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Aposematic organisms exhibit warning signals (primary defences) coupled with secondary defences, and competing for the same resources may lead to trade-offs in resource allocation. For animals that synthesise their chemical compoundsde novo, resources, particularly proteins, can be expected to influence the investment in chemical defences and nitrogen-based warning colours such as melanin.We manipulated protein availability in the larval diet of the wood tiger moth,Arctia plantaginis, to test how early life resource availability influences relevant life history traits, pigment production, and chemical defences. According to the resource allocation hypothesis, we expected individuals with less melanin (i.e., larger warning signals) to have more resources to allocate to chemical defences.Then, we tested the efficacy of chemical defences of moths raised on diets with different protein content by presenting oat baits soaked with moth defensive fluids to wild-caught avian predators and observed their responses.Early-resource environment affected chemical defences and developmental time of male moths but did not affect melanin expression in the wings. The amount of melanin in the wings, however, correlated with chemical defences: irrespective of the diet they were raised on, more-melanised individuals (i.e., smaller warning signal) produced more deterrent defensive fluids. Thus, the negative correlation between primary and secondary defences arises from more melanised individuals having better chemical defences, and not from resource allocation.We conclude that the resources available in early life have an important role in the efficacy of chemical defences, but melanin-based warning colours are less sensitive to the variability of resources than other fitness-related traits.

Divergence in allopatry and subsequent diversification of mating signals on secondary contact (reinforcement) is a major driver of phenotypic diversity. Observing this evolutionary process directly is often impossible, but simulated evolution can pinpoint key drivers of phenotypic variation. We developed evolutionary simulations in which mating signals, modelled as points in phenotype space, evolve across time under varying evolutionary scenarios. We model mate recognition signals in guenons, a primate radiation exhibiting colourful and diverse face patterns hypothesized to maintain reproductive isolation via mate choice. We simulate face pattern evolution across periods of allopatry and sympatry, identifying the role of key parameters in driving evolutionary endpoints. Results show that diversification in allopatry and assortative mate choice on secondary contact can induce rapid phenotypic diversification, resulting in distinctive (between species) and stereotyped (within species) face patterns, similar to extant guenons. Strong selection against hybrids is key to diversification, with even low levels of hybrid fitness often resulting in merged populations on secondary contact. Our results support a key role for reinforcement by assortative mating in the maintenance of species diversity and support the long-proposed prehistorical scenario for how such striking diversity was produced and maintained in perhaps the most colourful of all mammalian clades.

Sexual selection produces extravagant male traits, such as colorful ornaments, via female mate choice. More rarely, in mating systems in which males allocate mating effort between multiple females, female ornaments may evolve via male mate choice. Females of many anthropoid primates exhibit ornaments that indicate intraindividual cyclical fertility, but which have also been proposed to function as interindividual quality signals. Rhesus macaque females are one such species, exhibiting cyclical facial color variation that indicates ovulatory status, but in which the function of interindividual variation is unknown. We collected digital images of the faces of 32 rhesus macaque adult females. We assessed mating rates, and consortship by males, according to female face coloration. We also assessed whether female coloration was linked to physical (skinfold fat, body mass index) or physiological (fecal glucocorticoid metabolite [fGCM], urinary C-peptide concentrations) condition. We found that redder-faced females were mated more frequently, and consorted for longer periods by top-ranked males. Redder females had higher fGCM concentrations, perhaps related to their increased mating activity and consequent energy mobilization, and blood flow. Prior analyses have shown that female facial redness is a heritable trait, and that redder-faced females have higher annual fecundity, while other evidence suggests that color expression is likely to be a signal rather than a cue. Collectively, the available evidence suggests that female coloration has evolved at least in part via male mate choice. Its evolution as a sexually selected ornament attractive to males is probably attributable to the high female reproductive synchrony found in this species.

The domestication syndrome refers to a set of traits that are the by-products of artificial selection for increased tolerance toward humans [1-3]. One hypothesis is that some species, like humans and bonobos, "self-domesticated" and have been under selection for that same suite of domesticated phenotypes [4-8]. However, the evidence for this has been largely circumstantial. Here, we provide evidence that, in marmoset monkeys, the size of a domestication phenotype-a white facial fur patch-is linked to their degree of affiliative vocal responding. During development, the amount of parental vocal feedback experienced influences the rate of growth of this facial white patch, and this suggests a mechanistic link between the two phenotypes, possibly via neural crest cells. Our study provides evidence for links between vocal behavior and the development of morphological phenotypes associated with domestication in a nonhuman primate.

