Social manipulations trigger shifts in group-level dominance patterns.

Reintroducing top-ranked monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) after rank-based removals shifts group-level dominance patterns and alters aggression dynamics.

• Why it matters: Group-level dominance patterns can structure aggression, but it is unclear whether they change over time and which social disturbances drive those shifts.
• What they did: Captive monk parakeet groups were experimentally perturbed via targeted rank-based removals and later reintroductions, then aggression dynamics and dominance patterns were tracked across conditions.
• The result: Dominance patterns often shifted after perturbations but stayed stable without them, and the perturbed individual’s rank—especially top-ranked reintroductions—was linked to marked changes in aggression and dominance-pattern structure.

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