Hanuman langurs were studied for two years between 1980 and 1983 in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Mandla District, a 1945 sq.km tract of hilly, monsoonal, moist deciduous (sal) and dry deciduous forest, interspersed with anthropogenic meadows. Langur population density was 46.15/sq.km., 93% of troops were unimale, 69.6% of males were extra-troop (in bands), troop adult sex ratio was 1:7.9. Both gradual and rapid replacement of troop adult males occured. An all-male band attacked the study troop, killing three of six infants and, following a phase of consorting, a band male replaced the troop resident male. The observation of infanticide in a low density, undisturbed habitat supports the 'sexual selection' hypothesis and not the 'social pathology' hypothesis. Analysis of intraspecific variation suggests that troop structure and not density is associated with infant killing. The timing of takeovers with respect to the birth season agrees with that predicted if the sexual selection hypothesis is applicable. Activity, feeding and ranging budgets were estimated using scan sampling of the study troop over twelve months. Langurs selected against the use of meadow but for a clump of mixed forest at the centre of their 74.5 ha annual range. Evidence was obtained of territorial site-dependent defence. A dichotomy between troop-troop and troop-band spatial relationships is interpreted in terms of differences in male reproductive strategies and the costs and benefits of conflict. The diet was diverse, including gum and insects, but was dominated by mature leaf and fruit. Trees were not utilized in proportion to their abundance. Range patterns were related to the spatial distribution of highly selected trees and the seasonal consumption of ephemeral food items was related to their availability.

The selective costs and benefits affecting the evolution of group living have long interested behavioural ecologists because knowledge of these selective forces can enhance our understanding not only of why organisms live in groups, but also why species exhibit particular patterns of social organisation. Tamarins form stable and permanent mixed-species troops providing an excellent model for examining the costs and benefits hypothesised for group living. However, testing hypotheses in the wild is difficult, not least because participating species are rarely found out of association. In contrast, in captivity it is possible to compare matched single- and mixed-species troops and also to study the same individuals in single and mixed-species troops to see what effect the presence of a congener has on behaviour. In this way, captive work can help us confirm, reject, or refine the hypotheses, and aids in the generation of new ones, for relating back to the wild. The utility of this approach is demonstrated in this thesis which explored some of the foraging benefit hypotheses and, in particular, the underlying notion that individuals in tamarind mixed-species troops can increase their foraging efficiency through social earning. Single and mixed-species troops of Saguinus fuscicollis and S. labiatus were studied at Belfast Zoological Gardens. It was found that social interaction with conspecifics and congeners facilitated learning by individuals of various types of food-related information (food palatability, location, and method of access). However, although social learning operated in mixed-species troops, it did so under the shadow of inter-specific dominance. The results were used, in conjunction with field observations in Bolivia, to make inferences about the adaptive function of social learning in the wild. These findings strengthen the hypotheses which suggest that increased opportunity for social learning, through an increase in troop size and as a result of species divergence in behaviour, is an adaptive advantage of mixed-species troop formation in tamarins.

Proefschrift--Utrecht. / Vita. "Bestaat uit twee delen, die afzonderlijk worden gepubliceerd ..." Text in English; introd., conclusion, vita, and summaries in Dutch. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-76).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on July 15, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Phil.) - University of St Andrews, May 2010.

Thesis (doctoral)--Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität zu Würzburg, 1965. / "Aus dem Institut für Angewandte Zoologie der Universität Würzburg." Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-122).

Thesis (M. Sc.)(Zoology)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Recent studies on the social life and vocal production, usage and comprehension of nonhuman primates have brought new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms of cognition and communication as well as the emergence of language. A key point in the current literature concerns the flexibility of vocal production. In contrast to humans, some birds and some cetaceans, vocal flexibility is thought to be very restricted in nonhuman primates, which creates a startling phylogenetic gap. At the same time, research has shown that a number of African forest guenons' alarm calls appear to have language-like properties. With the hypothesis that looking at the vocal repertoire more broadly, especially the social calls, was likely to reveal other complex communicative abilities, I studied in detail the social life and vocal behaviour of a guenon species, Diana monkeys. First, the comparison of its social system with the system of another closely related species, Campbell's monkeys, stressed in both species the reduced number of physical interactions, although females maintained preferential relationships that were not biased towards kin. Second, the study of Diana females' vocal repertoire is restricted but flexible. Females emit social calls with a combinatorial structure, the use of which is affected by external events. Third, focusing on a highly frequent and highly social call revealed flexibility in the identity advertisement (divergence – convergence) which accommodates to the context. Fourth, to explore the nature of nonhuman primates' comprehension skills, I performed playback experiments of De Brazza monkey social calls to three species of Old World monkeys; Campbell's monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys and red-capped mangabeys. Altogether, the three species were able to discriminate hetero-specific voices of individuals they knew from individuals they had never met. Overall, my results have revealed a considerable degree of flexibility in the vocal communication of nonhuman primates, a finding that is consistent with the hypothesis of a continuous evolutionary transition from animal vocal behaviour to human language.

This study investigated a resident community of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) on Little Bahama Bank (LBB) in the Bahamas utilizing a noninvasive molecular approach. Genetic template material was collected and extracted from fecal material of S. frontalis. Fine-scale population structure was found within LBB according to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellites (Fst = 0.25317, P < 0.0001 and Fst = 0.04491, P < 0.0001, respectively). Three main social clusters (North, Central, South/Roam) exist on LBB and all clusters were found to be genetically distinct according to microsatellite analyses. Mitochondrial haplotypes revealed North and South/Roam were not differentiated, but Central was different from both. When separated by sex, males were less genetically structured than females. Males showed no evidence of structure according to Ost or Rst. / Females of all clusters were differentiated according to microsatellites whereas mtDNA revealed the same pattern in females as was seen for the total population. The structuring patterns of the sexes clearly indicate a pattern of male dispersal and female philopatry for the LBB population. Genetic investigation of mating revealed patterns in the mating system of S. frontalis on LBB. Genotypes of females and offspring were analyzed and revealed that more than two males were required to explain the progeny arrays, indicating promiscuous mating among females. In addition, paternity assessment assigned seven males as fathers to ten of 29 mother-calf pairs. A pattern of reproductive skew according to age was revealed because reproductively successful males were in the oldest age class at the estimated time of conception of the calves. / Patterns in social cluster mating revealed that males from the Central cluster sired offspring with females from both the Central and North clusters, while Roaming males sired offspring with South and Central females indicating that males mate within their social cluster or with females from the next closest cluster. The study has important implications for cetacean research, specifically delphinids. Fine-scale population structure and mating patterns of male and female S. frontalis were revealed through noninvasive methodology presenting a valuable genetic framework with which to support ongoing investigations of life history, behavior, communication and social structure. / by Michelle Lynn Green. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.