Blood groups of bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata), with a brief introduction to seroprimatology

The human-type A-B-O blood groups of 52 bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) were determined. Application of method of population genetics indicated the gene frequences to be O = 0.173, A = 0.480 and B = 0.347. Cross testing of sera and red cells of the bonnet macaques revealed two blood-type-specific isoagglutinins, one of them strong enough for use as a blood typing reagent. No blood group polymorphism was revealed by testing bonnet macaque red cells with isoantisera produced in rhesus monkeys (M. mulatta) and in crab-eating macaques (M. fascicularis). The rhesus and crab-eating macaque isoantisera reacted either with all or with none of the bonnet macaque red cells tested.     

Tool use by a red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) towards a two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)

Among New World monkeys, spontaneous tool use and object manipulation are commonly descirbed inCebus species only. We report here an occurrence of tool manipulation by a wild male red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), observed using a stick to softly but repeatedly hit a two toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) resting in the same tree. The ecological context of this unusual behavior for this quiet species generally showing very little manipulative propensity is discussed.     

Population Density of Chimpanzees and Gorillas in the Petit Loango Reserve,Gabon: Employing a New Method to Distinguish Between Nests of the Two Species

We studied the vegetation and population density of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Petit Loango Reserve, Gabon. The study site consists mainly of primary and secondary forest, and it also includes patches of savanna, inundated forest, and coastal scrub. The density of herbaceous plants of Marantaceae and Zingiberaceae, which serve as important foods for great apes at other study sites, is extremely low. It was very difficult to distinguish between the nests of chimpanzees and gorillas because most gorilla nests were made in trees. We developed a new method to identify the builder of nests via a combination of field observation of nests and fecal samples, and examination of hair samples under a scanning electron microscope. Nests of chimpanzees were mainly in primary forest, and the estimated density (0.78 individual per km ² ) is higher than the average density in Gabon and comparable to the nest density in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. Nests of gorillas were mainly in secondary forest, and their estimated density (0.21) is similar to the average next density in Gabon but lower than the gorilla nest density in the Lopé Reserve. The low density of herbaceous foods seemed to influence the density of gorillas but not the density of chimpanzees.     

Mirror mediated object discrimination and self-directed behavior in a female gorilla

Mirror mediated object discrimination was investigated in a captive female, human-reared, western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) approximately 26 years of age. The gorilla was trained to find a stimulus that was only visible by use of the mirror. The gorilla could not reach the goal object except by observing it in the mirror and her hand movement was not visible through the mirror. Further, it was hypothesized that this mirror mediated object discrimination would enhance the probability of self-directed behavior.Gallup’s (1970) marking paradigm, excluding the use of general anesthesia, was utilized in assessing self-directed behavior. Mirror-gazing, face-directed, and mark-directed behavior with a mirror were compared before versus after discrimination mirror training. The results supported the hypotheses that gorillas are capable of mirror mediated object discrimination and that mirror training involving a discrimination task would facilitate self-directed behavior.     

Movement patterns of a group of free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) and their relation to food availability

Relationships between the movement patterns of free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) and the abundance and distribution of foods in their home range were examined. During an 18-month field study, the ranging of one group of G. gorilla beringei was recorded on a 250 × 250 m grid system, from which measurements of frequency and duration of use, travel rate, and rate of revisitation of each quadrangle by the group were derived. Food items were sampled in selected quadrangles throughout the home range and various measures of food abundance, frequency and diversity were calculated. Analyses based on both spatial and temporal variation in food availability give supporting evidence for the prediction that mountain gorilla ranging patterns are influenced by the distribution and abundance of foods. Quality of food appears to be an important factor, as shown in analyses of yearly patterns and monthly changes in ranging. The gorillas studied spent more time in the higher quality areas of their home range, responded to a correlate of decreasing food abundance by increasing their rate of travel and area used, and revisited regions more frequently when the renewal rate of foods was clearly greater. Each of their foraging tactics can be explained as serving to increase the efficiency of harvesting foods.     

Transport of Functionally Appropriate Tools by Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella)

Capuchin monkeys (Cebus sp.) are notable among New World monkeys for their widespread use of tools. Like chimpanzees, they use both hammer tools and insertion tools in the wild to acquire food that would be unobtainable otherwise. Recent evidence indicates that capuchins transport stones to anvil sites and use the most functionally efficient stones to crack nuts. We further investigated capuchins’ assessment of functionality by testing their ability to select a tool that was appropriate for two different tool‐use tasks: A stone for a hammer task and a stick for an insertion task. To select the appropriate tools, the monkeys investigated a baited tool‐use apparatus (insertion or hammer), traveled to a location in their enclosure where they could no longer see the apparatus, made a selection between two tools (stick or stone), and then could transport the tool back to the apparatus to obtain a walnut. We incorporated tool transport and the lack of a visual cue into the design to assess willingness to transport the tools and the monkeys’ memory for the proper tool. Six brown capuchins (Cebus apella) were first trained to select and use the appropriate tool for each apparatus. Four animals completed training and were then tested by allowing them to view a baited apparatus and then travel to a location 8 m distant where they could select a tool while out of view of the apparatus. All four monkeys chose the correct tool significantly more than expected and transported the tools back to the apparatus. Results confirm capuchins’ propensity for transporting tools, demonstrate their capacity to select the functionally appropriate tool for two different tool‐use tasks, and indicate that they can retain the memory of the correct choice during a travel time of several seconds.     

“Stepping-sticks” and “seat-sticks”: New types of tools used by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Sierra Leone

In Tenkere, Sierra Leone, a community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) spent long hours eating the fruits and flowers of the Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) tree. The branches of this species are covered in sharp thorns which make movement in their high canopies problematic for the chimpanzees. In an apparent attempt to increase their mobility and to ease the discomfort of lengthy bouts of eating in these trees, some of the Tenkere chimpanzees have been observed using stick tools as foot (“stepping-sticks”) and body (“seat-sticks”) protection against the painful thorns. This form of tool-using is culturally unique to the Tenkere chimpanzees, as at other sites where these apes have been observed eating parts of kapok trees, there are no published records of this tool technology. In three of the stepping-stick tool use incidents, the chimpanzee used the tool(s), held between their greater and lesser toes, in locomotion. This form of tool use is the first recorded case of habitually used tools that can be justifiably categorized as being “worn” by any known wild population of Pan troglodytes. Am J Primatol 41:45–52, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A survey of the apes in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic: a comparison between the census and survey methods of estimating the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) nest group density

A survey of apes was carried out between October 1996 and May 1997 in the Dzanga sector of the Dzanga‐Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic (CAR), to estimate gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) densities. The density estimates were based on nest counts. The strip transect census and the line transect survey method (Standing Crop Nest Count) were used to estimate the gorilla nest group density. The strip transect has been most commonly used to date. It assumes that all nest groups within the width of the strip are detected, but as this assumption is easily violated in the dense tropical rain forest, the line transect survey was also used. In this method, only the nest groups on the transect line itself should be detected. This method proved to be an adequate and easy technique for estimating animal densities in dense vegetation. The gorilla density of 1.6 individuals km^?2 (line transect survey method) found for the Dzanga sector is one of the highest densities ever reported in the literature for the Western lowland gorilla. The density estimate for chimpanzees was 0.16 individuals km^?2 (census method). The results of this study confirm the importance of the Dzanga‐Ndoki National Park for primate conservation.     

