1
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Sobral G, Dubuc C, Winters S, Ruiz-Lambides A, Emery Thompson M, Maestripieri D, Milich KM. Facial and genital color ornamentation, testosterone, and reproductive output in high-ranking male rhesus macaques. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2621. [PMID: 38297064 PMCID: PMC10831099 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52400-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Males in many vertebrate species have colorful ornaments that evolved by sexual selection. The role of androgens in the genesis and maintenance of these signals is unclear. We studied 21 adult high-ranking male rhesus macaques from nine social groups in the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, and analyzed facial and genital skin luminance and redness, fecal androgens, rates of mating behaviors, and offspring sired. Facial and genital coloration varied in relation to age, mating behavior, reproductive success, and testosterone concentration. Our results indicate that skin coloration in high-ranking male rhesus macaques is a sexually-selected trait mediated by androgens. These results add to the growing literature on the proximate and ultimate causes of male sexual signals and highlight the need to examine how these characteristics change with age in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Sobral
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade (NUPEM/UFRJ), Macaé, RJ, Brazil
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sandra Winters
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | | | | | - Krista M Milich
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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2
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Clive J, Flintham E, Savolainen V. Same-sex sociosexual behaviour is widespread and heritable in male rhesus macaques. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1287-1301. [PMID: 37429903 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02111-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Numerous reports have documented the occurrence of same-sex sociosexual behaviour (SSB) across animal species. However, the distribution of the behaviour within a species needs to be studied to test hypotheses describing its evolution and maintenance, in particular whether the behaviour is heritable and can therefore evolve by natural selection. Here we collected detailed observations across 3 yr of social and mounting behaviour of 236 male semi-wild rhesus macaques, which we combined with a pedigree dating back to 1938, to show that SSB is both repeatable (19.35%) and heritable (6.4%). Demographic factors (age and group structure) explained SSB variation only marginally. Furthermore, we found a positive genetic correlation between same-sex mounter and mountee activities, indicating a common basis to different forms of SSB. Finally, we found no evidence of fitness costs to SSB, but show instead that the behaviour mediated coalitionary partnerships that have been linked to improved reproductive success. Together, our results demonstrate that SSB is frequent in rhesus macaques, can evolve, and is not costly, indicating that SSB may be a common feature of primate reproductive ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackson Clive
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Ewan Flintham
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Vincent Savolainen
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK.
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3
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Moreira LAA, Watsa M, Erkenswick G, Higham JP, Melin AD. Evaluating genital skin color as a putative sexual signal in wild saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus imperator) tamarins. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23456. [PMID: 36437549 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Coevolution between signalers and receivers has played a significant role in the diversity of animal signals and sensory systems. Platyrrhines (monkeys in the Americas) exhibit a remarkable color vision polymorphism that may have been selected by both natural and sexual selection, but sociosexual color signaling among platyrrhines has received almost no attention. Here, we study the color of reproductive skin among different reproductive classes in free-ranging female saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus imperator) tamarins, modeling color spaces, and contrasts for the different visual systems. We find that the chromatic saturation and luminance of genital color vary between reproductive classes in saddleback tamarins. Chromatic contrast between the vulva and belly is lower in the parous females (PFs) relative to adult but not currently breeding females, while achromatic contrast is higher in PFs in saddleback tamarins relative to nonparous females. However, in emperor tamarins, genital color (saturation, hue, and luminance) does not vary between reproductive classes. Overall, genital skin color variation is present in tamarins and may play a role in sexual signaling. Nevertheless, the patterns are inconsistent between species, suggesting interspecific variation. Future studies should integrate the perceiver's behavioral responses and the physical and social signaling environments into comprehensive studies of communication as well as consider the role and interaction between multiple sensory modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lais A A Moreira
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Mrinalini Watsa
- Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, Escondido, California, USA.,Field Projects International, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Gideon Erkenswick
- Field Projects International, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Missouri St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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4
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Veilleux CC, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. The sensory ecology of primate food perception, revisited. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:281-301. [PMID: 36519416 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, Dominy and colleagues published "The sensory ecology of primate food perception," an impactful review that brought new perspectives to understanding primate foraging adaptations. Their review synthesized information on primate senses and explored how senses informed feeding behavior. Research on primate sensory ecology has seen explosive growth in the last two decades. Here, we revisit this important topic, focusing on the numerous new discoveries and lines of innovative research. We begin by reviewing each of the five traditionally recognized senses involved in foraging: audition, olfaction, vision, touch, and taste. For each sense, we provide an overview of sensory function and comparative ecology, comment on the state of knowledge at the time of the original review, and highlight advancements and lingering gaps in knowledge. Next, we provide an outline for creative, multidisciplinary, and innovative future research programs that we anticipate will generate exciting new discoveries in the next two decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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5
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Jiang Y, Sheng F, Belkaya N, Platt ML. Oxytocin and testosterone administration amplify viewing preferences for sexual images in male rhesus macaques. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210133. [PMID: 35858095 PMCID: PMC9272140 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Social stimuli, like faces, and sexual stimuli, like genitalia, spontaneously attract visual attention in both human and non-human primates. Social orienting behaviour is thought to be modulated by neuropeptides as well as sex hormones. Using a free viewing task in which paired images of monkey faces and anogenital regions were presented simultaneously, we found that male rhesus macaques overwhelmingly preferred to view images of anogenital regions over faces. They were more likely to make an initial gaze shift towards, and spent more time viewing, anogenital regions compared with faces, and this preference was accompanied by relatively constricted pupils. On face images, monkeys mostly fixated on the forehead and eyes. These viewing preferences were found for images of both males and females. Both oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide linked to social bonding and affiliation, and testosterone (TE), a sex hormone implicated in mating and aggression, amplified the pre-existing orienting bias for female genitalia over female faces; neither treatment altered the viewing preference for male anogenital regions over male faces. Testosterone but not OT increased the probability of monkeys making the first gaze shift towards female anogenital rather than face pictures, with the strongest effects on anogenital images of young and unfamiliar females. Finally, both OT and TE promoted viewing of the forehead region of both female and male faces, which display sexual skins, but decreased the relative salience of the eyes of older males. Together, these results invite the hypothesis that both OT and TE regulate reproductive behaviours by acting as a gain control on the visual orienting network to increase attention to mating-relevant signals in the environment. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Interplays between oxytocin and other neuromodulators in shaping complex social behaviours’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoguang Jiang
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Feng Sheng
- Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- School of Management and MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain–Machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China
| | - Naz Belkaya
- Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Lisbon, 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Marketing Department, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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6
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Rigaill L, Vaglio S, Setchell JM, Suda-Hashimoto N, Furuichi T, Garcia C. Chemical cues of identity and reproductive status in Japanese macaques. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23411. [PMID: 35757843 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Olfactory communication plays an important role in the regulation of socio-sexual interactions in mammals. There is growing evidence that both human and nonhuman primates rely on odors to inform their mating decisions. Nevertheless, studies of primate chemical ecology remain scarce due to the difficulty of obtaining and analyzing samples. We analyzed 67 urine samples from five captive female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) and 30 vaginal swabs from three of these females using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and examined the relationship between odor (compounds identified, richness, intensity, and diversity) and female identity as well as cycle phase. We found a total of 36 urine compounds of which we identified 31, and 68 vaginal compounds of which we identified 37. Our results suggest that urine and vaginal odor varied more between individuals than within cycle phases. However, we found that within a female cycle, urine samples from similar phases may cluster more than samples from different phases. Our results suggest that female odor may encode information about identity (vaginal and urine odor) and reproductive status (urine odor). The question of how conspecifics use female urine and vaginal odor remains open and could be tested using bioassays. Our results and their interpretation are constrained by our limited sample size and our study design. Nonetheless, our study provides insight into the potential signaling role of female odor in sexual communication in Japanese macaques and contributes to our understanding of how odors may influence mating strategies in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Rigaill
- EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine), CNRS, Université de Rennes 1, Normandie Université, Rennes, France.,Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Stefano Vaglio
- School of Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK
| | - Joanna M Setchell
- Department of Anthropology & Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Naoko Suda-Hashimoto
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Takeshi Furuichi
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Cécile Garcia
- Eco-anthropologie (EA), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
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7
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Whitham W, Schapiro SJ, Troscianko J, Yorzinski JL. The gaze of a social monkey is perceptible to conspecifics and predators but not prey. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220194. [PMID: 35642370 PMCID: PMC9156918 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye gaze is an important source of information for animals, implicated in communication, cooperation, hunting and antipredator behaviour. Gaze perception and its cognitive underpinnings are much studied in primates, but the specific features that are used to estimate gaze can be difficult to isolate behaviourally. We photographed 13 laboratory-housed tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] apella) to quantify chromatic and achromatic contrasts between their iris, pupil, sclera and skin. We used colour vision models to quantify the degree to which capuchin eye gaze is discriminable to capuchins, their predators and their prey. We found that capuchins, regardless of their colour vision phenotype, as well as their predators, were capable of effectively discriminating capuchin gaze across ecologically relevant distances. Their prey, in contrast, were not capable of discriminating capuchin gaze, even under relatively ideal conditions. These results suggest that specific features of primate eyes can influence gaze perception, both within and across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Will Whitham
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA,Department of Comparative Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Steven J. Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Jolyon Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jessica L. Yorzinski
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
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8
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Caro T, Brockelsby K, Ferrari A, Koneru M, Ono K, Touche E, Stankowich T. The evolution of primate coloration revisited. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Primates are noted for their varied and complex pelage and bare skin coloration but the significance of this diverse coloration remains opaque. Using new updated information, novel scoring of coat and skin coloration, and controlling for shared ancestry, we reexamined and extended findings from previous studies across the whole order and the five major clades within it. Across primates, we found (i) direct and indirect evidence for pelage coloration being driven by protective coloration strategies including background matching, countershading, disruptive coloration, and aposematism, (ii) diurnal primates being more colorful, and (iii) the possibility that pelage color diversity is negatively associated with female trichromatic vision; while (iv) reaffirming avoidance of hybridization driving head coloration in males, (v) darker species living in warm, humid conditions (Gloger’s rule), and (vi) advertising to multiple mating partners favoring red genitalia in females. Nonetheless, the importance of these drivers varies greatly across clades. In strepsirrhines and cercopithecoids, countershading is important; greater color diversity may be important for conspecific signaling in more diurnal and social strepsirrhines; lack of female color vision may be associated with colorful strepsirrhines and platyrrhines; whereas cercopithecoids obey Gloger’s rule. Haplorrhines show background matching, aposematism, character displacement, and red female genitalia where several mating partners are available. Our findings emphasize several evolutionary drivers of coloration in this extraordinarily colorful order. Throughout, we used coarse but rigorous measures of coloration, and our ability to replicate findings from earlier studies opens up opportunities for classifying coloration of large numbers of species at a macroevolutionary scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Caro
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kasey Brockelsby
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Annie Ferrari
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Manisha Koneru
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Konatsu Ono
- Department of Animal Biology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Edward Touche
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Theodore Stankowich
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA
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9
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Rigaill L, Garcia C. Does male mate choice select for female coloration in a promiscuous primate species? Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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10
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Testard C, Tremblay S, Platt M. From the field to the lab and back: neuroethology of primate social behavior. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 68:76-83. [PMID: 33567386 PMCID: PMC8243779 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Social mammals with more numerous and stronger social relationships live longer, healthier lives. Despite the established importance of social relationships, our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms by which they are pursued, formed, and maintained in primates remains largely confined to highly controlled laboratory settings which do not allow natural, dynamic social interactions to unfold. In this review, we argue that the neurobiological study of primate social behavior would benefit from adopting a neuroethological approach, that is, a perspective grounded in natural, species-typical behavior, with careful selection of animal models according to the scientific question at hand. We highlight macaques and marmosets as key animal models for human social behavior and summarize recent findings in the social domain for both species. We then review pioneering studies of dynamic social behaviors in small animals, which can inspire studies in larger primates where the technological landscape is now ripe for an ethological overhaul.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Sébastien Tremblay
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Psychology Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Marketing Department, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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11
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Higham JP, Kimock CM, Mandalaywala TM, Heistermann M, Cascio J, Petersdorf M, Winters S, Allen WL, Dubuc C. Female ornaments: is red skin color attractive to males and related to condition in rhesus macaques? Behav Ecol 2021; 32:236-247. [PMID: 33814977 PMCID: PMC7995641 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection produces extravagant male traits, such as colorful ornaments, via female mate choice. More rarely, in mating systems in which males allocate mating effort between multiple females, female ornaments may evolve via male mate choice. Females of many anthropoid primates exhibit ornaments that indicate intraindividual cyclical fertility, but which have also been proposed to function as interindividual quality signals. Rhesus macaque females are one such species, exhibiting cyclical facial color variation that indicates ovulatory status, but in which the function of interindividual variation is unknown. We collected digital images of the faces of 32 rhesus macaque adult females. We assessed mating rates, and consortship by males, according to female face coloration. We also assessed whether female coloration was linked to physical (skinfold fat, body mass index) or physiological (fecal glucocorticoid metabolite [fGCM], urinary C-peptide concentrations) condition. We found that redder-faced females were mated more frequently, and consorted for longer periods by top-ranked males. Redder females had higher fGCM concentrations, perhaps related to their increased mating activity and consequent energy mobilization, and blood flow. Prior analyses have shown that female facial redness is a heritable trait, and that redder-faced females have higher annual fecundity, while other evidence suggests that color expression is likely to be a signal rather than a cue. Collectively, the available evidence suggests that female coloration has evolved at least in part via male mate choice. Its evolution as a sexually selected ornament attractive to males is probably attributable to the high female reproductive synchrony found in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Clare M Kimock
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tara M Mandalaywala
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 135 Hicks Way/Tobin Hall, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Research Center (DPZ), Kellnerweg, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julie Cascio
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Megan Petersdorf
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sandra Winters
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - William L Allen
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
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12
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Fine-scale variation in lip and cheek colour according to the timing of ovulation in women. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02851-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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13
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The Role of Sexual Selection in the Evolution of Facial Displays in Male Non-human Primates and Men. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-020-00139-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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14
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Necka EA, Kardan O, Puts DA, Faig KE, Berman MG, Norman GJ. Visual cues to fertility are in the eye (movements) of the beholder. Horm Behav 2019; 115:104562. [PMID: 31356808 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Past work demonstrates that humans behave differently towards women across their menstrual cycles, even after exclusively visual exposure to women's faces. People may look at women's faces differently as a function of women's menstrual cycles. Analyses of participants' scanpaths (eye movement patterns) while they looked at women at different phases of their menstrual cycles revealed that observers exhibit more consistent scanpaths when examining women's faces when women are in a menstrual cycle phase that typically corresponds with peak fertility, whereas they exhibit more variable patterns when looking at women's faces when they are in phases that do not correspond with fertility. A multivariate classifier on participants' scanpaths predicted whether they were looking at the face of a woman in a more typically fertile- versus non-fertile-phase of her menstrual cycle with above-chance accuracy. These findings demonstrate that people look at women's faces differently as a function of women's menstrual cycles, and suggest that people are sensitive to fluctuating visual cues associated with women's menstrual cycle phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Necka
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, United States of America.
