Palagi, E., and Dapporto, L. 2006. Urine marking and urination in Lemur catta: a comparison of design features. Ann. Zool. Fennici 43: 280-284

In this article, the “design features” of signal by Lemur catta using urine deposition was investigated. According to the article, Lemur catta deposits urine with two tail configurations: the first one is urine marking, urine deposition is combined with an evident display of the tail, which is held up; the second one is urinating, where the tail is only slightly raised.

Urine marking is a complex signal with multimodal and multiple characteristics, which directs to both group members and to neighboring groups. Lemur catta are predicted to use a combination of visual and chemical cues since they live in tropical areas where the high temperature and humidity strongly decrease the durability of scent deposition, the visual cues could help receivers in a quicker detection of the scent.

Data was collected on two groups of 10 healthy individuals of Lemur catta housed in the zoo. The two groups shared the same territory in alternation for the same amount of time each day and were always allowed with olfactory and visual contact through the doors separating them. The urine marking behavior was discriminated from urinating by the presence of the tail display.

The results show what signal features differ between urine marking and urination. Also, it has been determined that the location of the signaler is the most important factor in distinguishing the two configurations. For instance, the urine scent could be lost or dispersed by wind when released from elevated sites such as trees. Therefore, it is more effective for lemurs to deposit urine on the ground to permit the receivers to associate the tail display with scent location.

The topic presented here relates to what we learned in lecture. The article talks significantly about design of threat signals of lemurs. The urine scent lemurs used in range threat signals combines visual and olfactory mechanisms. The signals are not transmitted very far because sender and receiver are close, and they used posture movement to enhance the receiver’s response. However, it does not involve any predators in this experiment, thus suggesting that the signal conspicuousness is largely decreased. But further research on wild lemurs may be a good approach to better understand the findings of this study.