Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas D. Sly, Corey R. Freeman-Gallant, Amberleigh E. Henschen, Piotr Minias, Linda A. Whittingham, Peter O. Dunn
Summary: This study uses whole-genome sequencing and transcriptomics to determine the genetic basis of ornament size preference in different populations of common yellowthroat. The research shows that females in each population prefer different ornaments but the size preference is linked to genes related to male quality.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Paulo B. Chaves, Karen B. Strier, Anthony Di Fiore
Summary: Evidence suggests that females, both human and nonhuman primates, avoid breeding with close kin and may choose mates based on MHC diversity. In egalitarian societies like the northern muriquis, female mate choice is less constrained and sires with higher MHC diversity are preferred. However, there is no evidence of mating preference for males who are more distantly related or have more MHC alleles distinct from their own, suggesting that female mate choice may be limited by other factors impacting male fertilization success.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lea Prox, Claudia Fichtel, Peter M. M. Kappeler
Summary: Despite the long history of sexual selection theory, little is known about the drivers and mechanisms of female sexual selection. Through studying redfronted lemurs, researchers found that female lemurs target close female kin for eviction, suggesting a balanced interplay between sexual selection and kin selection in female competition.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Allison A. Galezo, Melina A. Nolas, Arielle S. Fogel, Raphael S. Mututua, J. Kinyua Warutere, I. Long'ida Siodi, Jeanne Altmann, Elizabeth A. Archie, Jenny Tung, Susan C. Alberts
Summary: Inbreeding often results in fitness costs, and animals may not avoid mating with close relatives in experimental settings. The effectiveness of inbreeding avoidance depends on kin class and context. Death and dispersal effectively separate opposite-sex pairs of close adult kin in baboons. Inbreeding avoidance via mate choice is strong in kin classes with relatedness >= 0.25. The study emphasizes the importance of demographic and behavioral contexts in understanding the evolution of inbreeding avoidance.
Review
Ecology
Regina Vega-Trejo, Raissa A. Boer, John L. Fitzpatrick, Alexander Kotrschal
Summary: Inbreeding depression affects males and females differently, with females experiencing slightly higher levels of inbreeding depression. Despite considering factors such as sexual size dimorphism, heterogamety, trait types, and testing environment, there is still a large amount of unexplained heterogeneity. Further research across different species is needed to understand the occurrence and causes of sex-specific inbreeding depression.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Esther Clarke, Katie Bradshaw, Kieran Drissell, Parag Kadam, Nikki Rutter, Stefano Vaglio
Summary: Sex has traditionally been considered as having only a reproductive function in the animal kingdom. However, evidence from non-human primates suggests that sex also serves other important functions outside of reproduction. The human sexual experience, including pleasure, dominance, and communication, is unique, but it is possible that other primates also share these experiences to some extent. This commentary discusses the evidence from non-human primates, explores the affective and social functions of sex, and proposes potential methods for measuring these experiences. It aims to foster discussion and change the way we think about primate sex.
Article
Entomology
Eleanor H. Z. Gourevitch, David M. Shuker
Summary: Sexual selection plays a crucial role in driving population divergence and species formation, but our ability to predict favored traits and circumstances is still limited. Studying sexual selection mechanisms and ecological connections in Heteroptera can lead to a more predictive theory. Understanding the links between sexual selection mechanisms and ecological factors is essential for grasping the role of sexual selection in species persistence in a changing world.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Tim Caro, Kasey Brockelsby, Annie Ferrari, Manisha Koneru, Konatsu Ono, Edward Touche, Theodore Stankowich
Summary: The study found that coloration in primates may be influenced by protective coloration strategies such as background matching, countershading, and aposematism, with diurnal primates being more colorful. The importance of coloration drivers varies greatly across different clades within the order.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Andrew P. Anderson, Adam G. Jones
Summary: Sexual selection has driven the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits in male vertebrates, which are controlled by androgen signaling involving androgen response elements (AREs). Changes in the number and genomic locations of AREs can affect gene expression and receptor regulation. By analyzing primate genomes, we found that sexual selection strength is related to the genome-wide number of AREs, and changes in AREs are correlated with changes in male expression levels and sex-biased gene expression.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Federica Spani, Maria Pia Morigi, Matteo Bettuzzi, Massimiliano Scalici, Gabriele Gentile, Monica Carosi
Summary: This article summarizes scientific literature on the genital bones of primates, utilizing thorough analysis and updated data to present new findings and interpretations, laying the groundwork for further comparative studies.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Linda H. Lidborg, Catharine Penelope Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd
Summary: This study suggests that strength/muscularity may be sexually selected in humans, while other forms of masculinity do not show clear evidence of selection. Further research is needed to understand the evolutionary hypotheses in non-industrialized populations.
