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Roura-Torres B, Amblard-Rambert P, Lepou P, Kappeler PM, Charpentier MJE. Stillbirth of a mandrill ( Mandrillus sphinx) in the wild: perinatal behaviors and delivery sequences. Primates 2024; 65:75-80. [PMID: 38133716 PMCID: PMC10884356 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01112-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Birth is a fundamental event in the life of animals, including our own species. More reports of wild non-human primate births and stillbirths are thus needed to better understand the evolutionary pressures shaping parturition behaviors in our lineage. In diurnal non-human primates, births generally occur at night, when individuals are resting. Consequently, they are difficult to observe in the wild and most of the current knowledge regarding perinatal behaviors comes from rare daytime births. Information about stillbirths is even rarer and their proximate causes are generally unknown. Here, we present detailed observations of a daytime birth of a stillborn wild mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx). During this event, which lasted an entire day, we recorded the behaviors of the parturient female ad libitum, using video recordings and photos. The 5-year-old female was primiparous and of low dominance rank. The length of her pregnancy was shorter than usual and the partum phase was extremely long compared to other birth reports in non-human primates. The female disappeared shortly after this event and was assumed to have died. We discuss the possible causes of this stillbirth including the infant's presentation at birth and maternal inexperience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berta Roura-Torres
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37007, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach, Georg-August University Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
- ISEM, UMR5554-University of Montpellier/CNRS/IRD/EPHE, Place Eugène Bataillon (cc065), 34905, Montpellier, France.
| | | | - Pascal Lepou
- Projet Mandrillus, Parc de la Lékédi, BP 52, Bakoumba, Gabon
| | - Peter M Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37007, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach, Georg-August University Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marie J E Charpentier
- ISEM, UMR5554-University of Montpellier/CNRS/IRD/EPHE, Place Eugène Bataillon (cc065), 34905, Montpellier, France
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraβe 5, 78467, Constance, Germany
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Schino G, Alessandrini A, Di Giovanni M. Emotional states following grooming in female mandrills. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23561. [PMID: 37822295 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Grooming is a common cooperative behavior whose exact costs and benefits are still to be fully elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the emotional consequences of giving and receiving grooming in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx), and how these may change along time after the termination of grooming. We used scratching as a behavioral indicator of anxiety-like emotions. Groomees showed increased scratching immediately after the termination of grooming, while in the subsequent minutes scratching decreased below baseline. The initial increase was larger after longer grooming events, suggesting it represented a case of postinhibitory rebound. The subsequent decline in scratching rates was larger after grooming received by a kin, suggesting interactions with kin are particularly relaxing. Scratching rates shown by groomers were unaffected by grooming interactions. These results highlight that the emotional states following grooming can have a complex time course, and may contribute to explain the inconsistencies found in the previous literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
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Nosková E, Modrý D, Baláž V, Červená B, Jirků-Pomajbíková K, Zechmeisterová K, Leowski C, Petrželková KJ, Pšenková I, Vodička R, Kessler SE, Ngoubangoye B, Setchell JM, Pafčo B. Identification of potentially zoonotic parasites in captive orangutans and semi-captive mandrills: Phylogeny and morphological comparison. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23475. [PMID: 36776131 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Abstract
Cysts and trophozoites of vestibuliferid ciliates and larvae of Strongyloides were found in fecal samples from captive orangutans Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii from Czech and Slovak zoological gardens. As comparative material, ciliates from semi-captive mandrills Mandrillus sphinx from Gabon were included in the study. Phylogenetic analysis of the detected vestibuliferid ciliates using ITS1-5.8s-rRNA-ITS2 and partial 18S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) revealed that the ciliates from orangutans are conspecific with Balantioides coli lineage A, while the ciliates from mandrills clustered with Buxtonella-like ciliates from other primates. Morphological examination of the cysts and trophozoites using light microscopy did not reveal differences robust enough to identify the genera of the ciliates. Phylogenetic analysis of detected L1 larvae of Strongyloides using partial cox1 revealed Strongyloides stercoralis clustering within the cox1 lineage A infecting dogs, humans, and other primates. The sequences of 18S rDNA support these results. As both B. coli and S. stercoralis are zoonotic parasites and the conditions in captive and semi-captive settings may facilitate transmission to humans, prophylactic measures should reflect the findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Nosková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - David Modrý
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences , Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtech Baláž
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Červená
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Clotilde Leowski
- Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Klára J Petrželková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Liberec Zoo, Liberec, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Sharon E Kessler
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
| | - Barthélémy Ngoubangoye
- Centre de Primatologie, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon
- Department of Anthropology, and Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Joanna M Setchell
- Centre de Primatologie, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon
- Department of Anthropology, and Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Barbora Pafčo
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
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Tieo S, Restrepo-Ortiz CX, Roura-Torres B, Sauvadet L, Harté M, Charpentier MJ, Renoult JP. The Mandrillus Face Database: A portrait image database for individual and sex recognition, and age prediction in a non-human primate. Data Brief 2023; 47:108939. [PMID: 36819896 PMCID: PMC9932313 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.108939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The Mandrillus Project is a long-term field research project in ecology and evolutionary biology, monitoring, since 2012, a natural population of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx; primate) located in Southern Gabon. The Mandrillus Face Database was launched at the beginning of the project and now contains 29,495 photographic portraits collected on 397 individuals from this population, from birth to death for some of them. Portrait images have been obtained by manually processing images taken in the field with DSLR cameras: faces have been cropped to remove the ears and rotated to align the eyes horizontally. The database provides portrait images resized to 224 × 224 pixels associated with several manually annotated labels: individual identity, sex, age, face view, and image quality. Labels are stored within the image metadata and in a table accompanying the image database. This database will allow training and comparing methods on individual and sex recognition, and age prediction in a non-human animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Tieo
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Berta Roura-Torres
- Behavioural Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute of Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Gottingen, Germany,Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August University Gottingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Gottingen, Germany
| | - Loic Sauvadet
- Projet Mandrillus, Fondation Lékédi Biodiversité, Bakoumba, Gabon
| | - Mélanie Harté
- Projet Mandrillus, Fondation Lékédi Biodiversité, Bakoumba, Gabon
| | - Marie J.E. Charpentier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), UMR5554 - University of Montpellier/CNRS/IRD/EPHE, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France,Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraβe 5, Konstanz 78467, Germany
| | - Julien P. Renoult
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France,Corresponding author.
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Wang Q, Han XL, Fang ZQ, Zhang CL, Li C, Lu T. Advenella mandrilli sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the faeces of Mandrillus sphinx. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2022. [PMID: 35031912 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-021-01695-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
A novel Gram-negative strain WQ 585T, isolated from the faeces of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) collected at Yunnan Wild Animal Park, Yunnan province, China, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate belongs to the genus Advenella, sharing 98.5% and 98.2% sequence similarity with the type strain Advenella alkanexedens LAM0050T and Advenella faeciporci M-07T, respectively. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-8. The major cellular fatty acids (> 10%) were C16:0, C17:0 cyclo and Summed Feature 2. The G + C content of the genomic DNA of strain WQ 585T was 49.0%. The whole genome average nucleotide identity (gANI) values of strain WQ 585T with strain A. alkanexedens LAM0050T and A. faeciporci M-07T were 86.7% and 86.7%, and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of strain WQ 585T with strain A. alkanexedens LAM0050T and A. faeciporci M-07T were 64.5% and 62.5%, respectively. Growth occurred at 10-45 °C (optimally at 20-30 °C), pH 6.0-9.0 (optimally at pH 7.0), and 0-5% (w/v) NaCl (optimally at 0.5-2.0%). On the basis of the taxonomic evidence, a novel species, Advenella mandrilli sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is WQ 585T (= KCTC 82396 T = CCTCC AA 2020028 T).
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Schino G, De Angelis F. Conflict over grooming topography between mandrill groomers and groomees. Behav Processes 2020; 180:104240. [PMID: 32905823 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Grooming directed to different body areas is likely to imply different costs and benefits for groomers and groomees. In this study, we investigated social influences on grooming topography in captive female mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). Subordinate groomers preferred to direct grooming to "safe" areas (the back and rump) compared to dominant groomers, while subordinate groomees did not solicit preferentially grooming to safe areas. Groomers tended to initiate grooming episodes from safe areas, while groomees solicited the switch to unsafe areas. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized source of conflict between the partners of grooming, one of the most common cooperative interactions in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy.
