Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 2, Pages 223-237Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1023/A:1023036830192
Keywords
Ateles geoffroyi; male-female aggression; fecal hormones; olfaction; sexual coercion
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In a study of the reproductive biology and behavior of black-handed spider monkeys ( Ateles geoffroyi) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, 107 instances of female directed male aggression ( male attacks) occurred during > 1,000 h of observation. Two hypotheses might explain this behavior. First, males may attack to induce defecation/urination by target females, from which they can gain reproductive information. Rates of defecation and urination did not increase subsequent to attacks; however, there was an association between attacks and investigative behaviors such as place sniffing. Alternatively, the attacks might be a form of sexual coercion. My results indicate that female reproductive state, as determined by fecal steroid metabolites (EIC and PdG), had an inconsistent effect on the frequency of attacks received. In addition, when females were in the peri-ovulatory period of the ovarian cycle they did not receive more attacks than at other times. Nor were attacks associated with observed copulations, suggesting that sexual coercion does not sufficiently explain the behavior. Some support is provided for the notion that the attacks allow males to dominate equally-sized females.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available