Dominance,Coloration, and Social and Sexual Behavior in Male Drills <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mandrillus leucophaeus</Emphasis>

Sexual selection has driven the evolution and elaboration of a wide variety of displays and ornaments in male nonhuman primates, including capes, cheek flanges, and sexual coloration. Among the most sexually dimorphic of all primates is the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus), the males of which can be 3 times the mass of females, possess large canines, and exhibit extremely bright sexual skin coloration. However, the function of male coloration in this species has never been examined. Here, we present data on male color (measured objectively using digital photography), dominance rank, measures of male-female association, and key sexual behaviors, of adult male drills (n = 17) living in four semi free-ranging enclosures at the Drill Rehabilitation and Breeding Center in Nigeria. We test the hypothesis that male coloration is a badge of status, indicating dominance rank, and the hypothesis that male coloration attracts females. We found that male coloration did indicate rank, and that high ranking, strongly colored males were more likely to associate with adult females, and more specifically with fully tumescent females. These males also engaged in more sexual activity. However, measures of male-female association and sexual behaviors were not related to male color once rank had been taken into consideration; i.e., for males of a given rank, females did not prefer those that were more colorful. We discuss the results in light of what is known about the wild drill social system, in which unfamiliar individuals may come together in “supergroups,” and in which quality indicators of competitive ability may be particularly important.     

Warm temperatures lead to early onset of incubation, shorter incubation periods and greater hatching asynchrony in tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor at the extremes of their range

The onset of incubation varies in birds, with many species beginning incubation prior to clutch completion. Here we examine whether early onset is more likely to occur during high temperatures, a critical prediction of the egg-viability hypothesis, which suggest that birds begin incubation prior to clutch completion in order to maintain egg-viability. We examined onset of incubation in tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor at two locations at the extremes of their breeding range, Alaska and Tennessee. A majority of individuals (68%) began incubation prior to clutch completion. While females in Tennessee were more likely to begin incubation early, there was no difference between sites when differences in temperatures inside nestboxes were controlled in analyses. Rather, early onset of incubation was predicted by the proportion of daily temperatures above physiological zero during laying, a critical prediction of the egg viability hypothesis. Both warm weather and early onset led to shorter incubation periods and increased levels of hatching asynchrony. We found no effect of timing of nesting, female body condition index or clutch size on the probability of beginning incubation prior to clutch completion. Our results are consistent with the egg viability hypothesis, not consistent with a threshold clutch size rule, and do not support the hurry-up hypothesis, that individuals breeding later in the season would begin incubation early to reduce the time spent nesting. Overall, our results suggest that broad scale geographic differences in incubation behaviour may be explained by individual-level responses to environmental conditions.     

Stereospecific reactivation of human brain and erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase inhibited by 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman)

Human erythrocyte and brain acetylcholinesterase are preferentially inhibited by the P(-)-isomers of C(+/-)P(+/-)-soman. The enzymes inhibited by the P(-)-isomers behave similarly with respect to oxime-induced reactivation and aging. HI-6 is the best reactivator for C(+)P(-)-soman-inhibited acetylcholinesterases. Oxime-induced reactivation of the C(-)P(-)-soman-inhibited acetylcholinesterases is much more difficult to achieve.     

Inactivation of the postural asymmetry factor at the stage of compensation for the postural disorder induced by unilateral removal of the motor area

The peptide nature of the posture asymmetry factor (PAF) produced in the brain after unilateral removal of the motor region of the neocortex was established. The inactivation of PAF activity in the brain toward the end of the third week after the removal is due to PAF inactivation by the endogenous factor absent from the intact brain. The molecular weight of the inactivation factor exceeds 5.0 kD that makes it possible to separate it from the PAF by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25. The correlation was marked between the increasing activity of the PAF inactivation factor and the recovery of the initial symmetric functioning of the spinal centers during three weeks after unilateral damage to the CNS.     

Effect of psychotropic substances on the development of alcoholic motivation in noninbred white rats

The experiments have shown the capacity of antidepressant amitriptylin (0.5 mg/kg, i. p.) and tranquilizer phenazepam (0.1 mg/kg i. p.) to normalize the adaptive behaviour and almost completely prevent the development of alcohol motivation in animals with insufficient adaptive behaviour. It was established that in animals initially rejecting alcohol, chronic treatment with these drugs as well as d-amphetamine promoted alcohol motivation. The results obtained have proved our earlier hypothesis that preclinical search for drugs for the prevention and treatment of early stages of alcoholism is possible only in animals pre-selected according to their inclination to experimental alcoholism.     

A comparison of the respiratory chain in particles from Paracoccus denitrificans and bovine heart mitochondria by EPR spectroscopy

A study is presented on the EPR characteristics of the paramagnetic groups in the respiratory chain present in membrane particles of Paracoccus denitrificans, the respiratory system of which is very similar to that in submitochondrial particles from beef heart. All paramagnetic prosthetic groups of the mitochondrial system are also found in the bacterial plasma membrane. Their properties suggest that the respiratory groups are embedded in very similar protein environments in the two systems.     

Regulation of Apoptosis in Nonapeptidergic Neurons of Rat Hypothalamus by Catecholamines in Experiments in vitro

Effects of noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) on apoptosis of nonapeptidergic neurons of supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei of hypothalamus of male Wistar rats was studied in experiments in vitro. Incubation of hypothalamic sections in the medium with added NA was shown to induce an increase of the amount of pro-apoptotic protein caspase-9 in the nonapeptidergic neurons of the SON and PVN. A comparison of the level of neuronal NO-synthase with the level of caspase-9 expression in these neurons allows concluding that NA leads to initiation of apoptosis in neurons of the SON with mediation by nitric oxide (NO). In the PVN, the NA-induced initiation of apoptosis does not depend on the NO level. Addition of DA to the incubation medium results in an increase of the caspase-9 amount only in PVN neurons regardless of the NO content. The absence of neuronal death after the NA-induced increase of the caspase-9 level in the cells of SON and PVN seems to be due to increased expression of the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2. Protection of the PVN neurons from death after addition of DA to the incubation medium is probably independent of the expression level of bcl-2. Thus, in the nonapeptidergic neurons of the SON and PVN, which are related by origin and by performed functions, modulation of the process of apoptosis by elevated concentrations of NA and DA is realized by different mechanisms.