Influence of age, sex, and caging on joint mobility in the patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas)

Pathways to primate hip function

Understanding how diverse locomotor repertoires evolved in anthropoid primates is key to reconstructing the clade's evolution. Locomotor behaviour is often inferred from proximal femur morphology, yet the relationship of femoral variation to locomotor diversity is poorly understood. Extant acrobatic primates have greater ranges of hip joint mobility-particularly abduction-than those using more stereotyped locomotion, but how bony morphologies of the femur and pelvis interact to produce different locomotor abilities is unknown. We conducted hypothesis-driven path analyses via regularized structural equation modelling (SEM) to determine which morphological traits are the strongest predictors of hip abduction in anthropoid primates. Seven femoral morphological traits and two hip abduction measures were obtained from 25 primate species, split into broad locomotor and taxonomic groups. Through variable selection and fit testing techniques, insignificant predictors were removed to create the most parsimonious final models. Some morphological predictors, such as femur shaft length and neck-shaft angle, were important across models. Different trait combinations best predicted hip abduction by locomotor or taxonomic group, demonstrating group-specific linkages among morphology, mobility and behaviour. Our study illustrates the strength of SEM for identifying biologically important relationships between morphology and performance, which will have future applications for palaeobiological and biomechanical studies.

GONIOMETRIC MEASUREMENT OF JOINT ANGLES IN CRAB-EATING FOXES ( CERDOCYON THOUS)

  This study aimed to assess joint angle values in the forelimbs and hind limbs of crab-eating foxes ( Cerdocyon thous) using a conventional manual goniometer. Nine captive crab-eating foxes, aged over 1 yr old, weighing from 5.9 to 7.5 kg were used. The maximum flexion and maximum extension of the shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle, and tarsal joints were measured. The range of motion was determined through the difference between the maximum flexion and the maximum extension. There was no significant difference between the right and left sides in the goniometric measurements. The mean values of the range of motion for shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle, and tarsal joints were respectively 108°, 99°, 131°, 79°, 103°, and 86°. The goniometric values of the crab-eating foxes can be used as means of comparison with other animals from the same species for diagnostic purposes, research documentation, and evaluation of therapeutic procedures.

Hip joint mobility in free-ranging rhesus macaques

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to test for differences in hip joint range of motion (ROM) between captive and free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), particularly for hip joint abduction, which previous studies of captive macaques have found to be lower than predicted.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hip ROM was assessed following standard joint measurement methodology in anesthetized adult free-ranging rhesus macaques (n = 39) from Cayo Santiago, and compared with published ROM data from captive rhesus macaques (n = 16) (Hammond, , American Journal of Physical Anthropology). Significant differences between populations were detected using one-way analysis of variance (p < .05).

RESULTS

In a sample of pooled sexes and ages, free-ranging macaques are capable of increased hip abduction, flexion, and internal rotation compared with captive individuals. These differences in joint excursion resulted in free-ranging individuals having significantly increased ROM for hip adduction-abduction, rotation, flexion-extension, and the distance spanned by the knee during hip abduction. When looking at data for a smaller sample of age-matched males, fewer ROM differences are significant, but free-ranging males have significantly increased hip abduction, internal rotation, range of flexion-extension, and distance spanned by the knee during hip abduction compared with captive males of similar age.

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that a spatially restrictive environment results in decreased hip mobility in cage-confined animals and ultimately limits the potential limb postures in captive macaques. These results have implications for selection of animal samples in model validation studies, as well as laboratory animal husbandry practices. KEYWORDS caging, Cayo Santiago, hip abduction, Macaca mulatta, nonhuman primate captive care.

Goniometric evaluation of both forelimbs and hind limbs in two species of Neotropical monkeys

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the goniometric measurements of the forelimb and hind limb joints in two species of Neotropical primates maintained in captivity.

METHODS

Eighteen intact monkeys organized into two groups were studied: Group 1-9 brown howlers (Alouatta fusca), and Group 2-9 tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella).

