Abstract
Individual spatial positioning plays an important role in mediating the costs and benefits of group living, and thus shapes different aspects of animal social systems including group structure and cohesiveness. I aimed to quantify variation in individual spacing behavior and its correlates in a group of wild patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) living in north Cameroon. I collected data on inter-individual distances during group scans when following subject females. Individuals had longer inter-individual distances during the non-birth season than during the birth season. Dominance relationships had little effect on inter-individual distances between females during both the non-birth and birth seasons. The results suggest that group cohesion was higher during the birth season than the non-birth season. Thus I conclude that higher group cohesion during the birth season may reduce the predation risk of infants.
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Acknowledgments
I wish to express my thanks to MESIRES (Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieure et de l’Informatique et de la Recherche Scienctifique), IRZ (Institut des Recherches Zootechniques), and the Secrétariat d’Etat au Tourism for permitting the research in the Kala Maloué National Park in Cameroon. I also thank Y. Sugiyama for his constant encouragement; M. Kawai for providing the opportunity for this study; H. Ohsawa and N. Nakagawa for various kinds of help and for valuable information at the study site; and P. Henzi, N. Nakagawa, H. Sugiura, and two anonymous reviewers for the invaluable comments on earlier drafts. This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan (Grants No. 63041140 to M. Kawai and No. 03-0918 to the author).
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Muroyama, Y. Variations in within-group inter-individual distances between birth- and non-birth seasons in wild female patas monkeys. Primates 58, 115–119 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-016-0578-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-016-0578-3