Infant-nonmother interactions of free-ranging mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata) in Costa Rica
Abstract
Proximate and ultimate explanations of interactions between infants and nonmothers
vary depending upon the relatedness of the interactors. We investigated interactions
of infants and nonmothers from a 22-month continuous study and from the long-term
monitoring of the mantled howler population of La Pacifica, Guanacaste Province, Costa
Rica. Relatedness is low or absent in these mantled howler groups. Juvenile females
appeared to practice care skills with older infants, but as most first infants died,
they failed to benefit. Infant positive interactions with adults occurred with the
mother and probable father. Other adult females behaved aggressively toward the youngest
infants. Mothers were retentive of infants and responded negatively to these interactions,
suggesting that they perceived them as threatening. Interactions with infants appear
to reflect competition in groups of unrelated adults. A review of other populations
of Alouatta palliata and other species of howlers indicate variability in social group
size and suggest variability in intragroup relatedness. We suggest that further study
will confirm that social behavior (including interactions with infants) will vary
by resource availability (group size) and associated demographic patterns (male and
female migration) that affect relatedness in howler social groups.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6416Collections
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kenneth Earl Glander
Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology
Primate ecology and social organization: the interaction between feeding patterns
and social structure; evolutionary development of optimal group size and composition;
factors affecting short and long-term demographic changes in stable groups; primate
use of regenerating forests.

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