Hordes of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx): extreme group size and seasonal male presence

By K. Abernethy, L. White, E. J. Wickings. 2002

145 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Mandrill Mandrillus sphinx hordes in the LopeReserve, Gabon, the approximate centre of the mandrill species range, were studied over 3 years from 1996 to 1999. Part of the study site included gallery forests within savanna areas, allowing observation of entire hordes, hitherto impossible in dense forest habitat. Horde size and composition (sex and age classes) were documented using exact records on video film whenever a horde or subgroup crossed an open space. Mean horde size was 620, and hordes of up to 845 individuals were documented, probably the largest stable group size found in any wild, unprovisioned primate population. Hordes were cohesive throughout the study period and did not seem to be aggregations of smaller units. Mandrill societies seem to be quite different from the baboon societies, to which they have been compared to date. Mature, breeding-age males were not resident members of hordes, but entered at the onset of seasonal cycles in the females (as deduced by the presence of sexual tumescence) and emigrated once female sexual cycles ceased. The number of breeding males present in the horde at any one time is best explained by the number of sexually attractive females. It is postulated that the extreme coloration of males and strong sexual dimorphism in mandrills may have evolved through an enhanced need for competitive signals in a situation where no long-term social bonds between breeding partners exist.

Subfields: Developmental Biology, Ecology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/dc580c79f91aa8b056fcd1ee190d61d7a63ce14d

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Developmental Biology

1. J. Setchell
2. Marie J. E. Charpentier
3. Barnaby J. W. Dixson
4. C. Grueter
5. K. Isler

In Ecology

1. Marie J. E. Charpentier
2. J. Setchell
3. Barnaby J. W. Dixson

In Social Psychology

1. Marie J. E. Charpentier
2. J. Setchell
3. Barnaby J. W. Dixson
4. C. Grueter
5. K. Isler

Citations in the corpus

• Do Female Mandrills Prefer Brightly Colored Males? (2005, background): “Males older than 8 yr have been observed to mate-guard females (Setchell et al., submitted), and are able to dominate older adult males (whereas younger males are not, Setchell, 2003), and can thus be considered socially adult (see also Alberts and Altmann, 1995).”
• Kin discrimination in juvenile mandrills, Mandrillus sphinx (2007, background): “Mandrills breed on a seasonal basis (Abernethy et al. 2002; Setchell et al. 2002), females giving birth to approximately one offspring per year.”
• Mate guarding and paternity in mandrills: factors influencing alpha male monopoly (2005, background): “Wild groups of mandrills range in size from 15 to hundreds of individuals (Hoshino et al. 1984; Rogers et al. 1996; Abernethy et al. 2002), and even small groups may contain more than one adult male (Hoshino et al. 1984).”
• Constraints on control: factors influencing reproductive success in male mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) (2005, unknown): “A similar pattern is observed in wild mandrills, where males in the 6–9 years age class disappear from their natal group (Abernethy et al., 2002).”
• Are badges of status adaptive in large complex primate groups (2015, background): “However, studies tracking the movements and compositions of the large social groups comprised of hordes that number up to 854 reveal that males join the social group during the breeding season but likely do not remain in the social group, and instead depart during the non-breeding season to live in ”