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Full-Text Articles in Comparative Psychology
Social Assemblages And Mating Relationships In Prairie Dogs: A Dna Fingerprint Analysis, Steven E. Travis, Con Slobodchikoff, Paul Kefan
Social Assemblages And Mating Relationships In Prairie Dogs: A Dna Fingerprint Analysis, Steven E. Travis, Con Slobodchikoff, Paul Kefan
Reproductive Behavior Collection
Mating system characterizations have been hindered by difficulties in accurately assigning parentage to offspring. We investigated the relationship between social assemblages and mating relationships in a territorial harem polygynous mammal, the Gunnison's prairie dog, using a combination of behavioral and molecular analyses. We demonstrate multiple paternity and an extraordinarily high incidence of extraterritorial fertilizations (i.e., 61% of all progeny), in combination with the existence of female kin groups. On this basis, we conclude that social assemblages alone provide a poor description of the Gunnison's prairie dog mating system, and suggest several potential reasons for the maintenance of territoriality in this …
Environmental Psychology And Great Ape Reproduction, Terry L. Maple
Environmental Psychology And Great Ape Reproduction, Terry L. Maple
Zoos and Aquariums Collection
At the 1980 Great Ape Infertility Workshop, we concluded that "physical and social environments must be improved if not optimized if great apes are to reproduce satisfactorily ... " In 1982, the trend toward improvement continues and there are some promising signs that reproduction has been enhanced as predicted. The problem of designing and evaluating captive environments which will facilitate interaction, reproduction, appropriate parenting, and socialization is well within the scope of Environmental Psychology. I intend to illustrate the promise of this applied research field in the remarks that follow.