Inter-sexual multimodal communication during mating in wild geladas: the leading role of females

Anna Zanoli (1) , Marco Gamba (1) , Alban Lemasson (2, 3) , Ivan Norscia (1, 4) , Elisabetta Palagi (4)

1 UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin
2 IUF - Institut universitaire de France
3 EthoS - Ethologie animale et humaine
4 University of Pisa - Università di Pisa

Female primates can emit vocalizations associated with mating that can function as honest signals of fertility. Here, we investigated the role of mating calls and visual signals in female geladas (. Because females have a central role in the gelada society and seem to solicit sexual interactions, we answered whether they emit vocalizations in conjunction with gazing to increase mating success probability. Before and during copulations, females can emit pre-copulation calls and copulation calls. For the first time, we identified a new female vocalization emitted at the final stage of copulations (end-copulation call), possibly marking the occurrence of ejaculation. We found that longer pre-copulation call sequences were followed by both prolonged copulations and the presence of end-copulation calls, thus suggesting that females use pre-copulation calls to ensure successful copula completion. Moreover, we found that different combinations of female vocal types and gazing had different effects on male vocal behavior and motivation to complete the copula. The analysis of the vocal and visual signals revealed a complex inter-sexual multimodal chattering with the leading role of females in the signal exchange. Such chattering, led by females, modulates male sexual arousal, thus increasing the probability of the copula success.

Mots clés: copulation calls; female end-copulation call; inter-sexual coordination; mating success; multimodal communication; Theropithecus gelada

Domaines: Sciences cognitives; Biologie animale

Anna Zanoli, Marco Gamba, Alban Lemasson, Ivan Norscia, Elisabetta Palagi. Inter-sexual multimodal communication during mating in wild geladas: the leading role of females. Current zoology, 2022, 68 (5), pp.570-580. ⟨10.1093/cz/zoab093⟩. ⟨hal-03689593⟩