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P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Drea, CM; Goodwin, TE; delBarco-Trillo, J
Published in: Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology
January 2019

Scent marking is a well-established, but highly variable, mode of communication among strepsirrhine primates. We begin by reviewing this literature, focusing on nocturnal species. Our understanding about the information content of scent signals and the factors driving species diversity remains incomplete, owing to difficulties in acquiring comparative chemical data. We therefore re-examine such a data set, representing the richness and relative abundance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the urine of 12 species (from Galagidae, Lorisidae, Daubentoniidae, Cheirogaleidae, Indriidae, and Lemuridae), to explore differences between nocturnal, diurnal and cathemeral species. As predicted by the variable importance of urine marking across species, the urine of nocturnal strepsirrhines contained the most VOCs and putative semiochemicals, differed significantly in composition from that of diurnal and cathemeral species and showed the strongest species scent "signatures." Relevant to retracing the evolutionary trajectory of cathemeral strepsirrhines, nocturnal and diurnal species were most differentiated in their VOCs, with cathemeral species being intermediary, but more closely aligned with diurnal species. These data support cathemerality as an ancient expansion of diurnal animals into a nocturnal niche. Consideration of the traits and variables associated with olfactory communication offers a profitable new way for examining species diversity and patterns of evolutionary change.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology

DOI

EISSN

1421-9980

ISSN

0015-5713

Publication Date

January 2019

Volume

90

Issue

5

Start / End Page

422 / 438

Related Subject Headings

  • Urine
  • Strepsirhini
  • Species Specificity
  • Smell
  • Odorants
  • Male
  • Female
  • Circadian Rhythm
  • Biological Evolution
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Drea, C. M., Goodwin, T. E., & delBarco-Trillo, J. (2019). P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines. Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology, 90(5), 422–438. https://doi.org/10.1159/000495076
Drea, Christine M., Thomas E. Goodwin, and Javier delBarco-Trillo. “P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines.Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology 90, no. 5 (January 2019): 422–38. https://doi.org/10.1159/000495076.
Drea CM, Goodwin TE, delBarco-Trillo J. P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines. Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology. 2019 Jan;90(5):422–38.
Drea, Christine M., et al. “P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines.Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology, vol. 90, no. 5, Jan. 2019, pp. 422–38. Epmc, doi:10.1159/000495076.
Drea CM, Goodwin TE, delBarco-Trillo J. P-Mail: The Information Highway of Nocturnal, but Not Diurnal or Cathemeral, Strepsirrhines. Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology. 2019 Jan;90(5):422–438.
Journal cover image

Published In

Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology

DOI

EISSN

1421-9980

ISSN

0015-5713

Publication Date

January 2019

Volume

90

Issue

5

Start / End Page

422 / 438

Related Subject Headings

  • Urine
  • Strepsirhini
  • Species Specificity
  • Smell
  • Odorants
  • Male
  • Female
  • Circadian Rhythm
  • Biological Evolution
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology