1,721,053 research outputs found
Beyond odor discrimination: demonstrating individual recognition in Lemur catta
No full textThe current study demonstrates, for the first time, the occurrence of olfactory individual recognition in a nonhuman primate
species. The empirical demonstration of recognition systems requires 1) a set of cues produced by the sender (expression component),
2) the perception of these cues by the receiver (perception component), and 3) a functional response by the receiver
(action component). On the basis of this framework, we analyzed by gas chromatography 35 brachial secretions collected from
10 males of Lemur catta. Moreover, we performed habituation/discrimination tests to demonstrate the perception component,
and we designed a specific bioassay, based on territorial competition, to highlight a functional response to individual odors. We
demonstrated that recognition of conspecific odors goes beyond the perception of cues other than individuality (familiarity, kin,
season, age, and rank) and that the receiver actually forms a mental representation of a specific individual by its scent
A PIEDI O IN VOLO? INFLUENZA DI GEOGRAFIA ATTUALE E PALEOGEOGRAFIA SULLA DIVERSITÀ DELLE FARFALLE DELL’ARCIPELAGO TOSCANO
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Females do it better. Individual recognition experiments reveal sexual dimorphism in Lemur catta (Linnaeus, 1758) olfactory motivation and territorial defence
No full textIn 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
Cuticular hydrocarbons of Polistes dominulus as a biogeographic tool: a study of populations from the Tuscan Archipelago and surrounding areas.
No full textIn social insects, the types and proportions of epicuticular lipids
may exhibit significant diversity as a result of factors such as age, sex, caste,
rank, nest, and relatedness. It is known that these variations can be used by
social insects to acquire information regarding conspecific individuals. Recent
findings have shown that different populations of Polistes dominulus (Christ.)
have distinctly different chemical cuticular profiles, and that wasps are able
to recognize individuals of their own population. In this study, we showed that
cuticular hydrocarbon patterns of Polistes dominulus are consistent with similarities
among northern Tyrrhenian islands, as reported in previous biogeographic
studies. Indeed, our findings indicate that cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures of
P. dominulus from Capraia and Corsica are grouped together by cluster analysis,
while those from Elba and Giglio cluster with cuticular profiles of the
mainland wasps (Venturina)
Increased fertility and prompt fecudity in paper wasp workers usurped by a social parasite
No full textDominance interactions in young adult foundresses of a paper wasp: a play-like behaviour?
No full textThe idea that insects play has often aroused skepticism. Nevertheless, the authors investigated the
occurrence of a playlike behavior in young individuals of a paper wasp. Polistes dominulus foundresses
hibernate in aggregations and found associative nests in the spring. In aggregations, wasps exhibit most
of the rank-dependent behaviors that they will use in the nest 6 months later. In aggregations, precocious
dominance interactions are performed with exaggerated frequencies, whereas aggression and trophallaxis
are rare. Dominance behavior in aggregations is apparently useless, but it probably allows wasps to assess
their dominance potential without any apparent reproductive competition. Surprisingly, these interactions
may be best interpreted as play because dominance behavior in aggregations shares several features with
mammalian play fighting
Measuring insect rarity: practical issues, pragmatic approaches
No full textRarity is often considered an indication of species extinction risk, and rarity
measures are used as important tools to predict species vulnerability and hence to establish
conservation priorities. For these reasons, rarity is among the most important issues involved
in conservation programs. A number of studies have attempted to investigate relationships
between rarity and extinction risk in plants and vertebrates, whereas only few papers have
investigated similar issues in invertebrate taxa. This has limited the use of standardized rarity
measures in invertebrate conservation studies. Assessing rarity is especially important when
other pieces of information are difficult, or even definitively impossible, to obtain, as
commonly found for most insects. Four broad categories of rarity are commonly recognized:
geographical, ecological, population and phylogenetic rarity. On the basis of this framework,
we present here a short review of the rarity forms most frequently investigated in insect
studies, and their relationships with the main species traits related to extinction risk (such as
body size, mobility, trophic level, host specificity, larval and adult behaviours, etc.). We
discuss what they mean, how they can be measured, which type of data (field collections,
museum data, literature information) are needed and how to avoid the most common pitfalls
associated with rarity studies, with indications for pragmatic approaches in data analysis
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