| | - Omid Kardan
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, United States of America
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
| | - Kelly E Faig
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, United States of America
| | - Marc G Berman
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, United States of America
| | - Greg J Norman
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, United States of America
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15
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Moreira LAA, Duytschaever G, Higham JP, Melin AD. Platyrrhine color signals: New horizons to pursue. Evol Anthropol 2019; 28:236-248. [PMID: 31609040 PMCID: PMC6865018 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Like catarrhines, some platyrrhines show exposed and reddish skin, raising the possibility that reddish signals have evolved convergently. This variation in skin exposure and color combined with sex-linked polymorphic color vision in platyrrhines presents a unique, and yet underexplored, opportunity to investigate the relative importance of chromatic versus achromatic signals, the influence of color perception on signal evolution, and to understand primate communication broadly. By coding the facial skin exposure and color of 96 platyrrhines, 28 catarrhines, 7 strepsirrhines, 1 tarsiiform, and 13 nonprimates, and by simulating the ancestral character states for these traits, we provide the first analysis of the distribution and evolution of facial skin exposure and color in platyrrhini. We highlight ways in which studying the presence and use of color signals by platyrrhines and other primates will enhance our understanding of the evolution of color signals, and the forces shaping color vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laís A. A. Moreira
- Department of Anthropology & ArchaeologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryAlbertaCanada
| | - Gwen Duytschaever
- Department of Anthropology & ArchaeologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryAlbertaCanada
| | | | - Amanda D. Melin
- Department of Anthropology & ArchaeologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryAlbertaCanada
- Department of Medical GeneticsUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryAlbertaCanada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research InstituteCalgaryAlbertaCanada
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16
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Murphy AP, Leopold DA. A parameterized digital 3D model of the Rhesus macaque face for investigating the visual processing of social cues. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 324:108309. [PMID: 31229584 PMCID: PMC7446874 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rhesus macaques are the most popular model species for studying the neural basis of visual face processing and social interaction using intracranial methods. However, the challenge of creating realistic, dynamic, and parametric macaque face stimuli has limited the experimental control and ethological validity of existing approaches. NEW METHOD We performed statistical analyses of in vivo computed tomography data to generate an anatomically accurate, three-dimensional representation of Rhesus macaque cranio-facial morphology. The surface structures were further edited, rigged and textured by a professional digital artist with careful reference to photographs of macaque facial expression, colouration and pelage. RESULTS The model offers precise, continuous, parametric control of craniofacial shape, emotional expression, head orientation, eye gaze direction, and many other parameters that can be adjusted to render either static or dynamic high-resolution faces. Example single-unit responses to such stimuli in macaque inferotemporal cortex demonstrate the value of parametric control over facial appearance and behaviours. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) The generation of such a high-dimensionality and systematically controlled stimulus set of conspecific faces, with accurate craniofacial modelling and professional finalization of facial details, is currently not achievable using existing methods. CONCLUSIONS The results herald a new set of possibilities in adaptive sampling of a high-dimensional and socially meaningful feature space, thus opening the door to systematic testing of hypotheses about the abundant neural specialization for faces found in the primate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan P Murphy
- Section on Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging, NIMH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - David A Leopold
- Section on Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging, NIMH, Bethesda, MD, USA
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17
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The redder the better? Information content of red skin coloration in female Japanese macaques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2712-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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18
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19
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Unakafov AM, Möller S, Kagan I, Gail A, Treue S, Wolf F. Using imaging photoplethysmography for heart rate estimation in non-human primates. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202581. [PMID: 30169537 PMCID: PMC6118383 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
For humans and for non-human primates heart rate is a reliable indicator of an individual's current physiological state, with applications ranging from health checks to experimental studies of cognitive and emotional state. In humans, changes in the optical properties of the skin tissue correlated with cardiac cycles (imaging photoplethysmogram, iPPG) allow non-contact estimation of heart rate by its proxy, pulse rate. Yet, there is no established simple and non-invasive technique for pulse rate measurements in awake and behaving animals. Using iPPG, we here demonstrate that pulse rate in rhesus monkeys can be accurately estimated from facial videos. We computed iPPGs from eight color facial videos of four awake head-stabilized rhesus monkeys. Pulse rate estimated from iPPGs was in good agreement with reference data from a contact pulse-oximeter: the error of pulse rate estimation was below 5% of the individual average pulse rate in 83% of the epochs; the error was below 10% for 98% of the epochs. We conclude that iPPG allows non-invasive and non-contact estimation of pulse rate in non-human primates, which is useful for physiological studies and can be used toward welfare-assessment of non-human primates in research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton M. Unakafov
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Möller
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Igor Kagan
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Gail
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Fred Wolf
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
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20
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Rowland HM, Burriss RP. Human colour in mate choice and competition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0350. [PMID: 28533465 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The colour of our skin and clothing affects how others perceive us and how we behave. Human skin colour varies conspicuously with genetic ancestry, but even subtle changes in skin colour due to diet, blood oxygenation and hormone levels influence social perceptions. In this review, we describe the theoretical and empirical frameworks in which human colour is researched. We explore how subtle skin colour differences relate to judgements of health and attractiveness. Also, because humans are one of the few organisms able to manipulate their apparent colour, we review how cosmetics and clothing are implicated in courtship and competition, both inside the laboratory and in the real world. Research on human colour is in its infancy compared with human psychophysics and colour research in non-human animals, and hence we present best-practice guidelines for methods and reporting, which we hope will improve the validity and reproducibility of studies on human coloration.This article is part of the themed issue 'Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah M Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK .,Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Robert P Burriss
- Faculty of Psychology, Basel University, Basel 4055, Switzerland
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21
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Hiramatsu C, Melin AD, Allen WL, Dubuc C, Higham JP. Experimental evidence that primate trichromacy is well suited for detecting primate social colour signals. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2458. [PMID: 28615496 PMCID: PMC5474062 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 05/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Primate trichromatic colour vision has been hypothesized to be well tuned for detecting variation in facial coloration, which could be due to selection on either signal wavelengths or the sensitivities of the photoreceptors themselves. We provide one of the first empirical tests of this idea by asking whether, when compared with other visual systems, the information obtained through primate trichromatic vision confers an improved ability to detect the changes in facial colour that female macaque monkeys exhibit when they are proceptive. We presented pairs of digital images of faces of the same monkey to human observers and asked them to select the proceptive face. We tested images that simulated what would be seen by common catarrhine trichromatic vision, two additional trichromatic conditions and three dichromatic conditions. Performance under conditions of common catarrhine trichromacy, and trichromacy with narrowly separated LM cone pigments (common in female platyrrhines), was better than for evenly spaced trichromacy or for any of the dichromatic conditions. These results suggest that primate trichromatic colour vision confers excellent ability to detect meaningful variation in primate face colour. This is consistent with the hypothesis that social information detection has acted on either primate signal spectral reflectance or photoreceptor spectral tuning, or both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihiro Hiramatsu
- Department of Human Science, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, 4-9-1 Shiobaru, Minamiku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan .,Physiological Anthropology Research Center, Kyushu University, 4-9-1 Shiobaru, Minamiku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - William L Allen
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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22
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Gray H, Pearce B, Thiele A, Rowe C. The use of preferred social stimuli as rewards for rhesus macaques in behavioural neuroscience. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0178048. [PMID: 28542356 PMCID: PMC5444662 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Macaques are often motivated to perform in neuroscientific experiments by implementing fluid restriction protocols. Daily access to water is controlled and the monkeys are rewarded with droplets of fluid for performing correct trials in the laboratory. Although these protocols are widely used and highly effective, it is important from a 3Rs perspective to investigate refinements that may help to lessen the severity of the fluid restriction applied. We assessed the use of social stimuli (images of conspecifics) as rewards for four rhesus macaques performing simple cognitive tasks. We found that individual preferences for images of male faces, female perinea and control stimuli could be identified in each monkey. However, using preferred images did not translate into effective motivators on a trial-by-trial basis: animals preferred fluid rewards, even when fluid restriction was relaxed. There was no difference in the monkeys' performance of a task when using greyscale versus colour images. Based on our findings, we cannot recommend the use of social stimuli, in this form, as a refinement to current fluid restriction protocols. We discuss the potential alternatives and possibilities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Gray
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Bradley Pearce
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Thiele
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Candy Rowe
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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23
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Carvalho LS, Pessoa DMA, Mountford JK, Davies WIL, Hunt DM. The Genetic and Evolutionary Drives behind Primate Color Vision. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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24
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Melin AD, Khetpal V, Matsushita Y, Zhou K, Campos FA, Welker B, Kawamura S. Howler monkey foraging ecology suggests convergent evolution of routine trichromacy as an adaptation for folivory. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:1421-1434. [PMID: 28261454 PMCID: PMC5330884 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Primates possess remarkably variable color vision, and the ecological and social factors shaping this variation remain heavily debated. Here, we test whether central tenants of the folivory hypothesis of routine trichromacy hold for the foraging ecology of howler monkeys. Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) and paleotropical primates (Parvorder: Catarrhini) have independently acquired routine trichromacy through fixation of distinct mid- to long-wavelength-sensitive (M/LWS) opsin genes on the X-chromosome. The presence of routine trichromacy in howlers, while other diurnal neotropical monkeys (Platyrrhini) possess polymorphic trichromacy, is poorly understood. A selective force proposed to explain the evolution of routine trichromacy in catarrhines-reliance on young, red leaves-has received scant attention in howlers, a gap we fill in this study. We recorded diet, sequenced M/LWS opsin genes in four social groups of Alouatta palliata, and conducted colorimetric analysis of leaves consumed in Sector Santa Rosa, Costa Rica. For a majority of food species, including Ficus trees, an important resource year-round, young leaves were more chromatically conspicuous from mature leaves to trichromatic than to hypothetical dichromatic phenotypes. We found that 18% of opsin genes were MWS/LWS hybrids; when combined with previous research, the incidence of hybrid M/LWS opsins in this species is 13%. In visual models of food discrimination ability, the hybrid trichromatic phenotype performed slightly poorer than normal trichromacy, but substantially better than dichromacy. Our results provide support for the folivory hypothesis of routine trichromacy. Similar ecological pressures, that is, the search for young, reddish leaves, may have driven the independent evolution of routine trichromacy in primates on separate continents. We discuss our results in the context of balancing selection acting on New World monkey opsin genes and hypothesize that howlers experience stronger selection against dichromatic phenotypes than other sympatric species, which rely more heavily on cryptic foods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D. Melin
- Department of Anthropology and ArchaeologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryABCanada
- Department of Medical Genetics and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research InstituteUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryABCanada
| | - Vishal Khetpal
- Department of AnthropologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMOUSA
| | - Yuka Matsushita
- Department of Integrated BiosciencesGraduate School of Frontier SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Kaile Zhou
- Department of Integrated BiosciencesGraduate School of Frontier SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- Department of Plant ProtectionCollege of Agriculture and BiotechnologyZhejiang UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
| | - Fernando A. Campos
- Department of Anthropology and ArchaeologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryABCanada
- Department of AnthropologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLAUSA
| | - Barbara Welker
- Department of AnthropologyState University of New York at GeneseoGeneseoNYUSA
| | - Shoji Kawamura
- Department of Integrated BiosciencesGraduate School of Frontier SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
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25
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Testing for links between face color and age, dominance status, parity, weight, and intestinal nematode infection in a sample of female Japanese macaques. Primates 2016; 58:83-91. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0575-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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26
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Higham JP. Field endocrinology of nonhuman primates: past, present, and future. Horm Behav 2016; 84:145-55. [PMID: 27469069 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
In the past few decades, research on nonhuman primate endocrinology has moved from the lab to the field, leading to a huge increase in both the breadth and depth of primate field studies. Here, I discuss the past, present, and future of primate field endocrinology. I review the history of the field, and go on to discuss methodological developments and the issues that they sometimes entail. Next, I consider ways in which we might conceptualize the role of hormones, and focus on the need to distinguish proximate from ultimate levels of explanation. Current potentially problematic issues in the field include: 1) an inability to obtain noninvasive measurements of Central Nervous System (CNS) rather than peripheral hormone concentrations; 2) research questions that become stuck (e.g., questions regarding sexual swelling expression mechanisms); 3) data dredging and post-hoc linking of hormones to any plausible variable, leading to a lack of clarity on their role in animal ecology and behavior. I finish by discussing several unanswered questions that might benefit from further research. These are how we might: 1) best obtain measurements for CNS hormone concentrations non-invasively; 2) measure hormone receptor expression alongside hormone concentrations; 3) consider the human endocrinology literature more thoroughly and perhaps take more multimarker approaches; 4) better consider the social environment, including audience and dyadic familiarity effects; and 5) apply our findings to conservation issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Higham
- Dept. of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003.