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Sarabian C, Ngoubangoye B, MacIntosh AJJ. Divergent strategies in faeces avoidance between two cercopithecoid primates. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:191861. [PMID: 32269806 PMCID: PMC7137971 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Parasites constitute a major selective pressure which has shaped animal behaviour through evolutionary time. One adaption to parasites consists of recognizing and avoiding substrates or cues that indicate their presence. Among substrates harbouring infectious agents, faeces are known to elicit avoidance behaviour in numerous animal species. However, the function and mechanisms of faeces avoidance in non-human primates has been largely overlooked by scientists. In this study, we used an experimental approach to investigate whether aversion to faeces in a foraging context is mediated by visual and olfactory cues in two cercopithecoid primates: mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Visual and olfactory cues of faeces elicited lower food consumption rates in mandrills and higher food manipulation rates in long-tailed macaques. Both results support the infection-avoidance hypothesis and confirm similar tendencies observed in other primate species. More studies are now needed to investigate the divergence of avoidance strategies observed in non-human primates regarding food contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Sarabian
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
| | - Barthélémy Ngoubangoye
- Centre de Primatologie, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Franceville BP 769, Gabon
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Dibakou SE, Souza A, Boundenga L, Givalois L, Mercier-Delarue S, Simon F, Prugnolle F, Huchard E, Charpentier MJ. Ecological, parasitological and individual determinants of plasma neopterin levels in a natural mandrill population. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2020; 11:198-206. [PMID: 32140406 PMCID: PMC7049574 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Investigating how individuals adjust their investment into distinct components of the immune system under natural conditions necessitates to develop immune phenotyping tools that reflect the activation of specific immune components that can be measured directly in the field. Here, we examined individual variation of plasma neopterin, a biomarker of Th1 immunity in wild mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx), who are naturally exposed to a suite of parasites, including simian retroviruses and malaria agents. We analyzed a total of 201 plasma samples from 99 individuals and examined the effect of sex, age, social rank, reproductive state and disease status on neopterin levels. We found higher neopterin concentrations in males than females, but were unable to disentangle this effect from possible confounding effects of retroviral infections, which affect nearly all adult males, but hardly any females. We further detected a non-linear age effect with heightened neopterin levels in early and late life. In addition, adult males that harbored very high parasitaemia for Plasmodium gonderi also showed high neopterin levels. There was no effect of social rank in either male or female mandrills, and no effect of female reproductive state. Taken together, these results indicate that plasma neopterin may prove useful to investigate individual variation in investment into specific immune components, as well as to monitor the dynamics of immune responses to naturally occurring diseases that elicit a Th1 immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alain Souza
- Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Franceville, Gabon
| | - Larson Boundenga
- Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon
| | - Laurent Givalois
- MMDN Lab - U1198, INSERM, University of Montpellier, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | | | - François Simon
- Service de Microbiologie CHU Saint Louis, Faculté de Médecine Paris -Diderot, France
| | | | - Elise Huchard
- ISEM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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Sangpakdee W, Tanomtong A, Chaveerach A, Pinthong K, Trifonov V, Loth K, Hensel C, Liehr T, Weise A, Fan X. Molecular Cytogenetic Analysis of One African and Five Asian Macaque Species Reveals Identical Karyotypes as in Mandrill. Curr Genomics 2018; 19:207-215. [PMID: 29606908 PMCID: PMC5850509 DOI: 10.2174/1389202918666170721115047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The question how evolution and speciation work is one of the major interests of biology. Especially, genetic including karyotypic evolution within primates is of special interest due to the close phylogenetic position of Macaca and Homo sapiens and the role as in vivo models in medical research, neuroscience, behavior, pharmacology, reproduction and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Materials & Methods Karyotypes of five macaque species from South East Asia and of one macaque species as well as mandrill from Africa were analyzed by high resolution molecular cytogenetics to obtain new insights into karyotypic evolution of old world monkeys. Molecular cytogenetics applying human probes and probe sets was applied in chromosomes of Macaca arctoides, M. fascicularis, M. nemestrina, M. assamensis, M. sylvanus, M. mulatta