Scent marks as social signals inGalago crassicaudatus I. Sex and reproductive status as factors in signals and responses

1982 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1133-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne B. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Scent Marks

Kestrels prefer scent marks according to species and reproductive status of voles

Ecoscience ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minna Koivula ◽  
Jussi Viitala ◽  
Erkki Korpimäki
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Scent Marks

scholarly journals Scent Marks Signal Species, Sex and Reproductive Status in Tamarins (Saguinus spp., Neotropical Primates)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice C Poirier ◽  
John S Waterhouse ◽  
Jacob C Dunn ◽  
Andrew C Smith
Keyword(s):  
Scent Marking ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Saguinus Oedipus ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Headspace Gas ◽  
Invasive Method

Abstract Olfactory communication is an important mediator of social interactions in mammals, thought to provide information about an individual’s identity and current social, reproductive, and health status. In comparison with other taxa such as carnivores and rodents, few studies have examined primate olfactory communication. Tamarins (Callitrichidae) conspicuously deposit odorous secretions, produced by specialized scent glands, in their environment. In this study, we combined behavioral and chemical data on captive cotton-top tamarins, Saguinus oedipus, and bearded emperor tamarins, S. imperator subgrisescens, to examine the role of olfactory communication in the advertisement of species, sex, and reproductive status. We observed no difference in scent-marking behavior between species; however, females marked more frequently than males, and reproductive individuals more than non-reproductive ones. In addition, tamarins predominantly used their anogenital gland when scent-marking, followed by the suprapubic gland. We collected swabs of naturally deposited tamarin anogenital scent marks, and analyzed these samples using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Despite a limited sample size, we established differences in tamarin anogenital mark chemical composition between species, sex and reproductive status, and identified 41 compounds. The compounds identified, many of which have been reported in previous work on mammalian semiochemistry, form targets for future bioassay studies to identify semiochemicals. Our non-invasive method for collecting deposited scent marks makes it a promising method for the study of olfactory communication in scent-marking animal species, applicable to field settings and for the study of elusive animals.

scholarly journals Olfactory contacts mediate plasticity in male aggression with variable male density

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 444-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelika K. Hughes ◽  
Peter B. Banks
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Male Density ◽  
Periodic Contact ◽  
Physical Interactions ◽  
Fluctuating Populations ◽  
Male House

Abstract Males typically adjust their reproductive strategies based on the perceived density and relative abilities of nearby competitors. In high-density populations, repeated encounters facilitate reliable, learned associations between individuals and their relative competitive abilities. In contrast, opportunities to form such associations are limited when densities are low or in flux, increasing the risk that individuals will unintentionally engage in potentially costly interactions with higher-quality or aggressive opponents. To maximize their fitness, individuals in low-density and fluctuating populations therefore need a general way to assess their current social environment, and thus their relative competitive ability. Here, we investigate how olfactory social signals (scent marks) might perform this function. We manipulated the perceived social environment of isolated, male house mice ( Mus domesticus ) via their periodic contact with scent marks from 3 or 9 male conspecifics, or a control of no scents, over 15 days. We then paired them with an unknown opponent and examined how the diversity of recent scent contact mediated their behavior towards dominant or subordinate opponents. There was an overall pattern for increasing scent diversity to significantly reduce male mice’s aggression (tail rattling and lunging) towards their opponents, and also their willingness to engage in reciprocal investigation. Such cautiousness was not indicative of perceived subordinance, however; the diversity of recent scent contact did not affect mice’s investigation of their opponent’s scents, and some measures of aggression were greater when mice faced dominant opponents. These results suggest that house mice can use scent signals to assess their current social environment in the absence of physical interactions, modifying their behavior in ways that are predicted to reduce their risks of injury when the likelihood of encountering unknown opponents increases.

The Effects of Reproductive Status and Water Temperature on the Caloric Intake of Tursiops truncatus

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-394
Author(s):  
Holli C. Eskelinen ◽  
Jill L. Richardson ◽  
Juliana K. Wendt
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Caloric Intake ◽  
Reproductive Status

Does context matter? Effects of robot appearance and reliability on social attention differs based on lifelikeness of gaze task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Abubshait ◽  
Patrick P. Weis ◽  
Eva Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Mind Perception ◽  
The Social ◽  
Behavioral Features

Social signals, such as changes in gaze direction, are essential cues to predict others’ mental states and behaviors (i.e., mentalizing). Studies show that humans can mentalize with non-human agents when they perceive a mind in them (i.e., mind perception). Robots that physically and/or behaviorally resemble humans likely trigger mind perception, which enhances the relevance of social cues and improves social-cognitive performance. The current ex-periments examine whether the effect of physical and behavioral influencers of mind perception on social-cognitive processing is modulated by the lifelikeness of a social interaction. Participants interacted with robots of varying degrees of physical (humanlike vs. robot-like) and behavioral (reliable vs. random) human-likeness while the lifelikeness of a social attention task was manipulated across five experiments. The first four experiments manipulated lifelikeness via the physical realism of the robot images (Study 1 and 2), the biological plausibility of the social signals (Study 3), and the plausibility of the social con-text (Study 4). They showed that humanlike behavior affected social attention whereas appearance affected mind perception ratings. However, when the lifelikeness of the interaction was increased by using videos of a human and a robot sending the social cues in a realistic environment (Study 5), social attention mechanisms were affected both by physical appearance and behavioral features, while mind perception ratings were mainly affected by physical appearance. This indicates that in order to understand the effect of physical and behavioral features on social cognition, paradigms should be used that adequately simulate the lifelikeness of social interactions.

Pregnancy Cravings: Visitation at a Food-Provisioning Site is Driven by the Reproductive Status of Bottlenose Dolphins

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248
Author(s):  
Valeria Senigaglia ◽  
Lars Bejder
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Food Provisioning ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Tourism Attractions ◽  
Marine Wildlife

Marine wildlife tourism attractions often use food rewards to ensure close-up encounters with freeranging animals. In Bunbury, Western Australia, the Dolphin Discovery Centre (DDC) conducts a foodprovision program where bottlenose dolphins (N = 22; between 2000 and 2018) are offered food rewards to encourage their visitation at a beach in front of the DDC. We used historical records on individual beach visits by adult female dolphins collected by the DDC from 2000 to 2018 to develop generalized mixed effects models (GLMM) to test whether the frequency of beach visitation was influenced by their reproductive status (pregnant, lactating, nonreproductive) or climatic events (El Niño-Southern Oscillation phases) that could affect prey availability. We also quantified the behavioral budget of dolphins during food-provisioning sessions and documented intra- and interspecific aggressive behaviors using individual focal follows collected in 2017–2018. Provisioned females spend most of the time resting within the interaction area (66.3%) and aggressive interactions arise as a consequence of dominance behavior over food access. Visitation rates were most influenced by reproductive status with pregnant and lactating females visiting the provisioning area more frequently (z = 2.085, p = 0.037 and z = 2.437, p = 0.014, respectively). Females that frequently visit the provisioning area expose their dependent calves to regular human interactions at an early age when they are more susceptible to behavioral conditioning. Such experiences could cause the loss of awareness towards humans and promote maladaptive behaviors such as begging that increase risk of entanglement in fishing gear, boat strikes, and propeller injuries.

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