When females should contest for food - testing hypotheses about resource density, distribution, size, and quality with Hanuman langurs ( Presbytis entellus )

Koenig, Andreas; Beise, Jan; Chalise, Mukesh Kumar; Ganzhorn, Jörg U.

doi:10.1007/s002650050434

Cited by 157 publications

(167 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

157

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Instead, comparative approaches have used primarily captive or provisioned populations [87,88] or included only a few wild, unprovisioned populations or species [96][97][98]. To date, only two broader comparisons have been conducted with wild, unprovisioned primates [91,99], and both studies were restricted to agonistic behaviour.…”

Section: (B) the Roads Less Travelledmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Less direct testing using broad dietary categories (e.g. frugivory or folivory) as proxies for the distribution or contestability of resources [12,13] has proved unsatisfactory, because food categories do not appear to accurately capture the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of food quality [47,84,98]. Nevertheless, the widespread use of dietary categories to make inferences about social relationships (e.g.…”

Section: (B) Testing Links Between Agonism and Social Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Variation in grouping patterns, mating systems and social structure: what socio-ecological models attempt to explain

Koenig

Scarry

Wheeler

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: (B) the Roads Less Travelledmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Testing Links Between Agonism and Social Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in grouping patterns, mating systems and social structure: what socio-ecological models attempt to explain

Koenig

Scarry

Wheeler

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dominance hierarchies may be weak or nonexistent, and females can disperse relatively freely to adjust group size (ibid). Within-group contest competition is often associated with clumped fruit, and foliage is often associated with within-group scramble competition, though such generalizations are not without exceptions (e.g., Koenig et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioecological influences on the dispersal of female mountain gorillas—evidence of a second folivore paradox

Robbins

Stoinski

Fawcett

et al. 2008

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Socioecological models indicate that the group structure and female dispersal patterns of primates are determined primarily by the abundance and distribution of food, predation pressures, and infanticide risks. In response to those influences, females of folivorous primates are considered relatively free to disperse into groups with the optimal size and structure. Yet some folivores live in small groups despite a potentially higher risk of predation, an apparent inconsistency known as the folivore paradox. This paper examines the female dispersal of a folivorous primate, the Virunga mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas currently have no natural predators, but this species presents a different version of the folivore paradox: why do 50-60% of females reside in smaller one-male groups despite a higher risk of infanticide? In this study, females left one-male groups more frequently than multimale groups, but transfer destinations were not consistently biased toward multimale groups and those groups did not have higher immigration rates. We found no evidence of dispersal to avoid feeding competition within large groups, even as they have become three to five times larger than average. Thus, the lack of a consistent bias toward multimale groups was not because they are typically larger than one-male groups. Instead, the apparent inconsistencies may reflect limited female transfer opportunities, other influences on dispersal, and possibly an evolutionary disequilibrium in which current behavior does not optimize fitness.

show abstract

“…Subordinates may experience elevated stress (and increased cortisol levels) when the group is feeding on high-quality food resources that are highly clumped in their distribution because dominant individuals can easily exclude subordinates from feeding (e.g. Janson 1985;Koenig et al 1998). Additional research is needed to confirm whether stress is indeed a possible proximate explanation for call production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monkeys crying wolf? Tufted capuchin monkeys use anti-predator calls to usurp resources from conspecifics

Wheeler

2009

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of 'tactical deception' is argued to have been important in the cognitive evolution of the order Primates, but systematic studies of active deception in wild non-human primates are scant. This study tests whether wild tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus) use alarm calls in a functionally deceptive manner to usurp food resources. If capuchins use alarm calls 'deceptively', it was predicted that false alarms should be: (i) given by subordinates more than by dominants, (ii) more frequent when food is most contestable, (iii) more frequent when less food is available, and (iv) given when the caller is in a spatial position in which it could increase its feeding success if conspecifics react to the call. These predictions were tested by observing subjects in experimental contexts, in which the amount and distribution of a high-value resource (banana pieces) were manipulated using wooden platforms suspended from tree branches. While false alarms were non-significantly more common when more food was available, the three remaining predictions were supported. These results generally support the hypothesis that alarm calls are used by capuchins to reduce the effects of feeding competition. Whether this is intentional on the part of the caller requires further investigation.

show abstract

When females should contest for food - testing hypotheses about resource density, distribution, size, and quality with Hanuman langurs ( Presbytis entellus )

Cited by 157 publications

References 44 publications

Variation in grouping patterns, mating systems and social structure: what socio-ecological models attempt to explain

Variation in grouping patterns, mating systems and social structure: what socio-ecological models attempt to explain

Socioecological influences on the dispersal of female mountain gorillas—evidence of a second folivore paradox

Monkeys crying wolf? Tufted capuchin monkeys use anti-predator calls to usurp resources from conspecifics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About