Proximity association in polygynous western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis): network structure and seasonality

We investigated the structure and seasonality of the proximity network in a group of polygynous western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) using social network analysis. The spatial proximity changed seasonally and was affected by temperature and rainfall. Preferred proximity association was not distributed randomly among individuals. Kinship was one explanation for the social structure, as offspring preferred to maintain close proximity with their mothers. The proximity of infants to mothers decreased with age, and independent offspring had lower proximity to mothers than dependent ones. We found that the adult male had different proximity relationships with two different adult females. The frequency of proximity between the male and the infant-carrying female was significantly higher than that between the male and the female who had immigrated carrying one offspring of uncertain paternity into the group. Infanticide avoidance and/or predation protection for dependent infants might explain the proximity relationship differences. Temperature influenced group proximity association, with individual proximity increasing in the cold months and decreasing in the hot months. Group proximity decreased in months with higher anthropogenic disturbance.

Proximity association in polygynous western black crested gibbons(Nomascus concolor jingdongensis):network structure and seasonality

We investigated the structure and seasonality of the proximity network in a group of polygynous western black crested gibbons(Nomascus concolor)using social network analysis.The spatial proximity changed seasonally and was affected by temperature and rainfall.Preferred proximity association was not distributed randomly among individuals.Kinship was one explanation for the social structure,as offspring preferred to maintain close proximity with their mothers.The proximity of infants to mothers decreased with age,and independent offspring had lower proximity to mothers than dependent ones.We found that the adult male had different proximity relationships with two different adult females.The frequency of proximity between the male and the infant-carrying female was significantly higher than that between the male and the female who had immigrated carrying one offspring of uncertain paternity into the group.Infanticide avoidance and/or predation protection for dependent infants might explain the proximity relationship differences.Temperature influenced group proximity association,with individual proximity increasing in the cold months and decreasing in the hot months.Group proximity decreased in months with higher anthropogenic disturbance.

Sexual dimorphism across 3 stages of development in polygynous Artiodactyls is not affected by maternal care

In polygynous mammals, mature males are usually much heavier than females. Competition for females is intense, and few males reproduce. Given the importance of the male＇s body size for the reproduction and social life of these species, levels of sexual dimorphism were studied in 27 species of polygynous terrestrial cetartiodactyls at the 3 most significant stages of development： birth, 6 months of age, and adulthood. Overall, there were 3 different types of changes in male-to-female （M/F） mass ratios between birth and adulthood, corresponding to the 3 categories of adult dimorphism. The change in mass ratio between birth and 6 months of age was inversely correlated to the degree of dimorphism at birth. Most adult dimorphism was acquired after weaning. On the whole, postnatal maternal care seems to have no or even an inverse effect on the evolution of dimorphism, which is apparently not consistent with the assumption of greater maternal investment in male than in female offspring among polygynous mammals.

Flexible mating tactics and associated reproductive effort during the rutting season in male reindeer （Rangifer tarandus, L. 1758）

Polygynous males can change their mating tactics across their lifetime, but information is scarce on the flexibility of this trait within a given season and the relative costs and benefits of using different tactics. Here, we monitored individually marked male reindeer Rangifer tarandus and classified their mating tactics as harem-defense, sneaking, or mixed. The costs of the male reproductive effort were assessed using both direct （i.e. percentage of body mass lost） and indirect measures （i.e. activity patterns such as feeding, standing, and walking）, while mating group size and reproductive success were recorded as mating ef- fort benefits. Our results show that reindeer males may switch between the harem-defense and sneaking tactics throughout the same breeding season, providing further support to the notion that reproductive tactics are flexible in ungulates. The costs and benefits of male mating effort vary according to the mating tactic, reaching the highest values in harem-holders and the lowest values in sneaking males. Moreover, males who switched between the sneaking tactic and the harem-defence tactic tended to achieve higher mating success than males who consistently used the least costly tactic. Indeed, all harem-holders successfully sired offspring, whereas only two out of three mixed-tactic males sired one calf, and sneaking males did not sire any calves. In conclusion, our results show that reindeer males can modulate their mating efforts during the same breeding season by switching between the most costly harem-defense tactic and the least costly sneaking tactic, suggesting individual solutions to the balance between reproductive effort and mating opportunities [Current Zoology 61 （5）： 802-810, 2015].