Elisabetta Palagi
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 626503 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Elisabetta Palagi |
| PRENOMES | Elisabetta |
| SOBRENOME | Palagi |
| ASSINATURA | PALAGI E |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Pisa |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2038-4596 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 41 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 52 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 41 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2002 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
SEX in bonobos
Late bloomers in play
Teeth Baring as a Model to Understand Complex Facial Signals in a Tolerant Macaque Species
Facial communication regulates many aspects of social life in human and nonhuman primates. Empirically identifying distinct facial expressions and their underlying functions can help illuminate the evolution of species' communicative complexity. We focused on bared‐teeth faces (BTFs), a highly versatile facial expression in the tolerant macaque Macaca tonkeana . By employing a diverse array of techniques (MaqFACS, unsupervised cluster analysis, L…
Inertia and Rapid Divergence in the Evolution of Yawning
Complex communication systems appear to evolve alongside social complexity. Comparing closely related species with similar social structures but distinct sociobiology offers valuable insights into the evolution of communicative variability. Here, we explore yawning (morphology, sensory modalities, contexts, contagious effect), a highly conserved behavioral trait, in two zoo‐housed groups of geladas ( Theropithecus gelada , n subjects = 67, n yawn…
Yawn Contagion and Modality‐Matching in the Female‐Bonded Society of Geladas ( Theropithecus gelada )
Behavioral contagion is widespread in primates, with yawn contagion (YC) being a well‐known example. Often associated with ingroup dynamics and synchronization, the possible functions and evolutionary pathways of YC remain subjects of active debate. Among nonhuman animals, geladas ( Theropithecus gelada ) are the only species known to occasionally emit a distinct vocalization while yawning. Yet, the role of different sensory modalities in YC rema…
Bridging Species Divides
More than a simple fixed action pattern
In the last decade, increasing attention has been devoted to exploring some aspects of yawning in non-human animals. With their chin red mark, bony paranasal swellings, male large brains and long canines, drills ( Mandrillus leucophaeus ) offer a robust model for testing hypotheses on the phenomenon. We identified two yawn variants (covered, Y CT and uncovered teeth, Y UCT ) which differ in terms of recruitment of muscular action units (AUs). We …
Manual preference, performance, and dexterity for bimanual grass‐feeding behavior in wild geladas ( Theropithecus gelada )
We assessed whether wild geladas, highly specialized terrestrial grass eaters, are lateralized for bimanual grass‐plucking behavior. According to the literature, we expected that complex motor movements in grass feeding would favor the emergence of a population‐level hand bias in these primates. In addition, we described geladas' manual behavior based on systematic observations of several individuals. Our study group included 28 individuals belon…
Wolves and dogs unleashed
The behavioral outcomes of wolf domestication include high tameness and playful motivation Wolves and dogs exhibit extended play into adulthood, making adult play a key model to explore domestication effects We collected data on mother-reared wolves and Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs (CWDs), analyzing play fighting behaviors. CWDs are a good comparison model due to their genetic closeness to wolves. Wolves played in a more competitive and less reciproc…
Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus)
Comparative thanatology includes the scientific study of death in non-human animals, which involves emotional, social, and exploratory responses of individuals and groups towards corpses. Stillborn babies and dead infants often elicit maternal and alloparental care that can persist for days, weeks, or even months, especially in primates. After this period, cannibalistic acts can occur not only by groupmates but also by the mother. Such cannibalis…
Social Isolation Affects the Mimicry Response in the Use of Smartphones
Humans are social animals that rely on different ways to interact with each other. The COVID-19 pandemic strongly changed our communication strategies. Because of the importance of direct contact for our species, we predict that immediately after the forced social isolation, people were more prone to engage in direct rather than in virtual interactions, thus showing a lower mimicry response in the use of smartphones. In a non-longitudinal study, …
The evolution and ontogeny of play
This special issue of the International Journal of Play is devoted to the evolution and ontogeny of play and includes papers on various animals, children, and a diversity of phenomena all related to this theme. Papers in the issue provide original data on these species: rheas, Beluga whales, wolves, Japanese monkeys, gorillas, and human children as well as a phylogenetic analysis of social play in primates. While social play is emphasized, object…
Wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in crops—more than in pasture areas—reduce aggression and affiliation
Human–primate interfaces are expanding and, despite recent studies on primates from peri-urban environments, little research exists on the impact of agriculture and/or pasture areas on primate social behavior and health. We assessed how crop/pasture areas potentially alter social behavior and health of wild geladas ( Theropithecus gelada ) frequenting the unprotected area of Kundi (Ethiopia). We predicted that compared to pasture areas, crop area…
Not all yawns tell the same story
Here we show for the first time that the plasticity in morphology and duration of yawning in Macaca tonkeana can be associated with different functional contexts. Macaca tonkeana is classified as a tolerant macaque species characterized by social interactions minimally constrained by dominance rank or kinship. Tonkean macaques, as other egalitarian species, rely on a complex facial communicative system. We found that the degree of mouth opening (…
Yawning Is More Contagious in Pregnant Than Nulliparous Women
Contrary to spontaneous yawning, which is widespread in vertebrates and probably evolutionary ancient, contagious yawning-yawning triggered by others' yawns-is considered an evolutionarily recent phenomenon, found in species characterized by complex sociality. Whether the social asymmetry observed in the occurrence of contagious yawning is related to social and emotional attachment and may therefore reflect emotional contagion is a subject of deb…
Is birth attendance a uniquely human feature? New evidence suggests that Bonobo females protect and support the parturient
Facial mimicry and play
Play fighting, a common form of mammalian play, can escalate into aggression if playful motivation is misinterpreted and not shared by players. In primates, playful facial expressions and mimicry can be performed to signal and share playful motivation. Here we compare play facial expressions (play face [PF]: lower teeth exposed; full play face [FPF]: upper and lower teeth exposed) and their mimicry in captive chimpanzees and lowland gorillas, dur…
Calming an aggressor through spontaneous post‐conflict triadic contacts
Peaceful third-party interventions usually occur after an aggressive encounter and can be directed toward the victim or the aggressor. Macaca tonkeana, a cercopithecine species characterized by high levels of tolerance, frequently engage in consolatory contacts, which both calm the victim and reduce the probability of further attacks against him/her. Other post-conflict affiliative interventions such as reconciliation and quadratic affiliation ar…
Testing yawning hypotheses in wild populations of two strepsirrhine species
Yawning, although easily recognized, is difficult to explain. Traditional explanations stressed physiological mechanisms, but more recently, behavioral processes have received increasing attention. This is the first study to test a range of hypotheses on yawning in wild primate populations. We studied two sympatric strepsirrhine species, Lemur catta, and Propithecus verreauxi, of the Ankoba forest (24.99°S, 46.29°E, Berenty reserve) in southern M…
Being a victim or an aggressor
Animals adopt different behavioral strategies to cope with the conflict of interests coming from the competition over limited resources. Starting from the study on chimpanzees, post-conflict third-party affiliation (the affiliative contact provided by a third-party toward the victim--VTA--or the aggressor--ATA) was investigated mainly in primates. Later, this post-conflict mechanism has been demonstrated also in other mammals, such as wallabies, …
Exploring the evolutionary foundations of empathy
Relaxed open mouth as a playful signal in wild ring‐tailed lemurs
Play signals are commonly used by animals to communicate their playful motivation and to limit the risk that rough acts are misunderstood by playmates. The relaxed open mouth is the most common facial expression performed during play in many mammals and represents the ritualized version of the movement anticipating a play bite. The signaling nature of this expression has been proven in many haplorrhine species but never demonstrated in strepsirrh…
Scratching around mating
When play is a family business
Reconciling conflicts in a one-male society
Social play in bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) and chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )
This study compares adult play behavior in the two Pan species in order to test the effects of phylogenetic closeness and the nature of social systems on play distribution. The social play (both with fertile and immature subjects) performed by adults did not differ between the two species. In contrast, in bonobos, play levels among fertile subjects were higher than in chimpanzees. Findings regarding levels of undecided conflicts (more frequent in…
Reconciliation and Consolation in Captive Western Gorillas
