Overview and dissemination of the results
The Fellow invested her first period at University of Wolverhampton (UoW) completing an extensive review of the literature and outlining a detailed plan of the six Work Packages (WPs), including contingency plans due to the restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After a pilot study at Wild Place Project (UK) to try all the research methods, the study focused on a gentle lemur group hosted at Jersey Zoo (Channel Islands) during both non-breeding and breeding periods. The Fellow collected behavioural data as well as anogenital odour and faecal samples of the breeding female and determined the female fertile window by combining the cyclical changes in faecal progesterone and oestradiol levels with observations of mating behaviour. She then investigated the volatile component of the odour secretions, and identified a total of 78 distinct peaks in 35 swab samples, including a small pool of compounds which were present only during the fertile window (WP1). The Fellow re-synthetised this female fertile chemical signature and then evaluated the male lemur response via behavioural assays at Birmingham Zoo (UK) (WP2). After that, she tested such novel olfactory enrichment on four non-breeding pairs hosted at Jersey, Birmingham, London (UK) and Mulhouse (France) zoos, combining behavioural observations with faecal endocrinology (WP3). Unplanned circumstances (e.g. delays due to the implications of the Covid-19 outbreak) prevented the Fellow from completing microbiota analyses within the project time frame. However, she was granted a Visiting Scholarship by UoW to carry out these analyses at Florence University within six months from the end of the project’s funding period (WP4).
This study has contributed to improving our understanding of lemur reproductive biology and supported the hypothesis that fertile odour signals may play an important role in sexual communication and convey information about female lemur fertility. The study findings also suggest that using biologically relevant scents as environmental enrichment may help trigger naturalistic species-specific behaviours, even if with high individual variability.
The Fellow disseminated the results to both the scientific community and the public (WP5). She took part into seven conference presentations and two academic journal articles over the project period. She also engaged with public events such as The European Researchers’ Night, Science is Wonderful!, UoW’s SciFest and FUTURES2022, as well as writing three articles for the UoW newsletter WLV Insider.
The project was managed under WP6, which was intended to give the Fellow a full training in project management as well as several academic and research skills. Specifically, she was involved in managing the research project and attended a wide range of training courses, seminars, and public lectures at UoW. She also gained teaching and supervisory experience, by delivering a range of lectures, seminars, and workshops, as well as acting as co-supervisor for four project students.
During the pilot study, the Fellow collaborated to a research project on the effects of Covid-19 zoo closures on captive primate welfare by applying her faecal endocrinology expertise. Results of this study were presented at the EAZA Animal Welfare Forum (June 2022) and published in the peer-reviewed journal Animals.
Exploitation of the results
UoW will ensure that the knowledge arising from the research project results is properly managed and that IP is protected and exploited effectively. UoW will look at the possibility of applying for a European patent and then commercialising the newly designed scent enrichment through the establishment of a spin-out company.
