Social organization of the golden brown mouse lemur (Microcebus ravelobensis)

Andrea Weidt · Nicole Hagenah · Blanchard Randrianambinina · Ute Radespiel · Elke Zimmermann

87 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology

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Primate Behavior and Ecology Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Animal Behavior and Reproduction

Abstract

Our study provides the first data on the social organization of the golden brown mouse lemur, a nocturnal primate discovered in northwestern Madagascar in 1994. The study was carried out in two 6-month field periods during the dry season, covering time before and during the mating season. The spatial and temporal distributions of the sexes in the population were investigated by mark/recapture and radiotelemetry. Focal observations and the determination of sleeping associations provided further insights into the sociality of this solitary forager. High intra- and intersexual home-range overlaps occurred throughout the study. In general, individuals of both sexes had spatial access to more than one conspecific of the same and the opposite sex. We found no indication for spatial monopolization of females by certain males. These results suggest a dispersed multimale/multifemale system with a promiscuous mating pattern. Individuals showed temporal stability in their home range locations and interacted regularly with conspecifics. Five sleeping groups were identified during the study period: one female group and four mixed-sex groups. Even though sleeping sites were changed frequently, sleeping-group compositions remained stable over time. Thermoregulatory constraints are the most likely explanation for sleeping-group composition with members of both sexes in this species. Mixed-sex sleeping groups can be described as the basic social unit within this dispersed multimale/multifemale society.

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References

1974Observational Study of Behavior: Sampling Methods 1994Measuring Behaviour. An Introductory Guide 1993Measuring Behaviour 1981Testis weight, body weight and breeding system in primates 1969Recent advances in primatology 1986Primate Ontogeny, Cognition and Social Behaviour 2000Origin and evolution of primate social organisation: a reconstruction 1980Feeding Strategies of Five Nocturnal Prosimians in the Dry Forest of the West Coast of Madagascar

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2017The Mouse Lemur, a Genetic Model Organism for Primate Biology, Behavior, and Health 2013Methods in ethnoprimatology: exploring the human–non-human primate interface 2003Seasonal changes in general activity, body mass and reproduction of two small nocturnal primates: a comparison of the golden brown mouse lemur ( Microcebus ravelobensis ) in Northwestern Madagascar and the brown mouse lemur ( Microcebus rufus ) in Eastern Madagascar 2009Females go where the food is: does the socio-ecological model explain variation in social organisation of solitary foragers?2006Ecological Diversity and Seasonal Adaptations of Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus spp.)

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