Evaluating drivers of female dominance in the spotted hyena: R code and data

Introduction: Dominance relationships in which females dominate males are rare among mammals. Mechanistic hypotheses explaining the occurrence of female dominance suggest that females dominate males because 1) they are intrinsically more aggressive or less submissive than males, and/or 2) they have access to more social support than males.
Methods: Here, we examine the determinants of female dominance across ontogenetic development in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) using 30 years of detailed behavioral observations from the Mara Hyena Project to evaluate these two hypotheses.
Results: Among adult hyenas, we find that females spontaneously aggress at higher rates than males, whereas males spontaneously submit at higher rates than females. Once an aggressive interaction has been initiated, adult females are more likely than immigrant males to elicit submission from members of the opposite sex, and both adult natal and immigrant males are more likely than adult females to offer submissio..., , Use of data requires R software and R Studio software.

引言：雌性主导雄性的支配关系在哺乳动物中极为罕见。解释雌性主导现象的机制性假说提出，雌性能够主导雄性的原因主要有两点：1） 雌性本身比雄性更具攻击性，或是顺从性更低；2） 雌性所能获得的社会支持多于雄性。
方法：本研究依托马拉鬣狗项目（Mara Hyena Project）长达30年的精细化行为观测数据，针对斑鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta）个体发育全阶段的雌性主导地位决定因素展开分析，以验证上述两项假说。
结果：在成年斑鬣狗群体中，研究发现雌性的自发攻击频率高于雄性，而雄性的自发顺从频率则高于雌性。当攻击互动发起后，成年雌性较外来雄性更易引发异性个体的顺从行为；而成年本土雄性与外来雄性均较成年雌性更易表现出顺从行为[原文存在内容截断]。本数据集的使用需依托R软件与R Studio软件完成。