Females go where the food is: does the socio-ecological model explain variation in social organisation of solitary foragers?

• DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0737-2
• Publication Date: 2009-03-09T11:21:06Z
• Authors: Melanie Dammhahn; Peter M. Kappeler
• Keywords: Animal ecology; Scramble competition; CONTEST; Resource distribution

The socio-ecological model (SEM) links ecological factors with characteristics of social systems and allows predictions about the relationships between resource distribution, type competition organisation. It has been mainly applied to group-living species but ought explain variation in organisation solitary as well. aim this study was test basic SEM two primates, which differ female association patterns: (1) spatial ranging (2) sleeping associations. Beginning August 2002, we regularly (re-)captured marked individuals sympatric populations Madame Berthe's grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus berthae, Microcebus murinus) Kirindy Forest (Madagascar). We recorded data on patterns, feeding behaviour by means direct observation radio-collared females. major food sources M. berthae occurred small dispersed patches leading strong within-group scramble over-dispersed females a low potential for In contrast, murinus additionally used patchily distributed, high-quality (large) resources facilitating contest competition. combined influence less well between-group over non-food allowed cluster space. Additionally, experimentally manipulated distribution found that adjusted their patterns distribution. Thus, our results support demonstrated it can also foragers.