Language Evolution: Loquacious Monkey Brains?

Theories about the evolutionary path that led to the neuronal network underlying human language have long generated much heat without light. Using PET imaging, a recent study suggests that monkeys share a circuit for vocal perception with humans, adding some empirical data to the debate.     

Fixation of Vervet Monkey Oral Mucosa for Ultrastructural Investigation–Tem

This study was undertaken to determine optimal fixation procedure for vervet monkey (Cercopithecui pygerythrta) oral mucosa. Perfusion and immersion fixation were investigated using glutaraldehyde and glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde fixatives with either a phosphate or sodium cacodylate buffer as vehicle and with osmolalities varying from 2010 to 320 mosm. Good fixation could not be obtained uniformly or consistently by perfusion. Vervet monkey oral mucosa is best fixed by first perfusing the head and neck of the animal with 250-500 ml 0.9% saline containing Procaine-HCl and heparin, followed by decapitation and immersion of the head in a 2.5% glutaraldehyde: 2% paraformaldehyde: 0.02 M sodium cacodylate buffered fixative (900 mosm) at 4 C for 24 hr.     

Do Kin Selection and Intra-Sexual Selection Operate in Spider Mites?

Between the two subsocial spider mites, Schizotetranychus longus Saito and S. miscanthi Saito, a big difference exists in male reproductive behavior. The males of the former species have an extraordinarily mild relationship with conspecific males, whereas those of the latter species show mortal aggression against conspecific males. Field and experimental observations on the structure of mating populations showed that S. longus is under inbreeding conditions because of a lack of males in early spring, whereas S. miscanthi is under outbreeding conditions. Therefore, I hypothesized that the difference in male antagonism between the two species may reflect the difference in relatedness of males, that is, it has evolved by kin selection. The recent discovery of two clinal trends in male–male aggression in S. miscanthi provided evidence in favour of this hypothesis. Furthermore, a correlation analyses between experimentally evaluated male aggression and distribution patterns of males in the field indicated that the variation in male antagonism is actually reflected in field populations. Based on these studies, I discuss the solidity of the kin-selection hypothesis. Lastly I address how spider mites are fruitful model animals for conducting behavioral, ecological and genetic studies to understand the evolution of haplo-diploidy.     

Update on the Search for Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus Monkey

Miss Waldron’s red colobus (Procolobus badius waldroni) has a restricted distribution in eastern Ivory Coast and western Ghana. There have been no confirmed sightings of them since 1978 and surveys carried out from 1993 to the present have yet to reveal any living individual. Since the announcement of the monkey’s probable extinction (Oates et al., 2000), new evidence from forest in the extreme southeast of Ivory Coast suggests that a handful of individuals have remained undetected to this point. I discuss the evidence—a tail, a skin and a photograph—and results of accompanying surveys. Additional surveys of the Ehy Forest are required to confirm the presence of Procolobus badius waldroni and an Action Plan for the conservation of all red colobus across the continent is needed to prevent the disappearance of other taxa.     

Official statement of the Japan Monkey Centre on the ‘Shimokita incident’

The Japan Monkey Centre issued the following official statement concerning the aerial spraying of herbicide which was carried out at the end of June on the Shimokita Peninsula. It invites all who are interested in the research of nature to understand and support its aim for the conservation of wild Japanese monkeys and the protection of nature from artificial destruction. Copies of the statement (in Japanese) have been sent to a number of inland individuals and organizations concerned.     

Spider signals: are web decorations visible to birds and bees?

We are becoming increasingly aware of animal communication outside the range of human sensitivity. Web decorations are silk structures used by orb-web spiders to deceive prey and predators. However, despite the level of interest in these structures, their visibility to prey and predators has never, to our knowledge, been objectively assessed. Here, we use spectrophotometric analyses to show that the decorations of all five tested spider species are visible to honey bees and birds over short and long distances. Furthermore, the discoid decorations of one species may provide some protection against arthropod predators. However, these decorations are inefficient at camouflaging the spider against birds, despite the overlap between the spider's body and web decoration.     

Behavioural Profiles in Captive-Bred Cynomolgus Macaques: Towards Monkey Models of Mental Disorders?

Background

To date, experimental and preclinical studies on neuropsychiatric conditions have almost exclusively been performed in experimentally-induced animal models and have only rarely relied upon an ethological approach where animals have been observed in more naturalistic settings. The laboratory species of choice has been the rodent while the potential of more closely-related non-human primates have remained largely underexplored.

Methods

The present study, therefore, aimed at investigating the possible existence of spontaneous atypical/abnormal behaviours displayed by 40 cynomolgus macaques in captive conditions using an unbiased ethological scan-sampling analysis followed by multifactorial correspondence analysis and a hierarchical clustering.

Results

The study identified five distinct profiles (groups A to E) that significantly differed on several behaviours, body postures, body orientations, gaze directions and locations in the cage environment. We suggest that animals from the low n groups (D and E) present depressive-like and anxious-like symptoms, reminiscent of depressive and generalized anxiety disorders. Inter-individual differences were highlighted through unbiased ethological observations of spontaneous behaviours and associated parameters, although these were not associated with differences in plasma or cerebrospinal fluid levels of either stress-related hormones or monoamines, i.e. in accordance with the human situation.

Conclusions

No interventional behavioural testing was required to discriminate between 3 typical and 2 atypical ethologically-defined behavioural profiles, reminiscent of certain depressive-like and anxiety-like symptoms. The use of unbiased behavioural observations might, thus, allow the identification of animal models of human mental/behavioural disorders and their most appropriate control groups.     

Along Came a Spider: Using Live Arthropods in a Predator–Prey Activity

We developed a predator–prey activity with eighth-grade students in which they used wolf spiders (Lycosa carolinensis), house crickets (Acheta domestica), and abiotic factors to address how (1) adaptations in predators and prey shape their interaction and (2) abiotic factors modify the interaction between predators and prey. We tested student understanding with pre- and postquizzes, written observations, and interpretations of graphical results.     

Do Adult Male Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Preferentially Handle Male Infants?

Infant tolerance by adult males has been observed in many primate species with multimale–multifemale mating systems, but males do not usually initiate interactions with infants. In male philopatric species, such as spider monkeys, adult males within a community exhibit high levels of cooperation and affiliation, and they might therefore be motivated to create bonds with potential future allies. Based on this hypothesis we predicted that adult male spider monkeys would participate in infant handling more than adult females and they would preferentially direct handling toward male infants. Between January 2008 and July 2010, we collected 884?h of observation on a community of wild spider monkeys at Runaway Creek Nature Reserve in Belize. During this period we observed 120 incidences of affiliative interactions between infants and adults other than their mother. The adult initiated the majority of nonmother adult–infant interactions (78?%). All available infants (5 males, 7 females) were handled during the study. All 9 of the community adult males handled infants but only 7 of 14 adult females did so. Adult males handled infants significantly more often than did adult females and males also handled young infants more often than older infants. Significant infant sex differences in handling appeared in infants >6?mo when adult males handled males significantly more than females. The patterns of infant handling among age–sex class dyads reflect the affiliative social patterns that we see in adult spider monkeys. These results provide support for the hypothesis that adult males preferentially handle male infants as a strategy for fostering social bonds.     

Rhesus Monkey TRIM5α Has Distinct HIV-1 Restriction Activity Among Different Mammalian Cell Lines

Rhesus monkey TRIM5α (TRIM5α_rh), a member of the tripartite motif (TRIM) family, was identified as the main restriction factor responsible for resistance of old world monkey cells to HIV-1 infection. However, the precise mechanism of HIV-1 infection inhibition by TRIM5α remains elusive and appears to be related to some cellular cofactors. Here we reported that TRIM5α_rh can significantly reduce the infection efficiency of VSV-G pseudotyped HIV-1/MA-YFP virus in human epithelial carcinoma (HeLa) cells, moderately reduce in porcine kidney (PK-15) cells and have no effect on the pseudotyped virus infection in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Furthermore, we found that the different HIV-1 restriction activities have no relation with the intracellular localization of TRIM5α_rh. These results indicate that the cellular environment is very important for the efficient anti-HIV-1 activity of TRIM5α_rh. We speculate that some unknown factors required for HIV-1 infection inhibition activity are adequately expressed in HeLa cells, inadequately expressed in PK-15 cells and absent in MDCK cells.     

