Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons

Abstract Female primates signal impending ovulation with a suite of sexual signals. Studies of these signals have focussed on visual, and to a lesser extent, acoustic signals, neglecting olfactory signals. We aimed to investigate the information content of female olfactory signals in captive olive b...

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Autores principales:	Stefano Vaglio, Pamela Minicozzi, Sharon E. Kessler, David Walker, Joanna M. Setchell
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2938f341b13a4201b57a095148c5397e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2938f341b13a4201b57a095148c5397e2021-12-02T13:39:47ZOlfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons10.1038/s41598-021-87893-62045-2322https://doaj.org/article/2938f341b13a4201b57a095148c5397e2021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87893-6https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Female primates signal impending ovulation with a suite of sexual signals. Studies of these signals have focussed on visual, and to a lesser extent, acoustic signals, neglecting olfactory signals. We aimed to investigate the information content of female olfactory signals in captive olive baboons (Papio anubis) and relate these to the female fertile period. We studied eight adult females living in four groups at the CNRS Station de Primatologie, Rousset-sur-Arc, France. We used vaginal cytology to detect ovulation. We investigated the volatile component of odour signals using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found a total of 74 volatile compounds, of which we tentatively identified 25, including several ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, volatile fatty acids and hydrocarbons that have been identified in odour profiles of other primates. Our results show that vaginal odour intensity differs with sexual cycle stage suggesting that odour might play a role in signalling female baboon fertility. We found differences in vaginal odour between females living in all-female and in mixed sex groups but we could not distinguish the effects of group composition, female age and identity. This study of olfactory signalling improves our understanding of how female primates advertise their sexual receptivity.Stefano VaglioPamela MinicozziSharon E. KesslerDavid WalkerJoanna M. SetchellNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-18 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Stefano Vaglio Pamela Minicozzi Sharon E. Kessler David Walker Joanna M. Setchell Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
description	Abstract Female primates signal impending ovulation with a suite of sexual signals. Studies of these signals have focussed on visual, and to a lesser extent, acoustic signals, neglecting olfactory signals. We aimed to investigate the information content of female olfactory signals in captive olive baboons (Papio anubis) and relate these to the female fertile period. We studied eight adult females living in four groups at the CNRS Station de Primatologie, Rousset-sur-Arc, France. We used vaginal cytology to detect ovulation. We investigated the volatile component of odour signals using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found a total of 74 volatile compounds, of which we tentatively identified 25, including several ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, volatile fatty acids and hydrocarbons that have been identified in odour profiles of other primates. Our results show that vaginal odour intensity differs with sexual cycle stage suggesting that odour might play a role in signalling female baboon fertility. We found differences in vaginal odour between females living in all-female and in mixed sex groups but we could not distinguish the effects of group composition, female age and identity. This study of olfactory signalling improves our understanding of how female primates advertise their sexual receptivity.
format	article
author	Stefano Vaglio Pamela Minicozzi Sharon E. Kessler David Walker Joanna M. Setchell
author_facet	Stefano Vaglio Pamela Minicozzi Sharon E. Kessler David Walker Joanna M. Setchell
author_sort	Stefano Vaglio
title	Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
title_short	Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
title_full	Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
title_fullStr	Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
title_full_unstemmed	Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
title_sort	olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2938f341b13a4201b57a095148c5397e
work_keys_str_mv	AT stefanovaglio olfactorysignalsandfertilityinolivebaboons AT pamelaminicozzi olfactorysignalsandfertilityinolivebaboons AT sharonekessler olfactorysignalsandfertilityinolivebaboons AT davidwalker olfactorysignalsandfertilityinolivebaboons AT joannamsetchell olfactorysignalsandfertilityinolivebaboons
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Olfactory signals and fertility in olive baboons

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