非人灵长类社会等级现象的研究进展

等级结构在群居生活种类中普遍存在,在非人灵长类尤为突出。该主要对近年来有关灵长类等级现象的研究结果进行分析综述,认为等级现象与个体的年龄、性别、母亲的顺位以及呆在群内时间长短等自身因素相关,也反映在个体之间的攻击、理毛、爬跨和近距等社会交往行为中。等级结构在不同动物中又不尽相同,故研究中需要对具体物种做具体分析。等级现象的存在,不仅有利于动物群体的生存,而且对动物个体也是有利的。     

南京红山森林动物园猕猴的社会玩耍行为

社会玩耍行为是灵长类动物的常见行为类型之一,作为种群数量最大的非人灵长类之一,猕猴(Macaca mulatta)的社会玩耍行为是它们日常生活的一部分。本研究利用红外摄像技术,对南京红山森林动物园猕猴冬季社会玩耍行为的基本特征进行了研究。研究记录了每一回合玩耍行为的发生时间、持续时间、参与对象年龄、参与个体数以及玩耍行为类型等行为参数。在持续10 d的视频中,共记录到猕猴的社会玩耍行为7 496次,其中触摸和抓打4 018次,追逐1 012次,撕咬和摔跤671次,其他53次,以及各种玩耍行为组合1 742次。利用单因素方差分析,发现猕猴的社会玩耍行为节律明显,两个玩耍高峰分别为08:30~09:30时和10:30~11:30时。利用Kruskal-Wallis检验及Mann-Whitney U两两比较法,发现参与个体数和玩耍行为类型对社会玩耍持续时间影响显著,在玩耍过程中,参与个体数越多,社会玩耍持续时间越长;组合类型的持续时间最长,其次是撕咬和摔跤,再次是触摸和抓打,最后是追逐。0~3岁的少年个体在玩耍行为中更常采用触摸和抓打类型,而亚成年及成年个体则倾向于选择追逐类型。该研究量化了猕猴社会玩耍行为的类别和影响因素,为动物园的猕猴管理和动物福利提供了数据支持。     

笼养黑叶猴未成年个体的玩耍行为

哺乳动物的玩耍行为有助于提高运动及社会交往技能,有助于社会关系的建立。为探讨玩耍行为在黑叶猴未成年个体发育过程中的呈现模式,我们以广西南宁动物园两群笼养黑叶猴Trachypithecus francoisi未成年个体为观察对象,应用焦点动物取样法和全事件记录法收集观察对象玩耍行为相关数据。结果表明:打斗式玩耍平均占黑叶猴未成年个体玩耍时间的14.4%¹6.9%,追逐式玩耍占3.6%16.9%,追逐式玩耍占3.6%¹3.6%,运动性玩耍占48.6%13.6%,运动性玩耍占48.6%⁵7.0%,物品玩耍占20.8%57.0%,物品玩耍占20.8%²5.0%。少年个体的玩耍行为存在明显的性别差异,主要表现在少年雄性打斗式玩耍和追逐式玩耍的频次明显高于少年雌性。在社会性玩耍中,少年雄性更为主动。这些结果支持了运动训练假说。在玩耍伙伴的选择上,少年雌雄性个体都喜欢选择少年雄性个体作为玩耍伙伴。未成年个体在不同发育阶段的玩耍行为也存在显著差异,主要表现在幼年个体运动性玩耍和物品玩耍的频率明显高于少年个体。     

