Territorial pair-living species tend to occupy and defend stable areas, assumed to contain all the resources needed for the lifetime of the group. Furthermore, groups have to mediate spatial relationships with neighboring groups. We investigated the relationship between social and spatial dynamics at the intra- and intergroup level in a pair-living territorial singing primate: the indri (Indri indri). We collected spatial data on three neighboring groups during 396 sampling days between 2009 and 2014 in Maromizaha forest, Madagascar. We evaluated the stability of territories in terms of size and location using minimum convex polygons, defined the presence and stability of core areas, and investigated if singing locations and intergroup encounters were concentrated in the core areas. Territories were generally stable in location and size, although some degree of territorial shift occurred, leading to readjustment of intergroup spacing. Groups had core areas that were not stable across years but were concentrated in the area of the territories that groups occupy consistently over time (stable areas). Singing locations were equally distributed inside and outside core areas, suggesting an even distribution through the territories; meanwhile 9 of 12 intergroup encounters took place in the core areas at the edge of territories. Together, our results support the pattern of territorial stability predicted for a pair-living species, where groups regulate territory exclusivity and spacing with neighbors. Singing behavior also plays an important role in mediating intergroup spatial dynamics. The spatial pattern we found in indris is comparable with that found in other territorial and pair-living primates with different ecological needs, suggesting that in addition to ecological factors, social dynamics influence intergroup spatial dynamics.

中文翻译：

---

一对生活歌唱灵长类 Indri indri 的群内和群间空间动力学：马达加斯加 Maromizaha 森林中三个 Indri 群的多年研究

领地成对生活的物种倾向于占据和保卫稳定的区域，假定这些区域包含该群体一生所需的所有资源。此外，组必须调解与相邻组的空间关系。我们研究了一对生活的领地歌唱灵长类动物：indri (Indri indri) 的群内和群际层面的社会和空间动态之间的关系。我们在 2009 年至 2014 年间在马达加斯加 Maromizaha 森林的 396 个采样日期间收集了三个相邻组的空间数据。我们使用最小凸多边形在大小和位置方面评估领土的稳定性，定义核心区域的存在和稳定性，并调查歌唱位置和群际相遇是否集中在核心区域。领土的位置和面积大体稳定，尽管发生了某种程度的领土转移，导致群际间距的重新调整。群体的核心区域在多年间并不稳定，但集中在群体长期占据的领土区域（稳定区域）。歌唱地点在核心区内外均等分布，表明各领地分布均匀；与此同时，12 次群体间遭遇中有 9 次发生在领土边缘的核心区域。总之，我们的结果支持为一对生活物种预测的领土稳定性模式，其中群体调节领土排他性和与邻居的间隔。歌唱行为在调解群际空间动态方面也起着重要作用。