Behavioral Ecology of Sympatric Chimpanzees and Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,Uganda: Diet

Via a field study of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, we found that their diets are seasonally similar, but diverge during lean seasons. Bwindi chimpanzees fed heavily on fruits of Ficus sp., which were largely ignored by the gorillas. Bwindi gorilla diet was overall more folivorous than chimpanzee diet, but was markedly more frugivorous than that of gorillas in the nearby Virunga Volcanoes. During 4 mo of the year Bwindi gorilla diet included more food species than that of the chimpanzees. Three factors in particular—seasonal consumption of fibrous foods by gorillas, interspecific differences in preferred fruit species, and meat consumption by chimpanzees—contributed to dietary divergence between the two species. When feeding on fruits, gorillas ate Myrianthus holstii more frequently than chimpanzees did, while chimpanzees included more figs in their annual diet. Chimpanzee diet included meat of duikers and monkeys; gorilla frequently consumed decaying wood.     

Ecology of Biomphalaria (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Lake Albert, Western Uganda: snail distributions, infection with schistosomes and temporal associations with environmental dynamics

In Lake Albert, an ecological study was conducted, between June 2000 and May 2003, which assessed snail population dynamics, parasite infection patterns and interplay of environmental factors upon Biomphalaria. Monthly sampling surveys were conducted at 29 sites monitoring populations of Biomphalaria stanleyi and Biomphalaria sudanica. Altogether, a total of 21,715 B. stanleyi and 8452 B. sudanica were collected during the period. Both species could be found infected with Schistosoma mansoni although infection prevalence was significantly higher (p < 0.01**) in B. stanleyi (4.4%) than in B. sudanica (3.5%). Each species occupied slightly different aquatic niches with B. stanleyi preferring deeper water habitats whilst B. sudanica was found along the shoreline in shallower water. B. stanleyi was more widely distributed among the sampling locations (19 sites) than B. sudanica (10 sites). Of the four villages included in the study area, snails from sites near Piida and Bugoigo villages had the highest schistosome infection rates, presumably attributable to the closer proximity of people with intestinal schistosomiasis. After inspection of cross-correlation plots which identified most suitable time lags, snail density dynamics could be associated with seasonal variations inclusive of: air temperature, rainfall, lake level, water temperature, water conductivity and water pH. These temporal observations better reveal the relationship between snail populations and environmental factors, providing important information concerning the relative roles of B. stanleyi and B. sudanica in transmission of S. mansoni and development of integrated strategies for disease control around Lake Albert.     

Fur-Rubbing as a Form of Self-Medication in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pongo pygmaeus</Emphasis>

Orangutans exhibit fur-rubbing possibly for medicinal use. I hypothesize that they use a species of Commelina, an uncommon herb in the peat-swamp forests of Central Kalimantan, Borneo, as either an antibacterial or anti-inflammatory agent. In Central Kalimantan, local indigenous people use the same species as an external medication to treat their arms after a stroke, for muscular pain, and for sore bones and swellings. Thus, the possible convergence of human and orangutan use of Commelina may indicate that orangutans are using it for a similar purpose.     

Four glucosyltransferases from rice: cDNA cloning, expression, and characterization

Four UDP-dependent glucosyltransferase (UGT) genes, UGT706C1, UGT706D1, UGT707A3, and UGT709A4 were cloned from rice, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified to homogeneity. In order to find out whether these enzymes could use flavonoids as glucose acceptors, apigenin, daidzein, genistein, kaempferol, luteolin, naringenin, and quercetin were used as potential glucose acceptors. UGT706C1 and UGT707A3 could use kaempferol and quercetin as glucose acceptors and the major glycosylation position was the hydroxyl group of carbon 3 based on the comparison of HPLC retention times, UV spectra, and NMR spectra with those of corresponding authentic flavonoid 3-O-glucosides. On the other hand, UGT709A4 only used the isoflavonoids genistein and daidzein and transferred glucose onto 7-hydroxyl group. In addition, UGT706D1 used a broad range of flavonoids including flavone, flavanone, flavonol, and isoflavone, and produced at least two products with glycosylation at different hydroxyl groups. Based on their substrate preferences and the flavonoids present in rice, the in vivo function of UGT706C1, UGT706D1, and UGT707A3 is most likely the biosynthesis of kaempferol and quercetin glucosides.     

