10.25338/B8BK8G
Caro, Tim
0000-0001-6804-8519
University of California, Davis
Stankowich, Theodore
0000-0002-6579-7765
California State University, Long Beach
Eco-correlates of coloration in primates
Dryad
dataset
2021
2021-03-05T00:00:00Z
2021-03-05T00:00:00Z
en
44184 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Primates are noted for their varied and complex pelage and bare skin
coloration but the significance of this diverse coloration remains opaque.
Using new updated information, novel scoring of coat and skin coloration,
and controlling for shared ancestry, we reexamined and extended findings
from previous studies across the whole order and the five major clades
within it. Across primates we found (i) direct and indirect evidence for
pelage coloration being driven by protective coloration strategies
including background matching, countershading, disruptive coloration and
aposematism, (ii) diurnal primates being more colorful, and (iii) the
possibility that pelage color diversity is negatively associated with
female trichromatic vision; while (iv) reaffirming avoidance of
hybridization driving head coloration in males, (v) darker species living
in warm, humid conditions (Gloger’s rule), and (vi) advertising to
multiple mating partners favoring red genitalia in females. Nonetheless,
the importance of these drivers varies greatly across clades. In
strepsirrhines and cercopithecoids, countershading is important; greater
color diversity may be important for conspecific signaling in more diurnal
and social strepsirrhines; lack of female color vision may be associated
with colorful strepsirrhines and platyrrhines; whereas cercopithecoids
obey Gloger’s rule. Haplorrhines show background matching, aposematism,
character displacement, and red female genitalia where several mating
partners are available. Our findings emphasize several evolutionary
drivers of coloration in this extraordinarily colorful order. Throughout,
we used coarse but rigorous measures of coloration, and our ability to
replicate findings from earlier studies opens up opportunities for
classifying coloration of large numbers of species at a macroevolutionary
scale.
Torso pattern as 0 = Not black-and-white or may be all black or all white;
1 = ‘Salt and pepper’ like splotches of black-and-white that appear
conspicuous; 2 = Transverse stripes of black-and-white; 3 = Longitudinal
stripes of black-and-white; 4 = A solid block of black/dark brown/dark
grey on the dorsum with a solid block of white/light yellow/light grey on
ventrum; 5 = A solid block of white/light yellow/light grey on dorsum with
a solid block of black/dark brown/dark grey on ventrum; 6 = Irregular
blocks of black-and-white; 7 = Disordered stripes of black-and-white,
often resembling contor lines; 8 = Large spots of black on white
background or vice versa. Tail color proportions were scored as 0 = Not
black or white (may be grey, brown or red); 1 = All black; 2 = Black more
than 50% and white less than 50%; 3 = 50% of tail black and 50% white; 4 =
White more than 50% and black less than 50%; 5 = All white; 999 = No tail.
In tail analyses we reformulated these categories as having any white fur
(#2-5) or not. Total number of distinct color and separately shades
(Figure S2) were documented on each part of the body (with increasing
numbers here termed as being ‘more colorful’). Species were additionally
categorized as having either red (yes or no) and/or dark (yes or no) torso
coloration (as described in the legends SOM Figures 1 and 2). Male and
female genitalia scores were 0 = not different from surrounding pelage, 1
= white, 2 = red or pink, 3 = black, 4 = yellow, 5 = orange, 6 = blue. For
females, we focused on category 2 in analyses as the vast majority of
colorful female genitals are red or pink. Male genitalia are often
multicolored so for males we combined categories 1-6 in analyses. Activity
cycle: 1 = Nocturnal, 2 = Crepuscular, 3 = Diurnal, 4 = Cathemeral, 12 =
Nocturnal/Crepuscular, 13 = Diurnal/Crepuscular’ 0 = absence of data. We
combined categories 2 and 4 into a new category diurnality. Group size: 1
= 1 individual (solitary); 2 = 2 - 5 individuals; 3 = 6 - 25 individuals;
4 = 26 - 100 individuals; 5 = >100 individuals. Social
organization: (i) pair bonded; (ii) multimale; (iii) fission-fusion; (iv)
multimale and multifemale, or fission-fusion; (v) multimale, one female,
(vi) one male and multifemale, and (vii) solitary foraging, (viii)
variable, i,e., reported as (i) or (ii), or (i) or (vi), or (ii) or (vi),
or a ‘a few males’. We subsequently lumped (iii) and (iv) together as
‘fission-fusion societies’. We combined (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) together
as ‘multimale societies’ irrespective of female number. Multilevel
societies from Table S2 in Grueter et al (2015). Mating system: (i)
monogamous, (ii) polygynous, (iii) polyandrous and (iv) promiscuous (also
termed polygynandrous). Some species displayed more than one mating system
((v) monogamous and polygynous, (vi) polygynous and promiscuous, (vii)
monogamous and polyandrous, (viii) polyandrous and promiscuous, and (ix)
monogamous and promiscuous) and in these cases, we recorded both. We
lumped categories (ii), (v) and (vi) together as ‘polygynous’; and
categories (iv), (vi), (viii) and (ix) together as ‘promiscuous’. Hair:
“long” or “shaggy” (1) or else as short/absent (0). Fur thickness was
scored as dense if reported as “dense”, “shaggy” or “thick” (1) or as not
dense (0). These two variables were subsequently combined to generate a
new variable thick hair, where species that had either long or thick hair
were scored as 1, and those that had scores of 0 for both were scored as
0. Species range overlap. Species were scored as either having sympatric
congeners (1) or not (0). Shade scores: see methods. Visual system:
monochromatic, dichromatic, trichromatic or polychromatic (i.e.,
sex-linked alleles in females). If a species was trichromatic or
polymorphic (for females), it was recorded as a 1. If a species was
dichromatic or monochromatic, it was recorded as a 0. Trichromatic males
were scored as 1, otherwise 0. But please see Methods in the paper
Contact Tim Caro or Theodore Stankowich for details