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27
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Garcia C, Bercovitch F, Furuichi T, Huffman M, MacInstosh A, Rigaill L, Takeshita R, Shimizu K. Ten years of collaboration between France and Japan - Studies on reproduction in Japanese macaques. REVUE DE PRIMATOLOGIE 2016. [DOI: 10.4000/primatologie.2666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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28
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Grueter CC, Zhu P, Allen WL, Higham JP, Ren B, Li M. Sexually selected lip colour indicates male group-holding status in the mating season in a multi-level primate society. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150490. [PMID: 27019735 PMCID: PMC4807456 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Sexual selection typically produces ornaments in response to mate choice, and armaments in response to male-male competition. Unusually among mammals, many primates exhibit colour signals that may be related to one or both processes. Here, we document for the first time correlates of facial coloration in one of the more brightly coloured primates, the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti). Snub-nosed monkeys have a one-male unit (OMU) based social organization, but these units aggregate semi-permanently into larger bands. This form of mating system causes many males to become associated with bachelor groups. We quantified redness of the prominent lower lip in 15 males (eight bachelors, seven OMU holders) in a group at Xiangguqing, China. Using mixed models, our results show that lip redness increases with age. More interestingly, there is a significant effect of the interaction of group-holding status and mating season on redness; that is, lip colour of OMU males undergoes reddening in the mating season, whereas the lips of subadult and juvenile bachelor males become paler at that time of year. These results indicate that lip coloration is a badge of (group-holding) status during the mating season, with non-adults undergoing facial differentiation, perhaps to avoid the costs of reproductive competition. Future research should investigate whether lip coloration is a product of male-male competition, and/or female mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril C. Grueter
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley/Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Pingfen Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
| | - William L. Allen
- School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - James P. Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Baoping Ren
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
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29
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Valenta K, Edwards M, Rafaliarison RR, Johnson SE, Holmes SM, Brown KA, Dominy NJ, Lehman SM, Parra EJ, Melin AD. Visual ecology of true lemurs suggests a cathemeral origin for the primate cone opsin polymorphism. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology University of Toronto 19 Russell St Toronto ON Canada
| | - Melissa Edwards
- Department of Anthropology University of Toronto at Mississauga 3359 Mississauga Rd. North Mississauga QC Canada
| | | | - Steig E. Johnson
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology University of Calgary 2500 University Dr. NW. Calgary QC Canada
| | - Sheila M. Holmes
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology University of Calgary 2500 University Dr. NW. Calgary QC Canada
| | - Kevin A. Brown
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto 155 College St. Toronto QC Canada
| | | | - Shawn M. Lehman
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology University of Toronto 19 Russell St Toronto ON Canada
| | - Esteban J. Parra
- Department of Anthropology University of Toronto at Mississauga 3359 Mississauga Rd. North Mississauga QC Canada
| | - Amanda D. Melin
- Department of Anthropology Washington University One Brookings Dr. St. Louis MO USA
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30
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Marshall KLA, Philpot KE, Stevens M. Conspicuous male coloration impairs survival against avian predators in Aegean wall lizards, Podarcis erhardii. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:4115-31. [PMID: 26442582 PMCID: PMC4588654 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2015] [Revised: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal coloration is strikingly diverse in nature. Within-species color variation can arise through local adaptation for camouflage, sexual dimorphism and conspicuous sexual signals, which often have conflicting effects on survival. Here, we tested whether color variation between two island populations of Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) is due to sexual dimorphism and differential survival of individuals varying in appearance. On both islands, we measured attack rates by wild avian predators on clay models matching the coloration of real male and female P. erhardii from each island population, modeled to avian predator vision. Avian predator attack rates differed among model treatments, although only on one island. Male-colored models, which were more conspicuous against their experimental backgrounds to avian predators, were accordingly detected and attacked more frequently by birds than less conspicuous female-colored models. This suggests that female coloration has evolved primarily under selection for camouflage, whereas sexually competing males exhibit costly conspicuous coloration. Unexpectedly, there was no difference in avian attack frequency between local and non-local model types. This may have arisen if the models did not resemble lizard coloration with sufficient precision, or if real lizards behaviorally choose backgrounds that improve camouflage. Overall, these results show that sexually dimorphic coloration can affect the risk of predator attacks, indicating that color variation within a species can be caused by interactions between natural and sexual selection. However, more work is needed to determine how these findings depend on the island environment that each population inhabits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martin Stevens
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn Cornwall TR10 9FE UK
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31
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Rigaill L, MacIntosh AJJ, Higham JP, Winters S, Shimizu K, Mouri K, Furuichi T, Garcia C. Multimodal Advertisement of Pregnancy in Free-Ranging Female Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135127. [PMID: 26308441 PMCID: PMC4550261 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 07/17/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of multiple sexual signals in indicating the timing of female ovulation, and discrimination of this timing by males, has been particularly well studied among primates. However the exhibition of pregnancy signals, and how such signals might modulate male post-conception mating decisions, is still poorly understood. Here we aimed to determine if Japanese macaque males use changes in female sexual signals (behavioral, visual and auditory) to discriminate pregnancy and adjust their socio-sexual behaviors. We combined behavioral observations, digital photography and endocrinological (progestogen and estrogen) data, collected systematically during three one-month periods: the pre-conceptive period, the 1st month of pregnancy and the 2nd month of pregnancy. We analyzed variation in the probability of detecting male and female socio-sexual behaviors and estrus calls, as well as changes in female face color parameters, in relation to female reproductive state. Based on our focal observations, we found that males did not copulate during the pregnancy period, and that female socio-sexual behaviors generally decreased from the pre-conceptive to post-conceptive periods. Female face luminance decreased from the pre-conceptive month to the pregnancy period whereas face color only varied between the 1st and 2nd month of gestation. Our results suggest that Japanese macaque females display sexual cues of pregnancy that males might use to reduce energy wasted on non-reproductive copulations with pregnant females. We hypothesize that females advertize their pregnancy through changes in behavioral, visual and potential auditory signals that males can use to adjust their mating behaviors. We finish by discussing implications for male and female post-conception strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Rigaill
- Social Systems Evolution Section, Department of Ecology and Social Behaviors, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Andrew J. J. MacIntosh
- Social Systems Evolution Section, Department of Ecology and Social Behaviors, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | - Sandra Winters
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | - Keiko Shimizu
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Okayama University of Science, Okayama city, Okayama, Japan
| | - Keiko Mouri
- Social Systems Evolution Section, Department of Ecology and Social Behaviors, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Takeshi Furuichi
- Social Systems Evolution Section, Department of Ecology and Social Behaviors, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Cécile Garcia
- Laboratoire de Dynamique de l’Evolution Humaine, UPR 2147, CNRS, Paris, France
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Burriss RP, Troscianko J, Lovell PG, Fulford AJC, Stevens M, Quigley R, Payne J, Saxton TK, Rowland HM. Changes in Women's Facial Skin Color over the Ovulatory Cycle are Not Detectable by the Human Visual System. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130093. [PMID: 26134671 PMCID: PMC4489916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human ovulation is not advertised, as it is in several primate species, by conspicuous sexual swellings. However, there is increasing evidence that the attractiveness of women's body odor, voice, and facial appearance peak during the fertile phase of their ovulatory cycle. Cycle effects on facial attractiveness may be underpinned by changes in facial skin color, but it is not clear if skin color varies cyclically in humans or if any changes are detectable. To test these questions we photographed women daily for at least one cycle. Changes in facial skin redness and luminance were then quantified by mapping the digital images to human long, medium, and shortwave visual receptors. We find cyclic variation in skin redness, but not luminance. Redness decreases rapidly after menstrual onset, increases in the days before ovulation, and remains high through the luteal phase. However, we also show that this variation is unlikely to be detectable by the human visual system. We conclude that changes in skin color are not responsible for the effects of the ovulatory cycle on women's attractiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert P. Burriss
