Consortship Formation And Mating Success In Tibetan Macaques(Macaca Thibetana)

Many animals have formed a gregarious way of life in the long-term ecological adaptation process.This makes it easier for members of the group to obtain food and resist natural enemies,but it also increases competition in resources such as space,food,and mating.In male polygamous primate social groups,sexually mature males and females form consortship,but this relationship lacks in-depth research into the effects of individual mating and reproductive success.In this study,the Macaca thibetana YAl population inhabiting Huangshan Mountain,Anhui Province,was studied using the Focal animal sampling and the Behavior sampling method recording the social behavior,mating behavior and consortship between male and female during the mating season in July 2016 to January 2017.The selection criteria,social relationships,maintenance strategies,and effects on mating success of consortship were analyzed.Consortship were establ ished for Macaca thibetana.The basic characteristics and adaptation strategies were discussed.The main results are shows:(1)There is a positive correlation between the rank of male individuals and consortship.High rank males have more consort partner,and the duration of consortship formed is also the longest:before the change in rank(consort partner:n =10,r=-0.763,P=0.010;duration:n= 10,r=-0.744,P=0.014);After the rank change(consort partner:n= 10,r =-0.675,P = 0.032;duration:n = 10,r =-0.667,P=0.035).At the same time,there is a significant positive correlation between the tenure length of male individuals in the group and the relationship of consortship.That is,the longer the time of life in the group,the greater the number of consort partner and the longer the duration of their formation(consort partner;n = 10,r =0.669,P = 0.034;duration:n = 10,r = 0.704,P = 0.023).However,there was no significant correlation between age of male individuals and consortship(consort partner:n = 10,r = 0.491,P = 0.150,NS;duration:n= 10,r = 0.236,P = 0.511,NS).(2)Social relationships between individuals have a significant impact on consortship.The higher the social center,the greater the number of consort partner and the longer duration(before the change in the rank:consort partner:n = 10,r =0.750,P = 0.013;duration:n = 10,r = 0.884,P = 0.001;after the rank change:consort partner:n= 10,r = 0.927,P<0.001;duration:n=10,r = 0.830,P = 0.003).(3)The reproductive potential of female individuals influences the formation of consortship.According to the individual characteristics and parity of females,the reproductive potential of females is divided into 3 groups:Group I is young,high rank female with strong fertility,and Group Ⅱ is middle-aged,middle rank,with strong fertility.Group Ⅲ are mid-ranked,sub-adult and not reproductively female.There was no significant difference in the number of females and consortship in different reproductive potential groups(Ⅰ vs.Ⅱ:t = 0.256,df= 8,P= 0.804;Ⅰ vs Ⅲ:t =-0.976,df= 4,P = 0.384;Ⅱ vs Ⅲ:t =-1.225,df= 6,P = 0.267),there was a significant difference between groups on the average duration of the formation of consortship(Ⅰvs Ⅱ:t = 2.605,df= 74.330,P = 0.011;Ⅰ vs Ⅲ:t = 5.098,df= 78.126,P = 0.000,Ⅱ vsⅢ:t = 2.601,df= 50,P = 0.012).Male individuals are more likely to have higher ranks,younger ages,greater parity,and more reproductively experienced class Ⅰfemales in their selection of consort partner.(4)Using the Mantel-test equivalence between the proximate behavior of the male and female individuals and the duration of the consortship,it was found that males more proactively approached the female to form consortship(Mantel’s test:r =0.287,t = 2.123,P = 0.039),there was a significant positive correlation between grooming behavior and the duration of consortship between male and female(Mantel’s test:r =-0.274,t =-2.009,P = 0.037).(5)The average mating frequency of males and females between the consort partner was significantly higher than that of the non-consort time(t = 2.172,df= 181,P = 0.031),indicating that the formation of consortship can help to improve male mating success.In summary,the male individual rank,life time in the group,and social relationship play a major role in the formation of consortship.Males tend to choose high rank,young,mid-high reproductive potential females to form consortship,and the adult male actively approaches females,while females are more likely to maintain consortship for male grooming.At the same time,the consortship has a significant impact on the success of mating.Therefore,forming consortships may be a mating strategy between male and female.