猿源不绝

等到10点多钟,当我们站不住失望地准备往回撤时,森林里突然传来了猿群的叫声。先是公猿口哨般的长鸣,接着母猿和幼猿加入,声音由小变大,由凄清的独唱变成了热闹的大合唱。我们都被这热带雨林里精灵的歌声震撼了,这是何等的天籁啊……     

A tribute to John Gibbon

This article provides an overview of the published research of John Gibbon. It describes his experimental research on scalar timing and his development of scalar timing theory. It also describes his methods of research which included mathematical analysis, conditioning methods, psychophysical methods and secondary data analysis. Finally, it describes his application of scalar timing theory to avoidance and punishment, autoshaping, temporal perception and timed behavior, foraging, circadian rhythms, human timing, and the effect of drugs on timed perception and timed performance of Parkinson's patients. The research of Gibbon has shown the essential role of timing in perception, classical conditioning, instrumental learning, behavior in natural environments and in neuropsychology.     

C-Type Virus associated with Gibbon Lymphosarcoma

C-TYPE viruses have been established as the causal agents of leukaemia in murine and feline species and have been characterized^1,2. C-type virus is also probably associated with fibrosarcoma in non-human primates^3–6. To determine whether viruses with identical characteristics are associated with other neoplasms in simian species, we looked for C-type viruses in cases of leukaemia. A gibbon (Hylobates lar) with a disseminated tumour (later confirmed as lymphosarcoma) was made available to the Comparative Oncology Laboratory by Dr Malcolm Jones of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. The principal sites of involvement (lymph node, liver and bone marrow) were extensively overrun with massive neoplastic cells, which were predominantly prolymphocytic forms. Electron microscopy revealed C-type particles identical to those observed in vitro in sections from lymph nodes, liver, spleen and bone marrow.     

海南长臂猿研究现状

海南长臂猿Nomascus hainanus是世界上最为濒危的灵长类动物,历史上曾广泛分布于海南岛。自20世纪50年代以来,由于栖息地的破坏及人为干扰,分布面积急剧缩小,数量急剧减少,现仅存3群20多只分布在海南岛霸王岭国家级自然保护区16 km2的原始热带季雨林内。食物种类丰富,榕属植物较少,而家域面积较大,反映了海南长臂猿的栖息地质量较低。低质量的栖息地,独特的一夫二妻制的社会结构,较长的生殖间隔及较低的遗传多样性是制约海南长臂猿种群生存和发展的主要原因。加强海南长臂猿生态学、行为学及社区居民参与共管的研究将有助于海南长臂猿的保护。     

Territorial behavior in the Agile Gibbon

A group of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis)was studied for 2 years in the Malay Peninsula. The behavior of the gibbons during territorial disputes is described, the relationships with neighbors are investigated, and the frequency and duration of disputes are analyzed. The nature of the territorial boundary and the type of territorial behavior exhibited by the gibbons are discussed. An attempt is made to identify the immediate precursors of disputes, and some suggestions are given to explain why disputes occur so frequently and are of such long duration.     

海南黑冠长臂猿的生存与研究现状

概述了海南黑冠长臂猿的分类地位、种群数量、食性、活动范围与配偶制度、行为以及保护管理等方面。     

Gibbon and marmoset c-myc nucleotide sequences.

The nucleotide sequences of the gibbon and marmoset myc loci have been determined by the dideoxy ribomethod. The number of mutations which occurred during evolution and the branches affected were deduced according to the principle of maximum parsimony, from a comparison with known mammal sequences. As previously observed for the human and chimpanzee myc genes, an Alu repeat belonging to subclass III was observed in the second intron of the gibbon myc gene. In contrast, no such element was found in the marmoset gene. Alignment of the Myc amino acid (aa) sequences provided clues for detecting which aa or which protein regions have been more heavily mutated. Conversely, some regions remained free of mutations and remained unchanged from mouse to human, most probably in connection with some important embedded property(ies). An intriguing feature of the human Myc protein is duplication of 50 aa out of 439. Strikingly, most of these aa remain unchanged in mouse, rat, cat, marmoset, gibbon, chimpanzee and human.     

Gibbon Aggression During Introductions: An International Survey

Little is known regarding the prevalence of aggression seen during introductions of captive gibbons (Hylobatidae). In this study, an online survey was developed to quantify and collect contextual details regarding the frequency and types of aggression seen during introductions of captive gibbons (Hylobatidae). Nineteen percent of institutions (17 institutions) reported observing aggression, and 6 of these institutions recorded multiple instances of aggression, though a vast majority of these cases resulted in mild injuries or none at all. The female was the primary aggressor in 23% of cases, the male was the primary aggressor in 58% of cases, and both were the primary aggressor in 1 case. Although these aggressive interactions were often not associated with a known cause, 27% of cases were associated with food displacement. In most cases, management changes, including trying new pairings, greatly reduced situational aggression, suggesting that individual personalities may play a factor in aggression. These data begin to explain the extent of aggression observed in captive gibbons; future studies will address possible correlations with aggression and introduction techniques.     

Domestication ofEleusine coracana

Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp.coracana (Finger millet or eleusine) is a cereal that is widely cultivated in Africa and India. Archaeological records of finger millet are few and unsatisfactory. But, distribution, linguistic and historical evidence seem to suggest an African rather than Indian origin of the crop. Data from morphology, supplemented with cytogenetical observations and distribution revealed thatE. coracana subsp.africana is wild finger millet. This subspecies is widely distributed along the highlands of East Africa. Consequently, it is concluded that finger millet originated in the East African Highlands and was subsequently introduced into India.     

