The variable social organization of hanuman langurs(Presbytis entellus), infanticide,and the monopolization of females

Data from 24 wild populations of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus)in south Asia are used to test hypotheses seeking to explain variation in troop structure and the incidence of infanticide. The occurrence of infanticide is associated with a one-male troop structure and not with a high density. The density, predation, and economic-advantage hypotheses, as explanations for the occurrence of one-male and multimale troops, are not supported by the review. However, the monopolization hypothesis is not contradicted; the number of adult males per troop is significantly correlated with troop size and with the number of adult females per troop. Therefore it is suggested that a one-male troop structure will arise if a male is able to monopolize a group of females, a multimale troop if he cannot. One-male troops may predispose to infanticide because of high variance in male mating success and high intermale competition between groups rather than within troops. If female dispersion determines troop structure, it is speculated that females could manipulate males to form a multimale society if the advantages in terms of infant survival and intertroop conflict exceeded the costs in terms of not producing infanticidal “sexy sons.”     

菲氏叶猴和黑叶猴的齿弓

本文对菲氏叶猴(Presbytis phayrei)和黑叶猴(Presbytis francoisi)成年头颅的上下齿弓进行了比较研究。结果说明,在黑叶猴中,由于与颧骨眶低点相连,垂直于M~3根部齿弓的距离非常显著地大于菲氏叶猴,因而其面颅体积显著性地大于菲氏叶猴,而且菲氏叶猴的面颅比黑叶猴更为凸出。在对齿弓的对称性研究时发现,除黑叶猴的上齿弓向右偏离外,别的都向左侧发生偏离。这种偏离似乎与用手优势相联系。在进行多变量分析时发现,两种叶猴所研究的变量下颌的比上颌的发生了更大的变异。进一步证实了运动的器官比固定的器官易产生变异。     

Patterns of grandmaternal behaviour in free-ranging Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus)

The behaviour of two Hanuman langur grandmothers towards their grandchildren is examined with emphasis on the spatial relationship, the contact behaviour, and vigilance. Interaction patterns with infants and juveniles are analysed separately to disclose the influence of a social partner's reproductive value and the variance of this value on grandmaternal behaviour. The shape of grandmaternal behaviour seems to differ for male and female grandchildren, and it seems to depend on the reproductive value of both, the grandmother and the grandchild. These results are in accordance with sociobiological hypotheses. Evaluation of costs and benefits suggests that grandmaternal behaviour in langurs can be called investment.     

叶猴(Presbytis)、金丝猴(Rhinopithecus)、长臂猿(Hylobates)自由取食时的利手现象

本文报道叶猴、金丝猴、长臂猿自由取食时的利手现象。本研究共用金丝猴12只(雄性8只,雌性4只),叶猴25只(雄性16只、雌性9只),长臂猿5只(雄性3只,雌性2只)。对每个动物而言,总观察次数不少于30次,其结果显示:在雄性金丝猴中,62.5％的动物显示右利,25％显示主利,12.5％无利手现象。在雄性叶猴中,62.5％的动物显示右利,18.7％显示左利,18.7％无利手现象。在3只雄性长臂猿中,2只显示右利,一只无利手现象。 统计结果表明:雄性金丝猴有明显的右利手现象(P<0.05),雄性叶猴右利手现象接近显著(P=0.06),长臂猿因观察数量太少,未进行统计。 在上述三种动物中,雌性个体无利手现象。 木工作结果提示:(1)雄性金丝猴,叶猴在自由取食时具有右利手现象,长臂猿也可能有右利手现象,(2)大脑两半球的不对称性与性别有关。     

Ecology and behavior ofPresbytis thomasi in Northern Sumatra

A field study of 23 bisexual troops, ranging in size from 3 to 21 members ( =8), and two all-male groups of the Thomas's leaf monkey (Presbytis thomasi) was conducted in North Sumatra from November 1981 to April 1984. Most troops (N=19 or 82.6%) contained only one adult male. Two troops and one group were most intensively studied. The home range was 12.3–15.7 ha for the two bisexual troops, and only 1.7 ha for the one, all-male, ten-member group. Fruits composed more than 50% of their diets. Vocalizations were classified into 13 types. Births occurred at any time of the year. Among three males of a bisexual troop, serious fights were observed: two males died of wounds and the former beta male became the new alpha male. After this social change, the home range area of this troop gradually shifted eastward. But, 3.5 months after the social change, a 9-month-old infant male stayed alone in the western part of its former range. Thereafter, he became a solitary male and sometimes went into the riverine area of the Bohorok river. The occurrence of male replacement suggests instability of multi-male organization in bisexual troops. Moreover, the different mortality rate between males and females and the unequal sex ratios forced by the formation of one-male troops, maintained high tension levels among males competing on females.     