Frequent insectivory by two guenons (Cercopithecus lhoesti and Cercopithecus mitis) in the Kalinzu Forest, Uganda

I investigated the feeding ecology of lHoests monkeys (Cercopithecus lhoesti) and blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) in the Kalinzu Forest, Uganda. Although forest guenons are generally thought to be frugivores or folivores, these two guenons spent a large proportion of their time feeding on invertebrates. The lHoests monkey and the blue monkey spent as much as 66 and 50% of their time on insectivory, respectively. These proportions of time spent on invertebrate feeding are higher than those reported elsewhere for forest guenons. LHoests monkeys mainly utilized the area near the ground for invertebrate feeding, while blue monkeys utilized the area around 20 m above the ground. It seemed that guenons have an ability to change their diet according to the environment.     

云南普洱可食用棠梨花的民族植物学初步研究

云南拥有独特的食花文化,蕴藏着丰富的食花资源与传统知识。棠梨花是云南分布最广、最为常见的食用花资源之一,是民间对可食用蔷薇科梨属(Pyrus)植物花的统称,其具体涉及的物种以及民间利用知识与现状尚待研究阐明。该研究在文献研究基础上,初步选择云南省普洱市的思茅区和墨江县,在棠梨花采集旺季,开展了民族植物学调查,包括标本采集与鉴定、集市调查与半结构式访谈。结果表明:(1)该地区食用棠梨花来自三种野生梨属植物,即川梨(P. pashia)、杜梨(P. betulifolia)和无毛川梨(P. pashia var. kumaoni),其中川梨利用频率最高。(2)棠梨花在集市上早春野生蔬菜中比重高,在当地和外地同时显示了很大的市场潜力。(3)当地民族在棠梨花的采后处理与加工方式上,具有高度的一致性。(4)食用理由主要包括清热、应季和无污染。该研究阐明了可食用棠梨花的物种、相关传统知识与利用现状,为棠梨花的资源价值与影响力评估提供了参考,为进一步探讨食花的文化因素与生理学意义提供了基础。     

Four new Brazilian species of Lonchocarpus (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Millettieae)

Lonchocarpus castaneifolius, L. grazielae, L. longiunguiculatus, and L. montanus from Brazil are described and illustrated based on field and herbarium studies. The first species belongs to Lonchocarpus sect. Punctati and is restricted to northeastern Brazil (Bahia state). The other three are included in sect. Laxiflori. Lonchocarpus grazielae is restricted to the southern coastal region (Santa Catarina state), L. montanus is found in northeastern Brazil (Bahia and Piauí states), the west-central region (Goiás and Tocantins states) and the southeast (Minas Gerais state), and L. longiunguiculatus occurs in northeastern (Bahia state) and southeastern (Minas Gerais state) Brazil.     

A fossil hominoid proximal femur from Kikorongo Crater, southwestern Uganda

The external morphology of a fragmentary right proximal femur from southwestern Uganda is described here. Discovered in the Kikorongo Crater of Queen Elizabeth National Park in 1961, this specimen was informally assigned to Homo sapiens (although never described) and tentatively dated to the late Pleistocene. However, because aspects of the external morphology of the femur align the fossil with the African great apes, we suggest that the Kikorongo femur may be the first postcranial fossil of the genus Pan. Like the African apes, the Kikorongo specimen lacks both an obturator externus groove and an intertrochanteric line. It has a short femoral neck with a circular cross section, and a narrow and deep superior notch. Using resampling statistics and discriminant function analysis, the Kikorongo femur clustered with the genus Pan, as opposed to Gorilla or Homo. However, if the specimen is from Pan, it would be large for this taxon. Furthermore, features that clearly distinguish the external morphology of Plio-Pleistocene hominin proximal femora from African ape femora, such as the shape of the femoral neck in cross section and femoral neck length, have converged in Holocene humans and African apes. Unfortunately, the internal morphology of the femoral neck of the Kikorongo fossil was not discernable. Although we hypothesize that the Kikorongo femur is from the genus Pan, there is such variability in the proximal femora of modern humans that, although it would be an unusual human, it remains possible that this fossil represents H. sapiens.     

