Lledo-Ferrer Yvan, Peláez Fernando, Heymann Eckhard W
Int J Primatol. 2011 Aug;32(4):974-991. doi: 10.1007/s10764-011-9516-9. Epub 2011 Apr 13.
Researchers have often assumed that scent marking serves a territorial function in callitrichines, although some controversy exists. To fulfill such a function, scent marks should 1) prevent intrusions, 2) ensure access to feeding resources, 3) enable avoidance of intergroup encounters, or 4) play an important role in the aggressive encounters between groups. We studied 13 saddleback tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) belonging to 3 free-ranging groups, which formed mixed-species troops with moustached tamarins (S. mystax) in the Amazonian rain forest of Peru. None of the predictions were confirmed. The tamarins used a border-marking strategy, marking more on the periphery of their territory. However, feeding trees in overlap and encounter areas received more scent marking but were still visited by neighboring groups. Intergroup encounters occurred more often than expected, and scent-marking frequency was not higher during them than when no other group was present. It appears that instead of defending a territory in the classic sense, the tamarins are optimizing signal transmission by depositing their scents where the probability of detection by neighbors is higher. Saddleback tamarins may use shared areas of their home ranges to exchange information with neighboring groups, perhaps regarding reproductive opportunities. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10764-011-9516-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
研究人员常常认为，气味标记在绢毛猴中具有领地功能，尽管存在一些争议。为了实现这一功能，气味标记应该：1）防止入侵；2）确保获取食物资源；3）避免群体间相遇；或者4）在群体间的攻击性相遇中发挥重要作用。我们研究了13只鞍背绢猴（Saguinus fuscicollis），它们分属于3个自由放养群体，在秘鲁的亚马逊雨林中与髭绢猴（S. mystax）组成了混合物种群体。没有一个预测得到证实。绢猴采用边界标记策略，在其领地边缘标记得更多。然而，重叠区域和相遇区域的觅食树上有更多的气味标记，但仍有相邻群体前来光顾。群体间相遇的发生频率高于预期，而且在相遇期间气味标记的频率并不比没有其他群体在场时更高。看起来，绢猴并非在传统意义上保卫领地，而是通过将气味留在邻居更容易察觉到的地方来优化信号传递。鞍背绢猴可能利用其活动范围的共享区域与相邻群体交换信息，也许是关于繁殖机会的信息。电子补充材料：本文的在线版本（doi:10.1007/s10764-011-9516-9）包含补充材料供授权用户使用。
