Male bimaturism and reproductive success in Sumatran orang-utans

Although orang-utans live solitary lives most of the time, theyhave a complex social structure and are characterized by extremesexual dimorphism. However, whereas some adult male orang-utansdevelop full secondary sexual characteristics, such as cheekflanges, others may stay in an "arrested" unflanged conditionfor up to 20 years after reaching sexual maturity. The resultis a marked bimaturism among adult males. Flanged males allowfemales to overlap with their home range and often toleratethe presence of unflanged males. However, wherever possibleflanged males actively prevent unflanged males from copulatingwith females. Two competing hypotheses, previously untested,have been advanced to explain male reproductive behavior andbimaturism in orang-utans: (1) the "range-guardian" hypothesis,which asserts that the flanged males are postreproductive anddefend a range in which they tolerate sexually active, unflangedmale relatives; and (2) the "female choice" hypothesis, whichasserts that flanged males tolerate unflanged males in their range because they rely on female preference to favor flangedmales. We investigated these hypotheses and a third hypothesisthat the two male morphs represent co-existing alternativemale reproductive strategies ("sitting, calling, and waiting"for flanged males versus "going, searching, and finding" forunflanged males). Fecal samples were collected from a well-studiedpopulation in Indonesia, and eight human microsatellites wereanalyzed for 30 individuals that have been behaviorally monitoredfor up to 27 years. By carrying out paternity analysis on 11offspring born over 15 years, we found that unflanged malesfathered about half (6) of the offspring. Relatedness betweensuccessful unflanged males and resident dominant males wassignificantly lower than 0.5, and for some unflanged/flangedmale pairs, relatedness values were negative, indicating thatunflanged males are not offspring of the flanged males.     

Why Don't We Ask? A Complementary Method for Assessing the Status of Great Apes

Species conservation is difficult. Threats to species are typically high and immediate. Effective solutions for counteracting these threats, however, require synthesis of high quality evidence, appropriately targeted activities, typically costly implementation, and rapid re-evaluation and adaptation. Conservation management can be ineffective if there is insufficient understanding of the complex ecological, political, socio-cultural, and economic factors that underlie conservation threats. When information about these factors is incomplete, conservation managers may be unaware of the most urgent threats or unable to envision all consequences of potential management strategies. Conservation research aims to address the gap between what is known and what knowledge is needed for effective conservation. Such research, however, generally addresses a subset of the factors that underlie conservation threats, producing a limited, simplistic, and often biased view of complex, real world situations. A combination of approaches is required to provide the complete picture necessary to engage in effective conservation. Orangutan conservation (Pongo spp.) offers an example: standard conservation assessments employ survey methods that focus on ecological variables, but do not usually address the socio-cultural factors that underlie threats. Here, we evaluate a complementary survey method based on interviews of nearly 7,000 people in 687 villages in Kalimantan, Indonesia. We address areas of potential methodological weakness in such surveys, including sampling and questionnaire design, respondent biases, statistical analyses, and sensitivity of resultant inferences. We show that interview-based surveys can provide cost-effective and statistically robust methods to better understand poorly known populations of species that are relatively easily identified by local people. Such surveys provide reasonably reliable estimates of relative presence and relative encounter rates of such species, as well as quantifying the main factors that threaten them. We recommend more extensive use of carefully designed and implemented interview surveys, in conjunction with more traditional field methods.     

Parentage-based pedigree reconstruction reveals female matrilineal clusters and male-biased dispersal in nongregarious Asian great apes, the Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Philopatry and sex-biased dispersal have a strong influence on population genetic structure, so the study of species dispersal patterns and evolutionary mechanisms shaping them are of great interest. Particularly nongregarious mammalian species present an underexplored field of study: despite their lower levels of sociality compared to group-living species, interactions among individuals do occur, providing opportunities for cryptic kin selection. Among the least gregarious primates are orang-utans (genus: Pongo), in which preferential associations among females have nevertheless been observed, but for which the presence of kin structures was so far unresolved because of the equivocal results of previous genetic studies. To clarify relatedness and dispersal patterns in orang-utans, we examined the largest longitudinal set of individuals with combined genetic, spatial and behavioural data. We found that males had significantly higher mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and more unique haplotypes, thus underscoring their different maternal ancestries compared to females. Moreover, pedigree reconstruction based on 24 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers and mtDNA haplotypes demonstrated the presence of three matrilineal clusters of generally highly related females with substantially overlapping ranges. In orang-utans and possibly other nongregarious species, comparing average biparental relatedness (r) of males and females to infer sex-biased dispersal is extremely problematic. This is because the opportunistic sampling regime frequently employed in nongregarious species, combined with overlapping space use of distinct matrilineal clusters, leads to a strong downward bias when mtDNA lineage membership is ignored. Thus, in nongregarious species, correct inferences of dispersal can only be achieved by combining several genetic approaches with detailed spatial information.     