Group Size and Composition of Colobus guereza in Kyambura Gorge, Southwest Uganda, in Relation to Chimpanzee Activity

We documented and assessed the influence of chimpanzee activity on group size and composition of Colobus guereza in Kyambura Gorge, southwest Uganda, from July to September, 1994 and in February and March 1996. The population density of colobus is very high: 347 individuals per km ². Density differed outside activity centers of chimpanzees (525 individuals per km ² ) and within the centers (186 per km ² ). We identified a total of 24 colobus groups, ranging between 3 and 13 individuals. Of the 24 groups, 22 were one-male groups. Groups were smaller and the percentage of subadults and juveniles was lower in groups within chimpanzee activity centers. Estimates of home ranges are between 1.7 and 6.2 ha, but neighboring home ranges overlapped 80%. Only a territory of approximately 0.5 ha was defended by the alpha male.     

Experimental evaluation of the impacts of two ant species on banana weevil in Uganda

The banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar), is an important pest of bananas. Predatory ants are increasingly being viewed as possible biological control agents of this pest because they are capable of entering banana plants and soil in search of prey. We studied ant predation on banana weevil in Uganda in crop residues and live plants in both laboratory and field experiments. Field studies with live plants used chemical ant exclusion in some plots and ant enhancement via colony transfer in others to measure effects of Pheidole sp. 2 and Odontomachus troglodytes Santschi on plant damage and densities of immature banana weevils.In crop residues, an important pest breeding site, twice as many larvae were removed from ant-enhanced plots as in control plots. In young (2 month) potted suckers held in shade houses, ant ability to reduce densities of banana weevil life stages varied with the weevil inoculation rate. At the lowest density (2 female weevils per pot), densities of eggs, larvae, and pupae were reduced by ants. At higher rates there was no effect. In older suckers (5–11 months) grown in larger containers, banana weevil densities were not affected by ants, but damage levels were reduced. In a field trial lasting a full crop cycle (30 months), we found that the ants tested reduced the density of banana weevil eggs in suckers during the crop, but did not affect larval densities in the sampled suckers. However, most larvae occur in the main banana plants, rather than associated suckers. Nevertheless, levels of damage in mature plants at harvest did not differ between Amdro-treated and ant-enhanced plots, suggesting the ant species studied were not able to provide economic control of banana weevil under our test conditions.     

独龙族传统代粮植物食用观音座莲的研究

食用观音座莲(Angiopteris esculenta)是独龙族(中国云南人口最少的少数民族)重要的野生代粮植物,其地下部分可用于加工蕨粉以制作食物。为深入调查和记录独龙族利用食用观音座莲的传统知识,该文采用民族植物学的方法对食用观音座莲相关的传统知识进行调查和记录,并运用食品科学的方法对蕨粉的基本成分、形态、理化性质及糊化特性进行了深入探究。结果表明：(1)食用观音座莲在独龙族的传统生计中有多种用途,定量分析表明其食用用途的相对引用频率(RFC)远大于其他用途,说明食用是独龙族利用该植物最主要的方式。(2)独龙族使用传统方法采集食用观音座莲膨大叶柄基部和根茎加工并食用蕨粉主要原因是蕨粉中富含淀粉,其总淀粉含量为86.2%,并含有多种人体必需的矿物元素。(3)蕨粉具有较好理化性质,其中冻融稳定性和凝沉稳定性较强,可用于冷冻食品和淀粉产品的生产、加工;回生值和衰减值远低于常见淀粉,说明其具有良好的热糊稳定性和冷糊稳定性且不易回生。综上表明,食用观音座莲蕨粉具有较大的开发利用潜能,通过人工栽培提高产量,有利于提高当地居民收入和促进偏远地区乡村振兴。该研究为食用观音座莲后续的加工利用提供了...     

Community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in drought-resistant plants, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Moringa</Emphasis> spp., in semiarid regions in Madagascar and Uganda

The community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the roots of drought-resistant trees, Moringa spp., was examined in semiarid regions in Madagascar and Uganda. Root samples were collected from 8 individuals of M. hildebrandtii and 2 individuals of M. drouhardii in Madagascar and from 21 individuals of M. oleifera in Uganda. Total DNA was extracted from the root samples, and partial nSSU rDNA of AM fungi was amplified using a universal eukaryotic primer NS31 and an AM fungalspecific primer AM1. The PCR products were cloned and divided by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with HinfI and RsaI. Some representatives in each RFLP types were sequenced, and a neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis was conducted for the obtained sequences with analogous sequences of AM fungi. The RFLP and phylogenetic analyses showed that AM fungi closely related to Glomus intraradices or G. sinuosum were detected in many samples. The AM fungal groups frequently detected in the Moringa spp. might be widely distributed species in semiarid environments.     

