| Title |
Relatedness communicated in lemur scent
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, July 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-013-1074-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Toni Lyn Morelli, R. Andrew Hayes, Helen F. Nahrung, Thomas E. Goodwin, Innocent H. Harelimana, Laura J. MacDonald, Patricia C. Wright |
| Abstract |
Lemurs are the most olfactory-oriented of primates, yet there is still only a basic level of understanding of what their scent marks communicate. We analyzed scent secretions from Milne-Edwards' sifakas (Propithecus edwardsi) collected in their natural habitat of Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. We sought to test whether the scent mark could signal genetic relatedness in addition to species, sex, season, and individuality. We not only found correlations (r (2) = 0.38, P = 0.017) between the total olfactory fingerprint and genetic relatedness but also between relatedness and specific components of the odor, despite the complex environmental signals from differences in diet and behavior in a natural setting. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an association between genetic relatedness and chemical communication in a wild primate population. Furthermore, we found a variety of compounds that were specific to each sex and each sampling period. This research shows that scent marks could act as a remote signal to avoid inbreeding, optimize mating opportunities, and potentially aid kin selection. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Scientists | 1 | 50% |
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 52 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 2% |
| United States | 1 | 2% |
| Germany | 1 | 2% |
| Unknown | 49 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 16 | 31% |
| Student > Master | 9 | 17% |
| Student > Bachelor | 7 | 13% |
| Researcher | 6 | 12% |
| Other | 2 | 4% |
| Other | 6 | 12% |
| Unknown | 6 | 12% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 32 | 62% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 6% |
| Environmental Science | 3 | 6% |
| Social Sciences | 3 | 6% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 2 | 4% |
| Other | 3 | 6% |
| Unknown | 6 | 12% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 05 November 2015.
All research outputs
#14,873,797
of 23,794,258 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#1,814
of 2,195 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#111,934
of 196,144 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#18
of 25 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,794,258 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,195 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 13.5. This one is in the 16th percentile – i.e., 16% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 196,144 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 40th percentile – i.e., 40% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 25 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 24th percentile – i.e., 24% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.