School of Life Sciences, Life Science Building, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Bristol Zoological Society, Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Am J Primatol. 2019 Jul;81(6):e22984. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22984. Epub 2019 May 7.
Primate social systems are highly diverse, complicating the classification of particularly elusive species that are difficult to observe. The spatial distribution of individuals over time is a critica lindicator for the social organization and long-term studies are important to establish patterns of social interactions. In recent years, species of the cryptic, nocturnal sportive lemurs of the genus Lepilemur were found to live in pairs in which a single male and a single female share and defend a mutual home range. The present study aimed to forward research into this underrepresented genus by determining the social organization and structure of the Sahamalaza sportive lemur, L. sahamalaza. We collected 773.15 hr of behavioral and GPS data during a period of 10 months (between 2015 and 2016) on 14 individuals: eight females and six males. There was no evidence of pair-specific home range use as intra- and intersexual home range overlap was high. No pattern of social interactions between focal individuals could be distinguished despite high range overlap. Individuals met and interacted infrequently, resulting in an interaction rate of 0.32 interactions/hr. Sleeping associations between adult individuals were never observed. While both sexes had access to multiple potential mating partners, range sizes or ranging distances did not increase in mating periods. Overall, the social system of Sahamalaza sportive lemurs exhibits aspects of a solitary social organization and structure with potential for the polygamous mating system. These findings underline the importance of detailed social ecology studies that can provide the basis for understanding potential environmental influences on social system variability of closely related species.
灵长类动物的社会系统高度多样化，这使得某些特别难以观察的物种的分类变得复杂。个体随时间的空间分布是社会组织的一个关键指标，长期研究对于建立社会互动模式非常重要。近年来，人们发现隐匿性的夜行动物——毛丝鼠属的一些物种以雌雄配对的形式生活，其中一只雄性和一只雌性共同拥有和保卫一个共同的领地。本研究旨在通过确定萨马拉扎运动狐猴（Lepilemur sahamalaza）的社会组织和结构，推动对这个代表性不足的物种的研究。我们在 10 个月的时间（2015 年至 2016 年期间）内收集了 773.15 小时的行为和 GPS 数据，涉及 14 只个体：8 只雌性和 6 只雄性。没有证据表明存在对特定雌雄个体的特定领地使用情况，因为雌雄个体的领地重叠度很高。尽管领地重叠度很高，但无法区分焦点个体之间的社交互动模式。个体之间很少相遇和互动，导致互动率为每小时 0.32 次互动。从未观察到成年个体之间的睡眠关联。虽然两性都有机会与多个潜在的交配伴侣接触，但在交配期间，个体的领地面积或活动范围并没有增加。总体而言，萨马拉扎运动狐猴的社会系统表现出了独居社会组织和结构的特点，同时可能存在多配偶制的交配系统。这些发现强调了详细的社会生态学研究的重要性，这些研究可以为理解环境对密切相关物种社会系统变异性的潜在影响提供基础。