Medicinal Plants in the Atlantic Forest (Brazil): Knowledge, Use, and Conservation

This study focuses on knowledge of medicinal plants among the Caiçaras (rural inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil). In particular, we examine the use of medicinal plants according to sex and age to reveal general patterns of Caiçara knowledge and use of plant resources. Data collected through 449 interviews at 12 Caiçara communities (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coastal sites) include citations of 249 plants and identification of 227 species. We show the importance of introduced as opposed to native plants and of key individuals for the conservation of the Caiçaras-Atlantic Forest.     

Swimming Performances of Four California Stream Fishes: Temperature Effects

The critical swimming velocity (U_crit) of four California stream fishes, hardhead, Mylopharodon conocephalus, hitch, Lavinia exilicauda, Sacramento pikeminnow, Ptychocheilus grandis, and Sacramento sucker, Catostomus occidentalis was measured at 10, 15, and 20°C. Hardhead, Sacramento sucker, and Sacramento pikeminnow swimming performances tended to be lowest at 10°C, higher at 15°C, and then decreased or remained constant at 20°C. Hitch swimming performance was lower at 10°C than at 20°C. There were no significant differences among species at 10 or 15°C, although pikeminnow and hitch were ca. 20% slower than hardhead or sucker. At 20°C hardhead, Sacramento sucker, and Sacramento pikeminnow had remarkably similar U_crit but hitch were significantly (by 11%) faster. We recommend that water diversion approach velocities should not exceed 0.3ms^–1 for hitch (20–30cm total length) and 0.4ms^–1 for hardhead, Sacramento pikeminnow, and Sacramento sucker (20–30cm TL).     

Coping with Forest Fragmentation: The Primates of Kibale National Park,Uganda

A goal of conservation biology is to determine which types of species are most susceptible to habitat disturbance and which types of disturbed habitats can support particular species. We studied 20 forest fragments outside of Kibale National Park, Uganda, to address this question. At each patch, we determined the presence of primate species, tree species composition, patch size, and distance to nearest patch. We collected demographic, behavioral, and dietary data for Abyssinian black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza). Black-and-white colobus and red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius) were in almost all fragments; Pennant's red colobus (Procolobus pennantii) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were in some fragments; and blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) and gray-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena) were absent from all fragments. No species characteristics—home range, body size, group size, or degree of frugivory—predicted the ability of species to live in patches. No characteristics of patches—area, distance to the nearest patch, distance to Kibale, or number of food trees present—predicted the presence of a particular species in a patch, but distance to Kibale may have influenced presence of red colobus. Black-and-white colobus group size was significantly smaller in the forest patches than in the continuous forest of Kibale. For a group of black-and-white colobus in one patch, food plant species and home range size were very different from those of a group within Kibale. However, their activity budget and plant parts eaten were quite similar to those of the Kibale group. The lack of strong predictive variables as well as differences between other studies of fragmentation and ours caution against making generalizations about primate responses to fragmentation.     

Dietary Variability of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,Uganda

Data on intraspecific dietary variability has important implications for understanding flexibility in foraging behavior, habitat utilization, population dynamics, and social behavior and may also assist in conservation efforts. We compared food availability and diet of a group of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) at a high altitude site and 2 groups at a low altitude site in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, from September 2001 to August 2002. Plant species diversity was greater at the low altitude site than at the high altitude site. The two groups at the low elevation consumed more plant species (140 species vs. 62 species), and a greater number of fruit species per mo (7 vs. 3 species) and per yr (36 vs. 11 species) than the high altitude group did. Furthermore, each group shared <51% of important fibrous food items in their diet with the 2 other groups. There is no significant difference in the proportion of days fruit remains were found in the dung among groups. Finally, according to Ivlev's electivity index, all groups positively selected the majority of food items in their diets. We attribute a large proportion of dietary variation between locations to differences in fruit availability and plant species composition between sites. Differences between groups at the low altitude site may be due to variation in food profitability—more profitable foods available to choose in the same area—within their overlapping home range, or group traditions. A comparison of our results with the diets of gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda and Kahuzi-Biega, DRC shows that eastern gorilla populations have highly variable dietary patterns with limited overlap in species consumed among groups and populations.     

