Cristina Giacoma

Università degli Studi di Torino | UNITO · Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi

Scent-marking through odours from excreta and glandular secretions is widespread in mammals. Among primates, diurnal group-living lemurs show different deployment modalities as part of their strategy to increase signal detection. We studied the diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) in the Maromizaha New Protected Area, Eastern Madagascar. We tested...

Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the communicative role of these fea...

We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data ana...

Parasites can directly affect host survival by causing cryptic costs that may occur in species when mortality does not take place or is less evident. Costs can be present in differently life history stages or age cohorts or cause age-dependent effects. Here we investigate the effects of chytridiomycete fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, (Bd), t...

The growing concern for the ongoing biodiversity loss drives researchers towards practical and large-scale automated systems to monitor wild animal populations. Primates, with most species threatened by extinction, face substantial risks. We focused on the vocal activity of the indri (Indri indri) recorded in Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) from 201...

Contrary to spontaneous yawning, yawn contagion occurs when yawning in a subject (responder) is elicited by the yawns of others (triggers). Yawn contagion has been associated with inter-individual synchronisation, activity coordination and possibly emotional contagion, based on the perception–action mechanism. We collected data on yawn contagion an...

Few information is available on fin marks and movements of Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821), along the Italian coast, although significant photo-identification efforts took place in several areas. In this study, photographic data (833 images) of 370 dolphins collected by different organizations from 2003 to 2018...

Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the meaning of these features is still unclear. We present...

Vocal and gestural sequences of many primate species conform to two principles of compression: the compensation between the length of a construct and that of its constituents (Menzerath-Altmann law) and an inverse relationship between signal length and occurrence (Zipf's law of abbreviation). Although Zipf's law is considered a universal in animal...

Since the discovery that rhythmic abilities are universal in humans, temporal features of vocal communication have greatly interested researchers studying animal communication. Rhythmic patterns are a valuable tool for species discrimination, mate choice, and individual recognition. A recent study showed that bird songs and human music share rhythm...

A comparative perspective aiming to unravel the biological roots of rhythm relies on detecting the shared features between human music and other primate vocalizations and identifying the selective pressures shaping them. For example, one universal of music characterizing all human cultures is categorical rhythms. Categorical rhythms occur when the...

Non-linear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds, which are considered highly non-linear systems. Physical constraints may play a role in NLP emission, although different explanations for the adaptive significance of these features have been provided. Previous studies argued that the...

Strepsirrhine vocalisations are extraordinarily diverse and cross-species comparisons are needed to explore how this variability evolved. We contributed to the investigation of primate acoustic diversity by comparing the vocal repertoire of two sym-patric lemur species, Propithecus diadema and Indri indri. These diurnal species belong to the same t...

In mammals, olfactory communication plays an essential role in territorial and mating dynamics. Scent depositions in various species, including lemurs, can be placed via marking or overmarking (marking over previous depositions). We focused on the role that marking and overmarking play in territorial defence and intrasexual competition. We investig...

Parent-offspring interactions are essential to interpret animal social evolution and behavior, but their role in mediating acoustic communication in animals that interact vocally is still unclear. Increasing evidence shows that primate vocal communication is way more flexible than previously assumed, and research on this topic can provide further i...

Deforestation around the world is a major threat to primates. Understanding primate species’ habitat and dietary requirements is critical in creating effective conservation management plans. Indri indri, a Critically Endangered lemur species from Madagascar’s eastern rainforests, has a diet dominated by leaves. We conducted a long-term study of I....

Although Caretta caretta is the most common turtle in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, its distribution is relatively difficult to assess due to the lack of data in offshore waters. The ecological niches in the central‐southern Adriatic Sea and the north‐eastern Ionian Sea were investigated for loggerhead turtles with body sizes ≥20 cm during two per...

Indris (Indri indri) are group-living lemurs which occupy stable territories over several years and perform remarkable long-distance vocal displays. Vocal exchanges between long-term territory neighbours may contribute to assessing reciprocal resource holding potentials, thus adaptively reducing the costs of territorial defence by limiting aggressi...

The complexity of primates’ singing behavior has long gathered the attention of researchers interested in understanding the selective pressures underpinning the evolution of language. Among these pressures, a link between territoriality, pair- living, and singing displays has been suggested. Historically, singing primates have been found in a few t...

Soil fungal diversity was studied by next-generation sequencing and compared in two different Malagasy ecosystems, the first a New Protected Area (Maromizaha NAP) that is a rich humid evergreen forest and the second a degraded and declined deciduous forest (Andaravina) whose area has been also eroded. Both areas, however, have comparable annual rai...

