Papers by Werner Kaumanns
Current Science, 2016
The present study investigates how the 'fission-fusion-adapted' bonobos and Bornean orang... more The present study investigates how the 'fission-fusion-adapted' bonobos and Bornean orangutans manage social relationships when kept under permanent group-living conditions. Our results showed that the bonobos and orangutans did not differ in the overall frequency of dyadic interactions. The orangutans evidently realized a potential to interact with partners, which on a surface did not differ from what was found in the bonobos. However, the bonobos spent more time on sociopositive interactions, especially on grooming and sit in contact, whereas the orangutans agonistically interacted with each other more often. Though frequencies of approaching were similar between the two species, orangutans actively left the proximity to a partner more often than the bonobos, which in turn were more often in spatial proximity. The three groups of bonobos housed under different conditions differed from each other for sociopositive and agonistic interactions. The orangutans differed for agon...
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PubMed, Apr 1, 1989
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American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2006
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Choice Reviews Online, May 1, 2005
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Journal of Threatened Taxa
For conservation breeding, the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques have been maintained in North Amer... more For conservation breeding, the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques have been maintained in North America under SSP since 1983 and in Europe under EEP since 1989. Based on a growing interest to support the species long-term survival, the SSP population increased considerably during the first few years of the programme but due to space problems and resulting birth control measures, it has drastically declined to small numbers and a non- breeding status at present. The EEP population continually increased till 2012, but due to the lack of spaces and birth control practises, it has gradually declined since then. It is emphasised that the knowledge gained from field studies on Lion-tailed Macaques in India and its incorporation for captive management under EEP has helped develop appropriate management strategies. Captive propagation of the Lion-tailed Macaque in India, the habitat country, can profit from the successes and drawbacks of the long-term management experiences of SSP and EEP.
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Current Science, 2015
Lion-tailed macaques are generally considered to have more despotic than egalitarian dominance re... more Lion-tailed macaques are generally considered to have more despotic than egalitarian dominance relationships; however, research lacks any conclusive evidence. In the present study, we examined dominance relationships among the females (of which the genealogical relationships were known) of a captive female-only group of lion-tailed macaques ( Macaca silenus ) during the course of introduction of a new adult male to the group at the Wels Zoo, Wels, Austria. We determined the structure of dominance hierarchy and the corresponding changes in dominance relationships, possibly mediated by an increase in sexual competition among the females. When the females were housed together without any adult male for over four months following the death of the former breeding male, the dominance hierarchy almost followed the principle of youngest ascendency. When a new male was housed for 26 days in an enclosure adjacent to that of the females (such that the females and the new male could interact wi...
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The macaques constitute one of the largest genera of extant primates and represent arguably the m... more The macaques constitute one of the largest genera of extant primates and represent arguably the most ecologically diverse species within the order. They also exhibit striking variation in their life-history traits, as summarised in Tables 1a and b (this chapter) and Box Table 1 here. A meta-analysis of the traits displayed by 15 of the better-studied species was carried out, using these data, to determine the extent to which these traits have been shaped by the ecology of the various species and to discern whether such traits exhibit any phylogenetic inertia, given that these species share a recent common origin. For this, the respective values of each independent life-history variable were classified into either of two categories on the basis of the median value of each; these were assigned category labels of 1 and 2 respectively as follows: Male body weight – Less than / Greater than 11.0 kg, Female body weight – Less than / Greater than 6.5 kg, Female age at sexual maturity – Les...
