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Bambi M, Galla G, Donati C, Rovero F, Hauffe HC, Barelli C. Gut microbiota variations in wild yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) are associated with sex and habitat disturbance. Sci Rep 2024; 14:869. [PMID: 38195759 PMCID: PMC10776872 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50126-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Although male and female mammals differ in biological traits and functional needs, the contribution of this sexual dimorphism to variations in gut bacteria and fungi (gut microbiota) in relation to habitat type has not been fully examined. To understand whether the combination of sex and habitat affects gut microbiota variation, we analyzed 40 fecal samples of wild yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living in contrasting habitat types (intact, well-protected vs. fragmented, less protected forests) in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. Sex determination was performed using the marker genes SRY (Sex-determining Region Y) and DDX3X-DDX3Y (DEAD-Box Helicase 3). Samples were attributed to 34 individuals (19 females and 15 males) belonging to five social groups. Combining the results of sex determination with two amplicon sequencing datasets on bacterial (V1-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene) and fungal (ITS2) gut communities, we found that overall, baboon females had a significantly higher gut bacterial richness compared to males. Beta diversity estimates indicated that bacterial composition was significantly different between males and females, and this was true for individuals from both well- and less protected forests. Our results highlight the combined role of sex and habitat type in shaping variation in gut microbial communities in wild non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Bambi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Conservation Genomics Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Giulio Galla
- Conservation Genomics Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Claudio Donati
- Computational Biology Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Heidi C Hauffe
- Conservation Genomics Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
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Aung T, Hill AK, Pfefferle D, McLester E, Fuller J, Lawrence JM, Garcia-Nisa I, Kendal RL, Petersdorf M, Higham JP, Galat G, Lameira AR, Apicella CL, Barelli C, Glenn ME, Ramos-Fernandez G, Puts DA. Group size and mating system predict sex differences in vocal fundamental frequency in anthropoid primates. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4069. [PMID: 37429846 PMCID: PMC10333282 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39535-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Vocalizations differ substantially between the sexes in many primates, and low-frequency male vocalizations may be favored by sexual selection because they intimidate rivals and/or attract mates. Sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency may be more pronounced in species with more intense male mating competition and in those with large group size, where social knowledge is limited and efficient judgment of potential mates and competitors is crucial. These non-mutually exclusive explanations have not been tested simultaneously across primate species. In a sample of vocalizations (n = 1914 recordings) across 37 anthropoid species, we investigated whether fundamental frequency dimorphism evolved in association with increased intensity of mating competition (H1), large group size (H2), multilevel social organization (H3), a trade-off against the intensity of sperm competition (H4), and/or poor acoustic habitats (H5), controlling for phylogeny and body size dimorphism. We show that fundamental frequency dimorphism increased in evolutionary transitions towards larger group size and polygyny. Findings suggest that low-frequency male vocalizations in primates may have been driven by selection to win mating opportunities by avoiding costly fights and may be more important in larger groups, where limited social knowledge affords advantages to rapid assessment of status and threat potential via conspicuous secondary sexual characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toe Aung
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Psychology and Counseling Department, Immaculata University, Immaculata, PA, USA
| | - Alexander K Hill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Dana Pfefferle
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany & Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center & University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Edward McLester
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - James Fuller
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jenna M Lawrence
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gérard Galat
- IRD (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development), Montpellier, France
| | | | - Coren L Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Mary E Glenn
- Department of Anthropology, California State Polytechnic University Humboldt, Arcata, CA, USA
| | - Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez
- Institute for Research on Applied Mathematics and Systems and C3-Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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Barelli C, Oberosler V, Cavada N, Mtui AS, Shinyambala S, Rovero F. Long‐term dynamics of wild primate populations across forests with contrasting protection in Tanzania. Biotropica 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
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Greco I, Paddock CL, McCabe GM, Barelli C, Shinyambala S, Mtui AS, Rovero F. Calibrating occupancy to density estimations to assess abundance and vulnerability of a threatened primate in Tanzania. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
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Barelli C, Donati C, Albanese D, Pafčo B, Modrý D, Rovero F, Hauffe HC. Interactions between parasitic helminths and gut microbiota in wild tropical primates from intact and fragmented habitats. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21569. [PMID: 34732823 PMCID: PMC8566450 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01145-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The mammalian gastrointestinal tract harbours a highly complex ecosystem composed of a variety of micro- (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoans) and macro-organisms (helminths). Although most microbiota research focuses on the variation of single gut components, the crosstalk between components is still poorly characterized, especially in hosts living under natural conditions. We investigated the gut micro-biodiversity (bacteria, fungi and helminths) of 158 individuals of two wild non-human primates, the Udzungwa red colobus (Procolobus gordonorum) and the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus). These species have contrasting diets and lifestyles, but live sympatrically in both human-impacted and pristine forests in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. Using non-invasive faecal pellets, helminths were identified using standard microscopy while bacteria and fungi were characterized by sequencing the V1–V3 variable region of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the ITS1–ITS2 fragment for fungi. Our results show that both diversity and composition of bacteria and fungi are associated with variation in helminth presence. Although interactions differed by habitat type, in both primates we found that Strongyloides was negatively associated and Trichuris was positively associated with bacterial and fungal richness. To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies demonstrating an interaction between helminth and gut microbiota communities in wild non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Conservation Genetic Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele All'Adige, Italy. .,Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
| | - Claudio Donati
- Computational Biology Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele All'Adige, Italy
| | - Davide Albanese
- Computational Biology Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele All'Adige, Italy
| | - Barbora Pafčo
- Department of Pathology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - David Modrý
- Department of Pathology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Heidi C Hauffe
- Conservation Genetic Research Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele All'Adige, Italy
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Barelli C, Gonzalez-Astudillo V, Mundry R, Rovero F, Heistermann M, Hauffe HC, Gillespie TR. Correction: Altitude and human disturbance are associated with helminth diversity in an endangered primate, Procolobus gordonorum. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251617. [PMID: 33956911 PMCID: PMC8101721 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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Albonico F, Barelli C, Albanese D, Manica M, Partel E, Rosso F, Ripellino S, Pindo M, Donati C, Zecconi A, Mortarino M, Hauffe HC. Raw milk and fecal microbiota of commercial Alpine dairy cows varies with herd, fat content and diet. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237262. [PMID: 32760129 PMCID: PMC7410245 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The factors that influence the diversity and composition of raw milk and fecal microbiota in healthy commercial dairy herds are not fully understood, partially because the majority of metataxonomic studies involve experimental farms and/or single factors. We analyzed the raw milk and fecal microbiota of 100 healthy cows from 10 commercial alpine farms from the Province of Trento, Italy, using metataxonomics and applied statistical modelling to investigate which extrinsic and intrinsic parameters (e.g. herd, diet and milk characteristics) correlated with microbiota richness and composition in these relatively small traditional farms. We confirmed that Firmicutes, Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae families dominated the fecal and milk samples of these dairy cows, but in addition, we found an association between the number of observed OTUs and Shannon entropy on each farm that indicates higher microbiota richness is associated with increased microbiota stability. Modelling showed that herd was the most significant factor affecting the variation in both milk and fecal microbiota composition. Furthermore, the most important predictors explaining the variation of microbiota richness were milk characteristics (i.e. percentage fat) and diet for milk and fecal samples, respectively. We discuss how high intra-herd variation could affect the development of treatments based on microbiota manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Albonico
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universiy of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Davide Albanese
- Unit of Computational Biology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Mattia Manica
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Erika Partel
- Technology Transfer Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Fausta Rosso
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Silvia Ripellino
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Massimo Pindo
- Department of Genomics and Biology of Fruit Crops, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele all’ Adige (TN), Trento, Italy
| | - Claudio Donati
- Unit of Computational Biology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Alfonso Zecconi
- Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Heidi C. Hauffe
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
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Barelli C, Gonzalez-Astudillo V, Mundry R, Rovero F, Hauffe HC, Gillespie TR. Altitude and human disturbance are associated with helminth diversity in an endangered primate, Procolobus gordonorum. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225142. [PMID: 31800582 PMCID: PMC6892551 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastrointestinal parasites colonizing the mammalian gut influence the host immune system and health. Parasite infections, mainly helminths, have been studied intensively in both humans and non-human animals, but relatively rarely within a conservation framework. The Udzungwa red colobus monkey (Procolobus gordonorum) is an endangered endemic primate species living in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, a global biodiversity hotspot. Since this endemic primate species is highly sensitive to human disturbance, here we investigate whether habitat type (driven by natural and human-induced factors) is associated with helminth diversity. Using standard flotation and sedimentation techniques, we analyzed 251 fecal samples belonging to 25 social groups from four different forest blocks within the Udzungwa Mountains. Five parasitic helminth taxa were recovered from Udzungwa red colobus, including Trichuris sp., Strongyloides fulleborni, S. stercoralis, a strongylid nematode and Colobenterobius sp. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to explore the contribution of habitat type, altitude and fecal glucocorticoid levels (as biomarkers of stress) in predicting gut parasite variation. Although some parasites (e.g., Trichuris sp.) infected more than 50% of individuals, compared to others (e.g., Colobenterobius sp.) that infected less than 3%, both parasite richness and prevalence did not differ significantly across forests, even when controlling for seasonality. Stress hormone levels also did not predict variation in parasite richness, while altitude could explain it resulting in lower richness at lower altitudes. Because human activities causing disturbance are concentrated mainly at lower altitudes, we suggest that protection of primate forest habitat preserves natural diversity at both macro- and microscales, and that the importance of the latter should not be underestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione E. Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
- MUSE–Science Museum, Tropical Biodiversity Section, Trento, Italy
| | - Viviana Gonzalez-Astudillo
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- Pathology Resident, California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory, University of California, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Roger Mundry
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Francesco Rovero
- MUSE–Science Museum, Tropical Biodiversity Section, Trento, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Heidi C. Hauffe
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione E. Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Thomas R. Gillespie
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
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Cavada N, Tenan S, Barelli C, Rovero F. Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on primate density at the landscape scale. Conserv Biol 2019; 33:873-882. [PMID: 30561170 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Accurate estimations of the abundance of threatened animal populations are required for assessment of species' status and vulnerability and conservation planning. However, density estimation is usually difficult and resource demanding, so researchers often collect data at local scales. However, anthropogenic pressures most often have landscape-level effects, for example, through habitat loss and fragmentation. We applied hierarchical distance sampling (HDS) to transect count data to determine the effect of habitat and anthropogenic factors on the density of 3 arboreal primate species inhabiting 5 distinct tropical forests across a landscape of 19,000 km2 in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. We developed a novel, multiregion extension of HDS that allowed us to model density and detectability jointly across forests without losing site-specific information. For all species, the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on density was overwhelmingly negative among metapopulations: -0.63 Angolan colobus (Colobus angolensis palliatus) (95% Bayesian CI -1.03 to -0.27), -0.54 Udzungwa red colobus (Procolobus gordonorum) (-0.89 to -0.22), and -0.33 Sykes' monkey (Cercopithecus mitis monoides) (-0.63 to -0.07). Some responses to habitat factors were shared, notably the negative effect of elevation and the positive effect of climber coverage. These results are important for conservation science and practice because: the among-populations negative responses to anthropogenic disturbance provides a foundation for development of conservation plans that hold at the landscape scale, which is a comprehensive and cost-efficient approach; the among-species consistency in responses suggests conservation measures may be generalized at the guild level, which is especially relevant given the functional importance of primates in tropical rainforests; and the greater primate densities in areas at low elevation, which are closer to human settlements, point to specific management recommendations, such as the creation of buffer zones and prioritization of areas for protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Cavada
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
| | - Simone Tenan
- Vertebrate Zoology Section, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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Barelli C, Rovero F. XXIII Italian Association of Primatology Congress. Trento, Italy, September 14-16, 2017: Abstracts. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2017; 88:189-209. [PMID: 28793298 DOI: 10.1159/000479129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Cavada N, Ciolli M, Barelli C, Rovero F. Optimizing field and analytical procedures for estimating densities of arboreal and threatened primates in tropical rainforest. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Cavada
- DICAM Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering; University of Trento; Trento Italy
- Tropical Biodiversity Section; MUSE-Museo delle Scienze; Trento Italy
| | - Marco Ciolli
- DICAM Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering; University of Trento; Trento Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Tropical Biodiversity Section; MUSE-Museo delle Scienze; Trento Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Tropical Biodiversity Section; MUSE-Museo delle Scienze; Trento Italy
- Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Center; Udzungwa Mountains National Park; Mang'ula Tanzania
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Estrada A, Garber PA, Rylands AB, Roos C, Fernandez-Duque E, Di Fiore A, Nekaris KAI, Nijman V, Heymann EW, Lambert JE, Rovero F, Barelli C, Setchell JM, Gillespie TR, Mittermeier RA, Arregoitia LV, de Guinea M, Gouveia S, Dobrovolski R, Shanee S, Shanee N, Boyle SA, Fuentes A, MacKinnon KC, Amato KR, Meyer ALS, Wich S, Sussman RW, Pan R, Kone I, Li B. Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: Why primates matter. Sci Adv 2017; 3:e1600946. [PMID: 28116351 PMCID: PMC5242557 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 576] [Impact Index Per Article: 82.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures, and religions of many societies and offer unique insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and the threat of emerging diseases. They are an essential component of tropical biodiversity, contributing to forest regeneration and ecosystem health. Current information shows the existence of 504 species in 79 genera distributed in the Neotropics, mainland Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. Alarmingly, ~60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction and ~75% have declining populations. This situation is the result of escalating anthropogenic pressures on primates and their habitats-mainly global and local market demands, leading to extensive habitat loss through the expansion of industrial agriculture, large-scale cattle ranching, logging, oil and gas drilling, mining, dam building, and the construction of new road networks in primate range regions. Other important drivers are increased bushmeat hunting and the illegal trade of primates as pets and primate body parts, along with emerging threats, such as climate change and anthroponotic diseases. Often, these pressures act in synergy, exacerbating primate population declines. Given that primate range regions overlap extensively with a large, and rapidly growing, human population characterized by high levels of poverty, global attention is needed immediately to reverse the looming risk of primate extinctions and to attend to local human needs in sustainable ways. Raising global scientific and public awareness of the plight of the world's primates and the costs of their loss to ecosystem health and human society is imperative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Estrada
- Institute of Biology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, CP 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Paul A. Garber
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Anthony B. Rylands
- Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
| | - Christian Roos
- Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78705, USA
| | | | - Vincent Nijman
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, U.K
| | - Eckhard W. Heymann
- Abteilung Verhaltensökologie und Soziobiologie, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung, Kellnerweg 4, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Joanna E. Lambert
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1350 Pleasant Street UCB 233, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Joanna M. Setchell
- Department of Anthropology, and Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, U.K
| | - Thomas R. Gillespie
- Departments of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Math and Science Center, Suite E510, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | | | | | - Miguel de Guinea
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, U.K
| | - Sidney Gouveia
- Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE 49100-000, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Dobrovolski
- Department of Zoology, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA 40170-290, Brazil
| | - Sam Shanee
- Neotropical Primate Conservation, 23 Portland Road, Manchester M32 0PH, U.K
- Asociación Neotropical Primate Conservation Perú, 1187 Avenida Belaunde, La Esperanza, Yambrasbamba, Bongará, Amazonas, Peru
| | - Noga Shanee
- Neotropical Primate Conservation, 23 Portland Road, Manchester M32 0PH, U.K
- Asociación Neotropical Primate Conservation Perú, 1187 Avenida Belaunde, La Esperanza, Yambrasbamba, Bongará, Amazonas, Peru
| | - Sarah A. Boyle
- Department of Biology, Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112, USA
| | - Agustin Fuentes
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Katherine C. MacKinnon
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Katherine R. Amato
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Andreas L. S. Meyer
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, C.P. 19020, Curitiba, PR 81531-990, Brazil
| | - Serge Wich
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, U.K
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Robert W. Sussman
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Ruliang Pan
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia (M309), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Inza Kone
- Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Baoguo Li
- Xi’an Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, No. 229, Taibai North Road, Xi’an 710069, China
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Cavada N, Ciolli M, Rocchini D, Barelli C, Marshall AR, Rovero F. Integrating field and satellite data for spatially explicit inference on the density of threatened arboreal primates. Ecol Appl 2017; 27:235-243. [PMID: 28052505 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2016] [Revised: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Spatially explicit models of animal abundance are a critical tool to inform conservation planning and management. However, they require the availability of spatially diffuse environmental predictors of abundance, which may be challenging, especially in complex and heterogeneous habitats. This is particularly the case for tropical mammals, such as nonhuman primates, that depend on multi-layered and species-rich tree canopy coverage, which is usually measured through a limited sample of ground plots. We developed an approach that calibrates remote-sensing imagery to ground measurements of tree density to derive basal area, in turn used as a predictor of primate density based on published models. We applied generalized linear models (GLM) to relate 9.8-ha ground samples of tree basal area to various metrics extracted from Landsat 8 imagery. We tested the potential of this approach for spatial inference of animal density by comparing the density predictions for an endangered colobus monkey, to previous estimates from field transect counts, measured basal area, and other predictors of abundance. The best GLM had high accuracy and showed no significant difference between predicted and observed values of basal area. Our species distribution model yielded predicted primate densities that matched those based on field measurements. Results show the potential of using open-access and global remote-sensing data to derive an important predictor of animal abundance in tropical forests and in turn to make spatially explicit inference on animal density. This approach has important, inherent applications as it greatly magnifies the relevance of abundance modeling for informing conservation. This is especially true for threatened species living in heterogeneous habitats where spatial patterns of abundance, in relation to habitat and/or human disturbance factors, are often complex and, management decisions, such as improving forest protection, may need to be focused on priority areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Cavada
- DICAM Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123, Trento, Italy
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
| | - Marco Ciolli
- DICAM Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123, Trento, Italy
| | - Duccio Rocchini
- Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
| | - Andrew R Marshall
- CIRCLE, Environment Department, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
- Flamingo Land Ltd., Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, York, YO17 6UX, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122, Trento, Italy
- Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Mang'ula, Tanzania
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Barelli C, Huffman MA. Leaf swallowing and parasite expulsion in Khao Yai white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar), the first report in an Asian ape species. Am J Primatol 2016; 79:1-7. [PMID: 28118500 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Revised: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 09/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Leaf swallowing behavior, known as a form of self-medication for the control of nematode and tapeworm infection, occurs widely in all the African great apes (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, P. t. troglodytes, P. t. verus, P. t. vellerosus, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla graueri), except mountain gorillas. It is also reported to occur in a similar context across a wide array of other animal taxa including, domestic dogs, wolves, brown bears, and civets. Despite long-term research on Asian great and small apes, this is the first report of leaf swallowing in an Asian species, the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) in Khao Yai National Park, central Thailand. We present the first evidence of leaf swallowing (Gironniera nervosa Planch CANNABACEA) behavior (N = 5 cases) and parasite (Streptopharagus pigmentatus) expulsion (N = 4 cases), recorded during 4,300 hr of direct animal observations during two distinct research projects. We recovered 4-18 rough, hairy, and hispid surfaced leaves from each sample, undigested and folded, from the freshly evacuated feces of five different individuals (2 males, 3 females, 5 to 34+ years old) living in three different social groups, between the hours of 06:00 to 10:30. Based on close inspection of the leaves, as observed in chimpanzees, it was clear that they were taken into the mouth, one at a time, folded and detached from the stem with the teeth before swallowing them whole. All instances occurred during the rainy season, the time when nematode worms were also found in the feces, although they were not found together with leaves in the same feces. These striking similarities in the details of leaf swallowing between white-handed gibbons and African great apes, and other animal species, suggest a similar self-medicative function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, Trento, Italy
- Reproductive Biology Unit, German Primate Centre (DPZ), Göttingen, Germany
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Puts DA, Hill AK, Bailey DH, Walker RS, Rendall D, Wheatley JR, Welling LLM, Dawood K, Cárdenas R, Burriss RP, Jablonski NG, Shriver MD, Weiss D, Lameira AR, Apicella CL, Owren MJ, Barelli C, Glenn ME, Ramos-Fernandez G. Sexual selection on male vocal fundamental frequency in humans and other anthropoids. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152830. [PMID: 27122553 PMCID: PMC4855375 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In many primates, including humans, the vocalizations of males and females differ dramatically, with male vocalizations and vocal anatomy often seeming to exaggerate apparent body size. These traits may be favoured by sexual selection because low-frequency male vocalizations intimidate rivals and/or attract females, but this hypothesis has not been systematically tested across primates, nor is it clear why competitors and potential mates should attend to vocalization frequencies. Here we show across anthropoids that sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) increased during evolutionary transitions towards polygyny, and decreased during transitions towards monogamy. Surprisingly, humans exhibit greater F0 sexual dimorphism than any other ape. We also show that low-F0 vocalizations predict perceptions of men's dominance and attractiveness, and predict hormone profiles (low cortisol and high testosterone) related to immune function. These results suggest that low male F0 signals condition to competitors and mates, and evolved in male anthropoids in response to the intensity of mating competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Alexander K Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Drew H Bailey
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Robert S Walker
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Drew Rendall
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1 K 3M4
| | - John R Wheatley
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Lisa L M Welling
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309, USA
| | - Khytam Dawood
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Rodrigo Cárdenas
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Robert P Burriss
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
| | - Nina G Jablonski
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Mark D Shriver
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Daniel Weiss
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Adriano R Lameira
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK Pongo Foundation, Papenhoeflaan 91, Oudewater 3421XN, The Netherlands
| | - Coren L Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael J Owren
- OSV Acoustical Associates and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, Museo delle Scienze, Trento 38122, Italy
| | - Mary E Glenn
- Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
| | - Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez
- CIIDIR Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico and C3-Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Mexico 04510, Mexico
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Barelli C, Rovero F, Hodges K, Araldi A, Heistermann M. Physiological stress levels in the endemic and endangered Udzungwa red colobus vary with elevation. African Zoology 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2015.1021163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Barelli C, Mundry R, Araldi A, Hodges K, Rocchini D, Rovero F. Modeling Primate Abundance in Complex Landscapes: A Case Study From the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9815-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Abstract
Animal vocal signals may provide information about senders and mediate important social interactions like sexual competition, territory maintenance and mate selection. Hence, it is important to understand whether vocal signals provide accurate information about animal attributes or status. Gibbons are non-human primates that produce loud, distinctive and melodious vocalizations resembling more those of birds than of other non-human primates. Wild gibbons are characterized by flexibility in social organization (i.e., pairs and multimale units) as well as in mating system (i.e., monogamy and polyandry). Such features make them a suitable model to investigate whether the physiology (hormonal status) and socio-demographic features find their correspondence in the structure of their songs. By combining male solo song recordings, endocrine outputs using non-invasive fecal androgen measures and behavioral observations, we studied 14 groups (10 pair-living, 4 multimale) of wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) residing at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. We collected a total of 322 fecal samples and recorded 48 songs from 18 adult animals. Our results confirmed inter-individuality in male gibbon songs, and showed a clear correlation between androgen levels and song structures. Gibbons with higher androgen levels produced calls having higher pitch, and similarly adult individuals produced longer calls than senior males. Thus, it is plausible that gibbon vocalizations provide receivers with information about singers' attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
- Reproductive Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (CB); (KH)
| | - Roger Mundry
- Department of Primatology and Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Kurt Hammerschmidt
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (CB); (KH)
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Barelli C, Matsudaira K, Wolf T, Roos C, Heistermann M, Hodges K, Ishida T, Malaivijitnond S, Reichard UH. Extra-pair paternity confirmed in wild white-handed gibbons. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:1185-95. [PMID: 23877831 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2013] [Revised: 05/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge of the genetic mating system of animal species is essential for our understanding of the evolution of social systems and individual reproductive strategies. In recent years, genetic methods have uncovered an unexpected diversity of paternal genetic contributions across diverse animal social mating systems, but particularly in pair-living species. In most pair-living birds, for example, genetic and behavioral observations have confirmed a previously unknown significance of extra-pair copulations (EPCs) and extra-pair paternity. Among mammals, white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) are also known to live in pairs and are traditionally believed to be single-male single-female breeders. However, at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, behavioral observations have confirmed the occurrence of both EPCs and functional multi-male grouping, but knowledge about the genetic mating system is still unavailable. In this study, we genotyped 89 white-handed gibbons of the Khao Yai population based on fecal samplings and were able to determine paternity for 41 offspring through short tandem repeat analysis. We found that females' stable social partners sired the majority (90.5%) of offspring (N = 38), while only a few (7.1%) offspring (n = 2 confirmed cases; n = 1 inferred case) were conceived with extra-pair partners. The paternity of one offspring remained inconclusive (2.4%), because the offspring's genotype did not mismatch with the genotypes of two potential sires. Like other predominantly pair-living species, gibbons appear to follow a mixed-reproductive strategy. The genetic mating system of wild white-handed gibbons is best described as flexible, primarily monogamous and opportunistically promiscuous. Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy; Reproductive Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
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21
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Gillespie TR, Barelli C, Heistermann M. Effects of social status and stress on patterns of gastrointestinal parasitism in wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar). Am J Phys Anthropol 2013; 150:602-8. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michael Heistermann
- German Primate Center (DPZ); Reproductive Biology Unit; Göttingen; 37077; Germany
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23
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Reichard UH, Barelli C. Life History and Reproductive Strategies of Khao Yai Hylobates lar: Implications for Social Evolution in Apes. INT J PRIMATOL 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-008-9285-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Barelli C, Heistermann M, Boesch C, Reichard UH. Mating patterns and sexual swellings in pair-living and multimale groups of wild white-handed gibbons, Hylobates lar. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Barelli C, Reichard U, Boesch C, Heistermann M. Female white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) lead group movements and have priority of access to food resources. BEHAVIOUR 2008. [DOI: 10.1163/156853908784089243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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26
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Barelli C, Heistermann M, Boesch C, Reichard UH. Sexual swellings in wild white-handed gibbon females (Hylobates lar) indicate the probability of ovulation. Horm Behav 2007; 51:221-30. [PMID: 17137580 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2006] [Revised: 10/18/2006] [Accepted: 10/19/2006] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Conspicuous sexual swellings in the females of some primate species have been a focus of scientific interest since Darwin first wrote about them in 1871. To understand these visual signals, research focused on exaggerated sexual swellings of Old World primates. However, some primate species develop much smaller sexual swellings and it is as yet unclear if these smaller swellings can serve similar functions as those proposed for exaggerated swellings, i.e. advertising fertility to attract mates. We studied the temporal patterns of sexual swellings, timing of ovulation and female reproductive status in wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, where this species has a variable social organization. We established fecal progestogen profiles in fifteen cycles of eight cycling females and, to detect swellings outside the menstrual cycle, five pregnant and six lactating females. In 80% of menstrual cycles, ovulation and maximum swelling phase (duration: Ø 9.3 days; 42.8% of cycle length), overlapped tightly. The probability of ovulation peaked on day 3 of the maximum swelling period. Nevertheless, the temporal relationship between maximum swelling and probability of ovulation varied from day -1 to day 13 of the swelling period and three times ovulations fell outside the maximum swelling phase. The different swellings phases occurred in similar proportions in cycling and pregnant, but not lactating females, which were rarely swollen. Despite their smaller size, gibbons' sexual swellings probably serve functions similar to those suggested for exaggerated swellings by the graded-signal hypothesis, which predicts that sexual swellings indicate the probability of ovulation, without allowing males to pinpoint its exact time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barelli
- Department of Primatology, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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Abstract
We investigated whether Thalamita crenata, a swimming crab found on the East African intertidal flats, uses landmarks to locate its refuges. We modified the visual panorama of an intertidal flat, using conspicuous movable objects, and conducted homing trials with the local population of swimming crabs. In the first set of trials, after being moved away from their dens, the crabs were immediately able to find other known dens, using direct shortcut paths. In the second set of trials we moved all the artificial landmarks surrounding a crab's den 5 m away and then displaced the crab itself. The crabs made initial navigational errors in accordance with the new position of the landmarks; this shows that they oriented themselves by remembering the landmarks. We then repositioned the landmarks and released the crabs far from the familiar area, on a similar flat. This time the crabs could rely only on the artificial landmarks; they used this information and reached the point where home should have been according to the landmarks. Thus, T. crenata showed good spatial knowledge, based on the storage of landmark memories. This orienting mechanism is much more flexible and complex than those of other crabs and is comparable to the route-based memory of honeybees, Apis mellifera. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Cannicci
- Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica 'Leo Pardi', Università degli Studi di Firenze
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Abstract
A total of 126 coagulase-negative staphylococci strains (CNS) were isolated from blood samples and from the intravenous catheters and cerebrospinal fluid of 103 patients admitted to the University Hospital of Ribeirão Preto. Staphylococcus epidermidis (68.2%), S. haemolyticus (11.1%) and S. hominis (3.2%) were the most frequent species. The last two CNS showed greater resistance to antimicrobial agents than S. epidermidis. CNS were the agents of infection in 10. 7% of the patients and the agents of intravenous catheter colonization in 18.4% of the cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- E C Minto
- University Hospital of Ribeirão Preto (HCFMRP-USP), São Paulo, Brazil
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Barelli C, Minto EC, Martinez R, Darini AL. Evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibilities of coagulase-negative staphylococci by E-test. Rev Latinoam Microbiol 1999; 41:67-72. [PMID: 10932753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) have recently emerged as important nosocomial pathogens. In this study, the susceptibility of 53 isolates of CoNS (42 S. epidermidis, 6 S. haemolyticus, 3 S. caprae, 1 S. lugdunensis and 1 S. chromogenes) obtained over a 1 year period at a Brazilian Hospital were tested for vancomycin, teicoplanin, cephalothin, penicillin, oxacillin, and chloramphenicol. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) were determined by the E-test using saturated swabs or the flooding method. No isolates showed resistance to vancomycin, 3 (5.7%) were resistant to teicoplanin, 5 (9.4%) to cephalotin, most of them, (47, 88.6%) were resistant to penicillin, 19 (35.8%) to oxacillin and 27 (50.9%) to chloramphenicol. The study shows that the increased resistance of CoNS can cause serious infections of difficult treatment. The E-test proved to be a convenient and reliable method for MIC determination of CoNS isolates and the qualitative and quantitative results obtained by flooding were much more reproducible than the results obtained using swabs.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Barelli
- Department of Clinical, Toxicologic and Bromatologic Analyses, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brasil
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