Hobbies And Interests
Social Hierarchies
Social hierarchies represent the established pecking order within a particular group of animals. While well-known in wolves, they also exist in animals as different as bumblebees, baboons and birds. Social hierarchies are established through a process of play, cooperation and competition. The competition does not always result in violence. Through ritual displays, one member of a group may recognize it lacks the capacity to win a fight. This animal assumes a submissive posture without the need for a fight.
Access to Resources
Individuals at the top of a social hierarchy get to eat first and they may be the only ones in the group to breed. A high position in the social hierarchy does not however, necessarily result in successful breeding, at least in baboons, according to a 1991 study published in "Ethology and Sociobiology." Some animals actually cooperate to control breeding. For example, female yellow baboons have been observed to work with other females in harassing some members of the group into suppressing ovulation.
Control Conflict
Since a higher ranking in the social hierarchy means better access to resources, it seems logical for individuals to try fighting their way up. While conflicts do happen, once established, hierarchies are relatively stable from day to day. Conflict happens when a submissive animal no longer sees a higher ranked animal as being capable of winning a fight.
Changing Situations
The purpose of a social hierarchy among animals may be different for different species. For example, in a colony of bumblebees, the queen sits at the top of the hierarchy. She is the only member that reproduces by suppressing reproduction in the worker bees for most of the season. Arguably then, the main purpose of the social hierarchy for bees is to regulate breeding. In groups of animals where the leaders are aging, the hierarchy may play more of a role in resolving conflicts.