Influence of dominance rank and affiliation relationships on selfdirected behavior in female Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana)

Self-directed behavior(SDB) is characterized as an indicator of anxiety, frustration and stress in nonhuman primates. In this study, we collected self-directed behavior data from one group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques(Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China(September 2012–May 2013) using a combination of behavioral sampling methods including focal animal sampling, behavioral sampling, continuous sampling and instantaneous sampling. Our results showed that females engaged in significantly higher rates of self-directed behavior when they were in proximity to dominant individuals compared to subordinate ones. Conflict losers significantly increased their SDB rates after agonistic episodes, indicating that SDB might also serve as an index of anxiety in M. thibetana. We further found that females significantly increased their SDB rates when focal individual was proximity to weakly affiliation relationship higher rank members than to strongly affiliation relationship higher rank members. If conflicts were not reconciled, the postconflict SDB rates of losers were higher when they stayed with strongly affiliation opponents; if conflicts were reconciled, victims of strongly affiliation relationships opponents engaged in more SDB rates before reconciliation than after reconciliation, while victims of moderately affiliation relationships opponents did not engaged in more SDB rates before reconciliation than after reconciliation. We conclude that both of dominance rank and affiliation relationships might both influence the SDB rates of female Tibetan macaques significantly, suggesting that SDB is not only an index of anxiety in Tibetan macaques, but also can provide a new insight into evaluation of social relationships between individuals.     

Effects of age, dominance, and seasonal changes on proximity relationships in female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in a free-ranging group at Katsuyama

The present study compares the behavior of old female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) with that of their full adult daughters in a free-ranging group, with respect to dominance and seasonal changes. Old mothers (21 to 25 years old) spent more time resting and alone than did their middle-aged adult daughters (10 to 17 yr old). However, the number of skin-related animals in proximity to the subject females, did not differ between mothers and their adult daughters. Mothers maintained proximity to more non-kin-related immature animals in the mating season than did their adult daughters, perhaps to avoid sexual aggression from males and to reduce the loss of body temperature in the cold. Dominance rank clearly influenced the social interactions of old mothers: high-ranking mothers interacted with more non-related adult females and immature animals than did low-ranking mothers, indicating that old age does not decrease the attractiveness of high-ranking animals.     

The effects of dominance rank and group size on female lifetime reproductive success in wild long-tailed macaques,Macaca fascicularis

Demographic changes were recorded throughout a 12-year period for three social groups ofMacaca fascicularis in a natural population at Ketambe (Sumatra, Indonesia). We examined the prediction that females' lifetime reproductive success depended on dominance rank and group size. Average birth rate was 0.53 (184 infants born during 349 female years). For mature females (aged 8–20 yr) birth rate reflected physical condition, being higher in years with high food availability and lower in the year following the production of a surviving infant. High-ranking females were significantly more likely than low-ranking ones to give birth again when they did have a surviving offspring born the year before (0.50 vs 0.26), especially in years with relatively low food availability (0.37 vs 0.10). Controlled comparisons of groups at different sizes indicate a decline in birth rate with rroup size only once a group has exceeded a certain size. The dominance effect on birth rate tended to be strongest in large groups. Survival of infants was rank-dependent, but the survival of juveniles was not. There was a trend for offspring survival to be lower in large groups than in mid-sized or small groups. However, rank and group size interacted, in that rank effects on offspring survival were strongest in large groups. High-ranking females were less likely to die themselves during their top-reproductive years, and thus on average had longer reproductive careers. We estimated female lifetime reproductive success based on calculated age-specific birth rates and survival rates. The effects of rank and group size (contest and scramble) on birth rate, offspring survival, age of first reproduction for daughters, and length of reproductive career, while not each consistently statistically significant, added up to substantial effects on estimated lifetime reproductive success. The group size effects explain why large groups tend to split permanently. Since females are philopatric in this species, and daughters achieve dominance rank positions similar to their mother, a close correlation is suggested between the lifetime reproductive success of mothers and daughters. For sons, too, maternal dominance affected their reproductive success: high-born males were more likely to become top-dominant (in another group). These data support the idea that natural selection has favored the evolution of a nepotistic rank system in this species, even if the annual benefits of dominance are small.     

Spatial genetic structure in wild cherry (Prunus avium L.): II. Effect of density and clonal propagation on spatial genetic structure based on simulation studies

We conducted simulations to disentangle the effect of density and clonal propagation on spatial genetic structure and genetic diversity parameters in Prunus avium. In a previous paper, we observed stronger family structure in populations exhibiting high density and high clonal propagation, whereas one low-density and low clonal propagation population showed negative spatial autocorrelation. We tried to understand these results by simulating 200 years of growth, mating and dispersal with the model Eco-Gene, using two levels of density and three levels of clonal propagation in one high-density population (Spargründe) and one low-density population (Chorin). We used allele frequencies from eight microsatellite loci to generate the populations used for simulations. In order to detect effects of the initial structure on the results, we also ran the simulations starting from the real data. We observed positive effect of clonal propagation on the strength of SGS, while high densities exhibited a negative impact. Genetic diversity was maintained at high densities, while pollen dispersal was shorter. Heterozygosity increased at higher clonal propagation rates, although genetic diversity (accumulated number of genotypes) was lower. We discuss the results according to mating processes and potential management scenario.     