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom
| | - Jolyon Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - P. George Lovell
- Division of Psychology, Abertay University, Dundee, DD1 1HG, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony J. C. Fulford
- MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Stevens
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Rachael Quigley
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny Payne
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Tamsin K. Saxton
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah M. Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom
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Mayor P, Mamani J, Montes D, González-Crespo C, Sebastián MA, Bowler M. Proximate causes of the red face of the bald uakari monkey (Cacajao calvus). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150145. [PMID: 26587272 PMCID: PMC4632585 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In social species, such as primates, facial appearances transmit a variety of social signals. Although it is suggested that the intense red colour of the face of the bald uakari monkey might be an indicator of health, this hypothesis still has not been verified. This study describes the histological structure of the skin of the face in the bald uakari, compared with other non-red neotropical primates, to better understand the maintenance of its colour. The facial skin of the bald uakari monkey is characterized by a thinner epidermis, absence of melanin pigments and a high density of vascular capillaries that spread below the epidermis. These vascular capillaries are larger and more tortuous than in other neotropical primates. The skin of the face of the bald uakari monkey allows a direct external assessment of haematological status, suggesting that the colour of the face would be an honest indicator of health, but could also signal sexual or behavioural states.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Mayor
- Department de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- YAVACUS, Yavarí Conservación y Uso Sostenible, Iquitos, Perú
| | - J. Mamani
- Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - D. Montes
- YAVACUS, Yavarí Conservación y Uso Sostenible, Iquitos, Perú
| | - C. González-Crespo
- Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Servei d' Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - M. Bowler
- San Diego Zoo Global, Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA, USA
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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Moreira LAA, de Oliveira DGR, de Sousa MBC, Pessoa DMA. Parturition Signaling by Visual Cues in Female Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129319. [PMID: 26047350 PMCID: PMC4457725 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 05/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
New World monkeys have polymorphic color vision, in which all males and some females are dichromats, while most females are trichromats. There is little consensus about which selective pressures fashioned primate color vision, although detection of food, mates and predators has been hypothesized. Behavioral evidence shows that males from different species of Neotropical primates seem to perceive the timing of female conception and gestation, although, no signals fulfilling this function have been identified. Therefore, we used visual models to test the hypothesis that female marmosets show chromatic and/or achromatic cues that may indicate the time of parturition for male and female conspecifics. By recording the reflectance spectra of female marmosets' (Callithrix jacchus) sexual skin, and running chromatic and achromatic discrimination models, we found that both variables fluctuate during the weeks that precede and succeed parturition, forming "U" and inverted "U" patterns for chromatic and achromatic contrast, respectively. We suggest that variation in skin chroma and luminance might be used by female helpers and dominant females to identify the timing of birth, while achromatic variations may be used as clues by potential fathers to identify pregnancy stage in females and prepare for paternal burdens as well as to detect oestrus in the early post-partum period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laís Alves Antonio Moreira
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- Laboratory of Behavioral Endocrinology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- Laboratory for the Advanced Study of Primates, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | | | - Maria Bernardete Cordeiro de Sousa
- Laboratory of Behavioral Endocrinology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- Laboratory for the Advanced Study of Primates, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Daniel Marques Almeida Pessoa
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- Laboratory for the Advanced Study of Primates, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
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Jones BC, Hahn AC, Fisher CI, Wincenciak J, Kandrik M, Roberts SC, Little AC, DeBruine LM. Facial coloration tracks changes in women's estradiol. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015; 56:29-34. [PMID: 25796069 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2015] [Revised: 02/20/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Red facial coloration is an important social cue in many primate species, including humans. In such species, the vasodilatory effects of estradiol may cause red facial coloration to change systematically during females' ovarian cycle. Although increased red facial coloration during estrus has been observed in female mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), evidence linking primate facial color changes directly to changes in measured estradiol is lacking. Addressing this issue, we used a longitudinal design to demonstrate that red facial coloration tracks within-subject changes in women's estradiol, but not within-subject changes in women's progesterone or estradiol-to-progesterone ratio. Moreover, the relationship between estradiol and facial redness was observed in two independent samples of women (N = 50 and N = 65). Our results suggest that changes in facial coloration may provide cues of women's fertility and present the first evidence for a direct link between estradiol and female facial redness in a primate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedict C Jones
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK.
| | - Amanda C Hahn
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Claire I Fisher
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Joanna Wincenciak
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Michal Kandrik
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - S Craig Roberts
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Anthony C Little
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Lisa M DeBruine
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
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36
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Winters S, Dubuc C, Higham JP. Perspectives: The Looking Time Experimental Paradigm in Studies of Animal Visual Perception and Cognition. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Winters
- Department of Anthropology; New York University; New York NY USA
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Department of Anthropology; New York University; New York NY USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology; New York University; New York NY USA
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37
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Hughes KD, Higham JP, Allen WL, Elliot AJ, Hayden BY. Extraneous color affects female macaques' gaze preference for photographs of male conspecifics. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2015; 36:25-31. [PMID: 25530698 PMCID: PMC4269239 DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Humans find members of the opposite sex more attractive when their image is spatially associated with the color red. This effect even occurs when the red color is not on the skin or clothing (i.e. is extraneous). We hypothesize that this extraneous color effect could be at least partially explained by a low-level and biologically innate generalization process, and so similar extraneous color effects should be observed in non-humans. To test this possibility, we examined the influence of extraneous color in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Across two experiments, we determined the influence of extraneous red on viewing preferences (assessed by looking time) in free-ranging rhesus monkeys. We presented male and female monkeys with black and white photographs of the hindquarters of same and opposite sex conspecifics on either a red (experimental condition) or blue (control condition) background. As a secondary control, we also presented neutral stimuli (photographs of seashells) on red and blue backgrounds. We found that female monkeys looked longer at a picture of a male scrotum, but not a seashell, on a red background (Experiment 1), while males showed no bias. Neither male nor female monkeys showed an effect of color on looking time for female hindquarters or seashells (Experiment 2). The finding for females viewing males suggests that extraneous color affects preferences among rhesus macaques. Further, it raises the possibility that evolutionary processes gave rise to extraneous color effects during human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly D Hughes
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Rochester
| | | | | | - Andrew J Elliot
- Department of Social and Clinical Psychology, University of Rochester
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38
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Delhey K, Delhey V, Kempenaers B, Peters A. A practical framework to analyze variation in animal colors using visual models. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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39
