An experimental examination of the colour component in visually mediated sexual arousal of the male chacma baboon (<i>Papio ursinus</i>)

Bielert, Craig; Girolami, L.; Jowell, S.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb02601.x

Cited by 47 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Bielert & Van der Walt (1982), for example, found that the masturbatory behaviour and serum testosterone concentration of male chacma baboons, Papio ursinus, exposed to visual contact with females were linked to sexual swelling size, being greatest at the time when the swelling was at its peak. Further work, in which arti¢cial swellings were attached to ovariectomized females, produced evidence that this relationship is due to the visual stimulus of the swelling itself and not to other potentially confounding variables, such as vocal or olfactory signals (Bielert et al 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of female reproductive state from vocal cues in a mammal species

Semple

McComb

2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

126

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While acoustic signalling by males is known to a¡ect male^male competition, mate attraction and the timing of ovulation, the extent to which sexual selection has shaped the evolution of female acoustic signals is poorly understood. Among mammals, experimental evidence indicates that females attract mating partners by using olfactory and visual signals to advertise their reproductive state. Whether or not males ascertain female reproductive state from vocal signals has, however, never been systematically tested. In this study, we use playbacks of recorded vocalizations to demonstrate that male Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus, can discriminate between female copulation calls given at di¡erent stages of the oestrous cycle, responding more strongly to those given around the time when conception is most likely to occur. Acoustic analysis suggests that the mean dominant frequency of call units and a number of temporal parameters could provide males with the information necessary to discern the proximity of ovulation in this way. Our results provide the ¢rst experimental evidence that the calls of female mammals may contain information on reproductive state, which males can perceive and use in such a way as to increase their reproductive success.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of female reproductive state from vocal cues in a mammal species

Semple

McComb

2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

126

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“…Anogenital swellings are highly developed in several primate species [Short, 1977[Short, , 1979[Short, , 1981, where they are believed to be attractive to males [Bielert et al, 1989]. Clutton-Brock and Harvey [1976] originally noted that species with exaggerated sexual skin swellings live in multi-male social systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Swellings of Female Gibbons

Cheyne¹,

Chivers²

2006

IJFP

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Female gibbons were observed for labial swellings from March 2002 to August 2003. Data were collected on length of time each female was swollen, changes in swelling period as females matured, and cycle length (number of days between onsets of consecutive swellings). Data were also collected on the behaviour of the males when the females were swollen. There was a significant relationship between age of the female gibbon and number of days she had labial swelling. There was no significant relationship between the age of the gibbon and the cycle length, nor between species (Hylobates agilis albibarbis and Hylobates muelleri) and number of days swollen. Copulation was more common when females were swollen. Swelling in female gibbons may be related to copulatory behaviour and serve to provide the male with some certainty of paternity through fertilisation insurance.

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“…Selectivity, of course, implies some cost of mating for males: time spent developing a consortship, increased risk of attracting ag gression from other males or contracting ve nereal disease, and decreased fertility in sub sequent matings due to sperm depletion are all possible costs of mating which will tend to be higher in species with multimale social sys tems. Consistent with this hypothesis, the sex ual attractiveness of a female seems to in crease with the size of the sexual swelling, though other factors are important as well [4,[40][41][42], Thus there are two seemingly reasonable theories for the conspicuousness of some sex ual signals, both with some anecdotal support, but neither is as yet compelling. August 16-21, 1992, Strasbourg, France…”

Section: Conspicuous Sexual Signalsmentioning

confidence: 69%

‘Concealed Ovulation’ and Sexual Signals in Primates

Burt¹

1992

IJFP

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The absence of conspicuous sexual signals in some primates, particularly humans and vervets, has been interpreted as evidence that females of these species are ‘concealing’ ovulation from males. This conclusion is unjustified: the null hypothesis of no adaptation, that the absence of conspicuous sexual signals has resulted from the absence of selective pressures maintaining such adaptations, is both more parsimonious and better fits the facts. The related suggestion that there has been adaptation among females to conceal ovulation from their own consciousness is also unjustified. What, then, maintains sexual signals in those species that do have them? Many proposed hypotheses for the function of sexual signals do not account for their most puzzling feature: their conspicuousness. According to current theory on the evolution of communication, two explanations seem most plausible: conspicuous sexual signals function to communicate to distant receivers and/or to convince reluctant receivers. There is some empirical support for both hypotheses, but not overwhelming support for either.

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An experimental examination of the colour component in visually mediated sexual arousal of the male chacma baboon (Papio ursinus)

Cited by 47 publications

References 23 publications

Perception of female reproductive state from vocal cues in a mammal species

Perception of female reproductive state from vocal cues in a mammal species

Sexual Swellings of Female Gibbons

‘Concealed Ovulation’ and Sexual Signals in Primates

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