When infants are involved in agonistic conflicts, male crested macaques (Macaca nigra) are more likely to respond to screams from their own offspring. This is the conclusion of a recent study led by behavioral ecologist Professor Anja Widdig from Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig as part of the Macaca Nigra Project (MNP). The researchers studied the behavior of crested macaques in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve on Sulawesi, Indonesia, over a 24-month period (2008 to 2010).
dedicated to these endangered animals has just been published. It marks the 17th anniversary of the Macaca Nigra Project.
The researchers found that males were more likely to respond to an infant's screams if they were the infant's father, the infant's friend and/or the mother's friend. In addition, males were more likely to react to the screaming offspring if they themselves were of high dominance rank, i.e. likely sired many of these infants themselves, or if the screaming infant and its mother were of low dominance rank, i.e. particularly dependent on help.
"Although previous studies on this primate species have found that fathers do not specifically establishwith their offspring, this study shows that fathers do invest in supporting their offspring, albeit in a very limited way," says Professor Widdig. She adds that this confirms the findings of other studies that males form social bonds with their offspring or tolerate their young at feeding sites, but rarely actively support their offspring in conflict situations.
Although potentially beneficial, fathers might simply be unable to spend much time with their offspring. The time available for males to interact with theirappears to be severely limited, which the researchers attribute to the fact that crested macaques can only defend their alpha status for an average of twelve months. The males therefore probably invest all this time in mating with as many fertile females as possible before migrating to another group.
The MNP operates a field station on Sulawesi, Indonesia, an island known as a biodiversity hotspot. The fieldwork is carried out in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve, which is located at the northernmost tip of Sulawesi and covers more than 8,700 hectares. Here, one of the largest remaining populations of the critically endangered crested macaques is being studied in its natural environment. The MNP focuses on research, environmental education and conservation.
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