Palagi Elisabetta, Dapporto Leonardo
Centro Interdipartimentale Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011, Calci, Pisa, Italy.
J Exp Biol. 2007 Aug;210(Pt 15):2700-5. doi: 10.1242/jeb.002121.
In this paper, we aim at demonstrating individual recognition of female genital marking in Lemur catta. By gas chromatography and behavioural trials we verified the occurrence of the three components of recognition systems. We showed that each female has a unique chemical signature (expression component), and males and females perceive female individuality (perception component). To verify the presence of the action component (the last component of recognition systems), we designed a bioassay based on territorial competition to verify the functional response to female odours. Only females identified other females on the basis of their scents. The lack of a territorial functional response by males to female secretions may not indicate a male inability to identify females by their scents. In fact, sexual dimorphism in motivation and territorial defence may explain the response by males in the functional experiment. Actually, game theory predicts that males defend their own territories more vigorously against males compared with females. Therefore, the result of individual recognition bioassays of female odours may open interesting scenarios in the evaluation of the territorial defence investment across the different sex combinations.
在本文中，我们旨在证明环尾狐猴中雌性生殖器标记的个体识别。通过气相色谱法和行为试验，我们验证了识别系统三个组成部分的存在。我们表明，每只雌性都有独特的化学信号（表达成分），雄性和雌性都能感知雌性个体特征（感知成分）。为了验证行为成分（识别系统的最后一个组成部分）的存在，我们设计了一种基于领地竞争的生物测定法，以验证对雌性气味的功能反应。只有雌性能够根据气味识别其他雌性。雄性对雌性分泌物缺乏领地功能反应，可能并不表明雄性无法通过气味识别雌性。事实上，动机和领地防御方面的性别二态性可能解释了雄性在功能实验中的反应。实际上，博弈论预测，与雌性相比，雄性会更积极地保卫自己的领地免受其他雄性侵犯。因此，雌性气味个体识别生物测定的结果可能会为评估不同性别组合中的领地防御投资开辟有趣的前景。
