"Organisms living in social groups incur both benefits and costs of group-living, and social inequality arises as individuals differentially experience these costs and benefits. In animals, social inequality often manifests as a dominance hierarchy, where some individuals are consistently able to dominate others during fights among group-mates. In these hierarchies, an animal's rank denotes its position in the social hierarchy, and rank mediates access to resources and reproductive opportunities in many species. In my dissertation, I examine the forces underlying the dynamics of dominance in the societies of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). I first review the current understanding of the phenomena of aggression and dominance at multiple levels of analysis. Next, I develop a framework and tools to study the dynamics of dominance hierarchies using longitudinal aggression data. I then apply this framework and methods to long-term data on spotted hyena social hierarchies to reveal the forces producing, and preventing, rank changes in these hierarchies. My results reveal how coalitionary alliances mediate change in the social hierarchy, and that intergenerational patterns in hierarchy dynamics lead to dynastic structures in these societies. Finally, I turn to the development of social rank in juveniles and examine the long-term fitness consequences of early-life variability in rank acquisition in this species. I find that transient variation in rank acquisition predicts sizable lifetime fitness consequences for developing juveniles, suggesting that this aspect of social development can have dramatic consequences. Overall, my research reveals how dynamical approaches to dominance can reveal the forces producing and maintaining social inequality."--Pages ii-iii.
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