Article
Ecology
Lutz Fromhage, Jonathan M. Henshaw
Summary: Costly signaling theory suggests that individuals can signal their superiority to potential mates through costly behaviors, and the cost of the signal plays a significant role in maintaining honesty over evolutionary time. We present a mathematical model that explains the positive correlation between signal size and individual quality, based on the balanced investment in mating success and viability. This alternative interpretation of costly signals as balanced investments challenges the traditional handicap metaphor and its non-Darwinian implication.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Adi Barocas, Howard N. Golden, Megan Dudenhoeffer, Merav Ben-David
Summary: River otters communicate through scent marking at latrines, with behaviors influenced by social structure and locally acquired information. They prefer to mark in small groups at active latrines and intensify feet stomping in recently visited sites. When in groups, they increase scent-marking frequency in response to others signaling, potentially driven by feet stomping.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ewan O. Flintham, Vincent Savolainen, Charles Mullon
Summary: Sexual conflict can arise when males evolve traits that harm females while improving their own mating success. This study shows that conflict is more intense in populations where individuals are in better condition, as condition-dependent expression of sexually selected traits readily evolves. This intensified conflict reduces mean fitness and can lead to a negative association between condition and population size. The coevolution of condition and sexual conflict can make the good genes effect detrimental to populations in the presence of male harm.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hazel Byrne, Timothy H. Webster, Sarah F. Brosnan, Patricia Izar, Jessica W. Lynch
Summary: The Cebidae family, including capuchin and squirrel monkeys, has the largest primate encephalization quotients and exhibits notable lineage-specific traits. Comparative genomics analysis reveals shifts and sustained selective pressures on genes related to brain development, longevity, reproduction, and morphology, highlighting cumulative and diversifying neurobiological adaptations during cebid evolution.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Pawel Fedurek, Klaus Zuberbuehler, Stuart Semple
FRONTIERS IN ZOOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Zoology
Darcy L. Hannibal, Lauren C. Cassidy, Jessica Vandeleest, Stuart Semple, Allison Barnard, Katie Chun, Sasha Winkler, Brenda McCowan
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Patrick J. Tkaczynski, Caroline Ross, Ann MacLarnon, Mohamed Mouna, Bonaventura Majolo, Julia Lehmann
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biology
Juliette M. Berthier, Stuart Semple
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2018)
Article
Biology
Raphaela Heesen, Catherine Hobaiter, Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho, Stuart Semple
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kevin A. Rosenfield, Stuart Semple, Alexander Georgiev, Dario Maestripieri, James P. Higham, Constance Dubuc
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
P. J. Tkaczynski, C. Ross, J. Lehmann, M. Mouna, B. Majolo, A. MacLarnon
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Zoology
Lauren C. Cassidy, Darcy L. Hannibal, Stuart Semple, Brenda McCowan
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Emmeline R. Howarth, Caralyn Kemp, Harriet R. Thatcher, Isabelle D. Szott, David Farningham, Claire L. Witham, Amanda Holmes, Stuart Semple, Emily J. Bethell
