Baboon sexual swellings: information content of size and color

Hormones and Behavior
James P HighamStuart Semple

Abstract

Primate sexual swellings are hormone-dependent sexual signals that play a key role in determining patterns of behavior. They are among the most conspicuous signals exhibited by any mammal, and their large size and bright coloration have fascinated evolutionary biologists for well over a century. A number of different adaptive hypotheses have been proposed for the evolution of sexual swellings, and there have been several recent attempts to test some of these using precise swelling measurements made in the field. Most of these studies have focused only on the size element of the swelling, and those that have measured other aspects of swellings, such as color, have done so only crudely. A focus solely on swelling size is inconsistent with most theoretical models of mate choice, which emphasize the importance of multiple cues within sexual signals. Here, we present data on baboon (Papio hamadryas anubis) sexual swellings, including measures of both swelling size and color, measured objectively using digital photography at Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria. We combined these measurements with detailed data on fecal progestogen and estrogen levels, and estimates of the timing of ovulation and the fertile period around ovulation b...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 5, 2014·Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology·Courtney L FitzpatrickSusan C Alberts
Mar 28, 2009·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Elise HuchardGuy Cowlishaw
Apr 9, 2010·BMC Evolutionary Biology·Elise HuchardGuy Cowlishaw
Apr 8, 2011·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·James P HighamMartin Stevens
Jun 20, 2012·BMC Evolutionary Biology·James P HighamAntje Engelhardt
Sep 24, 2008·Primates; Journal of Primatology·James P HighamAnn Maclarnon
Jan 26, 2016·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Joanna M Setchell
Jul 22, 2011·Fertility and Sterility·Jean-Paul DehouxJacques Donnez
Sep 15, 2010·Physiology & Behavior·James P HighamDario Maestripieri
Jul 3, 2010·Psychoneuroendocrinology·Joanna M SetchellPola Tyniec
Sep 13, 2008·Hormones and Behavior·James P HighamCaroline Ross
Jan 30, 2009·American Journal of Primatology·James P HighamCaroline Ross
Jul 20, 2010·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Paula Stockley, Jakob Bro-Jørgensen
Dec 12, 2012·American Journal of Primatology·Thore J Bergman, Michael J Sheehan
Apr 17, 2013·American Journal of Primatology·Stuart Semple, James P Higham
Nov 21, 2015·Royal Society Open Science·P MayorM Bowler
Apr 10, 2013·Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology·Tim Caro
Jul 30, 2016·Hormones and Behavior·James P Higham
Jul 1, 2012·Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·Susan C Alberts, Courtney L Fitzpatrick
Jul 1, 2010·Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·James P HighamMartin Stevens
Oct 30, 2013·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·T H Clutton-Brock, E Huchard
Oct 8, 2013·International Journal of Primatology·Brandon C WheelerMichael Heistermann
Mar 10, 2009·American Journal of Primatology·Parry M R ClarkeS P Henzi
Dec 1, 2009·International Journal of Primatology·Dagmar CloughPeter M Kappeler
Jul 24, 2010·International Journal of Primatology·Ines FürtbauerJulia Ostner
Aug 3, 2010·American Journal of Primatology·Amy LuJacinta C Beehner
Feb 10, 2012·American Journal of Primatology·Amy LuCarola Borries
Aug 30, 2012·American Journal of Primatology·Trevor T NyakudyaDuncan Mitchell
May 21, 2014·American Journal of Primatology·David FernándezJanine L Brown
Oct 15, 2019·Evolutionary Anthropology·Laís A A MoreiraAmanda D Melin
Feb 27, 2013·American Journal of Primatology·William L Allen, James P Higham
May 24, 2017·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Hannah M Rowland, Robert P Burriss

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