Dissertation Research: Social Relationship in Free-Ranging Adult Red-fronted Brown Lemurs (Eulemur Fulvus Rufus)

原猴亚目灵长类动物表现出多种多样的个体间关系。 一些狐猴物种生活在大型的多雄多雌群体中，许多研究人员认为这些群体实际上是雌雄配对的集合。 这一领域的研究野生红额棕色狐猴在马达加斯加的安杰梅纳将进行记录空间接近，梳理相互作用，交配策略，和侵略性的相互作用，这狐猴物种。 对行为的实地观察将通过DNA检测对研究期间出生的后代进行亲子排除试验来加强。 这个详细的长期项目将验证大的多雄性，多雌性群体是由离散的雄性-雌性对组成的建议。 行为数据和亲子鉴定将允许测试的假设，即男性-女性配对保护免受杀虫剂在这个物种。 此外，将用这里收集的狐猴数据来检验解释狒狒中男女关系的假设。 这允许考虑狐猴在更广泛的背景下，社会关系在其他灵长类动物物种，从而促进更好地了解狐猴的行为，通过更广泛的物种比较。 该研究还将测试这些假设在灵长类动物中的更广泛适用性。

Prosimian primates exhibit a variety of inter-individual relationships. Some lemur species live in large multi-male, multi-female groups, and a number of researchers have suggested that these groups are actually collections of male-female pairs. This field study of wild red-fronted brown lemurs at Anjamena, Madagascar will be conducted to record spatial proximity, grooming interactions, mating strategies, and aggressive interactions among this lemur species. Field observations on behavior will be augmented by paternity exclusion tests of offspring born during the study period with DNA testing. This detailed, long-term project will verify the suggestion that large multi-male, multi-female groups are composed of discrete male-female pairs. Behavioral data and paternity determinations will allow testing of the hypothesis that male-female pairing protects against infanticide in this species. Additionally, hypotheses developed to explain male-female relationships in baboons will be tested with the data collected here on lemurs. This permits consideration of lemurs in the broader context of social relationships across other primate species and thus facilitates a better understanding of lemur behavior through wider species comparisons. The study will also test the broader applicability of these hypotheses across the primate order.