Gunst Noëlle, Casarrubea Maurizio, Vasey Paul L, Leca Jean-Baptiste
Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics (Bi.N.D.), Human Physiology Section "Giuseppe Pagano", School of Medicine of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Physiol Behav. 2020 Sep 1;223:112983. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112983. Epub 2020 Jun 3.
In certain populations of Japanese macaques, adult females mount adult males in the context of heterosexual consortships (i.e., temporary but exclusive sexual associations between a male and a female). Previous research suggested that, in this primate species, female-male mounting (FMM) may be a behavioral adaptation. This functional hypothesis holds that FMM is a (special) courtship behaviour, or a (super) sexual solicitation, that serves the function of focusing the male's attention, preventing him from moving away, and expediting male-female mounting, in the context of high female competition for male mates. In this study, we aimed to test some of the proposed functional features of FMM in Japanese macaques by comparing the temporal structure of mating behavioral sequences, including various well-known sexual solicitations, exhibited during heterosexual consortships with and without FMM. To identify and compare recurring series of behavioral events within and across sequences, we used a temporal analysis known as "T-pattern detection and analysis". Our results (partly) supported the "FMM as a (super) sexual solicitation" hypotheses, and supported the "FMM as a sexual adaptation" hypothesis. The utilization of TPA allows for the detection of hidden features of primates' behaviors otherwise undetectable by using conventional quantitative approaches, such as the calculation of frequencies or durations of isolated behavioral components, disjointed from the comprehensive behavioral architecture. This study fits into the scheme of a broader investigation of the functionality of non-conceptive mounting patterns observed in Japanese macaques and a reconstruction of their evolutionary history.
在某些日本猕猴种群中，成年雌性在异性配偶关系（即雄性和雌性之间临时但排他的性关联）的背景下会骑跨成年雄性。先前的研究表明，在这种灵长类动物中，雌骑雄行为（FMM）可能是一种行为适应。这一功能假说认为，在雌性为争夺雄性配偶竞争激烈的情况下，FMM是一种（特殊的）求偶行为，或者是一种（超级的）性引诱，其作用是吸引雄性的注意力，防止他离开，并加速雌雄骑跨行为。在本研究中，我们旨在通过比较在有和没有FMM的异性配偶关系中表现出的交配行为序列的时间结构，来测试日本猕猴中FMM的一些拟议功能特征，这些序列包括各种众所周知的性引诱行为。为了识别和比较序列内和序列间反复出现的行为事件系列，我们使用了一种称为“T模式检测与分析”的时间分析方法。我们的结果（部分）支持了“FMM作为一种（超级的）性引诱”假说，并支持了“FMM作为一种性适应”假说。使用时间模式分析（TPA）能够检测到灵长类动物行为的隐藏特征，而这些特征用传统的定量方法（如计算孤立行为成分的频率或持续时间）是无法检测到的，因为这些方法脱离了全面的行为结构。本研究属于对日本猕猴中观察到的非受孕骑跨模式的功能进行更广泛调查以及重建其进化历史这一计划的一部分。