Discriminating between conspecifics and heterospecifics potentially challenging for closely related sympatric species. The guenons, a recent primate radiation, exhibit high degrees of sympatry and form multi-species groups in which hybridization is possible but rare in most populations. Guenons have species-specific colorful face patterns hypothesized to function in species discrimination. Here, we apply a novel machine learning approach to identify the face regions most essential for correct species classification across fifteen guenon species. We then demonstrate the validity of these computational results using experiments with live guenons, showing that facial traits identified as critical for accurate classification do indeed influence selective attention toward con- and heterospecific faces. Our results suggest variability among guenon species in reliance on single-trait-based versus holistic facial characteristics when discriminating between species, and differences in behavioral responses to faces can be linked to whether discrimination is based on a single trait or whole-face pattern. Our study supports the hypothesis that guenon face patterns function to promote species discrimination and provides novel insights into the relationship between species interactions and phenotypic diversity.

In the animal kingdom, conspicuous colors are often used for inter- and intra-sexual communication. Even though primates are the most colorful mammalian taxon, many questions, including what potential information color signals communicate to social partners, are not fully understood. Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are ideal to examine the covariates of color signals. Males have multi-colored genitals, which they present during distinctive male-male interactions, known as the “Red-White-and-Blue” (RWB) display, but the genitals are also visible across a variety of other contexts, and it is unclear what this color display signals to recipients. We recorded genital color presentations and standardized digital photos of male genitals (N = 405 photos) over one mating season for 20 adult males in three groups at the Samara Private Game Reserve, South Africa. We combined these with data on male characteristics (dominance, age, tenure length, injuries, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations). Using visual modeling methods, we measured single colors (red, white, blue) but also the contrasts between colors. We assessed the frequency of the RWB genital display and male variation in genital coloration and linked this to male characteristics. Our data suggest that the number of genital displays increased with male dominance. However, none of the variables investigated explained the inter- and intra-individual variation in male genital coloration. These results suggest that the frequency of the RWB genital display, but not its color value, is related to dominance, providing valuable insights on covariation in color signals and their display in primates.Significance statementConspicuous colors in animals often communicate individual quality to mates and rivals. By investigating vervet monkeys, a primate species in which males present their colorful genitals within several behavioral displays, we aim to identify the covariates of such colorful signals and their behavioral display. Using visual modeling methods for the color analysis and combining behavioral display data and color data with male characteristics, we found that high-ranking males displayed their colorful genitals more frequently than lower-ranking ones. In contrast, color variation was not influenced by male dominance, age, tenure length, or health. Our results can serve as a basis for future investigations on the function of colorful signals and behavioral displays, such as a badge of status or mate choice in primates.

Primates appear unusual among mammals in the expression of female colorful ornaments in the absence of sex role reversal. Most studies of female ornamentation in primates have focused on the sexual signaling function of female exaggerated ano-genital swellings in female-female competition and male attraction, but other female colorful ornaments, such as red skin coloration, may also contain information about reproductive status and individual characteristics. We analyzed variation in facial and hindquarter coloration (redness and luminance) according to the timing of the fertile phase (intra-cycle variation), the cycle number, whether the cycle was conceptive or non-conceptive (inter-cycle variation), and in relation to individual characteristics (social rank, parity, and body mass) in 12 captive female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). While facial and hindquarter coloration did not accurately indicate the timing of the fertile phase, variation in hindquarter luminance signaled perceptible differences between pre- and post-ovulation stages. Hindquarters became less red, and faces were lighter as the number of consecutive cycles increased. Hindquarters were redder during non-conceptive cycles compared with conceptive ones. Individual variation in skin redness and luminance appeared perceptible under good light conditions. Higher-ranking females had darker hindquarters. We also found that variation in female skin coloration may contain information about differences in body mass but not in parity. Female skin coloration in Japanese macaques may thus be more indicative of inter-cycle variation and various specific female characteristics than the timing of the fertile phase. Our study provides insight into the potential information content of this signal and demonstrates the characteristics that males might be selecting for should males prefer redder females. Primates are the most colorful group of mammals. Females of some primate species display red skin color that is suggested to play a role in mate attraction by reflecting reproductive status or individual characteristics. In Japanese macaques, a species lacking accurate behavioral and auditory indices of the probability of ovulation, female red skin coloration (face and hindquarters) may influence mating activity. Our study shows that this colorful trait does not contain information about the timing of the fertile phase and parity but may indicate inter-cycle differences and some female characteristics. Our findings add to a growing body of research on the possible roles and functions of female colorful ornaments in animal sexual communication.

This chapter explores how Darwin’s theory of sexual selection has structured research on primate coloration. Darwin was fascinated by the conspicuous colors displayed by many animals and pointed to primates as a particularly colorful and interesting group. The chapter provides an overview of Darwin’s theory of sexual selection, highlighting how different selective mechanisms can lead to the extravagant colors found in many primate species. The chapter then overviews both modern and historical studies of primate coloration, emphasizing how methodological advances and a resurgence of interest in sexual selection has led to a modern revival of Darwin’s ideas regarding primate coloration. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of future questions and possible directions of this research. Darwin’s collected works clearly show that he was captivated by the bright colors displayed by many primates, and his theory of sexual selection remains the key to understanding the evolution of many of these impressive traits.

Experiments are the foundation of empirical science, and experimental paradigms that are broadly applicable across settings and species are particularly useful for comparative research. Originally developed to address questions related to perception and cognition of pre-verbal human infants, the looking time experimental paradigm has been increasingly used to study animal behavior and cognition, particularly in non-human primates. Looking time experiments are based on the assumption that animals direct eye gaze toward objects or scenes based on their degree of interest, and use looking behavior to infer perceptual or cognitive characteristics of subjects. This paradigm can be used in a variety of contexts and is not based on species-typical behaviors, allowing for intra- and interspecific comparisons. Here, we describe the history of use of looking time measures, provide an overview of the problems and controversies related to this method, and offer recommendations on how to implement looking time tasks, focusing on the preparation of stimuli, experimental procedures, and data analysis. Our overview focuses on non-human primates, where most work has been carried out, but the issues discussed should be applicable to a wide range of species. We conclude that despite pertinent criticism, looking time tasks are practical when executed and interpreted properly. The further implementation of these methods in studies of animal behavior and cognition is likely to be fruitful.

Studies of the role of secondary sexual ornaments in mate choice tend to focus on colorful traits in males, but females of many animal species express colorful ornamentation too. Among non-human primates, investigations into the role of female secondary sexual traits as indicators of life history characteristics, reproductive success, and health status have mostly focused on sexual swellings, whereas only few studies have been conducted on the role of facial color. Recent studies on rhesus macaques and mandrills suggested that female ornamentation might provide information about female life history characteristics, but not on disease resistance factors and parasite infection, which have been shown to affect male ornamentation in some non-primate species. In Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), females have brightly colored faces that are indicative of their reproductive status. Here, we aimed to determine whether female facial color might also convey information about age, dominance rank, parity, weight, and intestinal nematode infection in free-ranging individuals. We analyzed whether female facial parameters (luminance and redness) were linked to these individual characteristics, using digital photography and data on intestinal parasite infection collected systematically during 1 month for each of seven free-ranging females. We found no evidence to suggest that female facial color is an indicator of any of these measures in Japanese macaques. Considering our small data set, it is still preliminary to draft any clear conclusions. Future studies combining digital, hormonal, parasitological and behavioral data are needed to assess the possible role of female face color on male preferences and mating choice in Japanese macaques.

Le rôle des multiples signaux sexuels dans l’indication du timing de l’ovulation des femelles ainsi que la discrimination de ce timing par les mâles ont été particulièrement bien étudiés chez les primates. Cependant, l’expression de signaux relatifs à la gestation et la façon dont ces signaux peuvent moduler les décisions d’accouplement post-conception des mâles sont encore peu comprises. Notre étude a pour but de déterminer si les mâles macaques japonais utilisent les changements de signaux sexuels des femelles (signaux comportementaux, visuels et auditifs) pour discriminer la gestation et ajuster leurs comportements socio-sexuels. Nous avons suivi un groupe de macaques japonais sauvages (île de Koshima, Japon) et nous avons combiné des observations comportementales, des photographies et des données endocrinologiques (œstrogènes et dérivés de la progestérone) collectées durant trois périodes d’un mois : la période pré-conceptive, le premier mois de gestation et le deuxième mois de gestation. Nous avons analysé les variations de comportements socio-sexuels des mâles et des femelles, les variations de cris d’œstrus ainsi que les changements de la couleur/luminance de la face des femelles, en fonction de l’état reproductif de la femelle. Nous avons montré que les mâles ne copulaient pas pendant la période de gestation et que les comportements socio-sexuels des femelles diminuaient significativement entre la période pré-conceptive et la période post-conceptive. La luminance de la face des femelles a diminué entre le mois pré-conceptif et la période de gestation, tandis que la couleur de la face n’a varié qu’entre le premier et le deuxième mois de gestation. Nos résultats suggèrent que les femelles macaques japonais produisent des signaux sexuels de gestation que les mâles pourraient utiliser afin de ne pas dépenser d’énergie pour des copulations non-reproductives avec des femelles gestantes. Nous suggérons que les femelles signalent leur gestation par des changements comportementaux, visuels et potentiellement auditifs, que les mâles pourraient utiliser pour ajuster leurs comportements sexuels. Nous discutons également des implications pour les stratégies post-conception des mâles et des femelles.

