selected for extreme values of the fur colour trait: white or black, but not grey. This is an example of underdominance (heterozygote disadvantage) leading to disruptive selection.
Dominant animals are inclined to be more aggressive with other sheep, and usually feed first at troughs. [64] Primarily among rams, horn size is a factor in the flock hierarchy. [ 65 ] Rams with different size horns may be less inclined to fight to establish the dominance order, while rams with similarly sized horns are more so. [ 65 ]
Since dominant traits mask recessive traits (assuming no epistasis), there are nine combinations that have the phenotype round yellow, three that are round green, three that are wrinkled yellow, and one that is wrinkled green. The ratio 9:3:3:1 is the expected outcome when crossing two double-heterozygous parents with unlinked genes.
For example, the study of personality in chimpanzees by King and Figueredo in 1997 [31] was one of the first studies to apply the five-factor model in animal personality. It demonstrated the existence of personality traits in animals and provided a foundation for similar assessment strategies in future studies of personality in animals. [8]
With dominant traits, one can still see the expression of the traits and can remove those traits, whether one outcrosses, line breeds or inbreeds. With recessive traits, outcrossing allows for the recessive traits to migrate across a population. Many traits are Mendelian and therefore exhibit a more complicated intermediate phenotype.