Facial attractiveness among rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) : manipulating and measuring preferences for conspecifics' facial characteristics

The face holds a central role in both human and nonhuman primate social interactions, through the communication of feelings and intentions via facial expressions and by acting as a means of recognising individuals. Humans, however, also employ their faces in mate attraction and assessment, an area that has received little attention in nonhuman primates. Many researchers have proposed that human aesthetic judgments of facial attractiveness have a biological basis, and these preferences have evolved via sexual selection processes during human evolution. The use of the face in attractiveness assessments need not be limited to humans. Rather, there is good reason to suggest that this may also apply to other nonhuman primates, based on homologies in the way in which primates use their faces, and on evidence that the face is a site of sexual selection for many primate species. It was the aim of this thesis to explore whether facial traits may also play a role in judgements of attractiveness in a nonhuman primate, the rhesus macaque( Macaca mulatta), in an effort to understand whether humans are unique in utilising the face as a mechanism of mate assessment. Three factors that are reported to influence facial attractiveness in humans are facial symmetry, sexual dimorphism, and averageness. To assess whether they also play a role in nonhuman primates, a series of experiments were conducted where digital images of adult male and female rhesus macaque faces were altered for these features. Opposite-sexed images were then displayed to adult males and females in a captive setting. Eye gaze measures were utilised to assess visual preference for, and the relative importance of, these traits. These experiments yielded mixed results. Increasing facial symmetry of opposite-sexed conspecifics positively influenced the dependent gaze measures employed here. Manipulating degree of facial sexual dimorphism had little influence on the visual gaze of either sex. Facial averageness positively influenced visual preferences for opposite-sexed conspecifics among both sexes, although increasing degree of averageness did not. The last topic to be explored was facial colouration. Rhesus macaques like, various other species of anthropoid primates, possess facial displays of red secondary sexual colouration. As above, animals viewed digitally altered pale and red versions of opposite-sexed conspecifics. Although females displayed preferences for red male faces, males displayed no clear preferences based on female facial colour. This raises the possibility that male and female facial colour may serve different roles in intraspecific signaling. While it cannot be concluded that visual preferences are indeed indicative of real-life preferences, the results do indicate that animals are not indifferent to variations in conspecific facial features. The present findings have important implications regarding the evolution of facial attractiveness, as they provide the first experimental evidence suggesting that facial features may serve as a mechanism for mate selection across primate taxa and that both human and nonhuman primates may employ similar criteria to appraise facial attractiveness

Symmetry is related to sexual dimorphism in faces: data across culture and species

BACKGROUND: Many animals both display and assess multiple signals. Two prominently studied traits are symmetry and sexual dimorphism, which, for many animals, are proposed cues to heritable fitness benefits. These traits are associated with other potential benefits, such as fertility. In humans, the face has been extensively studied in terms of attractiveness. Faces have the potential to be advertisements of mate quality and both symmetry and sexual dimorphism have been linked to the attractiveness of human face shape. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we show that measurements of symmetry and sexual dimorphism from faces are related in humans, both in Europeans and African hunter-gatherers, and in a non-human primate. Using human judges, symmetry measurements were also related to perceived sexual dimorphism. In all samples, symmetric males had more masculine facial proportions and symmetric females had more feminine facial proportions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings support the claim that sexual dimorphism and symmetry in faces are signals advertising quality by providing evidence that there must be a biological mechanism linking the two traits during development. Such data also suggests that the signalling properties of faces are universal across human populations and are potentially phylogenetically old in primates

Perceptual considerations in the use of colored photographic and video stimuli to study nonhuman primate behavior

The use of photographs, slides, computerized images, and video to study behavior is increasingly being employed in nonhuman primates. However, since these mediums have been designed to simulate natural coloration for normal trichromatic human vision, they can fail to reproduce color in meaningful and accurate ways for viewers with different visual systems. Given the range of color perception that exists both across and within different species, it is necessary to consider this variation in order to discern the suitability of these mediums for experimental use. Because of the high degree of visual similarity among humans, Old World monkeys, and apes, the use of photographic and video stimuli should be acceptable in terms of replicating naturalistic coloration and making noticeable color manipulations. However, among New World primates and prosimians, there exists a considerable degree of variation in color perceptual abilities depending on the species, sex, and allelic combination of the animals involved. Therefore, the use of these mediums to study behavior is problematic for these species, and should be done with caution

What time is feeding? How delays and anticipation of feeding schedules affect stump-tailed macaque behavior

Everyday animal care routines are essential to an animal's physical well-being, but the effects of husbandry routines on the animals' psychological well-being are not often considered. The scheduling of animal care routines may have an important impact on how they are perceived by the animals involved. It was the objective of this study to assess how anticipation and delays of feeding routines impacts captive primates, in this study stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides). To determine how anticipation of food delivery affected behavior, this study compared behavior when feeding routines were carried out earlier to when feeding took place on-schedule. Secondly, the impact of delays of feeding routines were investigated by comparing behavior when feeding routines occurred later than usual to when they took place on time. Results indicate that anticipation of feeding routines had a considerable negative impact on behavior. In the times when animals were awaiting to be fed, rates of self-directed behavior, inactivity, vocalization and abnormal behaviors all increased significantly. When feeding was delayed past the mean routine time, these behavioral patterns were prolonged. It was concluded that feeding animals at a regular time, each day does not truly make routines predictable. Delays in the timing of these events make these events even more unpredictable, and thus all the more stressful. The implications of these results in relation to animal management are discussed

Evidence from rhesus macaques suggests that male coloration plays a role in female primate mate choice.

Male animals of many species use conspicuous coloration to attract mates. Among mammals, primates possess the most brilliant secondary sexual coloration. However, whether colour plays a part in primate female mate choice remains unknown. Adult male rhesus macaques undergo a hormonally regulated increased reddening of facial and anogenital skin during their mating season. We experimentally investigated whether red male facial coloration is preferred by simultaneously presenting female rhesus macaques (n = 6) with computer-manipulated pale and red versions of 24 different male faces. The duration and direction of gaze were measured to discern visual preferences. Females exhibited preferences for the red versions of male faces. It is proposed that male coloration might provide a cue to male quality