Ring‐tailed lemurs ( Lemur catta ) use olfaction to locate distant fruit

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8313738
AutoresElena P Cunningham (0000-0002-5529-921X, Department of Molecular Pathobiology New York University College of Dentistry New York New York 10010 USA, autor de correspondencia), Devin Edmonds (0000-0002-5633-7206, Lemur Conservation Foundation Myakka City Florida USA), Laura Stalter (Lemur Conservation Foundation Myakka City Florida USA), Malvin N Janal (0000-0003-1098-9687, Department of Molecular Pathobiology New York University College of Dentistry New York New York 10010 USA)
Año2021
Volumen175
Número1
Páginas300-307
Fecha de publicación2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.24255
PMID33624841
OpenAlexW3129249223
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas55

OBJECTIVES: As many primates live in forests where visibility is limited, the ability to detect the aroma of distant fruit and navigate odor plumes would be highly adaptive. Our study is the first to investigate this ability with strepsirrhine primates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We tested the ability of a group of ring-tailed lemurs to detect hidden fruit from afar using scent alone. We hid containers in the underbrush of a semi-natural forest, some baited with real cantaloupe and some with sham cantaloupe, 4-17 m from a path routinely used by the lemurs. Crucially, the containers were not visible from the path. Therefore, the lemurs had to use olfactory cues, but did not have to prioritize them to locate the bait. RESULTS: The lemurs found the real cantaloupe on days that the wind blew the scent of the fruit toward the trail. They did not find the sham cantaloupe. Upon detecting the odor of the bait, the lemurs sniffed the air at one or more locations as they moved toward the bait, a process of navigation known as klinotaxis. DISCUSSION: The traditional belief is that primates are unable to track odor plumes. The untrained lemurs in this study were able to detect the odor of the cantaloupe among the complex odors of the forest and navigate the odor plume to the fruit. The results indicate that olfaction may be used to respond to cues from distant sources. The ability to track odor plumes may be a critical foraging skill for strepsirrhines

Acorn · Biology · Foraging · Lemur · Lemur catta · Odor · Olfaction · Olfactory cues · Primate · Zoology · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Ecology · Neuroscience · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Primate Behavior and Ecology