and Mandrillus sphinx. Established two- to multicolor-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) approaches were applied. Locus-specific probes, whole and partial chromosome paint probes were hybridized. Especially the FISH-banding approach multicolor-banding (MCB) as well as probes oriented towards heterochromatin turned out to be highly efficient for interspecies comparison. Conclusion Karyotypes of all seven studied species could be characterized in detail. Surprisingly, no evolutionary conserved differences were found among macaques, including mandrill. Between the seven here studied and phenotypically so different species we expected several via FISH detectable karyoypic and submicroscopic changes and were surprised to find none of them on a molecular cytogenetic level. Spatial separation, may explain the speciation and different evolution for some of them, like African M. sylvanus, Mandrillus sphinx and the South Asian macaques. However, for the partially or completely overlapping habitats of the five studied South Asian macaques the species separation process can also not be deduced to karyotypic separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiwat Sangpakdee
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany.,Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, 123 Moo 16 Mittapap Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen40002, Thailand
| | - Alongkoad Tanomtong
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, 123 Moo 16 Mittapap Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen40002, Thailand
| | - Arunrat Chaveerach
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, 123 Moo 16 Mittapap Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen40002, Thailand
| | - Krit Pinthong
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany.,Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, 123 Moo 16 Mittapap Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen40002, Thailand.,Faculty of Science and Technology, Surindra Rajabhat University, 186 Moo 1, Maung District, Surin 32000, Thailand
| | - Vladimir Trifonov
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany.,Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Lavrentev Str. 8/2, Novosibirsk630090, Russian Federation
| | - Kristina Loth
- Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen, Am Safaripark 1, D-29693 Hodenhagen, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Liehr
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany
| | - Anja Weise
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany
| | - Xiaobo Fan
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Am Klinikum 1, D-07747Jena, Germany
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Vaglio S, Minicozzi P, Romoli R, Boscaro F, Pieraccini G, Moneti G, Moggi-Cecchi J. Sternal Gland Scent-Marking Signals Sex, Age, Rank, and Group Identity in Captive Mandrills. Chem Senses 2015; 41:177-86. [PMID: 26708734 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjv077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mandrills are one of the few Old World primates to show scent-marking. We combined ethological and chemical approaches to improve our understanding of this behavior in 3 zoo-managed groups. We observed the olfactory behavior performed by adults and adolescents (N = 39) for 775h. We investigated the volatile components of sternal scent-marks using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and compared volatile profiles with traits of the signaler. Males marked more than females and within each sex the frequency of scent-marking was related to age and dominance status, but alpha males scent-marked most frequently and particularly in specific areas at the enclosure boundaries. We identified a total of 77 volatile components of sternal gland secretion, including compounds functioning as male sex pheromones in other mammals, in scent-marks spontaneously released on filter paper by 27 male and 18 female mandrills. We confirmed our previous findings that chemical profiles contain information including sex, male age and rank, and we also found that odor may encode information about group membership in mandrills. Our results support the hypotheses that scent-marking signals the status of the dominant male as well as playing territorial functions but also suggest that it is part of sociosexual communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Vaglio
- Department of Anthropology & Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK, School of Biology, Chemistry and Forensic Science, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK, Laboratory of Anthropology, Department of Biology, Florence University, Florence 50122, Italy,
| | - Pamela Minicozzi
- Analytical Epidemiology and Health Impact Unit, Department of Preventive and Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan 20133, Italy and
| | - Riccardo Romoli
- Mass Spectrometry Center (CISM), Florence University, Florence 50139, Italy
| | - Francesca Boscaro
- Mass Spectrometry Center (CISM), Florence University, Florence 50139, Italy
| | | | - Gloriano Moneti
- Mass Spectrometry Center (CISM), Florence University, Florence 50139, Italy
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Laboratory of Anthropology, Department of Biology, Florence University, Florence 50122, Italy
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