The complexity of primates’ singing behavior has long gathered the attention of researchers interested in understanding the selective pressures underpinning the evolution of language. Among these pressures, a link between territoriality, pair-living, and singing displays has been suggested. Historically, singing primates have been found in a few ta...

What are the origins of musical rhythm? One approach to the biology and evolution of music consists in finding common musical traits across species. These similarities allow biomusicologists to infer when and how musical traits appeared in our species¹. A parallel approach to the biology and evolution of music focuses on finding statistical univers...

Chemical pollution, i.e. the release of anthropogenic chemical substances into the environment, is a driver of biodiversity loss. Although this issue has been widely investigated in high-income countries of temperate regions, there is a lack of data for tropical areas of middle- or low-income countries, such as those in Eastern Africa. Some of the...

The patterns of movement of the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the Mediterranean Sea are still a matter of debate. Feeding aggregations are well known in the Corso-Liguro-Provençal Basin from July to September, but little is known for the autumn and winter seasons. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was implemented in the Ligu...

Research on the gut microbiome may help with increasing our understanding of primate health with species’ ecology, evolution, and behavior. In particular, microbiome-related information has the potential to clarify ecology issues, providing knowledge in support of wild primates conservation and their associated habitats. Indri (Indri indri) is the...

Background Prioritizing groupings of organisms or ‘units’ below the species level is a critical issue for conservation purposes. Several techniques encompassing different time-frames, from genetics to ecological markers, have been considered to evaluate existing biological diversity at a sufficient temporal resolution to define conservation units....

Animal communication has long been thought to be subject to pressures and constraints associated with social relationships. However, our understanding of how the nature and quality of social relationships relates to the use and evolution of communication is limited by a lack of directly comparable methods across multiple levels of analysis. Here, w...

The critically endangered indri (Indri indri) is the largest extant lemur species and its population size is projected to decline over the next three generations due to habitat loss, hunting and climate change. Accurate information on the demographic parameters driving the population dynamics of indri is urgently needed to help decision-making rega...

Here, we investigated the possible linkages among geophagy, soil characteristics, and gut mycobiome of indri (Indri indri), an endangered lemur species able to survive only in wild conditions. The soil eaten by indri resulted in enriched secondary oxide-hydroxides and clays, together with a high concentration of specific essential micronutrients. T...

Vocal and gestural sequences of several primates have been found to conform to two general principles of information compression: the compensation between the duration of a construct and that of its components (Menzerath–Altmann law) and an inverse relationship between signal duration and its occurrence (Zipf’s law of abbreviation). Even though Zip...

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) make extensive use of narrowband whistles with individually distinctive frequency modulations to broadcast their identity: the signature whistles. The acoustic structure of the signature whistles tends to be stable over decades. Therefore, these vocalisations have the potential to be used for monitoring indi...

Despite the number of publications addressing the effects of chemical pollution on ecosystem health and sustainability has been increasing over the years, there is still a dramatic lack of data for tropical areas such as those of Eastern Africa. The countries of this macro-region, where almost half a billion people live, face multiple economic, soc...

The release, emission, and discharge of chemical substances into the environment is a challenging issue that threatens the ecosystems by affecting both wildlife and human health. Especially relevant is the exposure of living organisms to emerging pollutants whose effects on natural populations are little unknown overall. Such substances represent n...

The principle of acoustic allometry—the larger the animal, the lower its calls' fundamental frequency—is generally observed across terrestrial mammals. Moreover, according to the Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis, open habitats favor the propagation of high-frequency calls compared to habitats with complex vegetational structures. We carried out playb...

In animal vocal communication, the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics. However, the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remains poorly understood. In contrast with a historical view of nonhuman primate vocal production as substantially innate, recent research...

Despite the growing interest in human-made noise effects on marine wildlife, few studies have investigated the potential role of underwater noise on elasmobranch species. In this study, twelve specimens of small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) were exposed to biological and anthropogenic sounds in order to assess their behavioural changes...

Understanding spatio-temporal patterns of top predators can be crucial for evaluating key habitats, assessing the effects of anthropogenic activity and consequently applying suitable management policies. Here, we characterized dolphins acoustic occurrence and interactions with boat presence and noise in the waters of the Sicily Strait. A hydrophone...

Ecological conditions of ecosystems reflect the health status of natural and human communities. Healthy ecosystems indeed ensure benefits to the people providing goods and services. As such, emerging fields in the health assessment, e.g. integrated approaches involving One Health and EcoHealth, have been raising the awareness of sustainable use and...

