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Barros PKS, Castro FN, Pessoa DMA. Detection of conspicuous and cryptic food by common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): An evaluation of the importance of color and shape cues. Behav Processes 2021; 192:104495. [PMID: 34487831 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104495] [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: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In primates, the advantage of trichromacy (i.e., color vision expressed by most humans) over dichromacy (i.e., color vision expressed by many colorblind humans) has been linked to the detection of yellowish/reddish targets against a background of mature green leaves. Nevertheless, mostly because of studies conducted in humans, we know that achromatic cues might also play an important role in object identification, particularly when camouflage is involved. For instance, dichromacy favors the detection of camouflaged targets by exploitation of shape cues. The present study sought to evaluate the relative importance of color and shape cues on the detection of food targets by female and male marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Animals were observed with respect to their foraging behavior and the number of food targets captured. We confirmed that females are advantageous in detecting conspicuous food against a green background and revealed that females and males rely on shape cues to segregate cryptic food. Unexpectedly, males outperformed females in cryptic food foraging, while camouflage improved males' (but not females') performance. Here we show that dichromats could potentially benefit from a better segregation of green natural targets (e.g., immature fruits, green insects, and gum trees) when viewed against a green dappled background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscilla Kelly Silva Barros
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil; Primate Center, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil
| | - Felipe Nalon Castro
- Laboratory of Human Behavior Evolution, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil
| | - Daniel Marques Almeida Pessoa
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil; Primate Center, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil.
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Abreu F, Souto A, Bonci DMO, Mantovani V, Pessoa DMA, Schiel N. Detection of insect prey by wild common marmosets: The effect of color vision. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e22963. [PMID: 30809840 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Most species of New World primates have an unusual color vision pattern that can affect an individual's ability to detect food. Whereas males can only be dichromatic, females can be either dichromatic or trichromatic. Trichromats are expected to have an advantage in detecting conspicuous food whereas dichromats should be better at locating cryptic resources. Here we aimed to understand how color vision phenotype influences insect foraging by five groups of common marmosets living in a semiarid environment. We recorded insect predation events, noting morphotype and color of the captured insect, and the substrate from which it was captured. Color modeling suggested that, for all values of chromatic contrast resulting from comparing the measured insect-substrate pairs, trichromats outperformed dichromats. Females showed an overall higher insect capture rate than males. Females also showed a higher capture rate of conspicuous insects but there was no sex difference for the capture of cryptic insects. When we compared only dichromatic individuals there was no difference between sexes. These findings suggest that differences found in capture rate related not only to sex but also to visual polymorphism and that the latter is a crucial factor determining insect capture rate in common marmosets. Nevertheless, these results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number (three) of dichromat females and the unknown phenotype of the remaining females. Our results support the balancing selection hypothesis, suggesting that the advantage of one phenotype over the other may depend on environmental circumstances. This hypothesis has recently been considered as the most plausible for the maintenance of visual polymorphism in New World primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipa Abreu
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Ethology, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Antonio Souto
- Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Zoology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Daniela M O Bonci
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Viviani Mantovani
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel M A Pessoa
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Nicola Schiel
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Ethology, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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Colour vision and food selection of Callosciurus finlaysonii (Sciuridae) in tropical seasonal forests. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467415000310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Finlayson's squirrel is frugivorous and distributed throughout the tropical seasonal forests of South-East Asia. To understand the resource use of tree squirrels in a tropical forest ecosystem, colour vision and fruit selection of Finlayson's squirrel were investigated. Under laboratory conditions, this species possesses dichromatic colour vision; it can discriminate white, yellow, violet, brown and black versus green similar to leaves, but it cannot discriminate orange and red versus green. In addition, squirrels can discriminate pale pink, pink and dark red versus green but cannot discriminate red versus green due to its similar lightness and chroma. Through field observations, squirrels selected black or brown fruits and fed on the mature seeds although fruits of various colours appear on a tree, such as green, orange, yellow, pink or white ones including immature seeds. Brown, violet or black fruits accounted for 87% of those fruits consumed by these squirrels, whereas those with yellow, orange or red colour accounted for only 7%. The dichromatic colour vision in Finlayson's squirrel may be useful for selecting ripe fruits in preference to unripe ones.
