Sexual Signaling and Sociosexual Behaviors in Relation to Rank, Parasites, Hormones, and Age in Male Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in Uganda.

ABSTRACT: Secondary sexual characteristics, and the extent to which they are expressed, can convey information about the signaller. The blue scrotum and red penis of male vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) make them a good species in which to examine inter- and intramale variation in signal expression. We quantified genital hue and luminance of male vervets at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda from standardized photos of male genitalia taken in May to June 2016, January to March 2019, and April to June 2019 to examine how dominance rank, fecal androgens (fARMs), fecal glucocorticoids (fGCMs), and parasitism related to achromatic (i.e., luminance) and chromatic (i.e., hue) aspects of scrotal and penile coloration, as well as how genital color related to sociosexual behaviors. We examined 182 photoshoots, 2

SUBMITTER: Snyder KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11666871 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature