Grooming in female Barbary macaques: Role of dominance, kinship and relationship quality.

This study investigates the influence of dominance, kinship and relationship quality on grooming distribution in female Barbary macaques. Data were collected in free-ranging group of Barbary macaques during two four-month periods. The results demonstrate that all tested factors are important for females choice of grooming partners in given group. Moreover, the relative importance of each variable was evaluated. This approach enables to establish which factor plays the most important role in grooming distribution among female Barbary macaques. The relationship quality had the strongest effect on distribution of grooming interactions among females. In other words females groomed more often and for longer time social partners with whom they have better relationship