The lack of female dominance in golden-brown mouse lemurs suggests alternative routes in lemur social evolution

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Eichmueller ◽  
Sandra Thorén ◽  
Ute Radespiel
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Alternative Routes

The influence of familiarity, age, experience and female mate choice on pregnancies in captive grey mouse lemurs

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Zimmermann ◽  
Ute Radespiel
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Female Age ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Reduced Rate ◽  
Old Females

AbstractConceptions in mammals may depend on a variety of factors including mate familiarity, age, sociosexual experience and female mate choice. We tested predictions for the effects of these factors on pregnancies in a captive colony of grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). The succession of oestrous cycles and pregnancies was analysed for a total of 26 different females that were housed together with 33 different males over a total of 124 oestrous cycles between 1995 and 2001. In addition, sexual behaviours were recorded and analysed over 13 oestrous cycles of 9 different females. An effect of mate familiarity on pregnancies could be detected by a frequent delay of pregnancies to the second cycle of the season (66.7% of the possible cases). Female age influenced pregnancies as the 2-3-year old females were less likely to become pregnant than females of other age classes. This reduced rate of pregnancies, however, was probably due to the lack of previous sociosexual experience with males. Females that have not been housed with males within their first reproductive season, needed one or two years of sociosexual experience before their first successful impregnation. These findings are discussed as a side effect of the ontogenetic development of female dominance. Female mate choice could be deduced from the succession of pregnancies and the strong responsibility of the females for the termination of matings.

Shades of gray mouse lemurs: Ontogeny of female dominance and dominance-related behaviors in a nocturnal primate

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 1158-1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hohenbrink ◽  
Maren Koberstein-Schwarz ◽  
Elke Zimmermann ◽  
Ute Radespiel
Keyword(s):  
Female Dominance ◽  
Mouse Lemurs

Female dominance in captive gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

2001 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Radespiel ◽  
Elke Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Female Dominance ◽  
Microcebus Murinus ◽  
Mouse Lemurs

Female Power in Primates and the Phenomenon of Female Dominance

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 533-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nonhuman Primate ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Full Extent ◽  
Behavioral Diversity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Female Power

Sex-biased power structures are common in human and nonhuman primate societies. “Female dominance” is a term applied to a wide range of female-biased power structures. However, the full extent of this variation remains obscure because an adequate vocabulary of power has not been adopted consistently. Female power occurs throughout primates and other animals, even in male-dominant societies, but the legacy of patriarchy persists in primatologists’ use of language and implicit assumptions about intersexual power. While explanations for the occurrence of female power can be accommodated within existing ethological theory, many hypotheses seeking to explain the evolution of female power are narrowly focused on particular taxa. Theories about primate social evolution would benefit from a synthesis of the disparate literature on power, increased emphasis on intersexual social relationships, and comparative studies that include the full behavioral diversity of primates and other mammals.

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