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The article deals with the sustainability and breeding problems as reported from many captive pop... more The article deals with the sustainability and breeding problems as reported from many captive populations of birds and mammals. The problems are considered under the perspective of basic management paradigms: the “small population” and the “declining population paradigm”. It is elaborated that under the latter, better options to support the long-term survival of populations can be developed by analysing the reasons for the decline and by emphasising the role of the individuals and their breeding performance. The development of a population and the breeding performance are strongly interrelated. It is therefore proposed to manage a population predominantly as a “breeding device” and the individuals as its constituents that are “designed for breeding”. Following life history theory, individuals have to be regarded as phenotypes. Regarding them as the units of management with all their fitness related properties allows the establishment of an integrated management approach that covers their various levels (genotype, ethotype (physiology, behaviour) etc.) on the same level of importance. The organisation of management is proposed to be oriented on the species’ key traits – primary determinants of fitness in a given condition and the species’ typical design for breeding. With reference to the altered conditions of captivity, the preservation of the breeding potential in a population is emphasised. It would require coming close to patterns of reproduction and corresponding life history patterns in natural populations. Larger population sizes would be necessary, thus also producing surplus problems that need to be dealt with. Genetic management should be part of the integrated management approach, follow natural population dynamics and concentrate on the breeding units
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There is a need to study male–male relationships since models on the evolution of social relation... more There is a need to study male–male relationships since models on the evolution of social relationships among primates have mainly focused on females. In this study aspects of the social relationships among lion-tailed macaque males in differently structured social units have been studied. The units include three hete-rosexual groups with (i) one adult, one subadult, and eight juvenile males; (ii) two adult males, one of which was castrated and (iii) two adult males and a subadult male compared under two different conditions, viz. in a small indoor and a much larger outdoor enclosure. The studies used focal animal sampling and covered minimally three months each. In the first study, over 40% agonistic interactions occurred between adult and subadult males. The interactions with juvenile males were largely of affiliative nature. The castrated male received lower aggression than the normal subadult male. The males showed more aggressive behaviour in the outdoor than in the indoor enclosure. In the latter condition, however, the males showed more disturbed behaviour. Observations from field studies, earlier attempts at establishing captive all-male groups, and the present study point to a high degree of social intolerance among adult lion-tailed macaque males. Therefore, the establishment of all-male groups in the zoos does not appear to be possible. However, due to the fact that the males, especially the related males, show largely affiliative behaviours, it is possible to maintain all-male groups, preferably of individuals from the same groups, up to subadulthood.
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Rhesus macaques in their natural environments, as well as in the free-ranging colony at Cayo Sant... more Rhesus macaques in their natural environments, as well as in the free-ranging colony at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico are highly seasonal breeders. Many ani-mal species lose breeding seasonality when brought under captive conditions. The present study that cov -ers a period of 25 years between 1985 and 2010 reports a quick loss of reproductive seasonality in Group O of rhesus macaques after the group was shifted from Cayo Santiago to German Primate Cen-tre at Gottingen, Germany in 1984, and maintained indoors with controlled temperature and day-length periods for about four years. We divided the study pe-riod of 25 years into five time-periods of five years each for analysis of the data. Over the subsequent years, births started to concentrate within only a few months indicating an increasing trend towards return of reproductive seasonality. This increase coincided with the increasing number of births in groups with outdoor facilities. Because other factors such as food, water, etc. we...
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A major concern of behavioural biology has been the study of evolutionary causative processes in ... more A major concern of behavioural biology has been the study of evolutionary causative processes in animal behaviour, typically focusing on individuals or social groups. Conservation biology, on the other hand, deals with devising tools for the management of wildlife habitats and populations, and typically focuses on ecosystems. We argue that behavioural studies of individual animals in the appropriate social contexts are necessary for, and integral to, the development of effective management plans for any species. We use the results from our studies on lion-tailed macaques from wild habitats in the Western Ghats, and from captive populations in Europe, to demonstrate how information on behaviour and life-history can be incorporated into improved strategies for wildlife management. We explicitly conclude that one of the major goals of wildlife management should be to create conditions that facilitate the expression of the full range of behavioural patterns in the species being managed,...
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American Journal of Primatology, 2002
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Journal of Threatened Taxa
For conservation breeding, the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques have been maintained in North Amer... more For conservation breeding, the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques have been maintained in North America under SSP since 1983 and in Europe under EEP since 1989. Based on a growing interest to support the species long-term survival, the SSP population increased considerably during the first few years of the programme but due to space problems and resulting birth control measures, it has drastically declined to small numbers and a non- breeding status at present. The EEP population continually increased till 2012, but due to the lack of spaces and birth control practises, it has gradually declined since then. It is emphasised that the knowledge gained from field studies on Lion-tailed Macaques in India and its incorporation for captive management under EEP has helped develop appropriate management strategies. Captive propagation of the Lion-tailed Macaque in India, the habitat country, can profit from the successes and drawbacks of the long-term management experiences of SSP and EEP.
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In the wild, primates usually spend a large proportion of their active time foraging and feeding.... more In the wild, primates usually spend a large proportion of their active time foraging and feeding. Access to food is infl uenced by individual factors (e. g. the physiological abilities of the animal), social factors (e. g. dominance hierarchies), and especially by the spatial and seasonal distribution of the food resources. Food resources in the wild may be scarce and
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*For correspondence. (e-mail: msingh@psychology.uni-mysore.ac.in) ... Macaca silenus in the natur... more *For correspondence. (e-mail: msingh@psychology.uni-mysore.ac.in) ... Macaca silenus in the natural habitats of ... BA Krishna 1 , Mridula Singh 1 , Mewa Singh 2, * and Werner Kaumanns 3 ... 1Maharaja's College, University of Mysore, Mysore 570 005, India 2Biopsychology ...
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Papers by Werner Kaumanns