Abstract
We report membership change in a group of wild agile gibbons, Hylobates agilis agilis, in West Sumatra, Indonesia. During 6-month observational periods, we focused on a particular unit of individuals known as the B group. We confirmed that the group consisted of five individuals: one adult female, one adult male, one subadult male, one subadult female, and one infant male. During our observations, the resident adult male and the two subadult individuals dispersed or disappeared, and a new adult male took over the group. We examined the effects of the male replacement on the territorial boundary, using the auditory census technique. The boundary was stable. We also documented the succession of the home range. Our results indicate a flexible social structure in this species and contribute some useful data to an ongoing debate on their social dynamics.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Professor Hirohisa Hirai for his support. We especially thank Dr. Anas Salsabila, Dr. Mansyurdin, Dr. Syamsuardi, Dr. Tesri Maideliza, and the rest of the staff at Andalas University for their support at the field station in Sumatra, Indonesia; Dr. Dondin Sajuthi, Dr. Hery Wijayanto, and the other staff members at the IPB Primate Research Center for their support in Indonesia; Dr. Toshiaki Tanaka for valuable comments; Ms. Yoko Kaneko for helpful assistance in the data analysis; LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Science) for giving us permission to conduct the research; and an anonymous reviewer for improving our manuscript. This study was conducted under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, and the Department of Biology, Andalas University. We adhered to the legal requirements of Indonesia. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for overseas research (B) (20405016) to Hirohisa Hirai, and by the Global Centers of Excellence Program (A06) to Kyoto University, MEXT, Japan.
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Koda, H., Oyakawa, C., Nurulkamilah, S. et al. Male replacement and stability of territorial boundary in a group of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis agilis) in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Primates 53, 327–332 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-012-0313-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-012-0313-7