Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar)
Scent-marking through odours from excreta and glandular secretions is widespread in mammals. Among primates, diurnal group-living lemurs show different deployment modalities as part of their strategy to increase signal detection. We studied the diademed sifaka (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/18/2848 |
| _version_ | 1827727518586634240 |
|---|---|
| author | Longondraza Miaretsoa Valeria Torti Flavia Petroni Daria Valente Chiara De Gregorio Jonah Ratsimbazafy Monica Carosi Cristina Giacoma Marco Gamba |
| author_facet | Longondraza Miaretsoa Valeria Torti Flavia Petroni Daria Valente Chiara De Gregorio Jonah Ratsimbazafy Monica Carosi Cristina Giacoma Marco Gamba |
| author_sort | Longondraza Miaretsoa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Scent-marking through odours from excreta and glandular secretions is widespread in mammals. Among primates, diurnal group-living lemurs show different deployment modalities as part of their strategy to increase signal detection. We studied the diademed sifaka (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha New Protected Area, Eastern Madagascar. We tested whether the scent-marking deposition occurred using a sequential rubbing of different body parts. We also tested if glands (i.e., deposition of glandular secretions) were more frequently rubbed than genital orifices (i.e., deposition of excreta) by comparing different kinds of rubbing behaviour. We then investigated if the depositor’s rank and sex affected the sequence of rubbing behaviour, the height at which the scent-marking happened, and the tree part targeted. We found that glandular secretions were often deposited with urine, especially in dominant individuals. The probability of anogenital and chest marking was highest, but chest rubbing most frequently occurred in dominant males. Markings were deposited at similar heights across age and sex, and tree trunks were the most used substrate. Males exhibited long and more complex scent-marking sequences than females. Our results indirectly support the idea that diademed sifakas deploy a sex-dimorphic mixture of glandular secretions and excreta to increase the probability of signal detection by conspecifics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:07:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-86049bf2be3f4b42ba6bf1878d4bf317 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:07:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-86049bf2be3f4b42ba6bf1878d4bf3172023-11-19T09:14:27ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-09-011318284810.3390/ani13182848Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar)Longondraza Miaretsoa0Valeria Torti1Flavia Petroni2Daria Valente3Chiara De Gregorio4Jonah Ratsimbazafy5Monica Carosi6Cristina Giacoma7Marco Gamba8Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Sciences, Roma Tre University, 00146 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyGroupe d’Étude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), Fort Duchesne, Antananarivo 101, MadagascarDepartment of Sciences, Roma Tre University, 00146 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, ItalyScent-marking through odours from excreta and glandular secretions is widespread in mammals. Among primates, diurnal group-living lemurs show different deployment modalities as part of their strategy to increase signal detection. We studied the diademed sifaka (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha New Protected Area, Eastern Madagascar. We tested whether the scent-marking deposition occurred using a sequential rubbing of different body parts. We also tested if glands (i.e., deposition of glandular secretions) were more frequently rubbed than genital orifices (i.e., deposition of excreta) by comparing different kinds of rubbing behaviour. We then investigated if the depositor’s rank and sex affected the sequence of rubbing behaviour, the height at which the scent-marking happened, and the tree part targeted. We found that glandular secretions were often deposited with urine, especially in dominant individuals. The probability of anogenital and chest marking was highest, but chest rubbing most frequently occurred in dominant males. Markings were deposited at similar heights across age and sex, and tree trunks were the most used substrate. Males exhibited long and more complex scent-marking sequences than females. Our results indirectly support the idea that diademed sifakas deploy a sex-dimorphic mixture of glandular secretions and excreta to increase the probability of signal detection by conspecifics.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/18/2848olfactory communicationscent mixingsex-specific patternscent odourlemurs |
| spellingShingle | Longondraza Miaretsoa Valeria Torti Flavia Petroni Daria Valente Chiara De Gregorio Jonah Ratsimbazafy Monica Carosi Cristina Giacoma Marco Gamba Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) Animals olfactory communication scent mixing sex-specific pattern scent odour lemurs |
| title | Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) |
| title_full | Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) |
| title_fullStr | Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) |
| title_short | Behavioural Correlates of Lemur Scent-Marking in Wild Diademed Sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) in the Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) |
| title_sort | behavioural correlates of lemur scent marking in wild diademed sifakas i propithecus diadema i in the maromizaha forest madagascar |
| topic | olfactory communication scent mixing sex-specific pattern scent odour lemurs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/18/2848 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT longondrazamiaretsoa behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT valeriatorti behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT flaviapetroni behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT dariavalente behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT chiaradegregorio behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT jonahratsimbazafy behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT monicacarosi behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT cristinagiacoma behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar AT marcogamba behaviouralcorrelatesoflemurscentmarkinginwilddiademedsifakasipropithecusdiademaiinthemaromizahaforestmadagascar |