Carabid Beetle and Spider Assemblages along a Forested Urban–Rural Gradient in Southern Finland

To investigate the effects of urbanization on carabid beetles (Carabidae) and ground dwelling spiders (Araneae) a study was completed along a 20km urban–rural forest gradient in the Helsinki–Espoo area of southern Finland. To study changes in assemblage structure, abundance and species richness, these taxa were collected in the year 2000 using pitfall traps, which had been placed in four forest sites within each of the urban, suburban and rural zones. We expected to find changes in the abundances and species richnesses in the two taxa across the urban–rural gradient, but did not find any. Our second and third hypotheses, stating that generalist species and small-bodied species should gain dominance along the gradient from rural to urban sites, were partly supported as carabid specialists were more characteristic of suburban and rural environments whereas generalists were more likely to be collected from rural areas compared to suburban or urban sites. Furthermore, medium to large-sized carabid individuals were more likely to be collected in the rural sites compared to urban forests. We found no evidence for significant changes in spider abundance or species richness across the urban–rural gradient in relation to body size or habitat specialization. We suggest that urbanization does not have significant effects on the total abundances and species richnesses in these two taxa. However, individual species responded differently to urbanization, and there were significant differences in the specialization and body sizes of carabids across the gradient.     

Distribution and New Sightings of Goeldi’s Monkey (Callimico goeldii) in Amazonian Perú

There is a general consensus on the geographic distributions of many primate species; however, the continuity and validity of species range maps are often inaccurate on a local scale. In the case of rare and cryptic species, census methodology is often insufficiently rigorous or specialized, resulting in probable false negatives. Callimico goeldii is a rare primate, with most of its geographical range purported to lie in Perú. We evaluate the accuracy of its predicted geographic range within Perú with an assessment of mammal surveys over the last 40?yr and the inclusion of new sightings from three sites. We found that of all 340 study sites, only 10.9?% indicate that this species is present, and only 51?% of these sites receive any government protection. The Sierra del Divisor Reserve Zone and the Rodal Tahuamanu Conservation Concession have the highest estimated densities of Callimico goeldii. We suggest using focal follows of sympatric tamarins and vocalization playbacks rather than traditional line transects to improve the likelihood of locating this species. Although the current range maps based on the available data are likely an exaggeration of the species’ true range, the inherent imperfections of standard census methodology when applied to rare and cryptic species can lead to underrepresentative range maps as well. For these reasons, it is clear that the current distribution map for Callimico goeldii is imprecise, and until its distribution is reassessed, its conservation status cannot be confirmed.     

Vocal Communication in a Fission-Fusion Society: Do Spider Monkeys Stay in Touch With Close Associates?

In fission-fusion societies, in which animals from the same group may spend long periods of time apart from each other, individuals could use long-distance vocalizations to maintain contact with others. This could be achieved with vocalizations that simply carried information about the caller's identity and location. I explored this possibility using observations and experiments from a 3-year field study of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Punta Laguna, México, analyzing the use of the species' most frequent vocalization, the whinny. By following 2 subgroups simultaneously, I found that subgroups that were within the active space of the whinny approached each other more often than subgroups that were farther apart. Individual adults in these subgroups also emitted more whinnies when they were within hearing range of another subgroup than when farther apart. I used a paired playback design to determine whether whinnies could influence the behavior of close associates as opposed to nonassociated individuals. Although nonassociates were as likely as close associates to respond vocally to playbacks of whinnies, only a close associate ever approached the speaker. Collectively, the results suggest that whinnies are used by spider monkeys to achieve flexibility in spacing while maintaining specific social relationships.     

Assessment of Sublethal Effects of Clofentezine on Life-table Parameters in Hawthorn Spider Mite (Tetranychus viennensis)

A leaf disc bioassay was employed in the laboratory to assess the population responses of Tetranychus viennensis Zacher to clofentezine at three concentrations (LC₁₀, LC₂₅ and LC₅₀) in three successive generations. Life-table parameters were calculated in each acaricide exposure regime and compared by jackknife procedures. Clofentezine treatments in the juvenile stages significantly delayed development of the mites, and this delay increased with increasing dose but decreased as the mites developed. Exposure to clofentezine reduced the net reproduction rate (R₀) in a concentration-dependent manner. The LC₅₀ treatment had strong effects on the hatchability of eggs produced by surviving females. Hatch rate dropped from 0.83 in the untreated control to 0.51 in the third generation. When exposed to constant concentrations of clofentezine in three successive generations, the intrinsic rate of increase and R₀ of the mites decreased significantly, but they increased significantly when exposed to decreasing concentrations. Unexposed offspring of the exposed mother also displayed increases in R₀ and the jackknife procedures indicated no significant differences in R₀ between LC₁₀ and LC₂₅ offspring and their mothers vs. the control, while R₀ in unexposed LC₅₀ offspring was significantly higher than their mother’s, but lower than that in the control. These changing patterns of r_m reveal that acaricide effects at the population level strongly depend on the life-history characteristics of T. viennensis and the chemical mode of action.     

Spider diversity in epiphytes: Can shade coffee plantations promote the conservation of cloud forest assemblages?

Cloud forests (CF) are disappearing due to anthropogenic causes such as cultivation. A characteristic feature of the CF is that a high proportion of its biomass occurs in the form of epiphytes, which are vital microhabitats to canopy dwelling arthropods. Coffee plantations overlap with CF and replace them. Epiphytes are abundant in shade coffee (SC) plantations and therefore these plants are an appropriate background for comparing the diversity between these systems. Spiders are understudied in canopies, and since they are major predators and their communities are highly sensitive to environmental changes, they can be used to test the similarity between habitats. We conducted a diversity assay of spiders living in epiphytes in cloud forest fragments and SC plantations, to test the hypothesis that SC plantations function as refugia. We manually sampled epiphytes within the canopy of two coffee plantations and two fragments of cloud forest in central Veracruz, Mexico. Our results show that SC plantations account for higher spider abundance and species richness than cloud forest fragments, there is little overlap between the species found in both systems, and the range of distribution and the guild structure of the spider assemblages between both systems is similar. As there were no significant differences between cloud forest fragments and SC plantations in terms of spider species assemblages, species distribution and guild structure the epiphytes from the SC plantations can be consider a refuge for the spider fauna from the surrounding cloud forest fragments. Epiphyte load and tree height are important factors driving the differentiation at community level, between sites and habitats. Bromeliads harbored more spiders than the other types of epiphytes, and since these plants are frequently removed by farmers or extracted for commercial and religious purposes, we suggest that preserving epiphytes in coffee plantations and cloud forest fragments could aid in the conservation of spiders.     

Monkey locomotion during gait transitions: How do interlimb time intervals,step sequences,and kinematics change?

Cine film documenting unrestrained locomotion of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) ranging in age from 6 to greater than 48 months was analyzed to provide information on gait transitions from walking to loping. Changes in the duration of time between reciprocal footfalls were measured to determine how alternate limb movements, which occurred during walking, were converted to synchronous limb coordination characteristic of loping. Footfall pattern changes were also determined, and walk-lope transition speeds were plotted on logarithmic coordinates, as a function of body mass. Conversion from alternate to synchronous limb movement during vervet walk-lope transitions was effected by systematic decreases in the duration of time between successive footfalls. These decreases primarily affected contralateral limb pairs, RH-LH and RF-LF. Synchronous contralateral limb movement was considered to be mechanically advantageous because, when coupled with increased ranges of back motion, it provided a mechanism for increasing hindlimb step length. Intraspecific scaling of walk-lope transition speed in vervets provided support for McMahon's (1975) elastic similarity principle.     

Temporal but Not Acoustic Plasticity in Hybrid Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata × A. pigra) Loud Calls

International Journal of Primatology - The relatively fixed vocal structure of nonhuman primates stands in stark contrast to humans. However, primate vocal–plasticity studies are particularly...