Hand preferences on unimanual and bimanual tasks in Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana)

This is the first study to examine hand preferences in Tonkean macaques on a bimanual task. One of our objectives was to continue the move toward greater task standardization, in order to facilitate comparisons between species and studies on handedness. The main aim was to test and determine task robustness, by varying intra‐task complexity. To this end, we administered several different tasks to the subjects: two unimanual tasks (grasping task featuring items of different sizes) and three coordinated bimanual tasks (tube task involving different materials, weights, and diameters). Although we found no significant hand preference in either task at the group level, the macaques were more strongly lateralized for small items than for large ones in the unimanual grasping task. Moreover, the absence of a correlation between these two versions of the unimanual task confirmed the weakness of this grasping task for assessing handedness. Regarding the bimanual tube task, no difference was found between the three versions in either the direction or the strength of hand preference. Moreover, the highly correlated hand preferences between these three versions suggest that the tube task provides a more robust means of measuring manual preferences. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:315–321, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

太行山猕猴髋臼性别二态性研究

本文使用几何形态测量法探讨42例成年太行山猕猴Macaca mulatta tcheliensis髋臼的性别二态性。结果显示,太行山猕猴雌雄个体的髋臼形态具有明显的性别二态性,利用髋臼可以正确判别92.3%的雌性和87.5%的雄性个体。髋臼的形态差异主要分布于月状面的后上部,即与髋臼切迹相对的月状面区域的宽度表现为雄性大于雌性,另外雄性髋臼大小的波动范围也比雌性更广。造成髋臼性别二态性的生物学原因可能与其功能有关,髋臼作为髋关节的组成部分,起着支撑身体和协同运动的功能,能够优化关节接触面的压力分布。推测雄性髋臼受到的体质量压力更大可能是雄性进化出比雌性更宽大的月状面的主要原因。     

峨眉山与黄山藏酋猴肠道菌群组成的比较

峨眉山和黄山都是我国著名的藏酋猴Macaca thibetana生态旅游地,对两地藏酋猴肠道微生物群落结构的比较研究,有助于了解不同生境、不同旅游管理方式对野生灵长类动物的影响。本研究对峨眉山藏酋猴M. t.thibetana肠道微生物16S rRNA基因进行测序,并与黄山藏酋猴M. t. huangshanensis肠道微生物的群落结构进行了比较。结果显示,两地藏酋猴肠道菌群有大量共有的可操作分类单元,而群落组成和多样性方面存在较大差异。峨眉山藏酋猴肠道菌群的优势门类为厚壁菌门Firmicutes(69. 04%±11. 81%)、拟杆菌门Bacteroidetes(21. 59%±10. 05%)和放线菌门Actinobacteria (2. 73%±2. 17%);黄山藏酋猴为厚壁菌门(46. 34%±8. 15%)、拟杆菌门(36. 75%±6. 38%)和变形菌门Proteobacteria(14. 91%±8. 06%)。在属级水平上,峨眉山藏酋猴肠道丰度最高的为颤螺菌属Oscillospira(23. 49%±16. 63%),黄山藏酋猴为普氏菌属Prevotella(36. 35%±9. 15%)。在群落多样性方面,黄山藏酋猴α多样性指数显著低于峨眉山,且两者的菌群结构也产生了显著分化。PICRUSt功能富集分析显示,峨眉山藏酋猴在脂类代谢、外源化学物的降解与代谢等通路显著富集,而黄山藏酋猴在多糖的合成与代谢等通路显著富集。研究还发现峨眉山藏酋猴肠道存在一定丰度的传染性致病菌,这可能与峨眉山的生态旅游有关。     

The male and female perspective in the link between male infant care and mating behaviour in Barbary macaques

Infant care from adult males is unexpected in species with high paternity uncertainty. Still, males of several polygynandrous primates engage in frequent affiliative interactions with infants. Two non‐exclusive hypotheses link male infant care to male mating strategies. The paternal investment hypothesis views infant care as a male strategy to maximize the survival of sired offspring, while the mating effort hypothesis predicts that females reward males who cared for their infant by preferably mating with them. Both hypotheses predict a positive relationship between infant care and matings with a particular female. However, the paternal investment hypothesis predicts that increased matings come before infant care whereas the mating effort hypothesis predicts that infant care precedes an increase in matings. Both hypotheses are usually tested from the perspective of the proportion of matings and care that individual females engage in and receive, rather than from the perspective of the care and mating behaviour of individual males. We tested the relationships between care and mating from both female and male perspectives in Barbary macaques. Mating predicted subsequent care and care predicted subsequent mating when viewed from the male but not the female perspective. Males mainly cared for infants of their main mating partners, but infants were not mainly cared for by their likely father. Males mated more with the mothers of their favourite infants, but females did not mate more with the main caretakers of their infants. We suggest that females do not choose their mating partners based on previous infant care, increasing paternity confusion. Males might try to increase paternal investment by distributing the care according to their own instead of female mating history. Further, males pursue females for mating opportunities based on previous care.     

