Welcome Back: Responses of Female @entity4839 ( XXXX ) to Fusions.

@entity146 @entity4839
UNASSIGNED: In species with a high degree of fission-fusion social dynamics, fusions may trigger social conflict and thus provide an opportunity to identify sources of social tension and mechanisms related to its alleviation. We characterized behavioral and endocrine responses of captive female @entity4839 ( @entity4839 ) to fusions within a zoo facility designed to simulate naturalistic fission-fusion social dynamics. We compared urinary cortisol levels and frequencies of @entity146 , grooming and socio-sexual interactions between female @entity4839 while in stable sub-groups and when one "joiner" was reunited with the "residents" of another sub-group. We hypothesized that fusions would trigger increases in @entity146 and cortisol levels among reunited joiners and resident females. We further predicted that females who face more uncertainty in their social interactions following fusions may use grooming and/or socio-sexual behavior to reduce social tension and @entity146 . The only @entity146 on reunion days occurred between reunited females, but frequencies of @entity146 remained low across non-reunion and reunion days, and there was no effect of fusions on cortisol levels. Fusions did not influence patterns of grooming, but there were increases in socio-sexual solicitations and socio-sexual interactions between joiners and resident females. Joiners who had been separated from residents for longer received the most solicitations, but were also more selective in their acceptance of solicitations and preferred to have socio-sexual interactions with higher-ranking residents. Our results suggest that socio-sexual interactions play a role in reintegrating female @entity4839 into social groups following fusions. In addition, females who receive a high number of solicitations are able to gain more control over their socio-sexual interactions and may use socio-sexual interactions for other purposes, such as to enhance their social standing.
