Empire in the New World

book reviewed in this article
Biogeography of the West Indies:Patterns and Perspectives. C.A.Woods, and F.E.Sergile.     

Writing in New World Civilizations

Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations . Joyce Marcus     

New World Monkeys and Color

The visual worlds of most primates are rich with potential color signals, and many representatives of the order have evolved the biological mechanisms that allow them to exploit these sources of information. Unlike the catarrhines, platyrrhines typically have sex-linked polymorphic color vision that provides individuals with any of several distinct types of color vision, including both trichromatic and dichromatic variants. In recent years, this polymorphism has been the target of an expanding range of research efforts. As a result, researchers now reasonably understand the proximate biology underlying the polymorphisms, and a number of ideas have emerged as to their evolution. Progress has also been made in illuminating how color vision capacities may be related to the particular visual tasks that New World monkeys face.     

Sapayoa aenigma: a New World representative of 'Old World suboscines'

Passerine birds are very plastic in their adaptations, which has made it difficult to define phylogenetic lineages and correctly allocate all species to these. Sapayoa aenigma, a member of the large group of New World flycatchers, has been difficult to place, and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments have indicated that it may have been misplaced. This is confirmed here, as base sequencing of two nuclear genes places it as a deep branch in the group of broadbills and pittas of the Old World tropics. The peculiar distribution of this lineage may be best explained in terms of a Gondwanic and Late Cretaceous origin of the passerine birds, as this particular lineage dispersed from the Antarctic landmass, reaching the Old World tropics via the drifting Indian plate, and South America via the West Antarctic Peninsula.     

Endocrine neoplasia in New World primates

Abstract: Of 1,106 New World primates necropsied from the National Zoological Park (Washington, D.C.) and the Department of Comparative Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, Maryland) 22 (1.9%) animals were identified with 27 neoplasms. Of this group, nine animals (two females, seven males) had a total of 13 endocrine neoplasms. All animals were adults, with an age range of 2.7–25 years (average, 12.1 years). Seven were Callitrichidae and two were Cebidae. The adrenal gland was the most affected organ, with seven (53.8%) neoplasms, followed by the pituitary and thyroid gland with two (15.4%) cases each, and the pancreas and parathyroid gland with one tumor (7.7%) each. All neoplastic disorders were benign. Immunocytochemistry assays for growth hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and chromogranin A were performed on two pituitary neoplasms. Pheochromocytoma was the most frequent neoplasm, representing 5 (38.4%) of the 13 neoplasms. The remaining were thyroid cystadenoma (two, 15.4%), corticotrophic cell pituitary adenoma (two, 15.4%), adrenal ganglioneuroma (one, 7.7%), adrenal cortical adenoma (one, 7.7%), parathyroid chief-cell adenoma (one, 7.7%), and pancreatic islet-cell adenoma (one, 7.7%).     

Intestinal capillariasis in New World monkeys

Two cases of intestinal capillariasis have been identified at necropsy in a squirrel monkey and a capuchin monkey born and raised in captivity. The parasites are described as far as possible from the histopathological slides or intestinal contents, and their relationship to other intestinal capillarids, especially those of primates, is discussed.     

Paternal Care in New World Primates

Extensive parental care is well developed in several generaof New World primates (genera aCallicebus, Aotus, Callimico,Calltthrix, Cebuella, Leontopithecus, Saguinus) including mostof the indirect and direct paternal care behaviors describedby Kleiman and Malcolm (1981). Paternal care is correlated witha monogamous (and perhaps polyandrous) mating system and a smallgroup size. Additionally, in genera (e.g., Callithrix) whichhave a higher reproductive rate and tolerate a larger groupsize, subadult and juvenile offspring of the breeding pair andperhaps unrelated individuals may contribute substantially tothe rearing of infants. Both within and across genera, there is considerable variabilityin the type, quantity, and distribution of care provided bythe mother, father, and other individuals in the family group.The purpose of this presentation is to examine the basis ofthis variability and to evaluate the degree to which we canmake statements about the evolution of paternal care in thisprimate radiation. There are few field studies of those species of monogamous NewWorld primates which exhibit extensive paternal care. Thus,it is currently impossible to correlate the observed variabilityin paternal care with ecological factors. Also, the taxonomyof the New World primates is in flux which makes phylogeneticinterpretation difficult (Rosenberg, 1981). As a result, thefollowing discussion will be based mainly on results from captivestudies, and will be concerned with defining those factors thatcreate variability in observed levels of paternal care, bothwithin and across genera.     

