Life history and male intertroop mobility among Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Troop Takeover and Reproductive Success of Wild Male Japanese Macaques on Yakushima Island (Macaca fuscata yakui)

“…It is common for males to enter troops peacefully (i.e., without aggression), assuming low status in the existing dominance hierarchy [12][13][14][15][16]. However, in Yakushima, many males visit adjacent troops as nontroop male, (NTMs) during the mating season, and mature NTMs at the peak of physical strength enter troops aggressively.…”

Ecology and Epidemiology of Nematode Infection in Japanese Macaques:

“…While the potential for age-or sex-related variation in behaviors capable of mediating parasite exposure has yet to be examined in any detail, some speculation is warranted here. For example, the life histories of male and female Japanese macaques are strikingly different; females form life-long bonds with each other, particularly with kin, while males emigrate from their natal groups and their future social activities depend heavily on their "success" in immigrating into and moving between new groups (Sprague 1992;Suzuki et al 1998;. If young or even for that matter old males have fewer social contacts because they spend significant amounts of time outside of groups, they may be less exposed to directlytransmitted parasite species (MacIntosh et al 2010).…”

“…If infection is socially-mediated, this could explain why young females appear to support larger parasite infrapopulations than young males, while the reverse is true among adults (MacIntosh et al 2010). One of the main difficulties in assessing the role of social contact in male infection patterns, however, is the fact that age and dominance rank, and thus patterns of social interaction, are strongly correlated in male Japanese macaques (Sprague 1992). Therefore, while rank and networks do appear important in mediating exposure to parasites among females, particularly since the relationship between dominance rank and physiological stress does not follow the same pattern as rank and infection (i.e.…”

Contrast of Estrus in Accordance with Social Contexts Between Two Troops of Wild Japanese Macaques on Yakushima.

“…To a lesser extent, estrus synchrony itself can operate as female mate competition (Wasser, 1983;Bercovitch, 1995 The particular reproductive feature of Yakushima macaque population is the high intertroop mobility of males during the mating season (Maruhashi, 1982;Yamagiwa, 1985;Sprague, 1992). Taking this social context into account, estrus synchrony in M-troop seemed to have resulted in enlarging the number of mating partners by inciting male intertroop movement, even if M-troop males became temporally "limit ed"resources for females to compete.…”

“…Female estrous conditions seem to be enhanced by those social disturbances and result into prolonged estrus or postconception es trus (Wolfe, 1976). Such "excessive" estrus or sexuality (Small, 1988) may need to be reviewed from those of wild population like Yakushima macaques, where many small-sized troops are distributed continuously and frequent social dynamics take place through the matings between females and non-troop males (NTMs) who visit the troop (Yamagiwa, 1985;Sprague, 1992). Under the circumstances, female sexu alityand mate choice may possibly establish relationships with males beyond the troops, thus influence to the sociodemographic dynamism of the local population.…”