NSF Award
1561055
Using scent to communicate is common in primates and even can occur in humans. Yet research on primate olfaction (sense of smell) lags behind studies of other senses such as vision and hearing. Understanding how scents communicate information, what reactions they produce, and how this information is chemically communicated, can improve our understanding of primate behaviors and motivation. In order to measure and characterize primate scents, researchers have used laboratory methods that require large, high-cost equipment and sample preservation during shipment from a field site. In this high-risk project, the investigators will test a portable field method for characterizing the chemical composition of scents in real time. If the field method is feasible, it will allow new avenues of research that could advance the understanding of olfactory communication in primates and other mammals. This project will promote international collaboration between US and Brazilian researchers, and support student training at a US institution with a high number of first generation college students.<br/><br/>Laboratory-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been the standard method for quantifying the chemical composition of primate scents. In this high-risk project, the investigators will explore the potential and feasibility of a portable, in-field GC-MS method to characterize the chemical composition of scent marks for wild common marmoset monkeys in Brazil. Development of a field method would mitigate the expense and challenges associated with long-distance transport of samples, and allow for data collection on how scent cues change over time in their original context and the resulting reaction by recipients of the scent mark.
