Research on wild Assamese macaques
We aim to understand how the striking diversity in primate social structure evolved. What drives the variation in social relationships among and within species, populations and groups? Why are some species, populations, groups or individuals aggressive, individualistic and unforgiving, while others are friendly, peaceful and cooperative – and why do find on top of this variation across time or depending on the identity of the interaction partner?
Research topics (publications listed)
Behavioral endocrinology of reproduction
- Female fecal androgens prior to the mating season reflect readiness to conceive in reproductively quiescent wild macaques
- Patterns of fecal androgen excretion and fetal sex effects during gestation in wild female Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis)
- You mate, I mate: macaque females synchronize sex, not cycles
- Concealed fertility and extended female sexuality in a nonhuman primate (Macaca assamensis)
- Reproductive and life history parameters in wild female Macaca assamensis
- Male competition and its hormonal correlates in wild Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis)
Behavioral endocrinology of the stress response
- Low female stress hormone levels are predicted by same- or opposite-sex sociality depending on season in wild Assamese macaques
- Dominance, aggression and physiological stress in wild male Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis)
- Lack of evidence for energetic costs of mate-guarding in wild male Assamese macaques
Causes and consequences of food competition
- Ecology of Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand
- Ecological and social determinants of group cohesiveness and within-group spatial position in wild Assamese macaques
- Predictors of food-related aggression in wild Assamese macaques and the role of conflict avoidance
- Food abundance affects energy intake and reproduction in frugivorous wild female Assamese macaques
- Males matter: increased home range size is associated with the number of resident males after controlling for ecological factors in wild Assamese macaques
Evolution of social relationships
- Stable heterosexual associations in a promiscuous primate
- Dominance rank, female reproductive synchrony, and male reproductive skew in wild Assamese macaques
- Personality structure and social style in macaques
- Dispersing male Assamese macaques form social bonds: strong, equitable and long-term
- The structure and stability of female social relationships in a seasonal primate
- Intersexual social bonding in wild Assamese macaques
Evolution of cooperation
Sociality and health
- Locomotor play drives motor skill acquisition at the expense of growth: a life history trade-off
- Prenatal stress accelerates offspring growth at the expense of skill acquisition and immune function in a wild primate
- Prenatal stress increases offspring growth to compensate for reduced maternal investment across mammals
- Non-invasive adenovirus detection in a wild Asian primate
- Preliminary study of the genetic diversity of eastern Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis assamensis) in Thailand based on mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers
- Towards the non-invasive assessment of MHC genotype in wild primates: analysis of wild Assamese macaque MHC-DRB from fecal samples
Prof. Dr. Julia Ostner Head of Research Group +49 551 3933925 +49 551 39 9637 Contact