Dominance rank, female choice, and reproductive success in semi‐free ranging adult male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

The assumed evolutionary advantage of dominance is increased reproductive success. However, the efficacy of dominance as a mating strategy may be interrupted by any number of variables including female choice, estrous synchrony, and mating by non‐troop males. In Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), there is evidence both for and against dominance as conferring reproductive success for adult males, with many discussions pointing to the importance of female choice in governing reproductive success in certain populations. In this study, we aimed to evaluate dominance‐based versus female choice‐based male behavioral strategies and their impact on reproductive success. This study was conducted on a group of Japanese macaques at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. We collected a total of 512 h of behavioral data across two summer study periods in 2018 and 2019. We conducted 15‐min focal follows with 1‐min instantaneous scans on 17 adult males. Reproductive data were available from genetic records. Using principal components analysis (PCA), we identified males that cluster according to similar behavioral strategies. We then used analysis of variance (ANOVA) and non‐parametric ANOVA on ranks to ascertain significant variation in rank and reproductive success between clusters. We found that males that clustered based on high directed aggression held higher rank than less‐aggressive male clusters (F = 27.21, df = 4, p