1,721,041 research outputs found
Visual scanning by common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): Functional aspects and the specialrrole of adult males
Possible predation attempt by a marbled cat on a juvenile Phayre's leaf monkey
Borries, Carola, Primeau, Zachary M, Ossi-Lupo, Kerry, Dtubpraserit, Surachest, Koenig, Andreas (2014): Possible predation attempt by a marbled cat on a juvenile Phayre's leaf monkey. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62: 561-565, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.535448
Fig. 1 in Possible predation attempt by a marbled cat on a juvenile Phayre's leaf monkey
Fig. 1. Marbled cat sitting, facing the spot where it had bitten a juvenile Phayre's leaf monkey at 06:30. Note the long tail covering the front paws (Photograph by: Surachest Dtubpraserit©).Published as part of Borries, Carola, Primeau, Zachary M, Ossi-Lupo, Kerry, Dtubpraserit, Surachest & Koenig, Andreas, 2014, Possible predation attempt by a marbled cat on a juvenile Phayre's leaf monkey, pp. 561-565 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62 on page 563, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.535448
Intersexual Agonism in Gray Langurs Reflects Male Dominance and Feeding Competition
Male-female agonism varies throughout the primate order with males often dominating females, especially in sexually dimorphic species. While intersexual agonism has been attributed to sexually coercive contexts, it can also occur for other reasons and intersexual dominance may be influenced by the adult sex ratio. If the proportion of males is high, certain males will regularly lose against other males. Loser-effects may then pave the way for some females to dominate these males, an effect that has been described in a few primate species. Here we investigated the frequency, general style, and context of agonism among gray langurs (
Semnopithecus
spp.). Data were collected at two study sites, at Jodhpur, India (one group), and at Ramnagar, Nepal (two groups). The adult sex ratio varied between 0.077 and 1.000 males to females. At both sites, data on agonistic interactions (aggression and submission) were collected in continuous focal animal and
ad libitum
sampling techniques during 1,945 contact hours (including 1,220 focal animal hours, total). Although aggression intensity was low, high directional consistency and the rare occurrence of counteraggression suggested a despotic dominance style, a likely prerequisite for dominance effects based on adult sex ratio. Aggression by females against males was very rare and mainly occurred in the defense of offspring. We found little evidence for partial female dominance regardless of adult sex ratio. In a few cases in which a female had a higher dominance index than a male, she did not dominate this male in dyadic encounters. Agonism by males directed at females occurred mainly in a feeding context while male policing and a sexual context were both rare. The latter was mostly restricted to females after they had harassed a sexual interaction or after they had behaved proceptively toward a male. Our study suggests that across species the effect of adult sex ratio on female dominance might be more variable than previously suggested. The fact that most agonism between males and females occurred over food identifies intersexual feeding competition as a new research avenue with potentially important consequences for existing ideas on the costs and benefits of group life and composition.Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001655Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/10000515
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The importance of ingestion rates for estimating food quality and energy intake
Testing ecological or socioecological models in primatology often requires estimates of individual energy intake. It is a well established fact that the nutrient content (and hence the energy content) of primate food items is highly variable. The second variable in determining primate energy intake, i.e., the ingestion rate, has often been ignored, and few studies have attempted to estimate the relative importance of the two predictors. In the present study individual ingestion rates were measured in two ecologically very different populations of Hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) at Jodhpur, India, and Ramnagar, Nepal. Protein and soluble sugar concentrations in 50 and 100 food items. respectively, were measured using standardized methods. Variation in ingestion rates (gram of dry matter per minute) was markedly greater among food items than among langur individuals in both populations, but did not differ systematically among food item categories defined according to plant part and age. General linear models (GLMs) with ingestion rate, protein, and soluble sugar content explained 40–80% of the variation in energy intake rates (kJ/min). The relative importance of ingestion rates was either similar (Ramnagar) or much greater (Jodhpur) than the role of sugar and/or protein content in determining the energy intake rates of different items. These results may impact socioecological studies of variation in individual energy budgets, investigations of food choice in relation to chemical composition or sensory characteristics, and research into habitat preferences that measures habitat quality in terms of abundance of important food sources. We suggest a definition of food quality that includes not only the amount of valuable food contents (energy, vitamins, and minerals) and the digestibility of different foods, but also the rate at which the food can be harvested and processed. Such an extended definition seems necessary because time may constrain primates when feeding competition is intense and foraging is risk-prone
Variation in grouping patterns, mating systems and social structure: what socio-ecological models attempt to explain
Socio-ecological models aim to predict the variation in social systems based on a limited number of ecological parameters. Since the 1960s, the original model has taken two paths: one relating to grouping patterns and mating systems and one relating to grouping patterns and female social structure. Here, we review the basic ideas specifically with regard to non-human primates, present new results and point to open questions. While most primates live in permanent groups and exhibit female defence polygyny, recent studies indicate more flexibility with cooperative male resource defence occurring repeatedly in all radiations. In contrast to other animals, the potential link between ecology and these mating systems remains, however, largely unexplored. The model of the ecology of female social structure has often been deemed successful, but has recently been criticized. We show that the predicted association of agonistic rates and despotism (directional consistency of relationships) was not supported in a comparative test. The overall variation in despotism is probably due to phylogenetic grade shifts. At the same time, it varies within clades more or less in the direction predicted by the model. This suggests that the model's utility may lie in predicting social variation within but not across clades
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