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Dubuc C, Winters S, Allen WL, Brent LJN, Cascio J, Maestripieri D, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Widdig A, Higham JP. Sexually selected skin colour is heritable and related to fecundity in a non-human primate. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20141602. [PMID: 25253459 PMCID: PMC4211451 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection promotes the prevalence of heritable traits that increase an individual's reproductive rate. Despite theoretically strong directional selection, sexually selected traits can show inter-individual variation. Here, we investigate whether red skin ornamentation, a rare example of a male mammalian trait involved in mate attraction, influences fecundity and is heritable in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), and explore the mechanisms that are involved in maintaining trait variation. Interestingly, the trait is expressed by and is attractive to both sexes. We collected facial images of 266 free-ranging individuals and modelled skin redness and darkness to rhesus macaque vision. We used 20 years of genetic parentage data to calculate selection gradients on the trait and perform heritability analyses. Results show that males who were both darkly coloured and high-ranking enjoyed higher fecundity. Female skin redness was positively linked to fecundity, although it remains unclear whether this influences male selectiveness. Heritability explained 10-15% of the variation in redness and darkness, and up to 30% for skin darkness when sexes are considered separately, suggesting sex-influenced inheritance. Our results suggest that inter-individual variation is maintained through condition-dependence, with an added effect of balancing selection on male skin darkness, providing rare evidence for a mammalian trait selected through inter-sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constance Dubuc
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Sandra Winters
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - William L Allen
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, 450 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Julie Cascio
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Dario Maestripieri
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Angelina V Ruiz-Lambides
- Cayo Santiago, Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO Box 906, Punta Santiago, PR 00741, USA Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Anja Widdig
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - James P Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
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40
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Colour and contrast of female faces: attraction of attention and its dependence on male hormone status in Macaca fuscata. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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41
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Marshall KLA, Stevens M. Wall lizards display conspicuous signals to conspecifics and reduce detection by avian predators. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 25:1325-1337. [PMID: 25419083 PMCID: PMC4235580 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2014] [Revised: 06/14/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Visual signals are often under conflicting selection to be hidden from predators while being conspicuous to mates and rivals. Here, we investigated whether 3 different island populations of Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) with variable coloration among diverse island habitats exhibit simultaneous camouflage and sexual signals. We examined whether signals appear better tuned to conspecific vision as opposed to that of avian predators, and whether background-matching camouflage and sexual signals are partitioned to specific body regions. This could facilitate both covert sexual signaling and camouflage according to the viewing perspectives of predators and conspecifics. We found that lizards typically appeared twice as conspicuous to conspecifics than to avian predators against the same visual background, largely due to lizards’ enhanced sensitivity to ultraviolet, suggesting that P. erhardii signals are tuned to conspecific vision to reduce detection by predators. Males were more conspicuous than females to both predators and conspecifics. In 2 populations, male backs were relatively more camouflaged to predators compared to signaling flanks, whereas in females, exposed and concealed surfaces were camouflaged to predators and generally did not differ in background matching. These findings indicate that lizard coloration evolves under the competing demands of natural and sexual selection to promote signals that are visible to conspecifics while being less perceptible to avian predators. They also elucidate how interactions between natural and sexual selection influence signal detectability and partitioning to different body regions, highlighting the importance of considering receiver vision, viewing perspectives, and signaling environments in studies of signal evolution. Lizards and their predators see the world differently, allowing lizards (Podarcis erhardii) to display bright sexual signals that are less visible to hunting birds. Males are more conspicuous than females, but reduce their visibility to predators by having camouflaged backs and restricting brighter signals to their sides, which makes them less visible to birds hunting from above while still being highly visible to mates and rivals on the ground.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin Stevens
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE , UK
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42
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Dubuc C, Allen WL, Maestripieri D, Higham JP. Is male rhesus macaque red color ornamentation attractive to females? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014; 68:1215-1224. [PMID: 25246728 PMCID: PMC4167843 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1732-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Male sexually-selected traits can evolve through different mechanisms: conspicuous and colorful ornaments usually evolve through inter-sexual selection, while weapons usually evolve through intra-sexual selection. Male ornaments are rare among mammals in comparison to birds, leading to the notion that female mate choice generally plays little role in trait evolution in this taxon. Supporting this view, when ornaments are present in mammals they typically indicate social status and are products of male-male competition. This general mammalian pattern, however, may not apply to rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Males of this species display conspicuous skin coloration, but this expression is not correlated to dominance rank, and is therefore unlikely to have evolved due to male-male competition. Here, we investigate whether male color expression influences female proceptivity towards males in the Cayo Santiago free-ranging rhesus macaque population. We collected face images of 24 adult males varying in dominance rank and age at the peak of the mating season, and modeled these to rhesus macaque visual perception. We also recorded female socio-sexual behaviors towards these males. Results show that dark red males received more sexual solicitations, by more females, than pale pink ones. Together with previous results, our study suggests that male color ornaments are more likely to be a product of inter- rather than intra-sexual selection. This may especially be the case in rhesus macaques due to the particular characteristics of male-male competition in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constance Dubuc
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago
| | - William L. Allen
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University
| | - Dario Maestripieri
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago
- Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago
| | - James P. Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University
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43
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Pessoa DMA, Maia R, de Albuquerque Ajuz RC, De Moraes PZPMR, Spyrides MHC, Pessoa VF. The adaptive value of primate color vision for predator detection. Am J Primatol 2014; 76:721-9. [PMID: 24535839 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The complex evolution of primate color vision has puzzled biologists for decades. Primates are the only eutherian mammals that evolved an enhanced capacity for discriminating colors in the green-red part of the spectrum (trichromatism). However, while Old World primates present three types of cone pigments and are routinely trichromatic, most New World primates exhibit a color vision polymorphism, characterized by the occurrence of trichromatic and dichromatic females and obligatory dichromatic males. Even though this has stimulated a prolific line of inquiry, the selective forces and relative benefits influencing color vision evolution in primates are still under debate, with current explanations focusing almost exclusively at the advantages in finding food and detecting socio-sexual signals. Here, we evaluate a previously untested possibility, the adaptive value of primate color vision for predator detection. By combining color vision modeling data on New World and Old World primates, as well as behavioral information from human subjects, we demonstrate that primates exhibiting better color discrimination (trichromats) excel those displaying poorer color visions (dichromats) at detecting carnivoran predators against the green foliage background. The distribution of color vision found in extant anthropoid primates agrees with our results, and may be explained by the advantages of trichromats and dichromats in detecting predators and insects, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Marques Almeida Pessoa
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil; Laboratory for the Advanced Study of Primates, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
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44
