Spence-Aizenberg Andrea, Kimball Bruce A, Williams Lawrence E, Fernandez-Duque Eduardo
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Am J Primatol. 2018 Feb;80(2). doi: 10.1002/ajp.22730.
Broadening our knowledge of olfactory communication in strictly monogamous systems can inform our understanding of how chemosignals may facilitate social and reproductive behavior between the sexes. Compared to other social and mating systems, relatively little is known about olfactory communication in strictly monogamous non-human primates. Furthermore, platyrrhines are not well represented in chemical analyses of glandular secretions. We conducted semi-quantitative headspace gas chromatography with mass spectrometry to investigate the chemical components of glandular secretions from the subcaudal and pectoral glands of a strictly pair-living platyrrhine, the owl monkey (Aotus spp.). In this study, the first chemical analysis of a wild platyrrhine population, our goals were to (1) conduct a robust analysis of glandular secretions from both captive and wild owl monkey populations and (2) identify whether biologically relevant traits are present in glandular secretions. We also compared and contrasted the results between two Aotus species in different environmental contexts: wild Aotus azarae (N = 33) and captive A. nancymaae (N = 104). Our findings indicate that secretions from both populations encode sex, gland of origin, and possibly individual identity. These consistent patterns across species and contexts suggest that secretions may function as chemosignals. Our data also show that wild A. azarae individuals are chemically discriminated by age (adult or subadult). Among the captive A. nanycmaae, we found chemical differences associated with location, possibly caused by dietary differences. However, there was no noticeable effect of contraception on the chemical profiles of females, nor evidence that closely related individuals exhibit more similar chemical profiles in A. nancymaae. Overall, our data suggest that glandular secretions of both wild and captive Aotus convey specific information. Future studies should use behavioral bioassays to evaluate the ability of owl monkeys to detect signals, and consider whether odor may ultimately facilitate social and sexual relationships between male and female owl monkeys.
拓宽我们对严格一夫一妻制系统中嗅觉交流的认识，有助于我们理解化学信号如何促进两性之间的社会行为和繁殖行为。与其他社会和交配系统相比，我们对严格一夫一妻制的非人灵长类动物的嗅觉交流了解相对较少。此外，阔鼻猴在腺体分泌物的化学分析中代表性不足。我们进行了半定量顶空气相色谱 - 质谱分析，以研究严格成对生活的阔鼻猴——夜猴（Aotus spp.）尾下腺和胸腺的腺体分泌物的化学成分。在这项对野生阔鼻猴种群的首次化学分析中，我们的目标是：（1）对圈养和野生夜猴种群的腺体分泌物进行全面分析；（2）确定腺体分泌物中是否存在生物学相关特征。我们还比较和对比了两种夜猴在不同环境背景下的结果：野生阿扎拉夜猴（N = 33）和圈养的南氏夜猴（N = 104）。我们的研究结果表明，两个种群的分泌物都编码了性别、起源腺体以及可能的个体身份。跨物种和环境的这些一致模式表明，分泌物可能作为化学信号发挥作用。我们的数据还表明，野生阿扎拉夜猴个体在化学上可按年龄（成年或亚成年）区分。在圈养的南氏夜猴中，我们发现了与位置相关的化学差异，可能是由饮食差异导致的。然而，避孕对雌性的化学特征没有明显影响，也没有证据表明在南氏夜猴中亲缘关系相近的个体表现出更相似的化学特征。总体而言，我们的数据表明野生和圈养夜猴的腺体分泌物都传达了特定信息。未来的研究应该使用行为生物测定法来评估夜猴检测信号的能力，并考虑气味是否最终有助于雄性和雌性夜猴之间的社会和性关系。
