Olfactory inspection of female reproductive states in chimpanzees

In mammalian species, olfactory cues are important for within and between species communication. These cues can be part of multimodal signals indicating, for example, female fertility potentially perceived by male conspecifics. However, a large gap exists in our understanding of multimodal signaling in non-human catarrhines. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in fission-fusion societies, mate promiscuously and express high levels of male-male competition. Females show a striking visual signal, an exaggerated sexual swelling, known to be a proxy of ovulation, while the maximum swelling is not matching the exact time of ovulation. The question remains if males use additional olfactory cues when being able to approach females closely. This would allow males to pinpoint the exact timing of ovulation and could be one reason why high-ranking males sire offspring more successfully than other males. Here, we present the first systematic test of such multimodal signaling by investigating male sniffing behavior directed to females in relation to their fertility in a group of 13 captive chimpanzees. Our results show that male sniffing behavior significantly increased with female swelling size, with female age as well as when fewer male competitors were present. Hence, odors might be part of a multimodal fertility cue, supporting the idea that males monitor both visual and olfactory cues to gain comprehensive information on female fertility

Towards understanding multimodal traits of female reproduction in chimpanzees

Although primates have long been regarded as microsmatic, recent studies indicatethat olfaction is an important sensory mode of primate communication, for example, inthe context of reproduction. However, large gaps remain in understanding primateolfactory traits, especially in great apes. Female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)possess an exaggerated sexual swelling which is an imprecise signal of fertility toconfuse paternity. Even so, some high-ranking males copulating most frequently atfertile days of females seem to have more precise information on the timing ofovulation, suggesting the existence of an olfactory fertility trait. In order to provideevidence of fertility-related information in female chimpanzees, we used gaschromatography – mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical composition of femalebody odor collected across the menstrual cycle from various swelling stages (97samples of six females). We found that the chemical composition was significantlyaffected by swelling stages and detected nine substances that were strongly related toswelling stages. The existence of an additional olfactory fertility trait could either helpmales to fine-tune their sexual behavior or allow females to strengthen concealment ofthe exact timing of ovulation, which needs to be further investigated in follow-upstudies. The results of our study add much-needed evidence about the existence of anolfactory cue related to reproduction in chimpanzees and form a basis for futurestudies on the interplay between visual and olfactory information of female fertility

Spectacles of intimacy? Mapping the moral landscape of teenage social media

This paper explores young people's expressed concerns about privacy in the context of a highly mediated cultural environment, mapping social media practices against axes of visibility and participation. Drawing on interdisciplinary conceptual resources from both the humanities and social sciences, we use ‘spectacles of intimacy’ to conceptualise breaches of privacy, mapping an emergent moral landscape for young people that moves beyond concerns with e-safety to engage with the production and circulation of audiences and value. The paper draws on data from a methodological innovation project using multi-media and mixed methods to capture lived temporalities for children and young people. We present a model that captures a moral landscape shaped by emotional concerns about social media, the affordances of those media and affective discourses emerging from young people's use of the media

Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress

Drawing from phenomenological interviews with 24 adult videogamers, we explore videogame consumption as a source of individualised, episodic progress. We first consider the relationship between play, progress, technology and the market. We then document adults' accounts of progress through the acquisition of new consoles and software, in the accumulation of in-game resources, and in creative achievements within videogames. Alongside an understanding of technological improvements as representing both technological and personal progress, we see how individuals may also turn to videogames in search of quick and easy episodes of achievement; here, progress is not some grand plan, but a series of small events helpfully structured by the latest game releases. Thus, in a society which aspires to a life where things ‘get better’ and time is usefully spent, adults who fail to actualise progress elsewhere may use videogames and related hardware to perform the idea of achievement as individualised episodes of play. In integrating the accepted cultural idea of progress, perceptions of adult play as ‘frivolous’ can be overcome and such practices may be normalised as a legitimate adult activity. However, play emerges from its frivolousness as legitimate only in compensating for working practices that remain alienated through technology-driven productivity, and through the latest technological commodities. The enjoyable nature of games as a leisure pursuit can become overshadowed by an obligation to achieve at the same time as distancing players from areas of their lives where progress is not experienced

Current Challenges in Plant Eco-Metabolomics

The relatively new research discipline of Eco-Metabolomics is the application of metabolomics techniques to ecology with the aim to characterise biochemical interactions of organisms across different spatial and temporal scales. Metabolomics is an untargeted biochemical approach to measure many thousands of metabolites in different species, including plants and animals. Changes in metabolite concentrations can provide mechanistic evidence for biochemical processes that are relevant at ecological scales. These include physiological, phenotypic and morphological responses of plants and communities to environmental changes and also interactions with other organisms. Traditionally, research in biochemistry and ecology comes from two different directions and is performed at distinct spatiotemporal scales. Biochemical studies most often focus on intrinsic processes in individuals at physiological and cellular scales. Generally, they take a bottom-up approach scaling up cellular processes from spatiotemporally fine to coarser scales. Ecological studies usually focus on extrinsic processes acting upon organisms at population and community scales and typically study top-down and bottom-up processes in combination. Eco-Metabolomics is a transdisciplinary research discipline that links biochemistry and ecology and connects the distinct spatiotemporal scales. In this review, we focus on approaches to study chemical and biochemical interactions of plants at various ecological levels, mainly plant–organismal interactions, and discuss related examples from other domains. We present recent developments and highlight advancements in Eco-Metabolomics over the last decade from various angles. We further address the five key challenges: (1) complex experimental designs and large variation of metabolite profiles; (2) feature extraction; (3) metabolite identification; (4) statistical analyses; and (5) bioinformatics software tools and workflows. The presented solutions to these challenges will advance connecting the distinct spatiotemporal scales and bridging biochemistry and ecology

Introduction: The Other Caillois: The Many Masks of Game Studies

The legacy of the rich, stratified work of Roger Caillois, the multifaceted and complex French scholar and intellectual, seems to have almost solely impinged on game studies through his most popular work, Les Jeux et les Hommes. Translated in English as Man, Play and Games, this is the text which popularized Caillois’ ideas among those who do study and research on games and game cultures today, and which most often appears in publications that attempt to historicize and introduce to the study of games—perhaps on a par with Johan Huizinga’s Homo Ludens. The purpose of this article is to introduce the papers and general purposes of a collected edition that aims to shift the attention of game scholars toward a more nuanced and comprehensive view of Roger Caillois, beyond the textbook interpretations usually received in game studies over the last decade or so