Behavioral and hormonal aspects of reproduction in captive goeldi’s monkeys (Callimico goeldii) in a comparative and evolutionary context

The fate of most nonhuman primate species is intimately related to man. The increasing encroachment on the natural habitat has resulted in the decimation and even near extinction of some species. Along with this development, the basic concept in many modern zoos has changed from one of merely display to self-perpetuating units. Primate research facilities are orienting their research programs towards reproductive physiology and behavior in an effort to provide basic knowledge of reproduction in these species. This increased emphasis in the area of reproductive biology and the various efforts to improve breeding of these mostly endangered primates in captivity has stimulated the author to write this review. It represents an attempt to provide the reader with basic background information relating to the endocrinology and behavior of reproduction in the clawed New World monkeys as it exists at the time of publication. The intermediate evolutionary position ofCallimico goeldii between the clawed New World monkeys and the ‘true New World monkeys’ and our relatively poor knowledge about reproduction and behavior in this particular species fully justifies the focus on Goeldi’s monkey in this essay. This review is an attempt to provide a brief history of previous studies but also the basis for research in the future. The current status of knowledge of the small-bodied clawed monkeys is also discussed in an evolutionary context, with an emphasis on the different reproductive strategies in this dynamic group of primates. The outcome, not surprisingly, confirms the unique position ofCallimico goeldii in its social, ecological, and evolutionary environment.     

The growth pattern of chimpanzees: Somatic growth and reproductive maturation inPan troglodytes

Growth of chimpanzees reared at the Kumamoto Primates Park of Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd. was studied cross-sectionally from the viewpoints of somatic growth and reproductive maturation. Distance and velocity curves were expressed using spline function method. Males showed adolescent growth acceleration in body weight, with a peak at 7.86 yrs of age, but not in trunk length. Females showed continuous rapid growth from mid-juvenile to adolescent phase in both body weight and trunk length, but no isolated adolescent spurt. The Sanwa chimpanzees matured at about 12.5 yrs of age for females and 15.0 yrs for males. The mean adult weights and trunk lengths were 53.2 kg and 507.8 mm for males and 42.7 kg and 481.6 mm for females. The Sanwa chimpanzees had similar growth patterns to those of the Yerkes chimpanzees, although they showed a slight delay in infancy, and a higher growth rate from the early juvenile phase onwards. Growth patterns in these two laboratories may be regarded as “normative” for laboratory-reared chimpanzees. They matured earlier than wild chimpanzees by more than two years. The major reason for the retarded maturation in wild chimpanzees is the delay of growth from infant to the early juvenile phases (0–4 yrs of age), probably owing to a limited nutritional supply from the mother. Development of the testes comprised three phases: slow growth from infant to juvenile (until 6.4 yrs); rapid growth around adolescence (until 9.2 yrs); and adult (mean testicular volume, 187 cm³). Setting the nutritional standard at 2,000–2,600 Cal/day (= Kcal/day) per adult, calories were considered for captive chimpanzees in each age class.     

耳河螺生殖器官和精子的形态学研究

耳河螺「Ｒｉｖｕｌａｒｉａ ａｕｒｉｃｕｌａｔａ （Ｍａｒｔｅｎｓ）」为雌雄异体。雄性生殖器官由精巢,输精小管,贮精囊,输精管,前列腺和阴茎组成。精巢内有精子,精子有典型精子和非典型精子两种。扫描电镜下,典型精子头部呈螺旋状,尾端只有一根较粗壮;非典型精子头部和中部为棒状,尾部呈扫帚状,由８－１５根鞭毛组成。     

Changes in foliage distribution with relative irradiance and tree size: Differences between the saplings ofAcer platanoides andQuercus robur