Food Competition Between Wild Orangutans in Large Fig Trees

Orangutans are usually solitary. However, occasionally aggregations are formed, especially in large fruiting fig trees. Individuals in these aggregations may experience scramble or contest competition for food. We investigated the type and strength of food competition in large figs among wild Sumatran orangutans. Adult males foraged more efficiently than adult females and subadult males did. The availability of ripe fruit is positively related to the number of orangutans visiting a fig tree and their foraging efficiency. The number of orangutans in a fig tree did not affect patch residence time and foraging behavior, though orangutans spent more time feeding when aggregation size increased in a fig tree. Dominance relationships could be measured in a number of dyads. Differences in dominance did not affect foraging behavior. The patch residence time of subordinate individuals was reduced on days that a dominant individual also visited the fig. In conclusion, orangutans seem to adjust aggregation size to the number of available ripe fruits in a fig tree in such a way that scramble competition was absent. Contest competition determined access to large fig trees.     

Meat-eating by adult female Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmæus abelii)

Information about meat-eating behavior by wild orangutans (Pongo pygmæus) is scant. The first article about such a case dates from 1981. Since 1989, seven incidents of adult female Sumatran orangutans eating slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) have been witnessed. Three females from two study sites were involved. In three cases the females were seen catching the prey. There are too few cases to conclude whether this behavior is typically female. Am. J. Primatol. 43:159–165, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Production of biomass and flavonoid of Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merr shoots culture in temporary immersion system

Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merris one of medicinal plant which was carried out used as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial. Many strategies were used to increase the production of biomass and valuable compounds. This study was to investigate the variation effect of growth regulators and immersion frequency on production of biomass and flavonoid contained of G. procumbens shoots culture in temporary immersion bioreactor. Stem nodes were used as an explants and induction of shoots were done in solid MS medium supplemented with many kinds of growth regulator. The best treatments were used to produce biomass and flavonoid compounds in temporary immersion bioreactor; there are combination of IAA 2?mg/L and BA 4, 6, 8?mg/L and immersion frequency (5 min each 3?h; 15?min each 12?h). Results showed that the growths of G. procumbens shoots in solid MS medium were influenced by supplementation of growth regulators. MS medium supplemented with single cytokinine (6 mg/L kinetin) and combination of auxin (IAA) and cytokinine (BA) caused increasing of shoots growth. Production of biomass of G. procumbens in temporary immersion bioreactor was achieved in long immersion interval (12?h) and highest flavonoid production was obtained in combination treatment of immersion frequency 15?min each 12?h and MS medium supplemented with IAA 2?mg/L, BA 8?mg/L.     

After the smoke has cleared: Extended low fruit productivity following forest fires decreased gregariousness and social tolerance among wild female Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii)

International Journal of Primatology - As climate change continues to fundamentally alter resource landscapes, the ability to flexibly respond to spatio-temporal changes in the distribution of...     

A multi-samples, multi-extracts approach for microsatellite analysis of faecal samples in an arboreal ape

We investigated the effect of the number of faecal samples, ofextracts per sample and of PCRs per extract on the reliability ofgenotypes for a microsatellite locus in free-living orang-utans.For each individual 36 PCRs were performed using DNA extractionsfrom up to four faecal samples. We found a very largeinter-individual variation in positive PCRs (P+) (36/36 for oneindividual and 0/36 for another). As many as 30% of the cases ledto erroneous genotypes when only one P+ was obtained. It ispreferable to use at least 4 P+ per extract to reduce thisproportion to less than 1%. With 3 P+ results, erroneousgenotypes were still observed in 26% of the cases together. Theseresults indicate that it is necessary to do a minimum of 4 PCRsper extract. In order to have a chance to observe 4 P+, threeextracts should be ideally analysed for each sample. We alsorecommend that when possible two or more samples should becollected in the field to increase the chance of having extractscontaining DNA and to provide independent replicates. While werecognise the difficulty of working with faecal samples, weadvocate the use of faecal material for genetic studies ofcertain wild animal populations where the advantages of avoidingdisturbance, stress and injury are deemed of critical importance.     

Heroin Use Is Associated with Suppressed Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Response after LPS Exposure in HIV-Infected Individuals

Background

Opioid use is associated with increased incidence of infectious diseases. Although experimental studies have shown that opioids affect various functions of immune cells, only limited data are available from human studies. Drug use is an important risk factor for HIV transmission; however no data are available whether heroin and/or methadone modulate immune response. Therefore, we examined the effect of heroin and methadone use among HIV-infected individuals on the production of cytokines after ex vivo stimulation with various pathogens.

Methods

Treatment naïve HIV-infected individuals from Indonesia were recruited. Several cohorts of individuals were recruited: 1) using heroin 2) receiving methadone opioid substitution 3) using heroin over 1 year ago and 4) controls (never used opioids). Whole blood was stimulated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Candida albicans and LPS for 24 to 48 hours. Cytokine production (IL-1 β, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-α, IFN-γ and TNF-α) was determined using multiplex beads assay.

Results

Among 82 individuals, the cytokine levels in unstimulated samples did not differ between groups. Overall, heroin users had significantly lower cytokine response after exposure to LPS (p<0.05). After stimulation with either M. tuberculosis or C. albicans the cytokine production of all groups were comparable.

Conclusion

The cytokine production after exposure to LPS is significantly down-regulated in HIV-infected heroin users. Interesting, methadone use did not suppress cytokine response, which could have implications guidelines of opioid substitution.