Prosimian primates exhibit a variety of inter-individual relationships. Some lemur species live in large multi-male, multi-female groups, and a number of researchers have suggested that these groups are actually collections of male-female pairs. This field study of wild red-fronted brown lemurs at Anjamena, Madagascar will be conducted to record spatial proximity, grooming interactions, mating strategies, and aggressive interactions among this lemur species. Field observations on behavior will be augmented by paternity exclusion tests of offspring born during the study period with DNA testing. This detailed, long-term project will verify the suggestion that large multi-male, multi-female groups are composed of discrete male-female pairs. Behavioral data and paternity determinations will allow testing of the hypothesis that male-female pairing protects against infanticide in this species. Additionally, hypotheses developed to explain male-female relationships in baboons will be tested with the data collected here on lemurs. This permits consideration of lemurs in the broader context of social relationships across other primate species and thus facilitates a better understanding of lemur behavior through wider species comparisons. The study will also test the broader applicability of these hypotheses across the primate order.
