Modeling the Emergence of Social Structure from a Phylogenetic Point of View

Based on previous models (Hemelrijk 1998; Puga-González, Hildenbrant & Hemelrijk 2009), we have developed an agent-based model and software, called A-KinGDom, which allows us to simulate the emergence of the social structure in a group of non-human primates. The model includes dominance and affiliative interactions and incorporates two main innovations (preliminary dominance interactions and a kinship factor), which allow us to define four different attack and affiliative strategies. In accordance with these strategies, we compared the data obtained under four simulation conditions with the results obtained in a previous study (Dolado & Beltran 2012) involving empirical observations of a captive group of mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). The results show that the combination of the effect of kinship on affiliative interactions and the use of ambiguity-reducing attack provide results that are the most similar to the results of the biological model (i.e., a captive group of mangabeys) used in this study.