Territorial pair-living species tend to occupy and defend stable areas, assumed to contain all the resources needed for the lifetime of the group. Furthermore, groups have to mediate spatial relationships with neighboring groups. We investigated the relationship between social and spatial dynamics at the intra- and intergroup level in a pair-living...

Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, composed of multiple distinct acoustic units, which can vary in their degree of stereotypy. Studies of sequence variation may contribute to our understanding of the structural flexibility of primates' songs, which can provide essential ecological and behavioral information abo...

The phenology of lychee varies as a function of the developmental stage and season, ensuring adequate energy for new shoots of leaves, floral buds and axillary buds at the beginning of spring. Number and sex of flowers are dependent on climatic conditions, with temperature and humidity being the main parameters. Unfavorable climatic conditions duri...

1. The short‐beaked common dolphin is a highly vocal species, with a wide distribution in all oceans, including the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. In the Mediterranean Sea, the short‐beaked common dolphin inhabits both pelagic and neritic waters. 2. Osteological collections and the literature show that short‐beaked common dolphins were widesprea...

We used a logic distance to investigate intra and inter-individual variation in the phrase combinatorics of a singing primate, the indri, which inhabits the montane rain forests of Madagascar. Indris combine long notes, short single notes, and phrases consisting of two, three, four, or five units with slightly descending frequency. We calculated th...

We used a logic distance to investigate intra and inter-individual variation in the phrase combinatorics of a singing primate, the indri, which inhabits the montane rain forests of Madagascar. Indris combine long notes, short single notes, and phrases consisting of two, three, four, or five units with slightly descending frequency. We calculated th...

In the dense tropical rainforests of Madagascar, visual communication is impeded by obstacles. Lemurs use scent marking to communicate at a short distance and loud calls to communicate at a long range. The Indri (Indri indri) is a diurnal primate that emits choruses of three distinct types. The song types are essential in advertising position withi...

Understanding local community attitudes toward wildlife is critical for making context-sensitive conservation planning and management decisions that may facilitate better human–wildlife coexistence. We conducted questionnaire-based interviews with local households in Qinglong Village of Mayanghe National Nature Reserve (MNNR) in China from March to...

Monogamy is a rare strategy among mammals but relatively common among primates. The study of the evolution of monogamy in mammals and primates is lacking empirical studies that assess the relationship between a pair‐living social organization and genetic monogamy. Sexual or genetic monogamy can only be assessed by performing molecular analyses and...

Although there is a growing number of researches focusing on acoustic communication, the lack of shared analytic approaches leads to inconsistency among studies. Here, we introduced a computational method used to examine 3360 calls recorded from wild indris (Indri indri) from 2005–2018. We split each sound into ten portions of equal length and, fro...

Introduction-The phenology of lychee (Lychee chinensis Sonn.) varies as a function of the developmental stage and season. Number and sex of flowers are dependent on climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the impacts of climate (tem-peratures and rainfalls) on the lychee tree development. Materials and methods-Plant physiology a...

No PDF available ABSTRACT In the dense tropical rainforests of Madagascar, visual communication is impeded by obstacles. Lemurs use scent marking to communicate at a short distance and loud calls to communicate at a long range. The Indri (Indri indri) is a diurnal primate that emits choruses of three distinct types. The song types are essential in...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Characterized by one of the highest rates of endemism and biodiversity in the world, Madagascar provides a wide variety of medicinal plants, that could represent a potential source of new drugs. The main aim of this study was to investigate the potential medicinal properties of the plant species used by indigenous pe...

In the Comoros Islands, as in other developing countries, malnutrition and food insecurity affect a very large percentage of the population. Developing fruit-based products in order to make profit, reduce poverty and improve indigenous people diet could be very important for local population of countries as Comoros Islands. The aim of the present w...

Estimating the number of animals participating in a choral display may contribute reliable information on animal population estimates, particularly when environmental or behavioral factors restrict the possibility of visual surveys. Difficulties in providing a reliable estimate of the number of singers in a chorus are many (e.g., background noise m...

Summary of the dataset. Summary of the dataset with group ID, site, year of the recording, individual, sex, number of singers (mean+sd), group size (mean+sd) and number of days in which the songs were recorded. * symbol denotes that the individual is an adult (aged more than 6 years) at the time of the recording (column Year); R symbol indicates th...

Indri chorus. An extract from a reproductive pair’s duet. (MP4)