秦岭川金丝猴1至2岁个体的社会玩耍行为

2009年3月至2010年5月在秦岭北坡的陕西周至国家级自然保护区玉皇庙,采用焦点动物取样法(Focal animal sampling)和瞬时记录法(Instantaneous sampling)对2008年出生的5只秦岭川金丝猴幼体(3 ♂、2♀)的社会玩耍行为进行了研究.结果表明:1-2岁的川金丝猴对其不同年龄-性别组的玩耍伙伴具有很高的选择性,喜欢与单元内的青少年个体玩耍;其次喜欢与新生个体玩耍,与母亲、单元内主雄和其它成年雌性个体玩耍的机会不多.另外,该年龄段的个体在玩耍中常采用追逐和摔跤的方式,采用接近、撕咬和其它行为的方式均不高.雄性个体比雌性个体更常采用摔跤的行为方式,而雌性个体相比雄性个体更常采用接近等方式.在整个观察期,社会交往性的玩耍行为频次未发现个体差异和性别差异.此外,这些个体玩耍频次的发育与年龄阶段之间不存在线性相关.个体在这种行为的发育过程中不仅可锻炼身体、实践打斗技巧,建立社会关系,并且能获得一定的认知能力.     

秦岭川金丝猴非成年个体行为发育的研究

综合有关文献,介绍了秦岭川金丝猴（Rhmopithecus roxellana）0～1岁内、1～2岁内、2～3岁内3个非成年阶段个体的行为发育。涉及的行为类型有吸乳、取食、休息、移动等个体行为和理毛、玩耍、爬跨、攻击等社会行为。目的为了解该物种并对其加以保护提供参考资料。     

非人灵长类性打搅行为研究进展

性打搅行为是指非人灵长类社群内非交配个体对正在发生性行为个体的干扰行为,该行为在非人灵长类中普遍存在,通过综述目前已知的36种非灵长类的性打搅行为的报道,探讨性打搅行为的功能和意义。性打搅行为具有更高度的种间和种内差异,种间的性打搅的方式不同、同时受到社会结构和婚配制度的影响;在种内受到性别、年龄、等级等因素的影响。结合川金丝猴性打搅的研究结果,从性打搅的类型、被打搅的反应、性打搅的功能以及相关假说等方面入手,对非人灵长类性打搅行为进行系统总结,旨在为我国相关领域的研究提供参考,为生殖行为学研究者启发思路,推动本领域的发展。     

秦岭川金丝猴个体间团抱模式及其影响因素

团抱行为作为保持体温与增进社会关系的一种有效途经在非人灵长类中广泛存在,受环境和社会因素影响在各物种间呈现出多样的模式。本研究自2007 年9 月至2008 年4 月间,运用焦点动物取样法和瞬时扫描取样法对秦岭北坡周至国家级自然保护区内的一群秦岭川金丝猴的团抱模式进行了1 637 回次的扫描,结果表明研究群内的个体回避单独休息,倾向于形成团抱,团抱主要发生在2 个或3 个个体之间,较少形成4 个或4 个以上个体的团抱;团抱主要由青少年个体和成年雌性组成,成年雄性和携婴雌性多参与小的团抱,青少年猴更频繁地出现在3 个个体的团抱中,未携婴雌性在4 个和4 个以上个体团抱中比例明显增加;秦岭川金丝猴各年龄性别组的个体对团抱伙伴的选择有各自的偏好,大多数团抱由成年雄性和未成年个体发起,但获得较少的团抱;雌性和携婴雌性较少主动发出但获得较多的团抱,这显示出雌性作为团抱的主体具有很高的社会亲和力;此外团抱模式还存在季节性的变化,冬季寒冷期团抱的频率和大小都会增加,并且个体选择在距离地面较近的区域团抱以保持体温,春季生育期个体倾向于在树冠层团抱以获得新鲜的食物并且避免婴猴被捕食。秦岭川金丝猴的团抱行为是物种在其独特的社会组织形式下对山地极端环境的一种适应,在进化中以行为模式获得更高适合度的具体策略。     

亚洲叶猴社会行为学研究进展

叶猴以群居为主,个体间具有丰富的社会行为,包括相互理毛行为、等级关系、繁殖行为、杀婴行为和玩耍行为等。本文查阅了叶猴属Presbytis、乌叶猴属Trachypithecus和长尾叶猴属Semnopithecus社会行为的相关文献,综述社会行为所涉及的假说,分析叶猴个体间和猴群间社会行为的作用和功能,为今后国内叶猴或其他灵长类的研究提供参考和借鉴。     

