THE REPRODUCTIVE AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CAPTIVE ATELES-GEOFFROYI (BLACK-HANDED SPIDER MONKEY)

This project was designed to provide quantitative analyses of the repr oductive and social dynamics of a single-male captive colony of Ateles geoffroyi (black-handed spider monkey). Data were collected using foc al animal and scan sampling techniques and were subjected to a series of statistical tests which provided quantitative descriptions of group social structure and measures of female secondary sexual behavior cyc licity. Results indicated that the colony is highly social, with tacti le and olfactory cues important in their communication process. In add ition, only the reproductive female was found to exhibit cyclical seco ndary sexual behaviors. Greater understanding of the patterns and vari ability in the social and reproductive behavior of Ateles will require comparative studies of other single-male and multimale populations.