Infanticide in seasonally breeding multimale groups of Hanuman langurs ( Presbytis entellus ) in Ramnagar (South Nepal)

Borries, Carola

doi:10.1007/s002650050373

Cited by 98 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In spite of breeding seasonality (births January^June; Koenig et al 1997) the mean interbirth interval of 2.4 years was signi¢cantly shorter if the infant was lost prematurely (Borries 1997). During more than 37 000 h spent in contact with the langurs, one infanticide was witnessed (J. Nikolei and K. Thapa, personal communication; cf.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The killing of infants by adult males in primates was ¢rst and most widely documented among Hanuman langur monkeys (Presbytis entellus ;Sugiyama 1965;Mohnot 1971;Hrdy 1977;Newton 1986;Ross 1993;Borries 1997) and is now known to occur in ¢ve of the six primate radiations (Hrdy et al 1995, p.151) as well as in several non-primate species (Hrdy 1979;Parmigiani & vom Saal 1994). Although a common phenomenon, its causes and consequences still remain hotly debated, particularly in anthropological contexts (Bartlett et al 1993;Sussman et al 1995; but see Hrdy et al 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown that, primate females, after having lost their dependent infant, resume sexual activity earlier and bear the next infant signi¢cantly sooner than females with surviving infants (question (ii); e.g. Altmann et al 1978;Collins et al 1984;Crockett & Sekulic 1984;Leland et al 1984;Sommer 1994;Borries 1997). The two remaining questions could only be investigated indirectly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two remaining questions could only be investigated indirectly. Infanticidal males were new immigrants (Butynski 1982;Collins et al 1984;Sommer 1994;Borries 1997), sexually immature or not observed to copulate with the mother during the time when the infant was conceived (Collins et al 1984;Struhsaker & Leland 1985). Thus, it seems very unlikely that they killed their own o¡spring.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, in most documented cases, infanticidal males remained residents in the group where they committed infanticide and behavioural observations have indicated that they might have sired the subsequent infant and might therefore have bene¢ted by infanticide. They were either observed to mate with the victim's mother (Sugiyama 1965;Crockett & Sekulic 1984;Struhsaker & Leland 1985) and/or were the highest ranking males in a multimale group (Collins et al 1984;Borries 1997) or the only adult male in a one-male group (Sugiyama 1965;Struhsaker 1977;Sommer 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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DNA analyses support the hypothesis that infanticide is adaptive in langur monkeys

Borries

Launhardt²,

Epplen

et al. 1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Although the killing of dependent infants by adult males is a widespread phenomenon among primates, its causes and consequences still remain hotly debated. According to the sexual selection hypothesis, infanticidal males will gain a reproductive advantage provided that only unrelated infants are killed and that the males increase their chances of siring the next infants. Alternatively, the social pathology hypothesis interprets infanticide as a result of crowded living conditions and, thus, as not providing any advantage. Based on DNA analyses of wild Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) we present the ¢rst evidence that male attackers were not related to their infant victims. Furthermore, in all cases the presumed killers were the likely fathers of the subsequent infants. Our data, therefore, strongly support the sexual selection hypothesis interpreting infanticide as an evolved, adaptive male reproductive tactic.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

DNA analyses support the hypothesis that infanticide is adaptive in langur monkeys

Borries

Launhardt²,

Epplen

et al. 1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Female dispersal, social organization, and infanticide in langurs: Are they linked to human disturbance?

Sterck

1998

Am. J. Primatol.

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Female dispersal in gregarious animals can involve the desertion of a site, desertion of a social group, or both. Group desertion may be related to inbreeding avoidance. Group fidelity may result from cooperation among females in a group. Site fidelity will be more likely when food can be monopolized and when the population density is close to habitat saturation. The degree of habitat saturation was approximated with a measure of human disturbance. The influence of these various factors on the incidence of female dispersal was investigated for langur populations using data from the literature. The results suggest that female dispersal in langurs involved site desertion, not group desertion. The incidence of female dispersal may affect the social organization of langurs. I propose that when females do not disperse, male takeovers prevail, whereas in populations where female dispersal regularly occurs bisexual groups are disbanded or new groups are formed, a process I call female split‐merger. Male takeover is thought to occur when site fidelity is high, female split‐merger when site fidelity is low. These processes were indeed found to occur in these circumstances. The dispersal of females might prevent infanticide, whereas male takeover might promote it. Indeed, in studies with male takeover, more infants fell victim to infanticide than in studies with female split‐merger. Therefore, female dispersal in langurs is an effective female counterstrategy to infanticide. The factor that had the most profound effect on female dispersal, social organization, and infanticide was habitat saturation. Habitat saturation was measured as the degree of human disturbance, and its influence on the behavior of langurs is probably of relatively recent date. This may lead to an evolutionary transient situation and may explain the discrepancy between current socioecological theories and the behavior of langurs in populations lacking female dispersal. Am. J. Primatol. 44:235–254, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Female reproductive parameters and fruit availability: factors determining onset of estrus in Japanese macaques

Takahashi

2002

American J Primatol

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This study examined the onset of estrus, nutritional conditions during the mating season, and female reproductive parameters in a troop of unprovisioned Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata fuscata). The mean interbirth interval (IBI) was 25.1 mo, suggesting a 2-yr birth cycle. The mean IBI following the death of an infant before the mating season was only 19.8 mo, whereas the mean IBI was 27.8 mo when the infant survived. Estrus occurred during the time of the greatest food quality, in the autumn (i.e., mating season). A female whose infant did not survive the mating season tended to come into estrus more readily than one with a surviving infant. Only one of the 19 females whose infants survived came into estrus, whereas 43 of the 58 (74.1%) females whose infants did not survive came into estrus. Fruit conditions during the mating season each year were evaluated by the seed crop of the two species (Fagus crenata and Zelkova serrata) that constituted the main food source for the macaques; fruiting levels were classified as "high-fruit" or "low-fruit." Females came into estrus more often during high-fruit mating seasons than during low-fruit mating seasons: 36 (97.3%) of 37 females came into estrus during high-fruit mating seasons, whereas eight (20%) of 40 females came into estrus during low-fruit mating seasons. Although females came into estrus under both high- and low-fruit conditions during the mating season, estrus seldom occurred when females had a surviving infant, and it appears that the absence of a surviving infant is an almost essential variable for the onset of estrus. When females with a surviving infant were excluded from the analysis because they were unlikely to come into estrus, all 35 remaining females (100%) came into estrus during high-fruit mating seasons, whereas only eight (34.8%) of 23 females came into estrus during low-fruit mating seasons. Therefore, the onset of estrus is strongly affected not only by the survival of infants through the mating season, but also by fruiting conditions, especially the availability of high-quality food.

show abstract

Infanticide in seasonally breeding multimale groups of Hanuman langurs ( Presbytis entellus ) in Ramnagar (South Nepal)

Cited by 98 publications

References 35 publications

DNA analyses support the hypothesis that infanticide is adaptive in langur monkeys

DNA analyses support the hypothesis that infanticide is adaptive in langur monkeys

Female dispersal, social organization, and infanticide in langurs: Are they linked to human disturbance?

Female reproductive parameters and fruit availability: factors determining onset of estrus in Japanese macaques

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