Effect of Mother's Dominance Rank on Offspring Temperament in Infant Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

In humans, temperament plays an important role in socialization and personality. Some temperaments, such as behavioral inhibition are associated with an increased risk for psychopathology. Nonhuman primates can serve as a model for neurobiological and developmental contributions to emotional development and several recent studies have begun to investigate temperament in nonhuman primates. In rhesus monkeys, dominance rank is inherited from the mother and is associated with social and emotional tendencies that resemble differences in temperament. The current study assessed differences in temperament in infant rhesus monkeys as a function of maternal dominance rank. Temperament was assessed in 26 infants (13 males) from birth until 6 months of age with a battery that included Brazelton test, human intruder test, human intruder‐startle, cortisol stress reactivity, and home cage observations of interactions with peers and the mother. Throughout testing, infants lived with their mothers and a small group of other monkeys in indoor/outdoor runs. Dominance rank of the mothers within each run was rated as either low/middle (N = 18, 9 male) or high/alpha (N = 8, 4 female). Infants of high‐ranking mothers displayed more intruder‐directed aggression and reduced startle potentiation in the human intruder tests. Dominant offspring also had reduced levels cortisol and startle across development and spent more time away from mothers in the interaction tests. These results suggest that dominance of the mother may be reflected in behavioral reactivity of infants early in life. These findings set up future studies, which may focus on contributing factors to both dominance and temperament such as genetics, rearing, and socialization. Such factors are likely to interact across development in meaningful ways. These results also suggest future human‐based studies of a similar relationship may be warranted, although social dominance is clearly more complex in human than macaque societies. Am. J. Primatol. 75:65‐73, 2013. Published 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.?     

White-Tailed Deer Antler Research: A Critique of Design and Analysis Methodology

ABSTRACT Debate within the popular and technical literature regarding predictability of antler size at maturity based on 1.5-year antler size in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has led to confusion and uncertainty within constituent groups. Koerth and Kroll (2008) provided measures of age-related antler development using recaptures of known-age males from 12 deer populations in southern Texas. Several design and analysis issues reduce the scope and validity of their conclusion that amount of growth in the first set of antlers was a poor predictor of antler growth at maturity. Although unstated, the statistical hypothesis they tested did not coincide with their specific conclusions. Using a simulation, we show that their methods were susceptible to measurement bias. Their results are applicable only to populations with similar culling and management programs. Additionally, we provide recommendations for future research projects that evaluate predictability of antler size at maturity based on antler size at younger ages.     

Elevational gradients in species abundance,assemblage structure and energy use of rainforest birds in the Australian Wet Tropics bioregion

Elevational patterns of species richness, local abundance and assemblage structure of rainforest birds of north‐eastern Australia were explored using data from extensive standardized surveys throughout the region. Eighty‐two species of birds were recorded with strong turnover in assemblage structure across the elevational gradient and high levels of regional endemism in the uplands. Both species richness and bird abundance exhibited a humped‐shaped pattern with elevation with the highest values being between 600 and 800 m elevation. While much of the variability in species richness could be explained by the species–area relationship, analyses of net primary productivity (NPP) and total daily energy consumption of the bird community (energy use) suggest that ecosystem energy flow or constraints may be a significant determinant of species richness. Species richness is positively correlated with local bird abundance which itself is closely related to total energy use of the bird community. We suggest the hypothesis that lower NPP limits bird abundance and energy use in the uplands (>500 m) and that low bird energy use and species richness in the lowlands is limited by a seasonal bottleneck in available primary productivity and/or a species pool previously truncated by an extinction filter imposed by the almost complete disappearance of rainforest in the lowlands during the glacial maxima. We suggest that some of the previously predicted impacts of global warming on biodiversity in the uplands may be partially ameliorated by increases in NPP because of increasing temperatures. However, these relationships are complex and require further data specifically in regard to direct estimates of primary productivity and detailed estimates of energy flow within the assemblage.     

A review of the genus Graellsia BoisS. including Draba L.section Helicodraba Schultz (Brassicaceae)

A collection from the High Atlas of Morocco drew attention to similarities between Draba hederifolia Coss., a Moroccan endemic, and Graellsia a genus from S. W. Asia. The morphology, leaf flavonoids, trichomes, chromosomes and distribution of these plants are discussed and a new systematic account of Graellsia incorporating Draba hederifolia is given.     

Muscle Dynamics in Fish During Steady Swimming

SYNOPSIS. Recent research in fish locomotion has been dominatedby an interest in the dynamic mechanical properties of the swimmingmusculature. Prior observations have indicated that waves ofmuscle activation travel along the body of an undulating fishfaster than the resulting waves of muscular contraction, suggestingthat the phase relation between the muscle strain cycle andits activation must vary along the body. Since this phase relationis critical in determining how the muscle performs in cycliccontractions, the possibility has emerged that dynamic musclefunction may change with axial position in swimming fish. Quantificationof muscle contractile properties in cyclic contractions relieson in vitro experiments using strain and activation data collectedin vivo. In this paper we discuss the relation between theseparameters and body kinematics. Using videoradiographic datafrom swimming mackerel we demonstrate that red muscle straincan be accurately predicted from midline curvature but not fromlateral displacement. Electromyographic recordings show neuronalactivation patterns that are consistent with red muscle performingnet positive work at all axial positions. The relatively constantcross-section of red muscle along much of the body suggeststhat positive power for swimming is generated fairly uniformlyalong the length of the fish.     

Interference competition among burying beetles (Silphidae, Nicrophorus)

Abstract. 1. This study investigated the impact of intraspecific and interspecific competition on the reproductive success of a biparental burying beetle, Nicrophorus defodiens Mannerheim.
2. Marked pairs or single females were placed on small and large mouse carcasses in the field in 1985 and 1986. Carcasses were exhumed after 9–10 days to determine the identity of the resident adult(s) and the production of young.
3. Competition was assessed by the prevalence of takeovers by intruders (unmarked adults). For N.defodiens , after the initial colonization of the carcass, interspecific competition from larger N.orbicollis Say and N.sayi Laporte was substantial and more intense than intraspecific competition. Competition was also greater in the middle of the breeding season and on large as opposed to small carcasses.
4. Successful takeovers resulted in the expulsion of the prior resident(s), killing of any offspring present on the carcass, and oviposition of a new clutch by the intruder.
5. Females aided by males were more likely than single females to avoid takeovers but did not produce larger broods or larvae of larger mass.
6. An additional laboratory experiment in 1985 and a field experiment in 1986 suggest that N.defodiens is able to reproduce on very small carcasses despite intense heterospecific activity.