Abstract

Reproduction is a crucial activity for all animal species. Individuals have to find mating opportunities, defend partners, and mate at the appropriate timing to maximize their reproductive success while dealing with the cost associated with reproduction (e.g., production of gametes, physiological stress).To guide their mating decision, individuals exchange information about their attributes and status through multiple sensory modalities. I have been studying how primates strategically mate using sexual communication and especially ovulatory signals in several species of Afro-Eurasian monkeys (olive baboons, Japanese macaques, cherry-crowned mangabeys, humans). I will present some of my results on the role of female visual (skin coloration, swelling), auditory (vocalisation), and olfactory(vaginal secretion) modalities in ovulatory signalling and mating strategies.