We present the first measurement of the globular cluster populations of galaxies in Hickson compact groups , in order to investigate the effect of these high density environments on the formation and evolution of globular cluster systems .
Based on V and R band images that we obtained of HCG 22a and HCG 90c with the ESO New Technology Telescope ( NTT ) , we find a total globular cluster population of 1590 \pm 854 for HCG 22a and 2136 \pm 718 for 90c .
The specific frequency for HCG 22a was found to be S _ { N } = 1.9 \pm 1.0 and S _ { N } = 3.4 \pm 1.1 for HCG 90c .
A power-law fit to the globular cluster radial profile of HCG 22a yields \sigma \sim R ^ { -2.01 \pm 0.30 } and for HCG 90c we found \sigma \sim R ^ { -1.20 \pm 0.16 } .
A comparison of the globular cluster radial profiles with the surface brightness of the parent galaxy shows that the globular cluster systems are at least as extended as the halo light .
The measured values for the specific frequency are consistent with a scenario in which the host galaxies were in a low density “ field-like ” environment when they formed their globular cluster systems .