Males follow females during fissioning of a group of northern muriquis

Although well documented in matrilocal primate species, group fission is still a poorly known phenomenon among patrilocal primates. In this paper we describe in detail a group fission event in the population of northern muriquis at the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural-Feliciano Miguel Abdala in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, using Social Network Analyses (SNA). Data on association patterns were collected during systematic observations from May 2002 to September 2005, and analyzed for dry (from May to October) and rainy seasons (from November to April). The fission process started with subgroup formation in the rainy season 2002–2003, and was completed by the dry season of 2003. By the dry season 2003, the parent group (Jaó) had fissioned to form a second mixed-sex group (Nadir) while a subgroup of males (MU) moved between the parent group and the newly established group. Before the Jaó group fission started (dry season 2002) and during its initial phases (rainy season 2002–2003), females that ultimately composed the daughter group (Nadir) were the most peripheral in the association network. In the rainy season 2002–2003, the median monthly (N = 6) operational sex ratio (OSR) of Jaó group was 2.81. However, once Jaó females initiated the fissioning process to establish the Nadir group, the OSR was more favorable to males in the Nadir group than in the Jaó group. Our results suggest that males followed the females to escape an unfavorable OSR in their natal group. Am. J. Primatol. 76:529–538, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc