Abstract
Recent work on allogrooming in Primates has demonstrated the value of considering both its physical and its social aspects. Most studies have been conducted on anthropoid primates only. Here, the grooming interactions of anthropoids and those of diurnal lemurs are contrasted, with special reference to their mutuality. It is shown that lemur grooming appears more intimate and has a far greater component of mutuality than is the case among anthropoids. It is argued that the latter finding reflects a difference between the two taxa in the forms of their agonistic interactions: in anthropoid primates, grooming is thought to be related to patterns of agonistic support in triadic interactions, while in lemurs, agonistic interactions are dyadic and allogrooming is more directly reciprocal.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Barton, R. A., 1983. A comparative study of grooming interactions in primates.Dodo, J. Jersey Wildl. Preserv. Trust, 20: 26–36.
, 1985. Grooming site preferences in primates and their functional implications.Int. J. Primatol., 6: 519–531.
Boccia, M. L., 1983. A functional analysis of social grooming patterns through direct comparison with self-grooming in rhesus monkeys.Int. J. Primatol., 4: 399–418.
,B. Rockwood, &M. Novak, 1900. The influence of behavioural context and social characteristics on the physical aspects of social grooming in rhesus monkeys.Int. J. Primatol., 3: 91–108.
de Waal, F. B. M., 1982.Chimpanzee Politics. Jonathan Cape, London.
Doyle, G. A., 1974. Behaviour of prosimians. In:Behaviour of Non-human Primates,A. M. Schrier &F. Stollnitz (eds.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 153–353.
Goosen, C., 1980. After-effects of allogrooming on proximity and locomotion in pairs of stumptailed macaques.Behaviour, 74: 80–104.
Hutchins, M. &D. Barash, 1976. Grooming in primates: Implications for its utilitarian function.Primates, 17: 145–150.
Jolly, A., 1966a.Lemur Behaviour. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago.
, 1966b. Lemur social behaviour and primate intelligence.Science, 153: 501–506.
Krebs, J. R., 1978. Optimal foraging: Decision rules for predators. In:Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach,J. R. Krebs &N. B. Davies (eds.), Blackwell Scientific Pub., Oxford, pp. 23–63.
Lindburg, D., 1973. Grooming behaviour as a regulator of social interactions in rhesus monkeys. In:Behavioural Regulators of Behaviour in Primates,C. R. Carpenter (ed.), Bucknell Univ. Press, Lewisburg, pp. 124–128.
McKenna, J., 1978. Biosocial functions of grooming behaviour among the common Indian langur monkey.Amer. J. Phys. Anthropol., 48: 503–509.
Seyfarth, R. M., 1980. The distribution of grooming and related behaviours among adult female vervet monkeys.Anim. Behav., 28: 798–813.
&D. L. Cheney, 1984. Grooming, alliances, and reciprocal altruism in vervet monkeys.Nature, London, 308: 541–542.
Sparks, J., 1967. Allogrooming in primates: A review. In:Primate Ethology,D. Morris (ed.), Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, pp. 148–175.
Taylor, L. &R. W. Sussman, 1985. A preliminary study of kinship and social organization in a semi-free-ranging group ofLemur catta.Int. J. Primatol., 6: 601–615.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Barton, R.A. Allogrooming as mutualism in diurnal lemurs. Primates 28, 539–542 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02380868
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02380868