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Higham JP, Pfefferle D, Heistermann M, Maestripieri D, Stevens M. Signaling in multiple modalities in male rhesus macaques: sex skin coloration and barks in relation to androgen levels, social status, and mating behavior. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013; 67:1457-1469. [PMID: 25013266 PMCID: PMC4084859 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1521-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The past decade has seen an increasing shift in animal communication towards more studies that incorporate aspects of signaling in multiple modalities. Although nonhuman primates are an excellent group for studying the extent to which different aspects of condition may be signaled in different modalities, and how such information may be integrated during mate choice, very few studies of primate species have incorporated such analyses. Here, we present data from free-ranging male rhesus macaques on sex skin coloration (modeled to receiver perception), bark vocal signals, androgen levels, morphometric variables, dominance status, and female mate choice. We show that, consistent with data on females, most intra- and interindividual variation in sex skin appearance occurs in luminance rather than color. Sex skin luminance was significantly correlated across different skin regions. Sex skin luminance did not correlate with the majority of bark parameters, suggesting the potential for the two signals to convey different information. Sex skin appearance was not related to androgen levels although we found some evidence for links between androgen levels and bark parameters, several of which were also related to morphometric variables. We found no evidence that either signal was related to male dominance rank or used in female mate choice, though more direct measures of female proceptive behavior are needed. Overall, the function of male sex skin coloration in this species remains unclear. Our study is among the first nonhuman primate studies to incorporate measurements of multiple signals in multiple modalities, and we encourage other authors to incorporate such analyses into their work.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Higham
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, 940 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Dana Pfefferle
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dario Maestripieri
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, 940 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Martin Stevens
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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45
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Langos D, Kulik L, Mundry R, Widdig A. The impact of paternity on male-infant association in a primate with low paternity certainty. Mol Ecol 2013; 22:3638-51. [PMID: 23682587 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2012] [Revised: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 03/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In multimale groups where females mate promiscuously, male-infant associations have rarely been studied. However, recent studies have shown that males selectively support their offspring during agonistic conflicts with other juveniles and that father's presence accelerates offspring maturation. Furthermore, it was shown that males invest in unrelated infants to enhance future mating success with the infant's mother. Hence, infant care might provide fitness gain for males. Here, we investigate male-infant associations in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a primate with low paternity certainty as females mate with multiple partners and males ensure paternity less efficiently through mate-guarding. We combined behavioural data with genetic paternity analyses of one cohort of the semi-free-ranging population of Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) and recorded affiliative and aggressive interactions between focal subjects and adult males from birth to sexual maturation (0-4 years) of focal subjects. Our results revealed that 9.6% of all interactions of focal subjects involved an adult male and 94% of all male-infant interactions were affiliative, indicating the rareness of male-infant aggression. Second and most interestingly, sires were more likely to affiliate with their offspring than nonsires with unrelated infants. This preference was independent of mother's proximity and emphasized during early infancy. Male-infant affiliation rose with infant age and was pronounced between adult males and male rather than female focal subjects. Overall, our results suggest that male-infant affiliation is also an important component in structuring primate societies and affiliation directed towards own offspring presumably represent low-cost paternal care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doreen Langos
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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CRAMER JENNIFERDANZY, GAETANO TEGAN, GRAY JOSEPHP, GROBLER PAUL, LORENZ JOSEPHG, FREIMER NELSONB, SCHMITT CHRISTOPHERA, TURNER TRUDYR. Variation in Scrotal Color Among Widely Distributed Vervet Monkey Populations (Chlorocebus Aethiops PygerythrusandChlorocebus Aethiops Sabaeus). Am J Primatol 2013; 75:752-62. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2012] [Revised: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 03/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - TEGAN GAETANO
- Department of Anthropology; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| | - JOSEPH P. GRAY
- Department of Anthropology; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| | - PAUL GROBLER
- Department of Genetics; University of the Free State; Bloemfontein; South Africa
| | - JOSEPH G. LORENZ
- Department of Anthropology & Museum Studies; Central Washington University; Ellensburg, Washington
| | - NELSON B. FREIMER
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics; University of California-Los Angeles; Los Angeles, California
| | - CHRISTOPHER A. SCHMITT
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics; University of California-Los Angeles; Los Angeles, California
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Rigaill L, Higham JP, Lee PC, Blin A, Garcia C. Multimodal sexual signaling and mating behavior in olive baboons (Papio anubis). Am J Primatol 2013; 75:774-87. [PMID: 23592393 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2012] [Revised: 03/04/2013] [Accepted: 03/04/2013] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
In primate species, mating decisions seem to be based on multiple signal elements with different roles in the signaling of female reproductive status. Whereas some primate signals are relatively well described (e.g., sexual swellings and copulation calls), studies that simultaneously assess visual, auditory, behavioral, and olfactory cues as signals of reproductive state are rarely undertaken. We used data on variation in sexual behaviors and sexual swellings in relation to the fertile period (estimated from the date of swelling detumescence) from a troop of semi-free ranging olive baboons (Papio anubis) to assess how different signals influence patterns of mate choice. Using an objective and quantitative measure of swelling size and color, along with detailed data on sexual behaviors from 13 cycles of nine adult females, we found that fine-scale variation in sexual swelling size, female behavior and copulation call rates could advertise the beginning of the fertile phase whereas swelling color did not. Rates of olfactory inspections by males also increased during the fertile phase, suggesting that olfactory signals were of interest to males and may contain information about ovulation. There was no relationship between female characteristics (age and rank) and the expression of sexual signals, except for proceptive behaviors which increased with female rank. Males displayed more sexual behaviors such as approaches and holding and tended to direct more ejaculatory mounts during the fertile phase. All together, we suggest that whereas all males could have information concerning the timing of ovulation through female proceptive behaviors and swelling size, consorting males may have access to additional signals (olfactory cues). Sexual communication in olive baboons is consistent with a multimodal framework for fertility signaling, potentially allowing males and females to establish different mating strategies. The possible selective pressures leading to multi-modal signaling are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Rigaill
- Laboratoire de Dynamique de l'Evolution Humaine, CNRS UPR 2147, Paris, France
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SEMPLE STUART, HIGHAM JAMESP. Primate Signals: Current Issues and Perspectives. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:613-20. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 01/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- STUART SEMPLE
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology; University of Roehampton; Holybourne Avenue, London; United Kingdom
| | - JAMES P. HIGHAM
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology; New York University; New York, New York
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Allen WL, Higham JP. Analyzing visual signals as visual scenes. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:664-82. [PMID: 23440880 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2012] [Revised: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 12/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The study of visual signal design is gaining momentum as techniques for studying signals become more sophisticated and more freely available. In this paper we discuss methods for analyzing the color and form of visual signals, for integrating signal components into visual scenes, and for producing visual signal stimuli for use in psychophysical experiments. Our recommended methods aim to be rigorous, detailed, quantitative, objective, and where possible based on the perceptual representation of the intended signal receiver(s). As methods for analyzing signal color and luminance have been outlined in previous publications we focus on analyzing form information by discussing how statistical shape analysis (SSA) methods can be used to analyze signal shape, and spatial filtering to analyze repetitive patterns. We also suggest the use of vector-based approaches for integrating multiple signal components. In our opinion elliptical Fourier analysis (EFA) is the most promising technique for shape quantification but we await the results of empirical comparison of techniques and the development of new shape analysis methods based on the cognitive and perceptual representations of receivers. Our manuscript should serve as an introductory guide to those interested in measuring visual signals, and while our examples focus on primate signals, the methods are applicable to quantifying visual signals in most taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- William L Allen
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
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Alan F. Dixson: Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans, 2nd Edition. INT J PRIMATOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-012-9648-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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