Effector and target cells in the assessment of natural cytotoxic activity of rhesus monkeys

In humans, decreased natural killer cell (NK) activity has been associated with stressful life events, whereas acute arousal and disturbance frequently has been reported to result in increased NK activity. This bidirectional immune modulation prompted us to investigate the effects of a social stressor on the lymphocyte cytolytic activity of 31 infant rhesus monkeys. The first of three studies evaluated the effects of an 8 hr maternal separation on the infants' cytolytic response against the K562 target-cell line. A finding of increased lytic activity indicated a need for a longer evaluation—after a 24 hr separation—and an additional assessment of two other target-cell lines, Raji and Daudi. The observation of decreased lytic responses to Raji and Daudi, in association with increased lysis of K562, warranted a third study to delineate which rhesus effector cells were responsible for lysis of the K562 and Raji target cells. By isolating cell subsets, it was possible to observe that the majority of unprimed cytotoxic activity resided in the CD3- population of cells, but that the CD3 + CD8 + population also mediated a significant amount of cytotoxicity against both targets. In conclusion, these findings support earlier studies indicating that maternal separation results in significant immune alterations in infant monkeys. However, the complex nature of changes in cytotoxic responses during prolonged stress revealed that different lymphocyte populations engage in parallel and compensatory alterations. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Some observations on psychosocial stressors,immunity, and individual differences in nonhuman primates

Many studies would appear to support an important relationship between behavior and the regulation of the immune response, at the core of the developing field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). However, wide variations are noted in the strength of this relationship, even for the same species under very similar circumstances. The present paper reviews work from our laboratory in both young and adult pigtail and bonnet macaques describing the ranges of variability in both behavioral and immunological responses to social separation and social conflict. It is shown that the magnitude of immune changes that follow a social stressor often covary with the magnitude of the behavioral changes that are observed. Second, there is support for the observation that there are specific behaviors such as social affiliation that may mitigate untoward behavioral and immunological consequences of social stressors. Finally, studies are reviewed which suggest that assessment of autonomic reactivity as reflected in cardiovascular regulation might provide an important clue to the relative risk for immune modulation under challenge. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of social and inanimate enrichment on the behavior of yearling rhesus monkeys

Certain types of inanimate environmental enrichment have been shown to positively affect the behavior of laboratory primates, as has housing them in appropriate social conditions. While social housing is generally advocated as an important environmental enhancement, few studies have attempted to measure the influence of social conditions on the effects of inanimate enrichment or to compare the relative merits of social and inanimate enhancements. In the present study, inanimate enrichment (predominately physical and feeding enhancements) resulted in increased species-typical behavior for socially restricted subjects. However, social enrichment (living in groups) appeared to be more beneficial for young rhesus monkeys, leading to increased species-typical activities and decreased abnormal activities. The behavior of one cohort of yearling rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) housed in small peer groups was compared with the behavior of four yearling cohorts housed in single cages. Half the animals in each cohort received a three-phase enrichment program and the rest served as controls. Group-housed yearlings spent significantly more time feeding and exploring and significantly less time behaving abnormally, self-grooming, and drinking than did singly housed yearlings. Enriched subjects spent significantly more time playing by themselves, and significantly less time self-grooming and exploring than did controls. Among group-housed subjects only, there were no differences between enriched and control monkeys. Captive primates should be housed socially, whenever appropriate, as the first and most important step in an enrichment program, with the provision of inanimate enhancements being considerably less important. Limited resources for inanimate enrichment programs instead should be focused on those individuals who can not be housed socially. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Parvalbumin,calbindin, and calretinin mark distinct pathways during development of monkey dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus

Immunocyochemical labeling was applied to follow the developmental changes in the calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin (PV), calbindin D28k (CaB), and calretinin (CaR) during fetal and infant development of Macaca monkey dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). For all three proteins, LGN cell body and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon labeling patterns changed temporally and spatially over development, and many of these were LGN laminar specific. CaR+ and CaB+ cells were present at the youngest age studied, fetal day 55 (F55). After lamination of the LGN occurred between F90 and F115, CaR+ and CaB+ neurons were specific markers for the S, intercalated, and interlaminar layers. Double label immunocytochemistry showed that all CaR+ cells contained CaB, and none contained GABA. CaR+ cell bodies decreased in number soon after birth so that adult LGN contained only a very small number of CaR+ cells. These patterns and cell counts indicated that a downregulation of CaR had occurred in the CaB+ population. Although CaB+ cell density in S and interlaminar zones declined in the adult, cell counts indicated that this is due to dilution of a stable population into a much larger nucleus during development. PV+ cells appeared at F85 only within the putative magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) layers, and PV remained a marker for these layers throughout development. Fetal PV cells also contained GABA, indicating that they were LGN interneurons. After birth, GABA−/PV+ cell numbers increased dramatically throughout the whole nucleus so that by the end of the first year, P and M layers were filled with PV+ cells. Their number and size indicated that these were the LGN projection neurons. Beginning at F66, bundles of PV+ axons occupied the anterior-middle LGN and filled the optic tract. Up to F101, PV+ synaptic terminals were restricted to P layers, but after F132 labeling in M layers was heavier than in P layers. Axonal labeling for CaR began at F125. Prenatally CaR+ terminals were present mainly in P layers, whereas by postnatal 9 weeks labeling in M layers much exceeded P layers. Axonal labeling for CaB was present at F132, but CaB+ terminals were observed only after birth with labeling always heavier in M than P layers. By postnatal 9 weeks, PV, CaR, and CaB were colocalized in the same axons and terminals. These experiments indicated that during development and in the adult LGN, both CaR and CaB were markers for the LGN neurons in the S and intercalated pathway. CaR was present transiently while CaB persisted into adulthood. PV was a M and P layer marker first for interneurons and later for projection cells. The complex temporal developmental patterns found in this study suggested that viewing PV, CaB, and CaR simply as calcium-buffering proteins severely underestimates their functional roles during visual system maturation. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

短尾猴粪便雌二醇和孕酮处理与提取方法比较

非损伤性的粪便样本已在监测动物性激素水平中得到广泛应用,但粪便处理和激素的提取方法在不同物种中因其食性与代谢不同具有明显的物种特异性.本研究以野生和笼养两种环境下的短尾猴(Macaca thibetana)为研究对象,采集粪便样品,利用放射免疫法(RIA)检测激素含量,比较不同粪便处理方式(湿便法、冷冻干燥粉碎法、冷冻...