Impact of male takeover on intra-unit sexual interactions and subsequent interbirth interval in wild Rhinopithecus roxellana.
Data were collected on sexual interactions before and after a male takeover of a one-male unit (OMU) of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in the Qinling Mountains, China. The original unit consisted of an adult male, 2 adult and 2 subadult females, 2 female juveniles and a single infant. Following the takeover, the new resident male copulated with 1 adult female, which was not lactating. Subsequent to the disappearance of her infant, the second (lactating female) entered breeding condition and began to solicit copulation with the new resident male. The subadult females also engaged in matings with the new male. The new resident male was observed mating, on 3 occasions, with females in 2 other OMUs. These are the first observations of sexual behaviour in free-ranging Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys after an OMU takeover. Sexual interactions play an important role in establishing relationships between the new male and resident females in the OMU.
Zhao
Dapeng
D
College of Life Sciences and Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
Li
Baoguo
B
Groves
Colin P
CP
Watanabe
Kunio
K
D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D016673:Colobinae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012930:Social Dominance; D013997:Time Factors