Dependencies of foliage arrangement and structure on relative irradiance and total height (TH) were studied in saplings ofAcer platanoides andQuercus robur. The distribution of relative foliar area and dry weight (leaf area and weight in a crown layer per total tree leaf area and weight, respectively) were examined with respect to relative height (RH, height in the crown per TH) and characterized by the Weibull function. The distributions of relative area and weight were nearly identical, and the differences between them were attributable to a systematic decline in leaf dry weight per area with increasing crown depth. Foliage distribution was similarly altered by tree size in both species; RH at foliage maximum was lower and relative canopy size (RCS, length of live crown per TH) greater in taller trees. However, the distribution was more uniform inA. platanoides than inQ. robur. Apart from the size effects, relative irradiance also influenced canopy structure; RCS increased inQ. platanoides and decreased inQ. robur with increasing irradiance. As crown architecture was modified by irradiance, foliage distribution was shifted upwards with decreasing irradiance inA. platanoides, but it was independent of irradiance inQ. robur. Higher foliage maximum at lower irradiance in more shade-tolerantA. platanoides is likely to contribute towards more efficient foliar display for light interception and increase the competitive ability of this species in light-limited environments. Consequently, these differences in crown architecture and foliage distribution may partly explain the superior behavior ofA. platanoides in understory.     

辽宁三角洲区域生态经济分区及其功能分析

应用主成分分析和系统聚类分析方法,将辽河三角洲划分为３个生态经济区和８个生态经济小区．通过对反映系统功能的３个表现属性的分析,评价了辽河三角洲农业生态经济系统的功能状况．     

我国某些苏铁类生殖器官化石的发现兼论苏铁类起源

本文对苏铁类化石的系统分类作了概要的介绍。重点报道了笔者在近廿年来所采集的苏铁类生殖器官化石,特别是中晚石炭世的一枚苏铁大孢子叶化石的发现,将苏铁类起源的时间大大地推前了,并指出其起源地应在中国西北的甘肃地区。所有这些生殖器官的发现将推动苏铁化石生殖生物学的发展,对其起源、分布、演化和苏铁植物区系的形成和发展提供了极为重要的材料。     

Prestige,possessions, and progeny

It has been suggested by some that the acquisition of symbolic capital in terms of honor, prestige, and power translates into an accumulation of material capital in terms of tangible belongings, and that on the basis of these goods high reproductive success may be achieved. However, data on completed fertility rates over more than one generation in so-called traditional societies have been rare. Ethnographic and demographic data presented here on the pastoral Bakkarwal of northern India largely corroborate the hypothesis concerning the interdependence between the attainment of various cultural goals and differential reproduction rates and indicate that the numbers of (especially male) surviving offspring and siblings are crucial to a man’s position in society.     

Floral evolution and male reproductive success: Optimal dispensing schedules for pollen dispersal by animal-pollinated plants

Summary Selection favouring an outcrossing plant's ability to sire seeds generally promotes floral characters that increase (1) the frequency of pollinator visits, (2) the number of pollen grains dispersed to other plants by each pollinator and (3) the probability of a pollen grain successfully fertilizing an ovule after reaching a stigma. Flowers influence pollen dispersal and fertilization probabilities by determining the pattern of pollen removal during a series of visits (dispensing schedule). We model male reproductive success to identify optimal dispensing schedules, which characteristically involve monotonic increases in the proportion of remaining pollen removed during successive visits. These schedules balance the benefits of restricted removal, which counteracts the diminishing returns associated with animal pollination (e.g. pollinator grooming, local mate competition), with the advantages of increased removal to avoid time-dependent losses in fertilization ability (e.g. pollen precedence, declining viability). Because pollinator availability mediates this balance, the most effective dispensing schedule allows dynamic adjustment of removal to the prevailing frequency of visits experienced by individual plants. As an example of such dynamic removal we demonstrate that the dispensing mechanism ofLupinus sericeus flowers allows facultative adjustment of removal to the interval between visits. Because optimal control of pollen removal can increase a plant's mating opportunities by an order of magnitude, dispensing mechanisms should be a common component of floral design.     

Immunocytochemical study of seminal γ-glutamyltransferase using monoclonal antibodies

We produced three monoclonal antibodies, SG1, SG2 and SG3, specific for human seminal -glutamyltransferase when characterized by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting. Seminal -glutamyltransferase was localized, by immunostaining, to the epithelial cells of the ductus epididymidis, seminal vesicle and prostate gland with SG1, those of the prostate gland with SG2, and those of the seminal vesicle with SG3. Rabbit polyclonal anti-seminal -glutamyltransferase serum reacted with the proximal convolution of the kidney and the bile capillaries of the liver, and with the epithelial cells of the reproductive organs. However, immunoreactivity was not observed in the kidney or liver with the monoclonal antibodies. Thus, these monoclonal antibodies are probably all specific to seminal -glutamyltransferase but recognize different epitopes.