4种弹涂鱼鳃的形态度量学比较及其生态学意义

通过对背眼虎鱼亚科中薄氏大弹涂鱼(Boleophthalmus boddarti)、青弹涂鱼(Scartelaos histophorus)、新几内亚弹涂鱼(Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis)和点弹涂鱼(P.spilotus)3属4种弹涂鱼鳃参数的测定,比较了各种之间鳃的形态度量学差异。结果表明,4种弹涂鱼的鳃参数(Y)与其体重(W)均符合方程logY=log a+b logW,且各鳃参数与体重的相关性显著(R2=0.50～0.98,P0.05)。等体重的弹涂鱼相比较,青弹涂鱼的总鳃丝数、总鳃丝长(mm)、鳃丝一侧鳃小片数(/mm)、总鳃面积(mm2)和相对鳃面积(mm2/g)均最大,薄氏大弹涂鱼相应鳃参数次之,新几内亚弹涂鱼和点弹涂鱼相应鳃参数较小。弹涂鱼鳃结构的这种梯度退化,表明青弹涂鱼和薄氏大弹涂鱼水生性较强,而新几内亚弹涂鱼和点弹涂鱼陆生性较强。4种弹涂鱼的总鳃丝长和总鳃面积明显小于其他等体重水生鱼类,这与弹涂鱼的两栖生活特征相符。     

Impacts of Falcataria moluccana Invasion on Decomposition in Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forests: The Importance of Stand-level Controls

Invasive species have the capacity to substantially alter soil processes, including rates of litter decomposition. Currently, the few remaining native-dominated lowland wet forests in Hawai’i are being invaded by Falcataria moluccana, a large, fast-growing, N₂-fixing tree. In this study, we sought to determine the extent to which Falcataria invasion alters decomposition in these lowland wet forests, and whether changes resulted from differences in litter substrate type, lava flow age and type, forest stand type and associated soil biota, or some combination of these factors. We measured decomposition rates and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics of Metrosideros polymorpha and Falcataria leaf litter in native-dominated and Falcataria-invaded stands on 48- and 300-year-old a’a lava flows and a 213-year-old pāhoehoe flow in the Puna district of eastern Hawai’i. Despite significant differences in the initial quality of Metrosideros and Falcataria litter, in nearly all cases mass remaining of the two litter types did not differ within a given forest stand, whether native-dominated or invaded. Instead, stand type accounted for large differences in the decomposition of both litter types, and litter decomposed two to 10 times faster in Falcataria-invaded stands than it did in their native-dominated counterparts on each lava flow. Dynamics of N (that is, immobilization or release) during decomposition were affected by stand, litter, and lava flow type; P dynamics were affected by stand and flow type, but not litter type. Although not definitive proof of causality, the decay rates of both species were positively correlated to previously measured inputs of N mass and P mass via litterfall as well as availability of soil N and P, characteristics that all increased substantially with Falcataria invasion. Given the degree of change to a host of ecosystem processes, including decomposition, after invasion by Falcataria, these transformed forest ecosystems may best be viewed as fundamentally new and different, in both structure and function, from the native ecosystems they have replaced.     

Home Range and Frugivory Patterns of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,Uganda

Mountain, western, and Grauer's gorillas exhibit broad differences in ecological patterns with western gorillas eating more fruit and having larger home ranges than their largely folivorous counterparts in the Virunga Volcanoes. We studied the home range and frugivory patterns of one group of Gorilla beringei beringei in the little-studied population of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, to compare with other populations and to investigate whether there was any relationship between patterns of frugivory and home range size. During the 3-year study, the gorillas ate 16 species of fruit on 27% of observation days. There was high variability in frugivory among the 3 years and no consistent seasonal pattern. Annual home range size was ca. 21 km² for Years 1 and 2, and it increased dramatically to 40 km² in Year 3. Home range size varied considerable between months and seasons, but there is no clear relationship between occurrence of fruit-eating and home range size. The group exhibited more fruit-eating and a larger home range size those ofthe gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes. Their home range size is comparable to that of western gorillas, though Bwindi gorillas consumed less fruit. Home range size and utilization by all gorillas probably depends on a complex relationship between the distribution and abundance of both fruit and herbaceous vegetation and social factors such as male mating tactics.