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Social organization of free‐ranging ruffed lemurs, Varecia variegata variegata: mother‐adult daughter relationship
Author(s) -
White Frances J.,
Burton Ann S.,
Buchholz Susan,
Glander Kenneth E.
Publication year - 1992
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.1350280406
Subject(s) - daughter , lemur , agonistic behaviour , biology , seasonal breeder , offspring , zoology , primate , demography , psychology , aggression , ecology , developmental psychology , evolutionary biology , genetics , sociology , pregnancy
The relationship between a mother and an adult daughter is examined in a group of free‐ranging ruffed lemurs ( Varecia variegata ) at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC). Although the two females were affiliative during the birth season, interactions during the mating season were predominantly agonistic. The maturing daughter was dominant to the mother, as has been observed in many caged social groups at the DUPC. Although both mother and daughter produced offspring in the same group, the daughter subsequently aggressively evicted the mother from the enclosure. It was not possible to maintain more than one long‐term resident breeding female in the same social group. This pattern contrasts with observations of affiliation among breeding females in the wild. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.