In noisy environs, pied tamarins are using smell more often to communicate

The critically endangered primates, like other animals, are adapting to survive in urban areas

A photo of two baby pied tamarins lying on the back of an adult pied tamarin in a tree.

Pied tamarins are a critically endangered species that live in noisy urban environments in Brazil. The animals now complement vocalizations with smell markings to alert other tamarins to dangers.

Lucian Veras

Native to the Brazilian Amazon, pied tamarins have always used vocal calls to communicate. But noise pollution from car traffic and other human activity are forcing some tamarins to complement those voice calls with smell markings to alert others to dangers, researchers report September 20 in Ethology Ecology & Evolution.