Title |
Social relations in semi free-ranging sifakas (P. v. coquerelï) and the question of female dominance. |
Holder of the document |
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Serial title |
American Journal of Primatology. |
Summary |
Female social dominance over males is thought to characterize most of the prosimian primates of Madagascar. It has been reported inPropithecus verreauxi coquereli in the wild but intersexual relations were not fully characterized. In this paper we examine female-male spatial and agonistic relations in semi-free-ranging P. v. coquereli in order to evaluate intersexual social dominance and related behavioral asymmetries. Two hundred hours of focal sampling were conducted on two pairs of P. v. coquereli at the Duke University Primate Center, Durham, NC. Behavioral categories including approach, departure, follow, pass, replace, and aggression were scored and recorded. Our results show strong asymmetry of aggressive encounters, suggesting female dominance over males. No submissive signals were observed. |