Pochron Sharon T, Morelli Toni Lyn, Scirbona Jessica, Wright Patricia C
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA.
Am J Primatol. 2005 Jun;66(2):97-110. doi: 10.1002/ajp.20130.
In this study we compared the scent-marking rates of females with those of males. Specifically, we examined the ability of season, dominance status, and natal status to explain the frequency of scent marking in female sifakas living wild in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, and compared the results with those published for males [Pochron et al., American Journal of Primatology, in press]. We also sought to determine whether vulnerability to infanticide affects marking frequency in adults of either sex, and whether female reproductive status affects female marking behavior. We found that males marked at twice the rate of females, and like males, females in single-female groups marked at the highest rates. Dominant females and non-natal females marked at higher rates than did subordinate females and natal females, a pattern also seen in males. This suggests that scent marks may convey important information about status. Neither females nor males varied their marking frequency with the presence of vulnerable infants. Females did not alter marking frequency with reproductive state, and like males, they marked at higher rates in the period prior to the mating season than they did in the mating season itself. This implies that females may use scent marks more for intrasexual aggression or territoriality than for mate attraction.
在本研究中，我们比较了雌性和雄性的气味标记率。具体而言，我们考察了季节、优势地位和出生状态对马达加斯加拉努马法纳国家公园野生雌性冕狐猴气味标记频率的解释能力，并将结果与已发表的关于雄性的结果进行了比较[波克伦等人，《美国灵长类学杂志》，即将发表]。我们还试图确定易受杀婴行为影响是否会影响成年两性的标记频率，以及雌性的生殖状态是否会影响雌性的标记行为。我们发现，雄性的标记率是雌性的两倍，并且与雄性一样，单雌性群体中的雌性标记率最高。优势雌性和非出生雌性的标记率高于从属雌性和出生雌性，这种模式在雄性中也可见。这表明气味标记可能传达有关地位的重要信息。无论雌性还是雄性，其标记频率都不会因脆弱婴儿的存在而改变。雌性不会随着生殖状态而改变标记频率，并且与雄性一样，它们在交配季节之前的时期标记率高于交配季节本身。这意味着雌性可能更多地将气味标记用于同性攻击或领地行为，而非用于吸引配偶。
