Lemur fulvus, the brown lemur, is a cat-sized
arboreal prosimian, native to Madagascar and the island of
Mayotte, in the Comoro Archipelago. A social prosimian,
~ fulvus typically forms cohesive troops of from 5-15
individuals. Troop composition is usually reported to be
at, or near, a 1:1 sex ratio.
The problems examined in this thesis were chosen in
order to address aspects of L. fulvus social dynamics
that are unclear, given the depiction of L. fulvus
social behaviour presented in the primate literature. What
are adult males doing, in the reported absence of
agonistically-determined dominance hierarchies, to gain and
maintain access to estrus females? Given the breeding
season behavioural changes and fluctuations exhibited by
adult males (a behavioural complex here termed,
"fall-fever"), how do these changes and fluctuations
contribute to male L. fulvus breeding opportunities,
and potential reproductive success?
These questions were investigated in the study of a
semi-free-ranging ~ fulvus troop during the 1984
(Northern Hemisphere) breeding season. Utilizing an
extensive ethogram it was found that, contrary to previous literature on the species, hierarchical social dominance
relationships are indeed present in L. fulvus social
groups. Additionally, it was found that these
relationships play a crucial role in the reproductive
behaviour of adult males.
Statistically significant variation in the
behaviour of the focal males is presented for seven
inclusive behavioural categories. The picture of male
L. fulvus reproductive behaviour that emerges from
these considerations is then compared to the view derived
from previous research on the species. Several amendments
to our understanding of ~ fulvus social behaviour are
suggested. An attempt is also made to place ~ fulvus
in the socioecological categorizations of several authors. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/22532 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | Colquhoun, Ian Charles |
| Contributors | Saunders, Shelley R., Anthropology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.1637 seconds