Social Behavior Among Monkeys May Be More Nature Than Nurture
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2003) — An unusual experiment with monkeys who were switched between mothers shortly after birth has demonstrated the importance of nature over nurture in behavior.
Rearing
Young monkeys reared by a mother other than their own are more likely to exhibit the aggressive or friendly behavior of their birth mothers rather than the behavior of their foster mothers, a University of Chicago researcher has shown for the first time.
The discovery of inheritability of social behavior traits among non-human primates has important implications for people as it reinforces other research that suggests that such characteristics as sociability and impulsive aggressiveness …show more content…
These findings have important implications for understanding how evolution shapes behavior and temperament in primates and humans," she added.
The prime focus of this page is to shed light on the social behavior of Spider monkeys. As mentioned before, Spider monkeys are social animals. They prefer to live in medium-sized, loosely associated groups of around 30.Thes groups may break into subgroups of different smaller sizes and composition. The subgroup size is generally seen to be of fewer than 4 animals. There might be a variation in the number and sizes of these groups depending on the abundance of preferred food available. Read on to know more about the Spider monkeys behavior
These groups of spider monkeys will wander independently in the same general area. The only constant association observed is that of a female with her offspring. The females play a more active and leading role than males. Parallel to the species food requirements, a kind of social system seems to have evolved amongst these spider monkeys. According to new research and studies, a leading female seems to take a well planned route in advance. These routes are not only highly economical, but can also vary greatly from day to day, according to the needs of the troop. Earlier it was thought that the …show more content…
Occasionally a drastic change in the terrain (i.e. a forest fire) or harsh winter weather will force them to relocate temporarily. Doe groups occupy the same home ranges from one generation to the next.
As whitetail populations increase and the home ranges of doe groups overlap, conflicts or little "turf wars" sometimes occur. Upon the first sign of trouble from another doe, a lead doe will raise her head in alertness. If the other female comes closer, the alert doe might rush her and kick out with her front legs. A wild boxing match continues until one doe gains dominance over the other.
Most mature does breed between October and January, depending on geographical location. Whitetails mate earlier up north and as late as December or January in a few Deep South states. Does are pursued mightily by bucks for a couple of weeks. They finally stand for bucks during a 24-hour estrus cycle. Most does become pregnant the first time around, but those that don't recycle into estrus about 28 days
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2003) — An unusual experiment with monkeys who were switched between mothers shortly after birth has demonstrated the importance of nature over nurture in behavior.
Rearing
Young monkeys reared by a mother other than their own are more likely to exhibit the aggressive or friendly behavior of their birth mothers rather than the behavior of their foster mothers, a University of Chicago researcher has shown for the first time.
The discovery of inheritability of social behavior traits among non-human primates has important implications for people as it reinforces other research that suggests that such characteristics as sociability and impulsive aggressiveness …show more content…
These findings have important implications for understanding how evolution shapes behavior and temperament in primates and humans," she added.
The prime focus of this page is to shed light on the social behavior of Spider monkeys. As mentioned before, Spider monkeys are social animals. They prefer to live in medium-sized, loosely associated groups of around 30.Thes groups may break into subgroups of different smaller sizes and composition. The subgroup size is generally seen to be of fewer than 4 animals. There might be a variation in the number and sizes of these groups depending on the abundance of preferred food available. Read on to know more about the Spider monkeys behavior
These groups of spider monkeys will wander independently in the same general area. The only constant association observed is that of a female with her offspring. The females play a more active and leading role than males. Parallel to the species food requirements, a kind of social system seems to have evolved amongst these spider monkeys. According to new research and studies, a leading female seems to take a well planned route in advance. These routes are not only highly economical, but can also vary greatly from day to day, according to the needs of the troop. Earlier it was thought that the …show more content…
Occasionally a drastic change in the terrain (i.e. a forest fire) or harsh winter weather will force them to relocate temporarily. Doe groups occupy the same home ranges from one generation to the next.
As whitetail populations increase and the home ranges of doe groups overlap, conflicts or little "turf wars" sometimes occur. Upon the first sign of trouble from another doe, a lead doe will raise her head in alertness. If the other female comes closer, the alert doe might rush her and kick out with her front legs. A wild boxing match continues until one doe gains dominance over the other.
Most mature does breed between October and January, depending on geographical location. Whitetails mate earlier up north and as late as December or January in a few Deep South states. Does are pursued mightily by bucks for a couple of weeks. They finally stand for bucks during a 24-hour estrus cycle. Most does become pregnant the first time around, but those that don't recycle into estrus about 28 days