Zwischengruppenbeziehungen bei Larvensifaks (Propithecus verreauxi)

• Antragstellerin: Dr. Claudia Fichtel
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Biologie des Verhaltens und der Sinne
• Förderung: Förderung von 2012 bis 2016
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 226006997

How animals achieve collective action for territorial defense and how they establish relationships between neighboring groups has recently become a central topic in the study of animal behavior. Because most interactions between groups are agonistic, they are expected to have vital consequences for individual fitness. In principle, the power of a group can be influenced by multiple factors at the group level, such as group size or habitat quality, but also at the individual level because single group members have different motivations and thus exhibit different levels of participation in conflicts. At present, the factors influencing the outcome of intergroup conflicts are generally not well understood. In this project we study how Verreaux’s sifakas, group-living Malagasy primates, establish intergroup relationships. Detailed behavioral, ecological and demographic data of 9 sifaka groups will be recorded during 12 consecutive months to study: how sifakas use their habitat, how they establish dominance relationships between groups and which group members participate under which conditions in intergroup conflicts. In addition we will conduct nutritional analyses to examine whether dominant groups have priority of access to high quality resources and whether differential resource access has consequences for individuals’ fitness. The results of this study will refine our understanding of the complexity of intergroup relationships, contribute to a resolution of the folivore paradox and, thus, test an aspect of the socioecological model that is empirically underexposed. Furthermore, studies on intergroup encounters may help to identify factors that influence animal space use, a central topic in foraging theory.

• DFG-Verfahren: Sachbeihilfen