Abstract
Abstract Natal dispersals are male-biased in most Old World monkey species, especially those that are polygynous. We examined patterns of male dispersal in golden snub-nosed monkeys, in which male offspring mainly disperse as juveniles from their natal one-male units (OMUs) to a bachelor group. However, out of a total of 112 male dispersals from 2001–2016, we documented six cases in which male offspring remained in their natal OMU until sub-adulthood. Based on monitoring of dispersal dynamics, we found that male offspring were more likely to delay dispersal if the tenure of leader males was lengthy. Social network analysis showed male offspring who delayed dispersal exhibited strong social relationships with each other and their OMU leader male but not with the females of their OMU. Our results suggest that the length of leader male tenure may affect natal male dispersal due to benefits to leader males accrued via intrasexual competition and kin selection.
Highlights
In many group-living species, males leave their natal group or transfer to other groups more commonly than females (DeVore, 1965; Van Noordwijk & Van Schaik, 2004)
Six male offspring unexpectedly remained in their natal one-male/multi-female units (OMUs) until adulthood or late subadulthood, dispersing at a mean age of 6.67 ± 1.54 years (N = 6)
The six males that delayed dispersal were each born into one of three OMUs: three males, BF, BY, and BXE were born into the BX-OMU, the male XJ was born into the JB-OMU, and the males ST and PD were both born into the BZT-OMU
Summary
In many group-living species, males leave their natal group or transfer to other groups more commonly than females (DeVore, 1965; Van Noordwijk & Van Schaik, 2004). In species that live in multi-male/multi-female social groups, males often disperse directly into a new group that contains more. Among species comprised in polygynous OMUs, intra-sexual competition tends to occur between the leader males and younger sexually mature males that are yet to disperse (Mitani et al, 1996) Because these younger males are potential competitors for food, pose a threat of adult-male usurpation, and may mate surreptitiously with the adult females of their OMU (Arcese, 1989), leader males usually evict sub-adult males from their OMU (Perlman et al, 2016), especially if the leader male has just been replaced another male (Zhu et al, 2016)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