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de Lima EM, Pessoa DMA, Sena L, de Melo AGC, de Castro PHG, Oliveira-Mendes AC, Schneider MPC, Pessoa VF. Polymorphic color vision in captive Uta Hick's cuxiús, or bearded sakis (Chiropotes utahickae). Am J Primatol 2014; 77:66-75. [PMID: 25224123 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2014] [Revised: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/31/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The pitheciines (Chiropotes, Pithecia, and Cacajao) are frugivorous Neotropical primates that specialize on the predation of seeds from unripe fruits, usually cryptic against the foliage. However, little is known about the color vision distribution within this taxon, and even less about the abilities shared by these animals regarding discrimination of chromatic targets. The aim of this study was to evaluate the color vision perception of captive Uta Hick's cuxiús, or bearded sakis (Chiropotes utahickae) through a behavioral paradigm of color visual discrimination, as well as to estimate, by genetic studies, the number and kinds of medium to long wavelength cone photopigment (opsins) encoded by this species. Among 12 cuxiús (7 males and 5 females) studied only 1 female was diagnosed as a trichromat. Results from genotyping were in line with our behavioral data and showed that cuxiús carried one (dichromat) or two (trichromat) medium to long wavelength pigments alleles, demonstrating a color vision polymorphism in C. utahickae similar to the majority of Neotropical Primates.
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Solomon SG, Rosa MGP. A simpler primate brain: the visual system of the marmoset monkey. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:96. [PMID: 25152716 PMCID: PMC4126041 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are diurnal primates with high visual acuity at the center of gaze. Although primates share many similarities in the organization of their visual centers with other mammals, and even other species of vertebrates, their visual pathways also show unique features, particularly with respect to the organization of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, in order to understand some aspects of human visual function, we need to study non-human primate brains. Which species is the most appropriate model? Macaque monkeys, the most widely used non-human primates, are not an optimal choice in many practical respects. For example, much of the macaque cerebral cortex is buried within sulci, and is therefore inaccessible to many imaging techniques, and the postnatal development and lifespan of macaques are prohibitively long for many studies of brain maturation, plasticity, and aging. In these and several other respects the marmoset, a small New World monkey, represents a more appropriate choice. Here we review the visual pathways of the marmoset, highlighting recent work that brings these advantages into focus, and identify where additional work needs to be done to link marmoset brain organization to that of macaques and humans. We will argue that the marmoset monkey provides a good subject for studies of a complex visual system, which will likely allow an important bridge linking experiments in animal models to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel G Solomon
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London London, UK
| | - Marcello G P Rosa
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia ; Monash Vision Group, Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia ; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Clayton, VIC Australia
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The Behavioral Ecology of Color Vision: Considering Fruit Conspicuity, Detection Distance and Dietary Importance. INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9730-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Freitag FB, Pessoa DMA. Effect of luminosity on color discrimination of dichromatic marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. A, OPTICS, IMAGE SCIENCE, AND VISION 2012; 29:A216-A222. [PMID: 22330382 DOI: 10.1364/josaa.29.00a216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Psychophysical data have shown that under mesopic conditions cones and rods can interact, improving color vision. Since electrophysiological data have suggested that rods of dichromatic marmosets appear to be active at higher luminance, we aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of sunlight on the foraging abilities of male dichromatic marmosets. Captive marmosets were observed under three different conditions, with respect to their performance in detecting colored food items against a green background. Compared to high and low light intensities, intermediate luminosities significantly increased detection of orange targets by male dichromats, an indication of rod intrusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Batista Freitag
- Laboratory for Sensory Ecology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Avenida Senador Salgado Filho s/n, Natal, RN 59072-970, Brazil
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Gutierrez EDA, Pegoraro BM, Magalhães-Castro B, Pessoa VF. Behavioural evidence of dichromacy in a species of South American marsupial. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Jacobs GH. The Verriest Lecture 2009: Recent progress in understanding mammalian color vision. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2010; 30:422-34. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00719.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Perini ES, Pessoa VF, Pessoa DMDA. Detection of fruit by the Cerrado's marmoset (Callithrix penicillata): modeling color signals for different background scenarios and ambient light intensities. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 311:289-302. [PMID: 19296489 DOI: 10.1002/jez.531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Among placental mammals, only primates have trichromatic color vision, however this is not a uniform condition. Under different genetic status, Old World monkeys have routine trichromacy, while New World monkeys show a visual polymorphism, characterized by obligatory male dichromacy. The ecological role of this genetic difference still remains unclear, but some studies show that dichromats and trichromats appear to have different abilities in detecting colored targets against a background of leaves. The Cerrado's marmoset (Callithrix penicillata) is known to forage in brightly illuminated (savanna-like vegetation) and dimly illuminated (forests) environments, exploiting a high amount of dark fruits. Hence, it seems to be a good model for studying the differential advantages enjoyed by each color vision phenotype under natural conditions. Our aim was to verify how the different phenotypes of Cerrado's marmoset detect components of their diet, evaluating the existence of differential phenotype advantages. Under two different light conditions, visual signals of naturally consumed fruits were modeled against different backgrounds scenarios. Even though dichromats and trichromats appear to be equally suited for tasks involving fruit detection, phenotype differential advantages are observed in this marmoset. In many conditions trichromats are predicted to perform better than dichromats, but under low ambient light dichromats manage to outperform trichromats in some scenarios. Phenotypes that carry widely spaced and longer M/L pigments enjoy the most advantage. These differential performances of trichromatic phenotypes, together with overdominance selection, seem to explain the maintenance of the tri-allelic system found in callitrichids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Sosti Perini
- Laboratory of Neuroscience and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia-DF, Brazil
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Abstract
Electrophysiological and molecular genetic studies have shown that howler monkeys (Alouatta) are unique among all studied platyrrhines: they have the potential to display trichromatic color vision among males and females. This study examined the color discrimination abilities of four howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) through a series of tasks involving a behavioral paradigm of discrimination learning. The animals were maintained and housed as a group in the Zoological Gardens of Brasília and were tested in their own home cages. Stimuli consisting of pairs of Munsell color chips were presented in random brightness values to assure that discriminations were based on color rather than brightness cues. All the animals (three males, one female) successfully discriminated all the stimulus pairs, including those that would be expected to be difficult for a dichromatic monkey. These results are consistent with the earlier predictions suggesting that howler monkeys are routinely trichromatic.
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Prado CC, Pessoa DM, Sousa FLL, Pessoa VF. Behavioural Evidence of Sex-Linked Colour Vision Polymorphism in the Squirrel Monkey Saimiri ustus. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2008; 79:172-84. [DOI: 10.1159/000113537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2007] [Accepted: 10/04/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Pessoa DMA, Tomaz C, Pessoa VF. Color vision in marmosets and tamarins: behavioral evidence. Am J Primatol 2005; 67:487-95. [PMID: 16342075 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Here we demonstrate differences in the relative performance of 15 callitrichids tested in a series of color visual discrimination experiments. Munsell color chips were chosen as stimuli based on their use in earlier experiments with human dichromats. We show behavioral evidence for the existence of four distinct kinds of color-vision phenotypes, each of which has slightly different color discrimination abilities. The different phenotypes may offer different advantages. The data are in accordance with the existence of a visual polymorphism in callitrichids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M A Pessoa
- Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior and Primate Center, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
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