The effects of intrasexual and intersexual selection on male trait evolution can be difficult to disentangle, especially based on observational data. Male-male competition can limit an observer's ability to identify the effect of female mate choice independently from sexual coercion. Here, we use an experimental approach to explore whether an ornament, the red facial skin exhibited by male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), might be involved in both female mate choice and male-male competition. We used a noninvasive experimental approach based on the looking time paradigm in a free-ranging setting, showing images of differently colored male faces to both adult females (N = 91) and males (N = 77), as well as to juveniles (N = 94) as a control. Results show that both adult females and males looked longer at dark red faces compared with pale pink ones. However, when considering the proportion of subjects that looked longer at dark red faces regardless of preference strength, only females showed a significant dark red bias. In contrast, juveniles did not show any preferences between stimuli, suggesting that the adult bias is not a consequence of the experimental design or related to a general sensory bias for red coloration among all age-sex classes. Collectively, these results support the role the ornament plays in female mate choice in this species and provide the first evidence that this ornament may play a role in male-male competition as well, despite a general lack of observational evidence for the latter effect to date.

International audience; The role of multiple sexual signals in indicating the timing of female ovulation, and discrimination of this timing by males, has been particularly well studied among primates. However the exhibition of pregnancy signals, and how such signals might modulate male post-conception mating decisions, is still poorly understood. Here we aimed to determine if Japanese macaque males use changes in female sexual signals (behavioral, visual and auditory) to discriminate pregnancy and adjust their socio-sexual behaviors. We combined behavioral observations, digital photography and endocrinological (progestogen and estrogen) data, collected systematically during three one-month periods: the pre-conceptive period, the 1st month of pregnancy and the 2nd month of pregnancy. We analyzed variation in the probability of detecting male and female socio-sexual behaviors and estrus calls, as well as changes in female face color parameters, in relation to female reproductive state. Based on our focal observations, we found that males did not copulate during the pregnancy period, and that female socio-sexual behaviors generally decreased from the pre-conceptive to post-conceptive periods. Female face luminance decreased from the pre-conceptive month to the pregnancy period whereas face color only varied between the 1st and 2nd month of gestation. Our results suggest that Japanese macaque females display sexual cues of pregnancy that males might use to reduce energy wasted on non-reproductive copulations with pregnant females. We hypothesize that females advertize their pregnancy through changes in behavioral, visual and potential auditory signals that males can use to adjust their mating behaviors. We finish by discussing implications for male and female post-conception strategies

Purpose To discuss the causative factors, clinical course, and current treatment modalities for Ludwig's angina, a submandibular cellulitis, and to raise nurse practitioners' (NPs') awareness of this condition. Data Sources Recent clinical articles, research, case studies, and medical texts. Conclusions Ludwig's angina may be fatal. Early diagnosis, aggressive antibiotic therapy, and management involving a multidisciplinary team approach are imperative for the patient to progress without complications. Implications for Practice Education and awareness are crucial for successful diagnosis of and management of treatment for Ludwig's angina. Although NPs have a limited role in the treatment of Ludwig's angina, their ability to recognize the signs and symptoms will prompt emergency care and treatment and facilitate better outcomes for their clients.

Alzheimer disease (AD) directly afflicts several million people in the United States, but it also affects millions more who love and care for them. Young children are especially vulnerable because of a lack of understanding or inability to cope. The progression of AD varies greatly with each individual, but the signs and symptoms are common. Children's reactions to these indications differ depending on a multitude of variables. Honesty and simplicity are the basis for discussing AD with children. Shared experiences between these generations can be pleasurable and beneficial as long as certain considerations are regarded. The health care provider should include these topics when providing holistic care to patients with AD. (Geriatr Nurs 2003;24:36-9)

Sexual selection promotes the prevalence of heritable traits that increase an individual's reproductive rate. Despite theoretically strong directional selection, sexually selected traits can show inter-individual variation. Here, we investigate whether red skin ornamentation, a rare example of a male mammalian trait involved in mate attraction, influences fecundity and is heritable in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ), and explore the mechanisms that are involved in maintaining trait variation. Interestingly, the trait is expressed by and is attractive to both sexes. We collected facial images of 266 free-ranging individuals and modelled skin redness and darkness to rhesus macaque vision. We used 20 years of genetic parentage data to calculate selection gradients on the trait and perform heritability analyses. Results show that males who were both darkly coloured and high-ranking enjoyed higher fecundity. Female skin redness was positively linked to fecundity, although it remains unclear whether this influences male selectiveness. Heritability explained 10–15% of the variation in redness and darkness, and up to 30% for skin darkness when sexes are considered separately, suggesting sex-influenced inheritance. Our results suggest that inter-individual variation is maintained through condition-dependence, with an added effect of balancing selection on male skin darkness, providing rare evidence for a mammalian trait selected through inter-sexual selection.