Wang, MuyangAlves, JoanaAlves da Silva, AntónioYang, WeikangRuckstuhl, Kathreen E.2019-01-152019-01-152018-08-30Wang, M., Alves, J., Alves da Silva, A., Yang, W., & Ruckstuhl, K. E. (2018). The effect of male age on patterns of sexual segregation in Siberian ibex. "Scientific Reports" (2018) 8: 13905. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31463-whttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/10947110.11575/PRISM/46062This work was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31661143019, 41661144001, U1303301); the National Key Research and Development Plan (2016YFC0503307); by a Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/75018/2010 (A.A.S) and Post-doctoral grant SFRH/BPD/123087/2016 (J.A.).Sexual segregation is very common in sexually size dimorphic ungulates and may be the result of different habitat preferences and/or differential social behaviours of males and females. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain this phenomenon. In the present research, we examined sexual segregation in a quite poorly-understood species, the Siberian ibex. The species presents a marked sexual size dimorphism, with adult males weighing double as much as females. We use the Sexual Segregation and Aggregation Statistics (SSAS) to analyze the sex-age patterns of sexual segregation in this species, to understand the relevance of social factors. Our results show that adult Siberian ibex males were socially segregated from females all year-round, except during the rutting season. Furthermore, the degree of segregation between females and males was influenced by the age of males. Moreover, the patterns of social segregation within males also increased with male age, reaching maximum values for males of 9-years-old and older, which means male age plays an important role in the sexual segregation of this species. This study clearly shows that social factors play a key role in the sexual segregation of Siberian ibex.enUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Sexual segregationSiberian Ibex (Capra sibirica)Mixed sex groupssocial segregationSexual dimorphisimungulatesjournal article316189-2012-RGPINhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31463-w