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Puberty in male Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ): Social and sexual behavior in a confined troop
Author(s) -
Rostal David C.,
Eaton G. Gray
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.1350040205
Subject(s) - aggression , courtship , demography , mating , sexual behavior , psychology , zoology , developmental psychology , physiology , biology , sociology
The social and sexual behaviors of four groups of males (4, 5, 9, and 10 years old) were compared throughout one complete mating season in a confined troop of Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ). The aim of this research was to document social behavior changes that occurred during adolescence and to relate them to changes in sexual behavior that occurred at puberty. The 4‐year‐old males all mounted females and ejaculated but they had significantly fewer ejaculations and female partners than did the older males. The 4‐year‐old males also showed a pattern of delayed development in tail carriage and courtship, and they played more frequently than the older males. There were no significant differences in the frequency of aggression among the groups, but both 4‐year‐old and 5‐year‐old males were displaced by adult males and females more frequently than were the older males. We concluded that the development of adult patterns of social behavior in this genus is not climactic, but occurs slowly one to two years after physiological puberty has been reached.