Data from: Group-level variation in co-feeding tolerance between two sanctuary-housed communities of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Social tolerance in group-living animals can be viewed as a counterweight
against competitive interests necessary to obtain coexistence equilibrium
and maintain group cohesion. As such, it forms an interesting phenomenon
to study at the group-level, but how can this be done most informatively?
Here, we use three group-level co-feeding assays and social network
analysis to study social tolerance in two groups of chimpanzees living
under similar circumstances within a sanctuary to i) reassess
whether social tolerance may be a group-specific parameter in chimpanzees
and derive inferences about its long-term stability, and ii)
compare the characteristics and resultant patterns between two established
and one new assay. We show that the three assays expose the same
(predicted) group-level differences in social tolerance as in the previous
study eight years ago, thereby providing preliminary evidence for
stability in group-specific levels of social tolerance in chimpanzees,
despite changing group compositions. Furthermore, from an experimental
point of view, we identify the new assay as more valid than the two
established ones based on the consideration that resources may deplete at
different rates across groups, which would consequently alter the need for
tolerance differentially. We discuss implications for the study of social
tolerance and highlight the importance of taking into account
intraspecific variation in social animals.