Gibbon foraging decisions and the marginal value model

We use data from an observational field study of frugivory in two sympatric gibbons, lar (Hylobates lar) and siamang (H. syndactylus), to test assumptions and predictions of the marginal value model (MVM). A key prediction of the MVM is that marginal gain rates at the time of leaving the patch are equal across patch types. We found that this is not the case for gibbons: rates of energy intake at the end of feeding sessions were significantly different for different types of fruit, and we could not attribute this to temporal variation in fruit availability. Initial and final caloric intake rates were highly correlated. This suggests that gibbons do not adjust the time spent in patches in order to maximize the average rate of energy intake. Similar results were obtained for all other currencies considered. Gibbon foraging appears to satisfy several, but not all, assumptions of the MVM. As required by the model, fruit patches occur as discrete units, patches are encountered sequentially, travel time between patches exceeds search time between items within a patch, search for and search within patches are incompatible activities, and intake rates decline over time spent in a patch. However, the declining rates we detected may be an effect of satiation instead of patch depletion, patches probably are not encountered at random, and group members may not forage independently. Thus, our results suggest that the MVM is not an adequate model of gibbon foraging behavior, but they do not invalidate the MVM per se.     

Hainan Black-crested Gibbon Is Headed For Extinction

Although Hainan black-crested gibbons have been on the list of the most endangered primate species in the world for many years, their environment is still deteriorating, especially on Hainan Island. Our findings indicate that the species is unlikely to survive the next decades unless efficient conservation policies and strategies are put in place immediately. Census data show that populations of the species used to occur across the whole island, but in 2003 only 13 individuals could be found, confined to a small region, the Bawangling Natural Reserve (19 02¹–19 08¹N and 109 02¹–10913¹ E), in the western part of the island, covering only 14–16 km². In other words, ca. 99% of the habitat has vanished in the past 300 years. Such dramatic change has pushed the species to the edge of extinction; only 2 groups and 2 solitary adult males, remained in 2003. Two adult females, 2 juveniles and one infant comprise Group A, in Donger, the core area of the western part of the reserve; and 1 adult male, 2 adult females, 1 juvenile and 1 infant formed another group (B), confined to another core area (Nanchahe) in the northern part of the reserve. The dramatic decline in the gibbon population has occurred due to vegetation reduction, ecological deterioration and extensive human impact. The forest cover was reduced from 95.5% 2000 years ago to just 4% in 1999; and the human population in 2003 was 330% larger than in 1950.     

Domestication effects on foraging strategies in fowl

Birds of two different breeds differing in degree of domestication were studied to reveal any differences in foraging strategies between them. The breeds were wild-type birds (crossing between red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) and Swedish bantam (Gallus gallus domesticus) and domestic birds (Swedish bantam), breeds representing an increasing level of domestication. Bantam birds have not been selected for any specific characteristics. The birds were allowed to forage in an experimental pen containing two separate food patches, which depleted as a function of being exploited, to see how well the different breeds were able to assess costs and benefits as the distance between patches were changed (short distance between patches compared to long distance between patches). Both breeds behaved in accordance with some general predictions of optimal foraging theory, i.e. moved between patches, left patches before these were empty and stayed for a shorter time in more depleted patches. Wild-type birds responded more than domestic birds to an increase of distance between patches, by spending longer average time in patch when there was a long distance between them compared to when there was a short distance. The wild-type birds adopted what seemed to be a more costly foraging strategy, moving more between patches than the domestic birds without ingesting more feed. During domestication, in the protected environment provided by man, individuals using less costly behavioural strategies may have gained increased fitness over those spending more energy on foraging. Although domestic birds still possessed the ability to respond adaptively to environmental conditions, the differences between the wild-type and the domestic breed might be a result of the reduction of the natural selection pressure which accompanies domestication.     

Sexual Selection and Information Content in Gibbon Song Bouts

Male and female gibbons (Hylobates) produce sexually dimorphic song bouts which appear to serve to guard mates and defend territories respectively. On the basis of differences in both the familiarity and the costs of conflict between sender and receiver, males but not females are hypothesized to use high-energy assessment signals to advertise resource-holding potential. This hypothesis is tested by examining the evidence for differential energy constraints in the production of male and female song bouts across 21 gibbon populations. The results indicate that song performance is reduced when the availability of high-energy foods is reduced and that this effect is greatest in males. Male song bout frequency also declines in populations where the energetic costs of thermoregulation are likely to be greater (i.e. in high-latitude populations). Females do not show this pattern. Females appear to perform the minimum number of songs per bout required for signal transmission and may perform bouts less often when more songs are required. In contrast, males sing for longer periods the more frequently bouts are performed. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the song bouts of males but not females act as assessment signals. Observational and experimental studies which would provide a more powerful test of this hypothesis are briefly outlined.     

Incomplete Lineage Sorting Is Common in Extant Gibbon Genera

We sequenced reduced representation libraries by means of Illumina technology to generate over 1.5 Mb of orthologous sequence from a representative of each of the four extant gibbon genera (Nomascus, Hylobates, Symphalangus, and Hoolock). We used these data to assess the evolutionary relationships between the genera by evaluating the likelihoods of all possible bifurcating trees involving the four taxa. Our analyses provide weak support for a tree with Nomascus and Hylobates as sister taxa and with Hoolock and Symphalangus as sister taxa, though bootstrap resampling suggests that other phylogenetic scenarios are also possible. This uncertainty is due to short internal branch lengths and extensive incomplete lineage sorting across taxa. The true phylogenetic relationships among gibbon genera will likely require a more extensive whole-genome sequence analysis.