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Early differentiation of male and female interactive behaviour as a possible mechanism for sexual segregation in mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini)
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International audience. Interactive behaviour and the spatial relationships of mouflon lambs with their mothers and peers were studied in an enclosed population to look for possible early differentiation between the sexes in their social behaviour. The acts received (affiliative, sexual and agonistic behaviours) and emitted (avoidance, locomotion and the behaviours listed above) by lambs and the identity of partners were recorded during the first 15 weeks of age, on 25 mother–young dyads. From a developmental point of view, three stages were found: (1) during the first week of life, the lamb's behaviour was centred on its mother; (2) during weeks 2–6, male and female lambs exhibited high levels of interactive behaviours, with a higher frequency of sexual and strong agonistic behaviours performed by males than by females; (3) interactive activity decreased considerably in both sexes during the second and third months. However, gender differences remained: female lambs often avoided interactions with other lambs and tended to stay close to their respective mothers, while male lambs interacted more with peers and were more often at some distance from their mothers. Both sexes tended to be close to male lambs at these early stages of life due to the strong tendency of males to approach other lambs. These results are consistent with the ‘social affinity hypothesis’ and show that social mechanisms deserve more attention to explain adult behaviour.
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