Adult Male Scent-Marking in Lemur catta and Eulemur fulvus rufus.

Scent-marking and olfactory communication are used extensively by prosimians and can provide spatial and temporal records of group movement and behavior. We compare rates of male scent-marking in relation to reproductive seasons, male dominance rank, and habitat use in two related prosimians: Lemur catta and Eulemur fulvus rufus . We collected scent-marking data on adult male Lemur catta at Beza-Mahafaly Reserve (dry forest), and on Eulemur fulvus rufus at Ranomafana National Park (rainforest), Madagascar. In Lemur , rates of overall scent-marking differed significantly by reproductive season, with higher rates occurring in mating and lactation/migration periods, whereas in Eulemur , reproductive season did not appear to affect scent-marking rates. Dominance rank of male Lemur catta did not affect rates of scent-marking. Among male Eulemur fulvus , dominance relations were not apparent; however, 2 of the 5 focal males scent-marked somewhat more frequently during the mating season and also experienced greater mating success. In Lemur catta , higher rates of scent-marking in the mating season may relate to indirect reproductive competition during a period of high aggression, while such mating competition was not as marked in Eulemur fulvus . Furthermore, higher rates of marking in resident male Lemur catta during male migration may correlate with vigilance toward immigrating males. Greater overall scent-marking rates in ring-tailed lemurs may relate to extensive intergroup home range overlap and no area of exclusive use, whereas the red-fronted lemur groups tended to forage in areas of their home range where little-to-no intergroup overlap occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]