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Dhawale AK, Sinha A. Twinning in wild, endangered lion-tailed macaques Macaca silenus in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats, India. Primates 2024:10.1007/s10329-024-01129-5. [PMID: 38613624 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-024-01129-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
Many primate species show various behavioural and ecological adaptations to provisioning, one of which is the unusual occurrence of twins. Here, we report observations on two pairs of surviving twins in lion-tailed macaques Macaca silenus in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats, India. The Puthuthottam population of lion-tailed macaques has historically been restricted to a rainforest fragment measuring 92 ha, situated adjacent to human settlements. Over the last 10 years, however, several groups from this population have begun to directly interact with the local human communities, visiting settlements at a rate of 0.52 events/day and exploiting various anthropogenic food resources. We followed and opportunistically collected behavioural ad libitum data on two sets of twins for a year, between March 2019 and March 2020. Both of the mothers were primarily terrestrial, although the mother with the younger set of twins also used the tree canopy and other precarious substrates, such as cables. Although two previous cases of twinning have been reported in this population, one in the late 1990s and one between 2000 and 2002, neither of those sets of twins survived beyond a few weeks, with at least one infant in each pair dying of unknown causes. We discuss, but discount, the possibility that one of the infants in either set of twins was an adoptee. Our observations indicate that some lion-tailed macaque twins can survive under free-ranging conditions if they receive adequate care from their biological mother or another female. Our findings also provide further evidence of increased rates of twinning as a consequence of dietary changes in synanthropic non-human primate populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashni Kumar Dhawale
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.
- University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bangalore, India.
| | - Anindya Sinha
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
- University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bangalore, India
- Department of Environmental Biology and Wildlife Science, Cotton University, Guwahati, India
- Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, India
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Schino G, Cherubini C, Pellegrini Quarantotti B, Di Giovanni M. Precursors and aftermath of severe targeted aggression in captive cotton-top tamarins. Primates 2023; 64:539-547. [PMID: 37284988 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01072-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We observed a zoo-housed group of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) before and after a bout of severe targeted aggression directed towards two of its members. The aggression was so severe and repeated that the zoo personnel was forced to remove the two victims and the main aggressor. In the tense period that preceded removal, the tamarins showed increased aggression, a steeper and linear dominance hierarchy, and reduced post-conflict reconciliation compared to the period following removal. In contrast, affiliative interactions such as grooming and peaceful food transfers did not differ in the two periods of observations. Patterns of reciprocity also remained stable. These results highlight the flexibility of tamarin social relationships and provide useful information for managing captive colonies and improving animal welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 16B, 00197, Rome, Italy.
| | - Carla Cherubini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy
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Wu XM, Zhang J, Chen SW, Sun BH, Xia DP. Behavioral adaptation in an adoptive free-ranging female Tibetan macaque. Primates 2023; 64:469-474. [PMID: 37395860 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01076-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Adoption is an important form of allomaternal care in nonhuman primates, with implications for reproductive output and infant survival. Here, we report a kidnapping that became an adoption of a 3-week-old infant by a mother with her own infant in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana). The adoptive mother nursed her "new" infant (allonursing), the first observation of this behavior in the species. The case provided a natural experiment for comparing how a female copes with a heavier burden of care for both her biological infant and another female's infant, compared to mothers caring for only one infant. Our results showed that the adoptive female spent more time foraging and resting, and less time in group social activity compared to females with a single infant. The adoptive female showed more instances of social bridging. Although the duration of post-bridging grooming received from group members decreased, the frequency of such grooming increased. We discuss this adoption with reference to possible factors involved in the evolution of adoption and allonursing behavior in Tibetan macaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Mei Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Shi-Wang Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Bing-Hua Sun
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, Hefei, 230601, China
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Dong-Po Xia
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China.
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, Hefei, 230601, China.
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Guo Y, Grueter CC, Lu J. Allomaternal care and ‘adoption’ in an edge-of-range population of taihangshan macaques in Northern China. Curr Zool 2022; 69:215-218. [PMID: 37092004 PMCID: PMC10120963 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yongman Guo
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology,Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Cyril C Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, WA, 6009, Australia
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, WA, 6009, Australia
- International Center of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, 671003, China
| | - Jiqi Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology,Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
- Taihangshan Macaque Research Center, Jiyuan, 459000, China
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Tokuyama N, Toda K, Poiret ML, Iyokango B, Bakaa B, Ishizuka S. Two wild female bonobos adopted infants from a different social group at Wamba. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4967. [PMID: 33737517 PMCID: PMC7973529 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83667-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Adoption, the act of taking another individual's offspring and treating it as one's own, is rare but widely observed in various mammal species and may increase the survival of adoptees. Adoption may also benefit adoptive mothers, for example they might care for close kin to gain indirect fitness or to learn caregiving behaviours. Here, we report two cases of a wild bonobo adopting an infant from a different social group, the first report of cross-group adoption in great apes. In one case, the adoptive mother was already a mother of two dependent offspring. In the other case, the adoptive mother was an old parous female whose own offspring had already emigrated into a different social group. The adoptive mothers provided various maternal care to the adoptees, such as carrying, grooming, nursing, and sharing food. No aggression was observed by group members towards the out-group adoptees. In both cases, adoptees had no maternal kin-relationship with their adoptive mothers. Both adoptive mothers already had experience of rearing their own offspring. Instead, these cases of adoption may have been driven by other evolutionary adaptive traits of bonobos, such as their strong attraction to infants and high tolerance towards immatures and out-group individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahoko Tokuyama
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan.
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
| | - Kazuya Toda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
| | | | - Bahanande Iyokango
- Research Center for Ecology and Forestry, Mabali, Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Batuafe Bakaa
- Research Center for Ecology and Forestry, Mabali, Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Shintaro Ishizuka
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
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Ishizuka S. Do dominant monkeys gain more warmth? Number of physical contacts and spatial positions in huddles for male Japanese macaques in relation to dominance rank. Behav Processes 2021; 185:104317. [PMID: 33417930 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals show various forms of behavioral thermoregulation to minimize cold stress. Given that higher dominance rank is often associated with increased fitness in group-living animals, higher-ranking individuals may also benefit from better access to thermally optimal spatial positions within huddles. This study examined the association between dominance rank and the potential thermoregulatory benefits of huddling behavior in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) inhabiting Shodoshima Island, which form exceptionally large huddles. I photographed monkey huddles, and analyzed the number of individuals that males were in contact with and males' spatial positons in huddles. Higher-ranking males were significantly more likely to be in contact with larger numbers of individuals in huddles. Higher-ranking males occupied non-peripheral positions in huddles more often than lower-ranking males, which put them in contact with larger numbers of individuals. These results suggest that high dominance rank may confer potential thermal advantages on male Japanese macaques. The mechanism for this is likely that the highest-ranking male often intrude in already-formed huddles, although such behaviors of males were not quantitatively assessed. This study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cold adaptation in relation to dominance rank in group-living animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shintaro Ishizuka
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan; Japan Society for Promotion of Science, Japan.
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