Summary: Attention bias is a new approach to assess animal affect, focusing on the tendency to preferentially attend to emotional stimuli and influenced by underlying affect. By using two attention bias tasks, stable individual differences in baseline social attention were revealed, but sensitivity to brief shifts in emotion state may require further investigation. The tasks showed reproducibility and potential for developing standardized protocols with animals, highlighting the importance of considering various confounding factors and life history factors in future method development.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eithne Kavanagh, Sally E. Street, Felix O. Angwela, Thore J. Bergman, Maryjka B. Blaszczyk, Laura M. Bolt, Margarita Briseno-Jaramillo, Michelle Brown, Chloe Chen-Kraus, Zanna Clay, Camille Coye, Melissa Emery Thompson, Alejandro Estrada, Claudia Fichtel, Barbara Fruth, Marco Gamba, Cristina Giacoma, Kirsty E. Graham, Samantha Green, Cyril C. Grueter, Shreejata Gupta, Morgan L. Gustison, Lindsey Hagberg, Daniela Hedwig, Katharine M. Jack, Peter M. Kappeler, Gillian King-Bailey, Barbora Kubenova, Alban Lemasson, David MacGregor Inglis, Zarin Machanda, Andrew MacIntosh, Bonaventura Majolo, Sophie Marshall, Stephanie Mercier, Jerome Micheletta, Martin Muller, Hugh Notman, Karim Ouattara, Julia Ostner, Mary S. M. Pavelka, Louise R. Peckre, Megan Petersdorf, Fredy Quintero, Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez, Martha M. Robbins, Roberta Salmi, Isaac Schamberg, Oliver Schuelke, Stuart Semple, Joan B. Silk, J. Roberto Sosa-Lopez, Valeria Torti, Daria Valente, Raffaella Ventura, Erica van de Waal, Anna H. Weyher, Claudia Wilke, Richard Wrangham, Christopher Young, Anna Zanoli, Klaus Zuberbuehler, Adriano R. Lameira, Katie Slocombe
Summary: This study found that dominant individuals in non-human primate species who were more tolerant tend to vocalize at a higher rate, while despotic species have a larger repertoire of hierarchy-related vocalizations. This suggests that primate signals evolve in relation to the nature of interactions that characterize individuals' social relationships.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Stuart Semple, Ramon Ferrer-I-Cancho, Morgan L. Gustison
Summary: Researchers have found that linguistic laws not only exist in language, but also across various levels of biology, proposing a new conceptual framework for studying these laws.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Charlotte Carne, Stuart Semple, Ann MacLarnon, Bonaventura Majolo, Laetitia Marechal
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Caralyn Kemp, Harriet Thatcher, David Farningham, Claire Witham, Ann MacLarnon, Amanda Holmes, Stuart Semple, Emily J. Bethell
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2017)
Article
Zoology
Alan V. Rincon, Laetitia Marechal, Stuart Semple, Bonaventura Majolo, Ann MacLarnon
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Farrah N. Madison, Verner P. Bingman, Tom Smulders, Christine R. Lattin
Summary: Although research on the avian hippocampus has been limited, it is crucial for understanding its evolution and changes over time. The avian hippocampus plays important roles in spatial cognition as well as regulating anxiety, approach-avoidance behavior, and stress responses. Future research should focus on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms, including endocrinology, to resolve outstanding questions about avian hippocampal function and organization.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2024)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Judith A. H. Smit, Riet Vooijs, Peter Lindenburg, Alexander T. Baugh, Wouter Halfwerk
Summary: This study investigates the effects of urbanization on hormone levels in tungara frogs and found that urban frogs and forest frogs have different endocrine phenotypes. Exposure to urban noise and light pollution led to an increase in testosterone and a decrease in corticosterone in urban frogs, while forest frogs showed no endocrine response to sensory pollutants. These results suggest that urbanization can modulate hormone levels and influence behavior in frogs.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2024)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Hannah D. Fulenwider, Yangmiao Zhang, Andrey E. Ryabinin
Summary: Social hierarchies have significant effects on overall health of individuals in animal groups, particularly the lowest-ranking individuals. Tube test can be used to determine social rank in male and female mice, and the complex interactions between social rank, sex, environment, and testing length influence peptide levels.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2024)