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Freymann E, d'Oliveira Coelho J, Hobaiter C, Huffman MA, Muhumuza G, Zuberbühler K, Carvalho S. Applying collocation and APRIORI analyses to chimpanzee diets: Methods for investigating nonrandom food combinations in primate self-medication. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23603. [PMID: 38293796 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23603] [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: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Identifying novel medicinal resources in chimpanzee diets has historically presented challenges, requiring extensive behavioral data collection and health monitoring, accompanied by expensive pharmacological analyses. When putative therapeutic self-medicative behaviors are observed, these events are often considered isolated occurrences, with little attention paid to other resources ingested in combination. For chimpanzees, medicinal resource combinations could play an important role in maintaining well-being by tackling different symptoms of an illness, chemically strengthening efficacy of a treatment, or providing prophylactic compounds that prevent future ailments. We call this concept the self-medicative resource combination hypothesis. However, a dearth of methodological approaches for holistically investigating primate feeding ecology has limited our ability to identify nonrandom resource combinations and explore potential synergistic relationships between medicinal resource candidates. Here we present two analytical tools that test such a hypothesis and demonstrate these approaches on feeding data from the Sonso chimpanzee community in Budongo Forest, Uganda. Using 4 months of data, we establish that both collocation and APRIORI analyses are effective exploratory tools for identifying binary combinations, and that APRIORI is effective for multi-item rule associations. We then compare outputs from both methods, finding up to 60% agreement, and propose APRIORI as more effective for studies requiring control over confidence intervals and those investigating nonrandom associations between more than two resources. These analytical tools, which can be extrapolated across the animal kingdom, can provide a cost-effective and efficient method for targeting resources for further pharmacological investigation, potentially aiding in the discovery of novel medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Freymann
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - João d'Oliveira Coelho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Wild Minds Lab, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Michael A Huffman
- Wildlife Research Center, Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
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Voltura EV, Brightsmith DJ, Cornejo J, Tizard I, Bailey CA, Heatley JJ. Parrot Dietary Habits and Consumption of Alternate Foodstuffs. J Avian Med Surg 2024; 37:297-313. [PMID: 38363162 DOI: 10.1647/20-00028] [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] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Inappropriate diets cause many of the health problems commonly reported in parrots by psittaculturists and veterinarians. The dietary management of captive parrots would benefit from information derived from studies of dietary habits of wild parrots; however, it is unclear how complete this body of knowledge is at this time. Documentation of parrots' dietary habits appears to have grown dramatically over the past century. Reports of parrots consuming a number of foodstuffs beyond the reproductive parts of plants (alternate foodstuffs) have increased. The extent of alternate foodstuffs in parrot diets is currently unknown. We used Google search engines (ie, Scholar, Videos, Images) to determine how well psittaciform dietary habits have been studied to date and to quantify reports of alternate foodstuffs consumption among genera of Psittaciformes. We found that the dietary habits of over 43% of parrot species are poorly resolved. The dietary habits of 71.5% of parrot species classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as at risk of extinction are not well resolved. Parrots' consumption of alternate foodstuffs occurred at the following rates at the genus level: 91.2% foliage, 76.9% terrestrial invertebrates and fine earthen materials, 74.7% wood, 44% pure minerals, 34.1% vertebrates (9.9% dung), 29.7% sap, 19.8% roots, 17.6% charcoal, 18.7% epiphytes, 16.5% coarse earthen materials, 8.8% algae, and 6.6% aquatic invertebrates. Of these reports, 79.1% involved observations of wild parrots. Many parrot species may be more omnivorous than previously realized. Alternate foodstuffs are generally absent from current veterinary-based dietary recommendations for captive parrots. Future studies are needed to determine whether providing alternate foodstuffs to captive parrots can be used as a means to improve their diets and thus their health, welfare, and reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise V Voltura
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA,
- Schubot Center for Avian Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
| | - Donald J Brightsmith
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
- Schubot Center for Avian Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
| | - Juan Cornejo
- Mandai Park Development, Ltd, Singapore Zoological Gardens, Singapore 729826
| | - Ian Tizard
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
- Schubot Center for Avian Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
| | - Christopher A Bailey
- College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; the Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
| | - J Jill Heatley
