Dynamic foraging strategy adaptation to heterogeneous environments contributes to social aggregation in snub-nosed monkeys.

ABSTRACT: The dynamics of animal social structures are heavily influenced by environmental patterns of competition and cooperation. In folivorous colobine primates, prevailing theories suggest that larger group sizes should be favored in rainforests with a year-round abundance of food, thereby reducing feeding competition. Yet, paradoxically, larger groups are frequently found in high-altitude or high-latitude montane ecosystems characterized by a seasonal scarcity of leaves. This contradiction is posited to arise from cooperative benefits in heterogeneous environments. To investigate this hypothesis, we carried out a six-year field study on two neighboring groups of golden snub-nosed monkey ( Rhinopithecus roxellana), a species representing the northernmost distribution of colobine primates.

SUBMITTER: Zhao L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10839657 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature