Contagious yawning and scratching in captive lemurs.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral contagion is thought to play a significant role in social synchronization and coordination across animal taxa. While there is extensive evidence of behavioral contagion in Haplorrhines (i.e. monkeys and apes), limited research exists in Strepsirrhines (i.e. lemurs). Here, we aimed to investigate the presence of contagious yawning and scratching in two captive groups of black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) (N = 4) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) (N = 4), and further test whether behavioral contagion is modulated by the model's social integration in the group. We conducted all occurrence sampling to examine whether individuals observing a yawning or scratching event (i.e. trigger event) were more likely to yawn or scratch in the following 2 min, as compared to i

SUBMITTER: Lemes WP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11535043 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature