The Arashiyama group of Japanese macaques holds a distinguished place in primatology as one of the longest continuously studied non-human primate populations in the world. The resulting long-term data provide a unique resource for researchers, allowing them to move beyond cross-sectional studies to tackle larger issues involving individual, matrilineal and group histories. This book presents an overview of the scope and magnitude of research topics and management efforts that have been conducted on this population for several decades, covering not only the original troop living around Kyoto, Japan, but also the two subgroups that were translocated to Texas, USA and Montreal, Canada. The chapters encompass topics including life history, sexual, social and cultural behaviour and ecology, giving an insight into the range of current primatological research. The contributors underscore the historic value of the Arashiyama macaques and showcase new and significant research findings that highlight their continuing importance to primatology.

'Many of us who have worked with completely wild, nonprovisioned study populations like to think our data more closely reflect the natural ecology of our study animals, but the detail and depth of the studies carried out at the Arashiyama sites remain unmatched by those from more naturalistic sites. This volume shows how the Arashiyama monkeys have inspired and continue to enhance field research by primatologists around the world.'

David S. Sprague Source: The Quarterly Review of Biology