Abstract
I quantified social and spatial interactions among adults in 4 multimale siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) groups to evaluate the importance of aggression and avoidance in mediating male-male relationships. Actual genetic relationships among adults are unknown, but available mitochondrial data suggest that in 3 of 4 groups, neither male was the offspring or maternal sibling of the female, whereas in the fourth group, a matrilineal relationship between the female and 1 adult male was not excluded. Rates of aggression involving male-male dyads were very low. One male-female dyad maintained closer spatial cohesion than those of other adult dyads in 3 of 4 groups. Nonetheless, all adult males spent substantial percentages of their time ≤20 m from other adults in their groups. The percentages of time that male-male dyads spent in social grooming interactions did not differ from those of male-female dyads. In 3 groups, both males copulated with the group female. While previous studies have reported high rates of aggression between adult males and subadult male group members in siamangs, my results suggest that male-male relationships in multimale groups at Way Canguk were relatively harmonious. Acceptance of multimale grouping (and in some cases sexual polyandry) suggests that the benefits outweigh the costs under some circumstances. If there was a genetic relationship between males, then tolerance of delayed dispersal and copulation with the adult female may function as a form of parental investment. Males may also benefit from multimale grouping via enhanced territorial defense or reduced costs of mate defense.
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Acknowledgments
The Leakey Foundation, Sigma Xi, the Fulbright Student Program, New York University, and Margaret and Herman Sokol provided funding for this research. The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) granted permission to conduct research in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry’s Department for the Protection and Conservation of Nature (PHKA) granted permission to conduct research at the Taman Nasional Bukit Barisan Selatan. I thank AMINEF, Universitas Indonesia, and the Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesia Program for considerable logistical assistance in Indonesia. I thank students Abdul Roshyd and Martin Trisunu Wibowo, and technicians Janjiyanto, Sutarmin, and Tedy Prasetya Utama for their tireless assistance in the field, and Noviar Andayani, Simon Hedges, Margaret Kinnaird, Tim O’Brien, Nelly Paliama, Arnold Sitompul, and Martin Tyson for considerable logistical support. I thank Marina Cords, Roberto Delgado, Tony Di Fiore, Terry Harrison, Clifford Jolly, Tim O’Brien, Ryne Palombit, Larissa Swedell, and 2 anonymous reviewers for many helpful comments on earlier drafts of the article.
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Lappan, S. Social Relationships among Males in Multimale Siamang Groups. Int J Primatol 28, 369–387 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9122-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9122-z