Human Ability to Recognize Kin Visually Within Primates

Alvergne, Alexandra; Huchard, Élise; Caillaud, Damien; Charpentier, Marie; Setchell, Joanna M.; Ruppli, Charlène A.; Féjan, Delphine; Martínez, Laura; Cowlishaw, Guy; Raymond, Michel

doi:10.1007/s10764-009-9339-0

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Many cues reflect relatedness in non-human primates, including visual appearance [39], vocalisations [40] and odours [41,42] and exciting new findings suggest that both human [43] and non-human primates [44] may use such cues in kin discrimination. Some evidence suggests that choice for MHC dissimilarity may not simply result from inbreeding avoidance based on alternative cues (due to correlations between MHC and genome-wide dissimilarity).…”

Section: There Are No Global Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The hidden benefits of sex: Evidence for MHC‐associated mate choice in primate societies

Setchell

Huchard

2010

BioEssays

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Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-associated mate choice is thought to give offspring a fitness advantage through disease resistance. Primates offer a unique opportunity to understand MHC-associated mate choice within our own zoological order, while their social diversity provides an exceptional setting to examine the genetic determinants and consequences of mate choice in animal societies. Although mate choice is constrained by social context, increasing evidence shows that MHCdependent mate choice occurs across the order in a variety of socio-sexual systems and favours mates with dissimilar, diverse or specific genotypes non-exclusively. Recent research has also identified phenotypic indicators of MHC quality. Moreover, novel findings rehabilitate the importance of olfactory cues in signalling MHC genes and influencing primate mating decisions. These findings underline the importance to females of selecting a sexual partner of high genetic quality, as well as the generality of the role of MHC genes in sexual selection.

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Section: There Are No Global Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The hidden benefits of sex: Evidence for MHC‐associated mate choice in primate societies

Setchell

Huchard

2010

BioEssays

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“…In primates, facial cues are used to convey signals about identity, behaviour and condition [4,[11][12][13][14]. Facial colour patterns are hypothesized to be primarily used by primates to assess species identity [9,15,16], while intraspecific variation and polymorphisms in the coloration and shape of facial features appear most important for assessment of individual identity and condition [4][5][6][12][13][14]. Thus, faces are hypothesized to fulfil two functional roles with regard to recognition [3]: class-level recognition, where receivers match the signaller's phenotype to an internal template associated with different classes (in this case, species); and 'true' individual recognition, where the receiver learns the signaller's individually distinctive characteristics and associates them with individual-specific information about the signaller.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive evolution of facial colour patterns in Neotropical primates

2012

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The rich diversity of primate faces has interested naturalists for over a century. Researchers have long proposed that social behaviours have shaped the evolution of primate facial diversity. However, the primate face constitutes a unique structure where the diverse and potentially competing functions of communication, ecology and physiology intersect, and the major determinants of facial diversity remain poorly understood. Here, we provide the first evidence for an adaptive role of facial colour patterns and pigmentation within Neotropical primates. Consistent with the hypothesis that facial patterns function in communication and species recognition, we find that species living in smaller groups and in sympatry with a higher number of congener species have evolved more complex patterns of facial colour. The evolution of facial pigmentation and hair length is linked to ecological factors, and ecogeographical rules related to UV radiation and thermoregulation are met by some facial regions. Our results demonstrate the interaction of behavioural and ecological factors in shaping one of the most outstanding facial diversities of any mammalian lineage.

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“…There is evidence that humans can detect mother-offspring kinship in the faces of several primate species, predominantly apes [53], [54]. Only one study has gone further [55], experimentally examining the ability to detect paternal relatedness in a small sample of chimpanzees and rhesus macaques – a potentially more interesting scenario given that under natural conditions patrilineal information is less likely to be available via social familiarity [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual Phenotype Matching: Cues to Paternity Are Present in Rhesus Macaque Faces

Kazem

Widdig

2013

PLoS ONE

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The ability to recognize kin and thus behaviourally discriminate between conspecifics based on genetic relatedness is of importance both in acquiring inclusive fitness benefits and to enable optimal inbreeding. In primates, mechanisms allowing recognition of paternal relatives are of particular interest, given that in these mating systems patrilineal information is unlikely to be available via social familiarity. Humans use visual phenotype matching based on facial features to identify their own and other's close relatives, and recent studies suggest similar abilities may be present in other species. However it is unclear to what extent familial resemblances remain detectable against the background levels of relatedness typically found within demes in the wild – a necessary condition if facial cues are to function in kin recognition under natural conditions. Here, we experimentally investigate whether parent-offspring relationships are discernible in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) faces drawn from a large free-ranging population more representative of the latter scenario, and in which genetic relatedness has been well quantified from pedigrees determined via molecular markers. We used the human visual system as a means of integrating multiple types of facial cue simultaneously, and demonstrate that paternal, as well as maternal, resemblance to both sons and daughters can be detected even by human observers. Experts performed better than participants who lacked previous experience working with nonhuman primates. However the finding that even naïve individuals succeeded at the task underlines the strength of the phenotypic cues present in faces.

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Human Ability to Recognize Kin Visually Within Primates

Cited by 20 publications

References 46 publications

The hidden benefits of sex: Evidence for MHC‐associated mate choice in primate societies

The hidden benefits of sex: Evidence for MHC‐associated mate choice in primate societies

Adaptive evolution of facial colour patterns in Neotropical primates

Visual Phenotype Matching: Cues to Paternity Are Present in Rhesus Macaque Faces

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