Signaling across the senses: a captive case study in pair-bonded red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) at the Duke Lemur Center, NC, USA

Multimodal pair‐bond maintenance: A review of signaling across modalities in pair‐bonded nonhuman primates

“…; Wolovich & Evans, 2007), and both males and females may scent mark to varying degrees. Males mark more than females in E. rubriventer (Overdorff & Tecot, 2006;Singletary & Tecot, 2019), while males and females mark relatively The behavioral function of scent marks is mediated by social and environmental context, the presence of other simultaneously emitted signals in other modalities, and the recipient's experience with processing the signals (Epple, Golob, Cebul, & Smith, 1981). Scent marks are adaptable to a variety of different functional roles, including regulation of spacing, marking of territories, facilitation of group cohesion, use in aggressive or affiliative interactions within and between group members, and formation and maintenance of either social pair-bonds or sexual relationships (Heymann, 2006;Lewis, 2006).…”

“…Furthermore, in titi monkeys ( Callicebus cupreus ), females invest more in proximity maintenance and allogrooming than males, particularly in the presence of infants, potentially because males are too busy with infant carrying duties (Dolotovskaya, Walker, & Heymann, 2020). Prolonged resting in physical contact requires joint commitment and relatively little energy expenditure, and is markedly exhibited by many pair‐bonded species (e.g., pale fork‐marked lemurs, Phaner pallescens , Kappeler, 1997; red‐bellied lemurs, Eulemur rubriventer , Overdorff & Tecot, 2006; Singletary & Tecot, 2019; titi monkeys, C. cupreus ; Bales, Mason, Catana, Cherry, & Mendoza, 2007). When compared to females in nonbonded species (who typically rest alone, with other females, or with offspring), females in pair‐bonded species tend to spend more time resting in physical contact with their opposite‐sex partners (Kleiman, 1977).…”

“…; Wolovich & Evans, 2007), and both males and females may scent mark to varying degrees. Males mark more than females in E. rubriventer (Overdorff & Tecot, 2006; Singletary & Tecot, 2019), while males and females mark relatively equally in A. nancymaae (Spence‐Aizenberg, Williams, & Fernandez‐Duque, 2018b). Scent‐marking can act as part of a visual display during encounters with other groups (e.g., Aotus sp .…”

“…While researchers have begun to simultaneously investigate the use of tactile, acoustic, chemical, and visual signals, this research has largely focused on the great apes (Fröhlich & van Schaik, 2018; Fröhlich, Sievers, Townsend, Gruber, & van Schaik, 2019; Leavens & Hopkins, 2005; Leavens, Russell, & Hopkins, 2010; Taglialatela et al, 2015; Taglialatela, Russell, Schaeffer, & Hopkins, 2011; Wilke et al, 2017), with a couple of studies in macaques ( Macaca nigra , Micheletta et al, 2013; Macaca fuscata , Rigaill et al, 2015), and one in lemurs ( Hapalemur meridionalis ; Eppley, Ganzhorn, & Donati, 2016). Little multimodal research has been conducted within pair‐bonded primate species (but see Singletary & Tecot, 2019 for a case study in E. rubriventer ). As researchers work to fill this gap in the literature, opportunities to experimentally test the effectiveness and function of multimodal signal components should be exploited whenever possible to help clarify what advantages multimodal signals actually impart to senders and receivers.…”

Neural correlates of mating system diversity: oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distributions in monogamous and non-monogamous Eulemur

“…Phylogenetic reconstructions have revealed group-living (with male dispersal and female philopatry) as the ancestral form of social organization in this clade 39 ). Social monogamy and pair-bonding (which need not entail genetic monogamy) 40 , a year-round arrangement whereby a male-female pair lives in a small family group, defends a shared territory via mutual scent-marking, and jointly cares for young across several seasons, has evolved either once or twice, giving rise to E. rubriventer and E. mongoz as the two monogamous species in this genus 39,[41][42][43] . All other species are non-monogamous, live in larger social groups, and exhibit varying degrees of promiscuous mating; they also lack the behavioral signatures of social pair-bonds seen in monogamous species 39,42 .…”