Short-Term Benefits of Play Behavior and Conflict Prevention in Pan paniscus
Possible Roles of Consolation in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Empathy is a necessary prerequisite for the occurrence of consolation. The term "consolation" contains a hypothesis about function, which is distress alleviation. The present study aims to confirm the occurrence of consolation in captive chimpanzees via the post-conflict/matched-control method (PC-MC) and to suggest its possible roles. We collected 273 PC-MC pairs in the group of Pan troglodytes housed in the ZooParc de Beauval (France). We confi…
Development of Olfactory Behavior in Captive Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta)
Sniffing Behavior in Lemur catta
Multimodal signaling in wild Lemur catta
Urine marking has been neglected in prosimian primates. Captive studies showed that the Malagasy prosimian Lemur catta scent marks with urine, as well as via specialized depositions. L. catta urine mark, a multimodal signal, differs from simple urination in terms of different design features, including tail configuration: the tail is held up during marking (UT‐up) and down during urination (UT‐down). We explore economy and function of UT‐up in th…
Aggression and Reconciliation in Two Captive Groups of Lemur catta
Reproductive Strategies in Lemur catta
Berenty 2006
Play in adult bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
The aim of this study was to thoroughly investigate social play and its modalities among adult bonobos. We evaluated how play intensity varies according to the sex‐class combination of the playmates and we also performed an analysis on social locomotor‐rotational movements (L‐R play) and contact interactions (C play). Rough and gentle play sessions were performed with comparable frequencies by male–female and female–female adult dyads, with play …
Yawning Is More Contagious in Pregnant Than Nulliparous Women
Contrary to spontaneous yawning, which is widespread in vertebrates and probably evolutionary ancient, contagious yawning-yawning triggered by others' yawns-is considered an evolutionarily recent phenomenon, found in species characterized by complex sociality. Whether the social asymmetry observed in the occurrence of contagious yawning is related to social and emotional attachment and may therefore reflect emotional contagion is a subject of deb…
Calming an aggressor through spontaneous post‐conflict triadic contacts
Peaceful third-party interventions usually occur after an aggressive encounter and can be directed toward the victim or the aggressor. Macaca tonkeana, a cercopithecine species characterized by high levels of tolerance, frequently engage in consolatory contacts, which both calm the victim and reduce the probability of further attacks against him/her. Other post-conflict affiliative interventions such as reconciliation and quadratic affiliation ar…
Being a victim or an aggressor
Animals adopt different behavioral strategies to cope with the conflict of interests coming from the competition over limited resources. Starting from the study on chimpanzees, post-conflict third-party affiliation (the affiliative contact provided by a third-party toward the victim--VTA--or the aggressor--ATA) was investigated mainly in primates. Later, this post-conflict mechanism has been demonstrated also in other mammals, such as wallabies, …
Managing Conflict
Development of Olfactory Behavior in Captive Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta)
Sniffing Behavior in Lemur catta
Reconciliation and consolation in captive bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
Although reconciliation in bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) has previously been described, it has not been analyzed heretofore by the postconflict (PC) match‐control (MC) method. Furthermore, although reconciliation has been investigated before in this species, consolation has not. In this study we analyzed agonistic and affiliative contacts in all sex‐class combinations to clarify and reevaluate the occurrence of reconciliation in bonobos via the PC‐MC …
Reproductive Strategies in Lemur catta
Aggression and Reconciliation in Two Captive Groups of Lemur catta
Perineal swelling, intermenstrual cycle, and female sexual behavior in bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
Many reports have claimed that the duration of the swelling cycle in female bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) is longer than that of chimpanzees, and that the bonobo maximum swelling phase is markedly prolonged. Field data on intermenstrual intervals (IMIs) in female bonobos are limited and restricted to interswelling intervals (ISIs), which are assumed to reflect the IMI, though a direct comparison between the duration of ISIs and IMIs is still lacking. …
Managing Conflict
Short-Term Benefits of Play Behavior and Conflict Prevention in Pan paniscus
Reconciliation and Consolation in Captive Western Gorillas
Social play in bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) and chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )
This study compares adult play behavior in the two Pan species in order to test the effects of phylogenetic closeness and the nature of social systems on play distribution. The social play (both with fertile and immature subjects) performed by adults did not differ between the two species. In contrast, in bonobos, play levels among fertile subjects were higher than in chimpanzees. Findings regarding levels of undecided conflicts (more frequent in…
Possible Roles of Consolation in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Empathy is a necessary prerequisite for the occurrence of consolation. The term "consolation" contains a hypothesis about function, which is distress alleviation. The present study aims to confirm the occurrence of consolation in captive chimpanzees via the post-conflict/matched-control method (PC-MC) and to suggest its possible roles. We collected 273 PC-MC pairs in the group of Pan troglodytes housed in the ZooParc de Beauval (France). We confi…
Play in adult bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
The aim of this study was to thoroughly investigate social play and its modalities among adult bonobos. We evaluated how play intensity varies according to the sex‐class combination of the playmates and we also performed an analysis on social locomotor‐rotational movements (L‐R play) and contact interactions (C play). Rough and gentle play sessions were performed with comparable frequencies by male–female and female–female adult dyads, with play …
Peaceful Post‐Conflict Interactions between Aggressors and Bystanders in captive lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla )
We observed a colony of lowland gorillas in order to assess the occurrence of Peaceful Post‐Conflict Interactions between Aggressors and Bystanders (PPIAB). We compared the dynamics of PPIAB with those of Peaceful Post‐Conflict Interactions between Victims and Bystanders (PPIVB), which are directed toward victims. We confirmed the occurrence of PPIAB (mean Triadic Contact Tendency: 41.7%±16.2% SEM) at frequencies comparable to PPIVB. Immature gor…
Berenty 2006
Multimodal signaling in wild Lemur catta
Urine marking has been neglected in prosimian primates. Captive studies showed that the Malagasy prosimian Lemur catta scent marks with urine, as well as via specialized depositions. L. catta urine mark, a multimodal signal, differs from simple urination in terms of different design features, including tail configuration: the tail is held up during marking (UT‐up) and down during urination (UT‐down). We explore economy and function of UT‐up in th…
Reconciling conflicts in a one-male society
Aggression does not increase friendly contacts among bystanders in geladas (Theropithecus gelada)
When play is a family business
Scratching around mating
Exploring the evolutionary foundations of empathy
Relaxed open mouth as a playful signal in wild ring‐tailed lemurs
Play signals are commonly used by animals to communicate their playful motivation and to limit the risk that rough acts are misunderstood by playmates. The relaxed open mouth is the most common facial expression performed during play in many mammals and represents the ritualized version of the movement anticipating a play bite. The signaling nature of this expression has been proven in many haplorrhine species but never demonstrated in strepsirrh…
Testing yawning hypotheses in wild populations of two strepsirrhine species
Yawning, although easily recognized, is difficult to explain. Traditional explanations stressed physiological mechanisms, but more recently, behavioral processes have received increasing attention. This is the first study to test a range of hypotheses on yawning in wild primate populations. We studied two sympatric strepsirrhine species, Lemur catta, and Propithecus verreauxi, of the Ankoba forest (24.99°S, 46.29°E, Berenty reserve) in southern M…
Being a victim or an aggressor
Animals adopt different behavioral strategies to cope with the conflict of interests coming from the competition over limited resources. Starting from the study on chimpanzees, post-conflict third-party affiliation (the affiliative contact provided by a third-party toward the victim--VTA--or the aggressor--ATA) was investigated mainly in primates. Later, this post-conflict mechanism has been demonstrated also in other mammals, such as wallabies, …
Is birth attendance a uniquely human feature? New evidence suggests that Bonobo females protect and support the parturient
Facial mimicry and play
Play fighting, a common form of mammalian play, can escalate into aggression if playful motivation is misinterpreted and not shared by players. In primates, playful facial expressions and mimicry can be performed to signal and share playful motivation. Here we compare play facial expressions (play face [PF]: lower teeth exposed; full play face [FPF]: upper and lower teeth exposed) and their mimicry in captive chimpanzees and lowland gorillas, dur…
Biology (37 obras) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (36 obras) · Psychology (30 obras) · Zoology (27 obras) · Animal Behavior and Reproduction (21 obras) · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior (20 obras) · Ecology (18 obras) · Social Psychology (17 obras) · Animal ecology (16 obras) · Developmental psychology (16 obras)