Phylogenetic relationships between and within sections Hypechusa, Narbonensis and Peregrinae of genus Vicia (Fabaceae) based on evidence from isozymes and morphology

Previous studies of vetch species belonging to sections Hypechusa, Narbonensis and Peregrinae have revealed controversies and open questions that deserve revisiting with the use of contemporary approaches. The paper extends the previous work of Leht and Jaaska (2002) by describing variation of 16 isozymes and 86 morphological characters among 17 Vicia species belonging to sections Hypechusa, Narbonensis and Peregrinae of the type subgenus in comparison with V. bithynica of section Pseudolathyrus. Three more isozymes and 12 new morphological characters are included to improve the resolution of phylogenetic relationships. The maximum parsimony trees based on isozymes and morphology revealed essentially the same four clusters of species that correspond to series Hypechusa and Hyrcanicae of section Hypechusa, to sections Narbonensis and Peregrinae of current taxonomy, except that the isozyme tree placed V. lutea of series Hypechusa into a separate clade. Isozyme variation in V. mollis, V. noeana, V. sericocarpa and V. ciliatula of section Hypechusa is described for the first time. Twenty-three species-specific isozymes that may be used for species identification by analysis of seeds are described. Two new isozymes that distinguish V. serratifolia from V. narbonensis are described that further support their specific status. Series Hypechusa and Hyrcanicae of section Hypechusa, sections Narbonensis and Peregrinae of traditional taxonomy are monophyletic groups that deserve sectional status within the genus Vicia. The phylogenetic position and sectional placement of V. lutea warrants further study with independent sets of DNA characters.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Serpulidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) based on 18S rDNA sequence data, and implications for opercular evolution

Phylogenetic relationships of (19) serpulid taxa (including Spirorbinae) were reconstructed based on 18S rRNA gene sequence data. Maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference, and maximum parsimony methods were used in phylogenetic reconstruction. Regardless of the method used, monophyly of Serpulidae is confirmed and four monophyletic, well-supported major clades are recovered: the Spirorbinae and three groups hitherto referred to as the Protula-, Serpula-, and Pomatoceros-group. Contrary to the taxonomic literature and the hypothesis of opercular evolution, the Protula-clade contains non-operculate (Protula, Salmacina) and operculate taxa both with pinnulate and non-pinnulate peduncle (Filograna vs. Vermiliopsis), and most likely is the sister group to Spirorbinae. Operculate Serpulinae and poorly or non-operculate Filograninae are paraphyletic. It is likely that lack of opercula in some serpulid genera is not a plesiomorphic character state, but reflects a special adaptation.     

Reassessing the relationships between Gordoniaand Polyspora (Theaceae) based on the combined analyses of molecular data from the nuclear, plastid and mitochondrial genomes

The combined analyses, based on ITS, trnL-F and matR DNA sequence data respectively from the nuclear, plastid and mitochondrial genomes, reveal that Gordonia is not a monophyletic group, and on the contrary, distributed in two major lineages in Theaceae. The only North American species, G. lasianthus, is located in Gordonieae together with Schima and Franklinia, whereas the Chinese Gordonia species are positioned in Theeae together with Camellia, Pyrenaria s.l. and Apterosperma. This result, to great extent, supports the viewpoints of separating the North American and Asiatic Gordonia species into two different genera, Gordonia s.str. and Polyspora, respectively.The study was partially supported by funds from a project of the Provincial Natural Sciences Foundation Committee of Yunnan, P. R. China (97C039Q), the special support grants from The Chinese Academy of Sciences for biotaxonomy and floristics.     

Status of the South American tuberous legume Pachyrhizus tuberosus (Lam.) Spreng.: Field observations, taxonomic analysis, linguistic studies and agronomic data on the diversity of the South American Pachyrhizus tuberosus (Lam.) Spreng. complex with special reference to the identification of two new cultivar groups from Ecuador and Peru

The tuberous legume Pachyrhizus tuberosus is found in cultivation sporadically throughout the tropical lowlands of South America. As a result of field studies conducted in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, three distinct cultivar groups have been identified. Rare references presenting further evidence in support of this grouping, and yielding information on the cultivation history, are reviewed. The differences in morphology, agricultural practices, tuberous root quality and uses have been studied, as has the linguistic evidence of the origin and domestication processes. The herbarium and live material have been subjected to multivariate analyses in order to establish which easily observable phenotypic characters can be used in the identification of the three cultivar groups. This paper reports on the analysis of 23 morphological characteristics from 31 P. tuberosus cultivar records. The considerable potential of this cultivar/landrace complex and the possibilities of establishing in situ conservation initiatives are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.