Hybridization in large-bodied New World primates

Well-documented cases of natural hybridization among primates are not common. In New World primates, natural hybridization has been reported only for small-bodied species, but no genotypic data have ever been gathered that confirm these reports. Here we present genetic evidence of hybridization of two large-bodied species of neotropical primates that diverged approximately 3 MYA. We used species-diagnostic mitochondrial and microsatellite loci and the Y chromosome Sry gene to determine the hybrid status of 36 individuals collected from an area of sympatry in Tabasco, Mexico. Thirteen individuals were hybrids. We show that hybridization and subsequent backcrosses are directionally biased and that the only likely cross between parental species produces fertile hybrid females, but fails to produce viable or fertile males. This system can be used as a model to study gene interchange between primate species that have not achieved complete reproductive isolation.     

Old World and New World Cupressus pollen: morphological and cytological remarks

The aim of this work was to collect new information about pollen morphology and pollen wall structure comparing Cupressus species from the Old World and New World. Cupressus is a nonmonophyletic genus that includes species that appear to be divided into Old World and New World clades. Observations in this study on cypress pollen indicate that grain size and composition of intine β-glucans are different between the considered Old World and New World species. Different from all the other American cypress species, pollen of C. macrocarpa reacted to dying in a similar manner to Old World species. Rehydrated pollen grains collected from 20 Asian, Afro-Mediterranean and American cypress species were measured under a light microscope. The size of the pollen grains and the percentage of intine in relation to the pollen grain diameter were significantly different between Old World and New World species. Pollen wall composition was tested after addition of different dyes to the hydration solution, and subsequent observations were carried out by light and fluorescence microscopy. Lugol and calcofluor staining showed differences in composition of the middle and inner intine layers between New World and Old World species.     

Experimental infection of New World lizards with Old World lizard Leishmania species

A total of 197 North and Central American lizards representing 11 genera and 4 families was examined for presence of Leishmania by culture of heart blood. None of the lizards (obtained from supply houses, collectors, and live-trapped by the authors) was found to be infected.Subsequent to the determination that they were negative for leishmaniasis, lizards in the family Teiidae (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, and Ameiva quadrilineata) and the family Iguanidae (Anolis carolinensis, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, and Basiliscus vittatus) were inoculated with Old World lizard leishmanias. Culture forms of Leishmania adleri, Leishmania agamae, and Leishmania tarentolae were inoculated intracardially into the lizards and sampling for the parasites was by direct observation of blood slides and by examination of cultures of heart blood.Leishmania adleri was recovered from Basiliscus vittatus (Central American) for up to 56 days and from Ameiva quadrilineata (also Central American) for up to 10 days. Dipsosaurus dorsalis (North American) retained this parasite for up to 24 hr. Cnemidophorus sexlineatus (North American) maintained Leishmania agamae for periods of up to 10 days as detected by the described techniques. Leishmania tarentolae did not become established in any of the lizards, and Anolis carolinensis maintained parasites for 12 hr or less.     

Density compensation in New World bat communities

Understanding the role of competitive interactions in shaping the structure of communities has been one the most unrelenting challenges to ecology. Traditionally, competitive interactions were assumed to be the most important agent of deterministic structure, with overdispersed morphological patterns based on body size and trophic status as their hallmark. However, models of community organization based solely on morphology have yielded only equivocal results for many taxa. Fortunately, morphological patterns may not be the only indications of competitively induced deterministic structure. Herein, we explore the degree to which the structure of five feeding guilds (aerial insectivores, frugivores, gleaning animalivores, molossid insectivores, and nectarivores) from 15 New World bat communities reflects density compensation. Nonrandom associations between abundance and morphological distance were detected in five communities, in three feeding guilds, and with respect to four competitive scenarios. Nonetheless, patterns consistent with the hypothesis of density compensation were neither pervasive nor consistent in New World bat communities. Competitively induced community structure may exist under only narrow temporal and environmental conditions, and may not be characteristic of organization in most situations.     

