Smells are carried by the wind in “odor plumes,” which animals navigate by monitoring the strength of a smell as they move. They sniff the air at one location, then move and sniff the air again, to see if they are getting closer to the smell in question.
The lemurs were able to find the cantaloupe when the wind blew the aroma of the fruit toward them. Upon detecting the scent of fruit, the lemurs sniffed the air at one or more locations as they moved toward the fruit. Sometimes, after detecting the smell, the lemurs would return to spots where cantaloupe had previously been hidden before going through the process of tracking the odor plume, suggesting that olfactory cues may trigger memories of past meals.
While the containers of fruit hidden at a farther distance took the lemurs longer to locate, they still were able to find cantaloupe hidden as far away as 56 feet off the path. The lemurs did not find the containers of fake cantaloupe.
“The lemurs were able to detect the smell of the cantaloupe among the complex smells of the forest and successfully navigate the odor plume to the fruit,” said Cunningham. “The results indicate that olfaction may be used to respond to cues from distant sources. The ability to sniff out distant foods may be a critical foraging skill for lemurs and other primates.”
Additional study authors include Malvin Janal of NYU College of Dentistry, Devin Edmonds of the Lemur Conservation Foundation and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Laura Stalter of the Lemur Conservation Foundation and University of Vermont. The research was funded by NYU College of Dentistry Academy of Distinguished Educators and the New York University Research Challenge Fund Program.
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Founded in 1865, New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) is the third oldest and the largest dental school in the US, educating nearly 10 percent of all dentists. NYU Dentistry has a significant global reach with a highly diverse student body. Visit dental.nyu.edu for more.
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Lemurs Can Sniff Out Hidden Fruit from Afar - NYU News
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