You lick me, I like you: understanding the function of allogrooming in ungulates

Mammal Review, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 54(4), P. 373 - 386

Published: March 25, 2024

ABSTRACT Allogrooming is a common affiliative behaviour with hygienic, physiological and social consequences, has historically been examined in non‐human primates order to understand the evolution of sociality. In primates, allogrooming well‐known have evolved for an antiparasitic function, leading consequences further adoption functions. This includes exchanging benefits biological market, post‐conflict reconciliation long‐term bond formation. The relevant importance these functions largely undetermined many non‐primate taxa, including ungulates. We aimed evaluate current evidence function ungulates, asking whether serves if so, what magnitude. Ungulates show large differences their behaviour, but variation not truly understood. find that although ungulates co‐opted purposes such as formation, variety fully explored. Identifying species‐specific can help clarify context behaviour; this allows us improve our knowledge how individuals groups interact within population, implications when deducing animal state conclude there great potential additional research into we encourage exploration

Language: Английский

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Latrine ecology of a solitary ungulate, the Japanese serow: female–male communication site rather than territorial marking?

Mammalia, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: April 5, 2025

Abstract The functions of latrines have been well studied in gregarious or pair-living territorial ungulates, however, there are no field-based studies on latrine behaviour solitary ungulates with monogamous pair territories. We investigated the Japanese serow ( Capricornis crispus ), a and species. spatial patterns did not coincide serows’ home range boundaries, individuals same sex defecate at (i.e., was countermarking), which suggests that may function as marking. During late-mating season, when males females tend to live separately, number visits by increased probability defecating significantly higher, suggesting signallers, informing their oestrus status males. Moreover, also frequently visited latrines, sniffing overmarking were observed only during receive information about from females’ faeces. Obtaining female directly is difficult for species sexes separately. Although future would be required confirm this hypothesis, our study evolved female-to-male communication sites serow.

Language: Английский

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Sexual Selection And Species Recognition Promote Complex Male Courtship Displays In Ungulates

Behavioral Ecology, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 35(3)

Published: April 8, 2024

Abstract Identifying the evolutionary drivers of sexual signal complexity is a key challenge in study animal communication. Among mammals, male bovids and cervids often perform elaborate gestural displays during courtship, consisting ritualized movements various parts body but causes underlying interspecific variation such remain poorly understood. Here we apply comparative method to investigate which factors may have either promoted or constrained repertoire size. We found that selection was strong predictor display cervids. Repertoire size positively correlated with breeding group size, an indicator intensity males. Moreover, repertoires were larger species adopting nonterritorial lek mating systems than resource-defence territoriality, finding can be explained by more emphasis on direct benefits indirect systems, where success also less skewed due difficulty monopolizing mates. The results indicate number closely related occurring sympatry. This consistent being selected facilitate recognition courtship thereby avoid hybridization. At same time, negatively associated mass, possibly energetic mechanical constraints imposed very large species. By contrast, no evidence habitat drives for complex displays.

Language: Английский

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Population Genomic History of the Endangered Anatolian and Cyprian Mouflons in Relation to Worldwide Wild, Feral, and Domestic Sheep Lineages

Genome Biology and Evolution, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 16(5)

Published: April 25, 2024

Once widespread in their homelands, the Anatolian mouflon (Ovis gmelini anatolica) and Cyprian ophion) were driven to near extinction during 20th century are currently listed as endangered populations by International Union for Conservation of Nature. While exact origins these lineages remain unclear, they have been suggested be close relatives domestic sheep or remnants proto-domestic sheep. Here, we study whole genome sequences n = 5 mouflons 10 terms population history diversity, comparing them with eight other extant lineages. We find reciprocal genetic affinity between sheep, higher than all studied wild genomes, including Iranian (O. gmelini). Studying diversity indices, detect a considerable load short runs homozygosity blocks (<2 Mb) both mouflons, reflecting small effective size (Ne). Meanwhile, Ne mutation estimates lower compared suggesting purging recessive deleterious variants under long-term Ne, possibly attributable founder effects, island isolation, introgression from lineages, differences bottleneck dynamics. Expanding our analyses worldwide feral Ovis observe varying viability metrics among different limited consistency Nature conservation status. Factors such recent inbreeding, introgression, unique dynamics may contributed observed disparities.

Language: Английский

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Ecological drivers of sexual size dimorphism in northern chamois

Ecology and Evolution, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 14(10)

Published: Oct. 1, 2024

Male-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is common in ungulates. The dominant scenario for the evolution of ungulate SSD suggests that habitat openness leads to greater by increasing group and thus selection through male-male competition mates. At a more proximate level, adaptive changes may result from plastic response individuals environmental variation. In this study, we used 161,948 body mass data seasonally size-dimorphic species, northern chamois

Language: Английский

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Reproductive payoffs of territoriality are snow‐dependent in a mountain ungulate, the Alpine chamois

Journal of Zoology, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 321(3), P. 225 - 236

Published: Sept. 14, 2023

Abstract Female density and distribution are dependent on resource phenology female availability strongly influences male mating behaviour success. When a adopts ‘resource defence’ tactic, his reproductive success depends the location attractiveness of territory. Environmental factors associated with territory quality expected to influence success, for example, through features or male–male competition. In protected population mountain‐dwelling polygynous herbivore, Alpine chamois Rupicapra r. rupicapra , we investigated relationships among opportunities, some environmental variables (snow depth, topographic size territories) intra‐sexual competition mating. We recorded 15 GPS‐GSM radio‐tagged territorial males, during five rutting seasons (early November early December: N = 8 individuals in 2011, 9 2012, 2015, 11 2016, 7 2017; 80% them were observed more than one season) related snow depth topography territories. ruts deep cover, males had smaller territories higher number opportunities lower cover. Smaller showed highest values terrain roughness, turn little no cover season, visited by greater females, larger Number wins was positively influenced negatively frequency aggressions. The aggressive interactions at elevations; additionally, it won. Thus, which movements, is confirmed as strong determinant behaviour.

Language: Английский

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