RESULTS

Significant differences were observed in the maximum flexion of the shoulder, elbow, carpus, stifle, and tarsus (G1>G2); maximum extension and abduction of the shoulder (G1<G2); maximum extension (G1>G2) and adduction (G1<G2) of the carpus; and maximum extension, abduction and adduction of the hip (G1>G2). The ROM was significantly different in all joints: shoulder (G1<G2), elbow (G1<G2), carpus (G1>G2), hip (G1>G2), stifle (G1<G2), and tarsus (G1<G2).

CONCLUSIONS

A. fusca and S. apella maintained in captivity have significant differences in the goniometric measurements of both forelimb and hind limb joints, primarily in maximum flexion and ROM.

In vivo baseline measurements of hip joint range of motion in suspensory and nonsuspensory anthropoids

Hominoids and atelines are known to use suspensory behaviors and are assumed to possess greater hip joint mobility than nonsuspensory monkeys, particularly for range of abduction. This assumption has greatly influenced how extant and fossil primate hip joint morphology has been interpreted, despite the fact that there are no data available on hip mobility in hominoids or Ateles. This study uses in vivo measurements to test the hypothesis that suspensory anthropoids have significantly greater ranges of hip joint mobility than nonsuspensory anthropoids. Passive hip joint mobility was measured on a large sample of anesthetized captive anthropoids (nonhuman hominids = 43, hylobatids = 6, cercopithecids = 43, Ateles = 6, and Cebus = 6). Angular and linear data were collected using goniometers and tape measures. Range of motion (ROM) data were analyzed for significant differences by locomotor group using ANOVA and phylogenetic regression. The data demonstrate that suspensory anthropoids are capable of significantly greater hip abduction and external rotation. Degree of flexion and internal rotation were not larger in the suspensory primates, indicating that suspension is not associated with a global increase in hip mobility. Future work should consider the role of external rotation in abduction ability, how the physical position of the distal limb segments are influenced by differences in ROM proximally, as well as focus on bony and soft tissue differences that enable or restrict abduction and external rotation at the anthropoid hip joint.

The range of passive arm circumduction in primates: do hominoids really have more mobile shoulders?

Hominoids and lorines are assumed to possess greater shoulder mobility than other primates. This assumption is based on morphological characteristics of the shoulder, rather than on empirical data. However, recent studies have shown that the glenohumeral joint of hominoids is not more mobile than that of other primates (Chan LK. 2007. Glenohumeral mobility in primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 78(1):1-18), and the thoracic shape of hominoids does not necessarily promote shoulder mobility (Chan LK. 2007. Scapular position in primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 78(1):19-35). Moreover, lorines differ significantly from hominoids in both these features, thus challenging the assumption that both hominoids and lorines have greater shoulder mobility. The present study aims to test this assumption by collecting empirical data on shoulder mobility in 17 primate species. Passive arm circumduction (a combination of glenohumeral and pectoral girdle movement) was performed on sedated subjects (except humans), and the range measured on the video images of the circumduction. The motion differed among primate species mostly in the craniodorsal directions, the directions most relevant to the animal's ability to brachiate and slow climb. Hylobatids possessed the highest craniodorsal mobility among all primate species studied. However, nonhylobatid hominoids did not have greater craniodorsal mobility than arboreal quadrupedal monkeys, and lorines did not have greater craniodorsal mobility than arboreal quadrupedal prosimians. Nonhylobatid hominoids and lorines had similar craniodorsal mobility, but this was due to a longer clavicle, more dorsal scapula, and lower glenohumeral mobility in the former, and a shorter clavicle, less dorsal scapula, and greater glenohumeral mobility in the latter. This study provides evidence for the reexamination of the brachiation, slow climbing, and vertical climbing hypotheses.