Spontaneous use of sticks as tools by captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The present report describes the spontaneous use of sticks, as tools by young adult gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a social group at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, CA, USA. Three 8-year-old gorillas (one female and two males) threw sticks into the foliage of trees, which the gorillas could not climb due to electric wire, to knock down leaves and seeds. Two of the three gorillas selected sticks that were more suitable (i.e. longer or thicker sticks) for throwing. Moreover, they looked up at the target (i.e. the foliage of the tree) before throwing and grasped the stick at a position appropriate, for throwing (i. e. the end of the stick). They were more likely to throw sticks when particular adult group members were not nearby. These two gorillas also pulled branches of trees toward themselves by using sticks to capture them (branch-pulling), and one of these two beat a branch with a stick to knock down leaves and seeds (branch-beating). One of these two gorillas used much longer sticks for branch-pulling than for stick-throwing, indicating that he was capable of task-dependent selection of sticks. Analyzing the spontaneous use of sticks as tools by gorillas in captivity can lead to a better understanding of not only their cognitive ability but also of their social relationships which may otherwise be concealed.     

Comparative study of urinary reproductive hormones in great apes

Urinary estrone conjugates (E₁C), pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined by enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) during the normal menstrual cycle in the orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo. Furthermore, the data were compared to those levels in the human and long-tailed macaque. The results showed a typical preovulatory E₁C surge and postovulatory increase in PdG in all species. The pattern of E₁C during the menstrual cycle in the great apes more closely resembled the human than do the long-tailed macaque. A major difference of E₁C pattern between these species appeared in the luteal phase. In the great apes and the human, E₁C exhibited two peaks, the first peak detected at approximately mid cycle and the second peak detected during the luteal phase. On the other hand, in the long-tailed macaque, increase of E₁C in the luteal phase was small or nonexistent. The gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo exhibited similar PdG trends. The orangutan excreted one tenth less PdG than these species during the luteal phase. The long-tailed macaque also excreted low levels of PdG. The patterns of FSH in orangutan, chimpanzee, bonobo and long-tailed macaque showed a marked mid-cycle rise and an early follicular phase rise, similar to those in the human. Comparing similar taxa, a large difference was found in FSH of gorilla; there were three peaks during the menstrual cycle. Thus, there is considerable species variation in the excretion of these hormones during the menstrual cycle and comparative studies could be approached with a single method. The methods and baseline data presented here provide the basis for a practical approach to evaluation and monitoring of ovarian events in the female great apes. Electronic Publication     

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.     

The Tyrosinase Gene in Gorillas and the Albinism of ‘Snowflake’

The sequence of the tyrosinase (Tyr) gene coding tracts has been obtained for the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The five exons of the gene were sequenced in three gorillas and in a normally pigmented human. The tyrosinase gene has been found to be a very conserved locus with a very low substitution rate. Some nucleotide and amino acid differences were found between the gorilla and human tyrosinase coding sequences. One of the gorillas included in the study is the only known case of albinism in a gorilla (‘Snowflake’). Mutations of the TYR gene lead to Oculocutaneous Albinism type 1 (OCA1), the most common type of albinism in humans (OMIM accession number 203100). The TYR gene encodes the tyrosinase enzyme (E.C. 1.14.18.1), whose activity was found to be completely lacking in ‘Snowflake’, indicating that a mutation in the Tyr gene is the likely cause of his albinism. Nonetheless, no nucleotide changes were detected that could account for the lack of Tyr product or tyrosinase activity in Snowflake, and explanations of these findings are discussed.     

Ant eating behavior of mountain gorillas

Eleven cases of feeding on driver ants (Dorylus sp.) by mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are described. Ant eating provides the gorillas with more animal protein and other nutrients per unit feeding time than do other forms of insectivory that contribute to their diet, but it is so rare that it is unlikely to be of real nutritional significance. Gorillas obtain ants with their hands and do not use tools. Immature individuals (except infants) ate more ants than did adult females, and silverbacks were not seen to eat ants. These differences are more likely to reflect differences in individual taste and interest in novelty than differences in nutritional strategy. Not all gorillas in the Virungas population eat ants. Intra-population variability may be ecologically contingent, but ant eating appears to be a socially acquired and transmitted taste.     

Quantitative high-resolution melting analysis for detecting adulterations

Admixtures of different plant species are a common problem in raw materials for medicinal use. Two exemplary assays were developed to admixtures in Helleborus niger with high-resolution melting analysis. HRM proved to be a very sensitive tool in detecting admixtures, able to detect a ratio of 1:1000 with unknown species, and of 1:200,000 with Veratrum nigrum. The example proves the ability of HRM for quantification in multiplex PCR.The method is not limited to detecting adulterations. It can also be used to quantify a specific target by integrating a second amplicon in the assay as internal standard.     

NetMHCpan,a method for MHC class I binding prediction beyond humans

Binding of peptides to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is the single most selective step in the recognition of pathogens by the cellular immune system. The human MHC genomic region (called HLA) is extremely polymorphic comprising several thousand alleles, each encoding a distinct MHC molecule. The potentially unique specificity of the majority of HLA alleles that have been identified to date remains uncharacterized. Likewise, only a limited number of chimpanzee and rhesus macaque MHC class I molecules have been characterized experimentally. Here, we present NetMHCpan-2.0, a method that generates quantitative predictions of the affinity of any peptide–MHC class I interaction. NetMHCpan-2.0 has been trained on the hitherto largest set of quantitative MHC binding data available, covering HLA-A and HLA-B, as well as chimpanzee, rhesus macaque, gorilla, and mouse MHC class I molecules. We show that the NetMHCpan-2.0 method can accurately predict binding to uncharacterized HLA molecules, including HLA-C and HLA-G. Moreover, NetMHCpan-2.0 is demonstrated to accurately predict peptide binding to chimpanzee and macaque MHC class I molecules. The power of NetMHCpan-2.0 to guide immunologists in interpreting cellular immune responses in large out-bred populations is demonstrated. Further, we used NetMHCpan-2.0 to predict potential binding peptides for the pig MHC class I molecule SLA-1*0401. Ninety-three percent of the predicted peptides were demonstrated to bind stronger than 500 nM. The high performance of NetMHCpan-2.0 for non-human primates documents the method’s ability to provide broad allelic coverage also beyond human MHC molecules. The method is available at . Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Reduced TCOF1 mRNA level in a rhesus macaque with Treacher Collins-like syndrome: further evidence for haploinsufficiency of treacle as the cause of disease

Mutations in the human gene TCOF1 cause a mandibulofacial dysostosis known as Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS). An infant rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) that displayed the TCS phenotype was identified at the California National Primate Research Center. The TCOF1 coding region was cloned from a normal rhesus macaque and sequenced. The rhesus macaque homolog of TCOF1 is 91.6% identical in cDNA sequence and 93.8% identical in translated protein sequence compared to human TCOF1. Sequencing of TCOF1 in the TCS-affected rhesus macaque showed no mutations within the coding region or splice sites; however, real-time quantitative PCR showed an 87% reduction of spleen TCOF1 mRNA level in the TCS affected macaque when compared with normal macaque spleen. Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession numbers DQ085095 and DQ085096.     

Maternal discrimination of offspring vocalizations in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

The response of Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) females to vocalizations of their offspring was studied in a semi-free ranging population. The results of both facal observations and playback experiments demonstrated that mothers preferentially turned to their offspring's vocalizations over those of other young, providing evidence that mothers are able to recognize their offspring by acoustic signals alone. We assume that they may use this ability to monitor their infants' activities.     

Distances électrophorétiques entre l'Homme,le Chimpanzé (Pan troglodytes) et le Gorille (Gorilla gorilla) basées sur la mobilité des enzymes érythrocytaires

Summary Electrophoretic mobilities of homologous erythrocyte enzymes at 21 loci studied in man (Homo sapiens), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) led to estimations of the genetic distances between the three species: If each form is placed at a corner of an isoscele triangle, the distance between the chimpanzee and either of the other two is greater than that between the latter two.