Odor familiarity and female preferences for males in a threatened primate, the pygmy loris Nycticebus pygmaeus:: applications for genetic management of small populations
Odor familiarity and female preferences for males in a threatened primate, the pygmy loris Nycticebus pygmaeus:: applications for genetic management of small populations
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DOI：
10.1007/s00114-003-0465-9
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发表时间：
2003-11-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Fitch-Snyder, H
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Fisher, HS;Swaisgood, RR;Fitch-Snyder, H
在这里，我们利用性选择理论来发展一种逻辑上简单而有效的方法来操纵女性的生殖行为以达到保护目标。在小种群中，配偶选择导致的非随机交配模式会加剧遗传多样性的丧失。从理论上讲，雌性应该选择高质量的伴侣。一项来自化学交流理论的预测是，好胜的雄性会更好地用气味标记填满一个区域。如果这是真的，雌性应该优先与它们最经常闻到气味的雄性交配。我们用侏儒猴（Nycticebus pygmaeus）来验证这一假设，这是一种受到威胁且研究较少的夜间原猴。在几周的时间里，雌性动物被反复暴露在某只雄性动物的尿液中，然后被允许在气味熟悉的雄性动物和气味陌生的雄性动物之间做出选择。雌性对气味熟悉的雄性表现出不同寻常的强烈偏好，这可以通过几种行为偏好来证明。保护管理人员可以使用这种方法作为获得生殖配对的工具，以最大限度地提高遗传兼容性和多样性。例如，不成功的雄性可能会得到繁殖的机会。在圈养种群中，种群管理人员经常为了优化近亲繁殖而选择配对，但这些选择的配对可能与所涉及的单个动物的偏好不一致。尽管有几位作者提出了操纵配偶选择以保护物种的理论论点，但这是对一种可以操纵的近似机制的一种新颖测试，培养了应用而不仅仅是暗示。
Here we use sexual selection theory to develop a logistically simple, yet effective, method for the manipulation of female reproductive behavior for conservation goals. Mate choice leading to nonrandom mating patterns can exacerbate the loss of genetic diversity in small populations. On theoretical grounds, females should choose high-quality mates. A prediction stemming from chemical communication theory is that competitive males will be better able to saturate an area with scent marks. If this is true, females should mate preferentially with males whose odors they encounter most frequently. We tested this hypothesis with the pygmy loris, Nycticebus pygmaeus, a threatened and poorly studied nocturnal prosimian. For several weeks females were exposed repeatedly to the urine from a particular male, and were then allowed to choose between a male whose odors were familiar and one whose odors were novel. Females showed an unusually strong preference for the familiar-odor male, as indicated by several behavioral measures of mate preference. Conservation managers can use this method as a tool to obtain reproductive pairings that will maximize genetic compatibility and diversity. For example, unsuccessful males may be given the opportunity to reproduce. In captive populations, studbook managers often select pairs in order to optimize outbreeding, but these selected pairings may not coincide with the preferences of the individual animals involved. Although several authors have made theoretical arguments for manipulating mate choice for conservation, this is a novel test of a proximate mechanism that can be manipulated, cultivating applications rather than mere implications.