1
|
Paciência FMD, Chuma IS, Lipende IF, Knauf S, Zinner D. Female post-copulatory behavior in a group of olive baboons (Papio anubis) infected by Treponema pallidum. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261894. [PMID: 35051197 PMCID: PMC8775205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogens exert a profound and pervasive cost on various aspects of primate sociality and reproduction. In olive baboons (Papio anubis) at Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, genital skin ulcers, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue, are associated with increased female mating avoidance and altered male mating patterns at a pre-copulatory and copulatory level. Beyond this, mating is also comprised of post-copulatory interactions among sexual partners (i.e., copulation calls, darting [post-copulatory sprint away from the male], and post-copulatory grooming). In baboons, female post-copulatory behavior is hypothesized to incite male-male competition, promote subsequent copulations, and/or strengthen the bonds between the mating pairs. Due to a higher reproductive burden (i.e. pregnancy, lactation, infant rearing), females should avoid proceptive behavior after mating to decrease further exposure to potential pathogens. To investigate whether the presence of genital skin ulcers has an impact at the post-copulatory level, we analyzed 517 copulation events of 33 cycling females and 29 males with and without genital skin ulcers. The occurrence of female post-copulatory behaviors was not altered by genital skin ulcerations in males. Similar to other baboon populations, females in our study group were more likely to utter copulation calls after an ejaculatory copulation. The likelihood of darting was higher after ejaculatory copulations and with the presence of copulation calls. Post-copulatory grooming (i.e., occurring within 15 seconds after a copulation) was not frequently observed. Our results indicate that despite the presence of conspicuous signs of disease, female post-copulatory behavior was not affected by the genital health status of the males. This indicates that in our study group, infection cues caused by T. pallidum subsp. pertenue play a major role before and during mating, but not after mating. The post-copulatory behavior of females is most likely affected by physiological or evolutionary constraints other than sexually transmitted infections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Filipa M. D. Paciência
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Work Group Neglected Tropical Diseases, Infection Biology Unit, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Idrissa S. Chuma
- Sokoine University of Agriculture, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Iddi F. Lipende
- Sokoine University of Agriculture, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Sascha Knauf
- Work Group Neglected Tropical Diseases, Infection Biology Unit, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of International Animal Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald, Isle of Riems, Germany
- Department for Animal Sciences, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fedurek P, Neumann C, Bouquet Y, Mercier S, Magris M, Quintero F, Zuberbühler K. Behavioural patterns of vocal greeting production in four primate species. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:182181. [PMID: 31183141 PMCID: PMC6502363 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.182181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Social animals have evolved a range of signals to avoid aggressive and facilitate affiliative interactions. Vocal behaviour is especially important in this respect with many species, including various primates, producing acoustically distinct 'greeting calls' when two individuals approach each other. While the ultimate function of greeting calls has been explored in several species, little effort has been made to understand the mechanisms of this behaviour across species. The aim of this study was to explore how differences in individual features (individual dominance rank), dyadic relationships (dominance distance and social bond strength) and audience composition (presence of high-ranking or strongly bonded individuals in proximity), related to vocal greeting production during approaches between two individuals in the philopatric sex of four primate species: female olive baboons (Papio anubis), male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), female sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) and female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). We found that female vervet monkeys did not produce greeting calls, while in the other three species, low-ranking individuals were more likely to call than high-ranking ones. The effects of dyadic dominance relationships differed in species-specific ways, with calling being positively associated with the rank distance between two individuals in baboons and chimpanzees, but negatively in mangabeys. In none of the tested species did we find strong evidence for an effect of dyadic affiliative relationships or audience on call production. These results likely reflect deeper evolutionary layers of species-specific peculiarities in social style. We conclude that a comparative approach to investigate vocal behaviour has the potential to not only better understand the mechanisms mediating social signal production but also to shed light on their evolutionary trajectories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Christof Neumann
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Laboratoire de sciences cognitives et de psycholinguistique, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Yaëlle Bouquet
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Stéphanie Mercier
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Martina Magris
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Fredy Quintero
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| |
Collapse
|