Differences in post-conflict behaviour in wolves and dog-admixed wolves
4 affiliations
- 1Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology 1 , Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
- 2University of Leipzig Faculty of Life Sciences 2 , Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
- 3Osnabrück University 3 , Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, Germany
- 4Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie ‘Charles Darwin’, University of Rome La Sapienza 4 , Rome, Lazio, Italy
Abstract
Several species rely on mechanisms to resolve conflicts and reduce their negative consequences, including reconciliation and third-party affiliation (i.e. post-conflict affiliative interactions between victims and aggressors, and between victims and third parties, respectively). Here, we studied reconciliation and third-party affiliation in two groups of wolves (n = 20) and three groups of wolves introgressed with dogs (i.e. second- or later-generation backcrosses of wolf-dog hybrids to wolves; n = 13), in captivity. We conducted behavioural observations of post-conflict affiliative interactions using continuous focal sampling for 2 minutes following an aggression, and during matched-control periods. Our results showed that both admixed and non-admixed wolves engaged in post-conflict affiliation consistent with reconciliation and third-party affiliation. Although we found no evidence that admixed wolves showed lower reconciliation or third-party affiliation than non-admixed wolves, social factors had different modulatory effects in admixed and non-admixed wolves. In particular, stronger social bonds promoted post-conflict affiliation in non-admixed wolves, whereas greater rank distance was associated with higher post-conflict affiliation in admixed wolves. Moreover, post-conflict affiliation was more likely following high-intensity aggression in both admixed and non-admixed wolves, and after unidirectional conflicts in the latter. These findings indicate that dog introgression may influence post-conflict behaviour in wolves and suggest that, while both admixed and non-admixed wolves engage in post-conflict affiliation, the mechanisms underlying them may partially differ.
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BibTeX
@article{amici2026differences,
title = {{Differences in post-conflict behaviour in wolves and dog-admixed wolves}},
author = {Federica Amici and Katja Liebal and Linda S. Oña and Arne Gretschzel and Tina Altdörfer and Mattia Iacuzzi and George Kamanga and Manon Delaunay and Paolo Ciucci},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.260767},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260767/483798/Differences-in-post-conflict-behaviour-in-wolves},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Differences in post-conflict behaviour in wolves and dog-admixed wolves
AU - Federica Amici
AU - Katja Liebal
AU - Linda S. Oña
AU - Arne Gretschzel
AU - Tina Altdörfer
AU - Mattia Iacuzzi
AU - George Kamanga
AU - Manon Delaunay
AU - Paolo Ciucci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.260767
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260767/483798/Differences-in-post-conflict-behaviour-in-wolves
AB - Several species rely on mechanisms to resolve conflicts and reduce their negative consequences, including reconciliation and third-party affiliation (i.e. post-conflict affiliative interactions between victims and aggressors, and between victims and third parties, respectively). Here, we studied reconciliation and third-party affiliation in two groups of wolves (n = 20) and three groups of wolves introgressed with dogs (i.e. second- or later-generation backcrosses of wolf-dog hybrids to wolves; n = 13), in captivity. We conducted behavioural observations of post-conflict affiliative interactions using continuous focal sampling for 2 minutes following an aggression, and during matched-control periods. Our results showed that both admixed and non-admixed wolves engaged in post-conflict affiliation consistent with reconciliation and third-party affiliation. Although we found no evidence that admixed wolves showed lower reconciliation or third-party affiliation than non-admixed wolves, social factors had different modulatory effects in admixed and non-admixed wolves. In particular, stronger social bonds promoted post-conflict affiliation in non-admixed wolves, whereas greater rank distance was associated with higher post-conflict affiliation in admixed wolves. Moreover, post-conflict affiliation was more likely following high-intensity aggression in both admixed and non-admixed wolves, and after unidirectional conflicts in the latter. These findings indicate that dog introgression may influence post-conflict behaviour in wolves and suggest that, while both admixed and non-admixed wolves engage in post-conflict affiliation, the mechanisms underlying them may partially differ.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -