Freeman N J, Pasternak G M, Rubi T L, Barrett L, Henzi S P
Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
Primates. 2012 Jul;53(3):311-5. doi: 10.1007/s10329-012-0304-8. Epub 2012 Mar 9.
We used data from two troops of free-ranging vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) to assess the proposition that the conspicuous chest rubbing observed in this species constitutes scent-marking behavior. Our data indicate that chest-rubbing behavior is associated with higher-ranking males who are more likely to do so during the breeding season in areas where territorial encounters occur. We found no indication that chest rubbing was triggered directly by encounters between troops. We conclude that these data, in conjunction with reports of chest rubbing from other Old World monkeys, are sufficiently suggestive of scent marking to warrant further, directed research and support the suspicion that olfactory cues remain important to catarrhines in a number of domains.
我们利用来自两群自由放养的黑长尾猴（Chlorocebus aethiops）的数据，来评估关于在该物种中观察到的明显的胸部摩擦行为构成气味标记行为这一观点。我们的数据表明，胸部摩擦行为与地位较高的雄性有关，这些雄性在繁殖季节且有领地冲突的地区更有可能进行这种行为。我们没有发现任何迹象表明胸部摩擦是由猴群之间的冲突直接引发的。我们得出结论，这些数据，连同来自其他旧世界猴类的胸部摩擦报告，足以暗示存在气味标记行为，值得进一步开展针对性研究，并支持嗅觉线索在多个领域对狭鼻猴类仍然很重要这一怀疑。