黄山短尾猴食土行为

从行为生态学角度,依据黄山短尾猴食土行为在年龄、性别、社会等级序位、食土量、食土频率、食土持续时间中的分布和变化规律,结合土壤基本理化性质测定和分析,探讨了黄山短尾猴食土行为。黄山短尾猴对土壤的摄取是寻找和有目的的选择,有些场所是其"喜好"或"常去之处",食土场所通常是以多个体多次取食挖掘而形成的洞穴形式存在。取食土壤颜色黄色或黄棕色,酸性土壤,富含铁、钙、镁等矿物元素,粘土比例较高。社群各年龄段及性别个体均参与食土行为。平均食土行为持续时间在年龄和性别之间无显著差异;平均食土频率和食土量在成年雌性或雄性个体的社会等级序位之间无显著性差异;而成年雌性的平均食土频率和食土量,显著高于其它年龄或性别组,与雌性正值怀孕末期及产仔哺乳期,需要补充大量铁等矿物元素,以维持生理所需和体力消耗有关。典型的植食性动物黄山短尾猴有规律地取食粘土的行为,支持了食土行为具有"食物解毒作用"假说。人工投喂和食土行为的相关性表现为提高了食土频率,可能与粘土能够缓解高热量、低纤维人工食物造成的胃肠不适有关。     

非人灵长类的同性爬跨行为

同性间爬跨行为在非人灵长类动物中普遍存在.对30种灵长类的研究认为,该行为发生是正常的,具有一定的社会功能.其社会功能有:1)玩耍,多见于少年个体;2)侵犯,发生在群体中具有社会等级关系的个体之间,爬跨者通过爬跨对被爬跨者进行安慰,或加强其优势地位;3)性兴奋 ,常发生在交配高峰期,同性爬跨可能是找不到异性对象所致;4)打招呼,此过程不涉及插入,只是身体接触,行为持续短暂,表现温和友好;5)性技能训练,这是一种人为推测,尚未得到证实.     

Food Transfer in Sichuan Snub-nosed Monkeys (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhinopithecus roxellana</Emphasis>)

Food transfer behavior provides a way to distribute food resources among individuals. It is not confined to kin, but also occurs among genetically unrelated individuals. Food transfer among nonkin may result from byproduct mutualism, reciprocal altruism (RA), or tolerated scrounging (TS). Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) exhibit a high level of social tolerance, and researchers have observed food transfer behavior in the wild. However, little is known about how tolerant social relations influence food transfer in this species. We recorded food-related interactions and social behavior in a group of captive Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys. Our findings suggest that the monkeys develop partner preference in food transfer behaviors. Moreover, individuals rely primarily on nonharassed approaches to claim food, suggesting that the TS model alone cannot explain their food transfer. Food transfer in this species may be a form of mutualism, in which an individual benefits on an immediate basis by fostering a preferred and tolerant relationship. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of reciprocal altruism. Future studies should record the temporal delay of social exchange to distinguish between mutualism and reciprocal altruism.     

Effect of Group Size on Time Budgets of Sichuan Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, China

Group size influences intragroup scramble competition, which in turn influences time budgets in some primates, and may impact age–sex classes differently. There is a great deal of debate about whether folivorous primates, e.g., colobines, experience significant feeding competition. Unlike most colobines, Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) live in extraordinarily large groups and eat mainly lichens supplemented by seasonal plant food. We examined the effect of group size on time budgets in this species by studying two groups of different sizes in the same habitat in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, China (study periods: August 2006–July 2008 for the larger group, November 2008–July 2009 for the smaller group). Results showed that the distribution of activities throughout the day did not differ between groups, but that time budgets did differ. Specifically, the monkeys spent more time moving and less time resting in the larger group than in the smaller group. Intergroup comparisons for each age–sex class indicated that adult females (but not adult males or juveniles) in the larger group spent more time moving and less time resting, and tended to spend more time feeding compared to those in the smaller group. The results suggested that increased scramble competition was occurring for adult females in the larger group. We provided preliminary evidence for the existence of intragroup scramble competition in Rhinopithecus roxellana.     