The ecology of the introduced patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) population of southwestern Puerto Rico

This paper presents the results of a study on the introduced, free-ranging patas monkey population of Southwestern Puerto Rico (SWPR). It describes information on the population size, social group composition, diet, daily ranging patterns, and patas home range during a 3 year period. The patas monkey population in the study area consisted of approximately 120 individuals in four heterosexual groups and several all-male bands. Within their home ranges (26.8 km2), the population density was 4.47 individuals/km2. Home range size among the population's four heterosexual groups varied from 3.72 km2 to 15.39 km2, and minimum daily distance traveled ranged from 0.8-2.0 km. In general, the social structure and mating system of this population parallels what has been described for African populations. However, habitat use, ranging behavior, and the quality of intergroup interactions suggests that patas of this population exhibit territorial behavior.

Estimated intracortical bone turnover in the femur of growing macaques: implications for their use as models in skeletal pathology

Although macaques have been used widely to study the dynamics of bone remodeling, there have been few comparisons to skeletal tissue turnover in humans. This study analyzes variation in bone microstructure with respect to gender, age, and body weight in growing macaques to determine whether the pattern of osteonal remodelling in macaques is like that in analogous bones of humans. Histomorphometric measurements were made on femoral midshaft cross-sections of 54 macaques from the Cayo Santiago skeletal collection. These data show that variation in bone microstructure occurs independent of gender, age, and body weight in macaques. Moreover, intracortical bone turnover in the macaque femur is much slower than in humans, making them poor models to study the effects of weightlessness, but good models to study low turnover skeletal dysplasias.

Rethinking Primate Locomotion: What can we Learn from Development!

Contemporary understanding about primate locomotion has largely been conditioned by studies of adults. It is as yet uncertain how locomotor behavior emerges during ontogeny or the life history of an individual (Gould, 1977). This article explores the manner in which changes in body size, proportions, and composition that occur during growth can potentially influence motor output, substrate selection, and structural design. A central theme explicit in this article is that growth provides an important source of morphological change, both regulating and generating motor behavior and substrate use. It is emphasized that morphology, behavior, and substrate use are integrated and should be investigated in tandem.

Aging in the musculoskeletal system of rhesus monkeys: II. Degenerative joint disease

In order to discuss the rate and onset of adult aging in rhesus monkeys, 55 adult animals from the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center and the University of Wisconsin Psychology Primate Laboratory were examined. Degenerative joint disease (DJD) at the hip and spine was scored, and loss of passive joint mobility at the hip was measured. Development of DJD at both the hip and spine was significantly and positively correlated with age. Spinal changes, especially at the thoraco/lumbar intervertebral symphyses, appeared to develop somewhat more rapidly than hip degeneration. In some individuals, DJD was observed soon after the completion of growth, but pronounced changes seldom occurred before the middle of the second decade of life. Similarly, age-dependent losses of passive joint mobility appeared to begin early in ontogeny and to become increasingly pronounced in the aging adult. Although interspecific comparisons are difficult due to intraspecies and intraindividual variation, the timing of musculoskeletal aging in the rhesus spine and hip differs from that observed in humans in a way that parallels previously documented species differences in patterns of musculoskeletal growth. These observations and data on age-related change in other systems, suggest that rates and durations of many ontogenetic processes in rhesus monkeys are approximately three times as fast and one-third as long as those of the corresponding human processes. Importantly, differences in the timing of reproduction do not appear to follow the same scaling factor observed in other systems. Although reproduction may, therefore, be under separate control, the consistent pattern observed in other aspects of somatic growth and aging supports the hypothesis (Cutler, 1976; Sacher, 1978) that evolutionary changes in ontogeny have resulted from selection acting upon a few genes with widespread regulatory effects.

Passive joint mobility in patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas): rehabilitation of caged animals after release into a free-ranging environment

A previous study of passive joint mobility in patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) showed that laboratory-caged animals had significantly greater mobility in most joints than age/sex matched free-ranging monkeys. Passive joint mobility on 27 of the same animals was measured 6 months after the caged animals were released onto a 40-hectare island. The results show that within 6 months of becoming free-ranging, typical passive joint mobility is restored. Thus, although caging directly affects measurements of morphologically-determined features in patas monkeys, confinement itself does not necessarily prevent rehabilitation if the immature monkeys are released into a free-ranging environment.