Do chimpanzees cooperate in a learning task?

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to cooperate in an instrumental task. A specially constructed fruit distributor was presented to a group of six captive chimpanzees. A cooperative response required two chimpanzees: both had to pull a handle simultaneously to make a fruit fall into the cage. The dominant male of the group and an infant produced most of the operant responses, and the male got nearly all the fruits. Other conspecifics avoided the dominant male at the apparatus. Social influences appear to limit the possibility of co-operation between individuals because a certain level of interindividual tolerance is required. The results revealed a significant increase in the number of pulls each time both chimpanzees were together at the apparatus. Operant chimpanzees learn to coordinate their actions in time and space.     

具有约束条件的变分不等式的可行的增广拉格朗日方法

采用增广拉格朗日方法求解了具有约束条件的变分不等式问题,并证明了这一方法的全局收敛性．运用增广拉格朗日方法和非精确的半光滑牛顿法求解了具有约束条件的变分不等式的一类子问题．我们给出了四个数值算例以说明这一方法的可行性．     

A seasnake's colour affects its susceptibility to algal fouling

Evolutionary transitions from terrestrial to aquatic life modify selective forces on an animal''s coloration. For example, light penetrates differently through water than air, and a new suite of predators and visual backgrounds changes the targets of selection. We suggest that an aquatic animal''s coloration may also affect its susceptibility to algal fouling. In a colour-polymorphic field population of seasnakes (Emydocephalus annulatus) in New Caledonia, black individuals supported higher algal cover than did banded conspecifics. In experimental tests, black snake models (plastic tubes) accumulated more algae than did banded models. Algal cover substantially reduced snake activity (in the field) and swimming speeds (in the laboratory). Effects of algal cover on a snake''s hydrodynamic efficiency and/or its rate of cutaneous gas exchange thus may impose selection on the colours of aquatic organisms.     

Mechanisms of constraints: the contributions of selection and genetic variance to the maintenance of cotyledon number in wild radish

The evolutionary mechanisms underlying the maintenance of invariant traits are poorly understood, partly because the lack of variance makes these mechanisms difficult to study. Although the number of cotyledons that plant species produce is highly canalized, populations of plants frequently contain individuals with abnormal cotyledon numbers. In a garden study with 1857 wild radish plants from 75 paternal half-sibling families, 89 (almost 5%) had cotyledon numbers less or greater than two. We found evidence for direct selection on cotyledon number, but no evidence for additive genetic variation for cotyledon number. In spite of the very large sample size, our power to detect variation and selection was hampered by the small number of individuals (10) producing more than two cotyledons. Thus, our results provide support for both a lack of genetic variation and selection as reasons for the current lack of variation in wild radish cotyledon number.