Testing the Cognition of the Forgotten Colobines: A First Look at Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Although our understanding of primate cognition is growing rapidly, little is known about the cognition of colobines. Here we report the results of a set of 5 experiments on colobine cognition using 17 golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). These monkeys are folivores that form multilevel societies with groups of hundreds of individuals and relatively high fission–fusion dynamics. We investigated their sensitivity to human social cues and ability to inhibit impulsive behavioral responses. In three sociocognitive experiments we found that, like most other primates, they follow the gaze direction of a human demonstrator but there is no evidence that they use others’ social cues in a cooperative task to locate hidden food or in a competitive task to steal forbidden food. In two inhibitory control experiments, we found that the monkeys showed a low level of inhibitory control, comparable to that of other folivorous primates. These results suggest that phylogeny and folivory might have been important in shaping the cognition of golden snub-nosed monkeys. Moreover, this species’ large group size and relatively high fission–fusion dynamics may not have imposed a significant social challenge to their cognition, as social interactions occur mainly within basic social units.     

Supply and Demand Determine the Market Value of Access to Infants in the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

According to a biological market paradigm, trading decisions between partners will be influenced by the current ‘exchange rate’ of commodities (good and services), which is affected by supply and demand, and the trader’s ability to outbid competitors. In several species of nonhuman primates, newborn infants are attractive to female group members and may become a desired commodity that can be traded for grooming within a biological market place. We investigated whether grooming was interchanged for infant handling in female golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) inhabiting the Qinling Mountains of central China. R. roxellana exhibit a multilevel social organization characterized by over 100 troop members organized into 6–11 one-male units each composed one adult male and several adult females and their offspring. Behavioral data were collected over the course of 28 months on grooming patterns between mothers with infants less than 6 months old (N = 36) and other adult female troop members. Our results provide strong evidence for the interchange of grooming for access to infants. Grooming for infant access was more likely to be initiated by potential handlers (nonmothers) and less likely reciprocated by mothers. Moreover, grooming bout duration was inversely related to the number of infants per female present in each one-male unit indicating the possibility of a supply and demand market effect. The rank difference between mothers and handlers was negatively correlated with grooming duration. With increasing infant age, the duration of grooming provided by handlers was shorter suggesting that the ‘value’ of older infants had decreased. Finally, frequent grooming partners were allowed to handle and maintain access to infants longer than infrequent groomers. These results support the contention that grooming and infant handling may be traded in R. roxellana and that the price individuals paid for access to infants fluctuated with supply and demand.     

Social and solitary play in a colony of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops)

This study describes and defines play in a laboratory colony of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Play is divided into 26 units of behavior and the frequencies of these behaviors are recorded. Analysis shows that sex, age, and dominance have effects on some play behaviors. The play behavior of each age/sex group within the colony is described both quantitatively and qualitatively. Adult females are characterized by reinforcement of the play of immature monkeys, adult males by rough play with older male juveniles, four-year-old females and three-year-old males by stimulation of play in young infants, and males in general by a preference to play within their peer group. It is suggested that modified repetition of behaviors, diversified interactions, and innovative behaviors, are important qualities of play, and are essential to the adaptive plasticity of behavior in primates.     

Playing it cool: Characterizing social play,bout termination,and candidate play signals of juvenile and infant Tibetan macaques(Macaca thibetana)

Play behaviors and signals during playful interactions with juvenile conspecifics are important for both the social and cognitive development of young animals.The social organization of a species can also influence juvenile social play. We examined the relationships among play behaviors, candidate play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques(Macaca thibetana) during juvenile and infant social play to characterize the species play style. As Tibetan macaques are despotic and live in groups with strict linear dominance hierarchies and infrequent reconciliation, we predicted that play would be at risk of misinterpretation by both the individuals engaged in the play bout and by those watching, possibly leading to injury of the players. Animals living in such societies might need to frequently and clearly signal playful intent to play partners and other group members to avoid aggressive outcomes. We gathered video data on 21 individually-identified juvenile and infant macaques(one month to five years of age)from the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan,China. We used all-occurrence sampling to record play behaviors and candidate play signals based on an ethogram. We predicted that play groups would use multiple candidate play signals in a variety of contexts and in association with the number of audience members in proximity to the players and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions we scored,juvenile and infant macaques used multiple body and facial candidate play signals. Our data showed that juvenile and infant Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and signals to sustain play.     

