On the Behavioural Biology of the Mainland Serow: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Comparative behavioural studies help reconstruct the phylogeny of closely related species. In that respect, the serows Capricornis spp. occupy an important position as they have been assumed to be the closest forms to the ancestors of Caprinae. In spite of that, information on the behavioural repertoire of the mainland serow Capricornis sumatraensis is exceedingly poor. In this paper, we report data on the activity rhythms and social behaviour of rutting mainland serows in captivity (Central Thailand, January 1986; January–February 1987). Activity was bimodal with peaks in mid-afternoon and late night. Resting and ruminating peaked at noon and twilight. Four patterns of marking behaviour were observed out of a total of 1900 events. Males and females were found to use different marking sites and frequencies. A total of 33 social behaviour patterns were observed: 18 patterns concerned agonistic behaviour, whereas 15 patterns were relevant to courtship behaviour. A comparison across Caprinae species with unritualised piercing weapons (i.e., Capricornis, Naemorhedus, Rupicapra, Budorcas, and Hemitragus) has shown that inter-sexual direct forms of aggressive behaviour are used significantly more often than indirect ones, but for chamois, confirming Rupicapra spp. as the most advanced genus among them in terms of an early ritualisation of weapons. Conversely, horns of the goral Nemorhaedus spp. and the serow lie on the same plane of the frontal bones, thus making possible the usage of a dominance display through frontal pushing.

Ancient Mitogenomes Reveal Stable Genetic Continuity of the Holocene Serows

“…Notably, in contrast to the increased or stable mitochondrial genetic diversity indicated in our BSP analysis, recent studies suggest that both environmental changes and human activities have led to a decline in individual number in populations of C. sumatraensis [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. We can infer that the decrease in individual numbers in its populations either has not affected its mitochondrial genetic diversity, or that there is a temporal latency to show its effect on genetic components.…”

Mountain ungulate mating systems: patterns and processes

“…Indeed, site guarding is found in a limited number of species for which mating tactics are known. Geist (1974b) noted that, because of poor and discontinuous food supply, “we cannot expect northern ungulates to be territorial if they rut in fall and early winter”; accordingly, this form of mate acquisition is found in species that restrict their ranges to areas with a relatively constant food supply (Schaller 1977), such as the forest‐dwelling serow (Lovari & Locati 1994, Kishimoto 2003). Yet, relatively great and continuous plant diversity and productivity may not be a necessary condition for territoriality, as long as some predictability in spatio‐temporal resource availability occurs: for example, although Geist (1974b) suggested that chamois territoriality may be an artefact of high population density, it is likely to represent an example of seasonal resource‐based territoriality owing to predictable snow‐dependent movements of females in search of food (von Hardenberg et al 2000, Corlatti et al 2020).…”

Dental mesowear and microwear for the dietary reconstruction of Quaternary Southeast Asian serows and gorals

“…The competition of natural resources between two extant caprine species might have led to the decreasing populations of a smaller-sized goral N. griseus. In contrast, studies on temporal activity patterns observed in extant caprine communities have revealed that gorals are likely to be active at the beginning of daytime from dawn to late morning, while serows are energetic after late afternoon to night (Bhattacharya et al, 2012;Lovari et al, 2020). It is presumable that although the dental microwear textures suggest small differences in dietary preferences between Capricornis (soft foliage) and Naemorhedus (harder food object), niche partitioning might have occurred in other different ways.…”