Titre |
Intergroup relations and home range use in Verreaux's sifakas, Propithecus verreauxi. |
Descripteur géographique |
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Titre de la série |
American Journal of Primatology. |
Résumé |
Relationships between neighboring groups feature prominently in socioecological theory, but few empirical studies have focused on the effects of neighbors on the behavior of primates. Interactions between neighboring groups are most conspicuous during intergroup encounters, but the likelihood of encounters with neighbors can also affect ranging and activity patterns indirectly, and, as a result, behavioral patterns in areas of exclusive use may differ from those in overlap areas of adjacent home ranges. The aim of this study was to examine intergroup relations and spatial variation in home range use in Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) during the annual mating season. Based on 230?hr of focal animal data collected from ten members of five adjacent groups, we found that behavioral patterns and patterns of resource utilization were not markedly different between areas of exclusive use and overlap areas of adjacent home ranges. |