川金丝猴秦岭与岷山社群社会结构与空间分布差异性比较

对不同地区川金丝猴社会结构和空间分布的比较有助于了解其种群与环境的相互应答关系。在秦岭山脉和岷山山脉的不同地区选取3个观察群,对比它们之间社群结构和空间分布的差异。研究结果表明,尽管同属于仰鼻猴属川金丝猴种,由于栖息地环境的不同,导致社群结构和空间分布既存在相同点又存在一定的差异。对于社会结构,扎如沟群,大坪峪群与玉皇庙群表现出同样的最高进化水平的重层社会体系;但是构成这一社会体系的基本单位一雄多雌（One-male unit,OMU）,其成员整体数量上没有差异,但是OMU内雌雄比例不仅在3个观察群间存在差异,而且与同属其他物种相比也存在差异;对于空间分布,由于食物竞争压力和天敌捕食压力在不同的栖息地内影响不同,导致3个观察群空间分布呈梯度变化关系。研究结果不仅为川金丝猴种群动态,种群与环境的相互应答关系以及种群进化提供基础资料,而且希望能藉此推进我国相关领域研究的开展,为灵长类社会与行为生态学研究者启发思路,并为保护这些濒危物种提供科学依据。     

Food distribution,dominance, and aggressive behaviors in bonnet macaques

Resource availability or distribution may affect interindividual competition in species such as primates, which forage in social groups, and several field studies suggest that dominance status predicts access to restricted food sources. Increased competition due to restricted resources may result in the intensification of aggressive behaviors. The study reported here examines the impact of manipulation of the distribution of food resources in a laboratory-housed group of bonnet macaques to assess the impact of distribution on aggressive behaviors. Food was restricted to a space which allowed access to only one or two individuals at a time or was dispersed throughout the living enclosure to allow universal access in alternating periods. During periods of clumped distribution, the monkeys obtained access to the food in order of their dominance status in the group. In addition, overall levels of aggressive behaviors increased, submissive behavior increased, and play decreased during periods of clumped distribution of food. These results confirm the findings from field studies indicating increases in agonism with restriction of food resources. These findings also have implications for primate colony management, in terms of developing strategies for minimizing intragroup aggression in captive groups.     

A High Polymorphism Level in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhinopithecus roxellana</Emphasis>

The Sichuan golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is a famous and beautiful endangered primate. Owing to the dearth of samples and technical limitations, previous studies could not adequately assess the levels of genetic polymorphisms in the species. To evaluate the polymorphisms further, we sequenced the entire mitochondrial control regions (D-loop) of 35 individuals from the 3 major habitats: Minshan, Qinglin, and Shennongjia. We observed many polymorphisms and estimated that the effective population size of the current total population is less than ca. 480–2300, and the time to the most recent common ancestor is ca. 4000–62,700 years. Through comparisons, we showed that the population of Rhinopithecus roxellana has a relatively higher polymorphism level than that of other endangered primates.     

Social play behavior in infant Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Qinling Mountains, China

We describe the development of social play behavior and assess factors influencing the development of play in infant Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). Infant snub-nosed monkeys began to exhibit social play at 3 months of age, when they spent an average 0.89% of time engaging in this behavior (range: 0.7-1.12%). At 6 months of age, there was a significant increase in the proportion of time spent in social play, averaging 9.78% of observation time (range: 4.92-17.08%). However, from 7 to 9 months of age during the winter, social play decreased gradually before rising again from 10 months of age in the spring. Play behavior in infant snub-nosed monkeys is influenced by environmental temperature. Males were observed to play more than females, although further data on this are required. Social rank did not influence the social play of wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkey infants.