Dominance hierarchy
- Pronunciation
- /DOM-ih-nens HYE-ruh-kee/
- Category
- Behavior
- Singular
- dominance hierarchy
- Plural
- dominance hierarchies
Definition
A social ranking system within a group of conspecifics in which individuals occupy predictable positions of priority for access to resources, mates, or nesting sites, typically established and maintained through ritualized aggression, threat displays, or physical contests rather than lethal combat.
Etymology
From Latin dominari (to rule, govern) and Greek hierarkhia (rule of a high priest, sacred order)
Example
In colonies (Polistes), a linear dominance hierarchy determines which foundress becomes the primary -layer; higher-ranked individuals monopolize foraging returns and oophagy rights while subordinates perform risky tasks and may eventually disperse.
Synonyms
- pecking order
- social hierarchy
- rank order
Related Terms
- agonistic behavior
- territoriality
- eusociality
- Caste
- queen pheromone
- suppression of reproduction
- linear hierarchy
- despotism
Usage Notes
Distinguish from territoriality (resource-based defense) and despotic systems (one individual dominates all others). Hierarchies may be linear (transitive A>B>C) or nonlinear; in insects, they commonly regulate in primitively eusocial groups and can be mediated by cuticular hydrocarbon profiles rather than overt aggression. The term implies stable, learned relationships rather than single contest outcomes.