Molecular systematics of New World suboscine birds

Phylogenetic relationships among New World suboscine birds were studied using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. New World suboscines were shown to constitute two distinct lineages, one apparently consisting of the single species Sapayoa aenigma, the other made up of the remaining 1000+ species of New World suboscines. With the exception of Sapayoa, monophyly of New World suboscines was strongly corroborated, and monophyly within New World suboscines of a tyrannoid clade and a furnarioid clade was likewise strongly supported. Relationships among families and subfamilies within these clades, however, differed in several respects from current classifications of suboscines. Noteworthy results included: (1) monophyly of the tyrant-flycatchers (traditional family Tyrannidae), but only if the tityrines (see below) are excluded; (2) monophyly of the pipromorphine flycatchers (Pipromorphinae of ) as one of two primary divisions of a monophyletic restricted Tyrannidae; (3) monophyly of the tityrines, consisting of the genus Tityra plus all sampled species of the Schiffornis group (), as sister group to the manakins (traditional family Pipridae); (4) paraphyly of the ovenbirds (traditional family Furnariidae), if woodcreepers (traditional family Dendrocolaptidae) are excluded; and (5) polyphyly of the antbirds (traditional family Formicariidae) and paraphyly of the ground antbirds (Formicariidae sensu stricto). Genus Melanopareia (the crescent-chests), although clearly furnarioid, was found to be distant from other furnarioids and of uncertain affinities within the Furnarii. Likewise, the species Oxyruncus cristatus (the Sharpbill), although clearly tyrannoid, was distantly related to other tyrannoids and of uncertain affinities within the Tyranni. Results of this study provide support for some of the more novel features of the suboscine phylogeny of, but also reveal key differences, especially regarding relationships among suboscine families and subfamilies. The results of this study have potentially important implications for the reconstruction of character evolution in the suboscines, especially because the behavioral evolution of many suboscine groups (e.g., Furnariidae) is of great interest.     

Preparing New World monkeys for laboratory research

New World monkeys represent an important but often poorly understood research resource. The relatively small size and low zoonotic risk of these animals make them appealing as research subjects in a number of areas. However, historic portrayal of many of these species as difficult to manage and handle is one of the factors that has limited their use. Basic guidelines are provided on management and handling approaches for the New World monkeys most commonly used in research: marmosets, squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, and titi monkeys. Topics include transport and acclimation to a new facility, location changes within a facility, diet changes, removal from and return to social groups, capture and restraint, handling for anesthesia, postprocedural monitoring, and staff training.     

Africa's Ogun: Old World and New

Africa's Ogun: Old World and New. Second edition. Sandra T. Barnes. ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997. 390 pp.     

Scent marking strategies of New World primates

This paper reviews recent findings on scent-marking behavior in wild New World primates. These findings are used to examine three functional hypotheses: territoriality, regulation of social and reproductive dominance, and mating competition/mate attraction. Available data provide little evidence for a territorial function of scent-marking behavior in New World primates. Evidence for a function in the regulation of social and reproductive dominance is ambiguous. The patterns of scent marking found so far (i.e., rates of scent marking according to sex and social or reproductive status, and the spatial distribution of scent marks), and the sparse information on responses to scent marks are consistent with a hypothesized function in intrasexual competition and intersexual mate choice. Suggestions for future research are made.     

Molecular systematics of the New World monkeys

We report here the results of a comparative immunological study of the evolution of primate albumins and transferrins with special reference to the systematics of the New World monkeys. The resulting albumin and transferrin phylogenies are shown to be highly concordant with one another and with data from other laboratories on globin and fibrinopeptide sequences, DNA hybridization, and further immunological studies. We also provide evidence for a probable interdependence of albumin and transferrin rates of evolution which produces a very tight clustering of the total number of amino acid substitutions for the two molecules along lineages of equal time depth, thus providing an even better rationale for the use of these data in the formulation of molecular evolutionary clocks. We again emphasize that the analysis of immunological data is not dependent on non-molecular information or assumptions concerning rates of evolution, and that the analysis provides its own indications of interpretative problems.Specifically we find that the clade Primates must now include Tupaia and Cynocephalus (the “flying lemur”), as well as Tarsius, Anthropoidea, Lemuriformes, and Lorisiformes, and that the New World monkeys share a long period of common ancestry with the Catarrhini subsequent to the divergence of other primate lineages. The catarrhine-platyrrhine divergence is placed at around 35 million years ago, thus strengthening the case for an African derivation of the New World monkeys. The extant New World monkey lineages are then seen as sharing a long period of common ancestry subsequent to that divergence, with their radiation beginning in the early Miocene. From this radiation we see seven equally distinct lineages: (1) Aotus, (2) Callicebus, (3) Cebus, (4) Saimiri, (5) Ateles-Lagothrix-Alouatta, (6) Pithecia-Cacajao, and (7) Callimico-Callithrix-Cebuella-Saguinus-Leontideus. Within those, Ateles with Lagothrix, and Callimico with Callithrix-Cebuella form further subgroups.