Reproductive strategy of Japanese macaques : in special references to factors on mate choice

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This research project aims to analyze organizing and maintenance mechanism of the promiscuous society of Japanese macaques in terms of mate choice. The subject group is the enclosed Wakasa group in Primate Research Institute. The analysis of the relation between characteristics (age, dominance) of the both sex of mates showed that 1. Young males prefer to mate young females and high-ranking males prefer to mate middle aged or older females. Middle or lower ranking males showed opportunistic mating and performed single mounting, though they had no specific preference to mating partners. 2. The analysis of behavioral chains on mate choice and its rejection showed females rejects middle or lower ranking males more frequently than higher ones. The possibility of the influence of high-ranking males, however, can not be denied as the cause of this phenomenon. 3.Reproductive success of males and females were clarified by the DNA paternity test. The results are now being compared with the resu … More lts of 1 and 2 above.This year Dr.Massirno Baridi joined this project and conducted research the social and hormonal correlates of maternal behavior in two macaque groups (Macaca fuscata, M.mulatta), housed at the Primate Research Institute. We studied tested several different hypotheses and found as follows : 1) that the social behavior of pregnant females shows significant changes during the late pre-partum and early post-partum and early post-partum period ; 2) that the marked fluctuation in the estrogen levels during the perinatal period is associated with the changes in social behavior ; 3) that the levels of estrogen metabolites were significantly correlated to different maternal styles ; 4) that infants of rejective mothers differed significantly in their behavioral repertoire than infants of protective mothers ; and, finally 5) that differences in groups compositions and environment affect both social and maternal behavior. The precise results of this research are currently in press or submitted in several papers shown in the list of publications. : Less