Parturition Signaling by Visual Cues in Female Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 5;10(6):e0129319. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129319. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

New World monkeys have polymorphic color vision, in which all males and some females are dichromats, while most females are trichromats. There is little consensus about which selective pressures fashioned primate color vision, although detection of food, mates and predators has been hypothesized. Behavioral evidence shows that males from different species of Neotropical primates seem to perceive the timing of female conception and gestation, although, no signals fulfilling this function have been identified. Therefore, we used visual models to test the hypothesis that female marmosets show chromatic and/or achromatic cues that may indicate the time of parturition for male and female conspecifics. By recording the reflectance spectra of female marmosets' (Callithrix jacchus) sexual skin, and running chromatic and achromatic discrimination models, we found that both variables fluctuate during the weeks that precede and succeed parturition, forming "U" and inverted "U" patterns for chromatic and achromatic contrast, respectively. We suggest that variation in skin chroma and luminance might be used by female helpers and dominant females to identify the timing of birth, while achromatic variations may be used as clues by potential fathers to identify pregnancy stage in females and prepare for paternal burdens as well as to detect oestrus in the early post-partum period.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Callithrix
  • Color Vision / physiology*
  • Cues*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Animal
  • Parturition / physiology*
  • Pregnancy
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*
  • Skin Pigmentation / physiology
  • Time Factors

Grants and funding

LAAM received a M.Sc. scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). DMAP and MBCS were financed by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Proc. No.: 478222/2006-8 (DMAP), 25674/2009 (DMAP), 302592/2009-1 (MBCS), 800074/2010-6 (MBCS) and 306018/2013-6 (MBCS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.