Intermale relations and troop male membership changes in langurs (Presbytis entellus) in Nepal

Data on intermale social relations and troop membership changes in one Nepalese high-altitude population of free-ranging langurs (Presbytis entellus)are reported here. Data were collected from six troops by three observers and cover 32 months of observations. The predominantly multi-male troops indicate an alternating pattern of exclusions and introductions with gradual adult male replacement. Takeovers and infant killing were not observed. Analysis of adult social behavior records show qualitative and quantitative differences in intrasexual relations, with primarily agonistic social contacts occurring between males. Agonistic encounters between females and between males differ in frequency of occurrence, types of be-haviors used, cause, and consistency in direction of threats between individuals. Individual adult male frequency of interaction with females and immatures varied significantly, with the majority of these interactions occurring between the dominant troop male and other troop members. Data indicate that intermale dominance is a major factor in determining male access to fertile females: This appears to be achieved by either directly excluding males from the troop or effectively “controlling” their inter-actions with troop females. Data from these studies are compared with data from other Presbytis entellusinvestigations. Review of these data suggests that intraspecific variability in intermale social dynamics and type of troop male membership change are correlated with the percentage of nontroop males. It is suggested that environmental pressures resulting in social crowding can be critical in determing the occurrence of takeovers in some populations of Presbytis entellus.     

Factors influencing the population density of the hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus) in Sariska Tiger Reserve

We carried out a study of Hanuman langurs in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India during three months in 1990. The area surveyed included habitat disturbed by human activity, with both the grazing of livestock and firewood collecting resulting in degraded forest. Langur population density was estimated to be between 19 and 36 animals/km². The density of langurs in disturbed areas was significantly lower than in undisturbed areas. Both tree cover, total tree, and shrub cover were positively correlated with langur density, suggesting that a lack of trees in disturbed areas may have caused the lower langur densities. Although bisexual groups were significantly more common in undisturbed areas the distribution of all male groups did not appear to be affected by human disturbance, suggesting that male bands are likely to inhabit more disturbed habitats than bisexual groups. We suggest that either a lack of food trees or the high density of predators in Sariska may prevent bisexual groups from inhabiting areas where tree cover is low, although the more mobile male groups can survive in these areas. Although Hanuman langurs are a relatively common species in India, these results suggest that they are not, as is commonly assumed, immune to the effects of human disturbance. In areas where langurs appear to survive in disturbed habitats the different response of bisexual and all male groups to disturbance may still result in serious disruption to the population structure.     

Adult male replacement and social change in two troops of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur,India

I studied the process of adult male replacement and social change in two one- male troops (B20 and B21) of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus)at Jodhpur, India. Male-male competition lasted for about 6 months before the successful takeover of one troop (B20). During that period, five adult males from three neighboring bands (AMB7, AMB9, and AMB10) and a resident male of a neighboring troop (B21) were involved in taking over the troop. The latter male also copulated with six females during his interim residency, which suggests that he may have opportunistically maximized his mating chances with females of a neighboring group. During an intertroop interaction, a 14-month-old female infant of the other troop (B21) was fatally attacked by an adult female of the first troop and the infant eventually died. The attacker may have taken advantage of the disorganization created by male-male competition, perhaps to eliminate a future food competitor. In addition, the first troop gained an additional feeding area from the other troop’s range; it included a sleeping site and a waterhole, indicating that territorial fights during social instability may have led to the expansion of the winner’s resource area.     

白头叶猴种群的调查研究

1991年7—10月,作者在广西扶绥县(山弄)癝对白头叶猴种群进行调查。结果表明:生活在(山弄)癝栖息地的白头叶猴为166只,分属28个猴群和3只雄性独猴。最大群有16只,最小群2只,平均每群5.3只。种群密度为每平方公里8只。在已划分年龄组的23个猴群中,成年猴88只,占67.6％,青年猴25只,占20.2％,幼猴20只,占12.2％。     

贵州麻阳河自然保护区黑叶猴繁殖周期的初步研究

黑叶猴(Trachypithecus francoisi francoisi),属灵长目(Primates),猴科(Cercopithecidae),疣猴亚科(Colobinae)。分布于越南北部和中国的广西、贵州和重庆等地的山地岩溶地区(Fooden,1976;王应祥等,1999)。由于生境特殊,受人为活动影响较大(汪松,1998),该物种近20年来数量呈下