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
- Schubot Center for Avian Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77853, USA
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DePasquale AN, Poirier AC, Mah MA, Villalobos Suarez C, Guadamuz A, Cheves Hernandez S, Lopez Navarro R, Hogan JD, Rothman JM, Nevo O, Melin AD. Picking pithy plants: Pith selectivity by wild white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus imitator. Am J Primatol 2023:e23549. [PMID: 37690098 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23549] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Understanding diet selectivity is a longstanding goal in primate ecology. Deciphering when and why primates consume different resources can provide insights into their nutritional ecology as well as adaptations to food scarcity. Plant pith, the spongy interior of plant stems, is occasionally eaten by primates, but the context is poorly understood. We examine the ecological, mechanical, chemical, and nutritional basis of plant pith selection by a wild, frugivorous-omnivorous primate (Cebus imitator). We test the hypothesis that pith is a fallback food, that is, consumed when fruit is less abundant, and test for differences between plant species from which pith is eaten versus avoided. We collected 3.5 years of capuchin pith consumption data to document dietary species and analyzed "pith patch visits" in relation to fruit availability, visits to fruit patches, and climatic seasonality. We analyzed dietary and non-dietary species for relative pith quantity, mechanical hardness, odor composition, and macronutrient concentrations. Capuchins ate pith from 11 of ~300 plant species common in the dry forest, most commonly Bursera simaruba. We find that pith consumption is not directly related to fruit availability or fruit foraging but occurs most frequently (84% of patch visits) during the months of seasonal transition. Relative to common non-dietary species, dietary pith species have relatively higher pith quantity, have softer outer branches and pith, and contain more terpenoids, a class of bioactive compounds notable for their widespread medicinal properties. Our results suggest that greater pith quantity, lower hardness, and a more complex, terpenoid-rich odor profile contribute to species selectivity; further, as pith is likely to be consistently available throughout the year, the seasonality of pith foraging may point to zoopharmacognosy, as seasonal transitions typically introduce new parasites or pathogens. Our study furthers our understanding of how climatic seasonality impacts primate behavior and sheds new light on food choice by an omnivorous primate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allegra N DePasquale
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Alice C Poirier
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Megan A Mah
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Jessica M Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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De la Fuente MF, Souto A, Albuquerque UP, Schiel N. Self-medication in nonhuman primates: A systematic evaluation of the possible function of the use of medicinal plants. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23438. [PMID: 36193566 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23438] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Animal self-medication is thought to provide an adaptive advantage, as species would actively respond to a disease state or homeostatic imbalances. In wild nonhuman primates, it is challenging to differentiate plant use as part of the diet or as medication, especially because self-medication can be preventive or therapeutic. Here, we aimed to compile the available potential evidence on primate self-medication modes, investigating which proposed requirements are fulfilled for each plant species reported to date. We systematically reviewed the scientific literature on plant use for potential self-medication in wild nonhuman primates. To construct the extensive database, we extracted data on the primate species, study area, plant/plant's part used, the requirement(s) met for demonstrating self-medication modes, and self-medicative behavioral patterns. We also updated available information on plant's biological compounds and/or physical characteristics, pharmacological properties, and ethnomedical uses. We identified 575 plant species (135 families), used by 25 primate species (9 families). Plants were used by Old World monkeys (46.5%, n = 268 plant species), followed by apes (41%, n = 235), New World monkeys (13.4%, n = 77), and prosimians (1%, n = 6). We found three general types of self-medicative behaviors: ingestion (including, but not limited to, leaf-swallowing, seed-swallowing, and bitter pith chewing), topical (fur-rubbing), and nest fumigation. Plant uses were associated with antiparasitic, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, insect repellent, among other properties. Self-medication is widespread in nonhuman primate species across Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. Long-term field research efforts and studies integrating different research sites and topics are urgent to advance our knowledge into the evolution of plant selection, medical traditions, and to bring insights into potentially novel medicinal plants and bioactive compounds to treat emergent or established primate and human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Fernanda De la Fuente
- Laboratório de Etologia Teórica e Aplicada, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Antonio Souto
- Laboratório de Etologia, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Ulysses P Albuquerque
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Nicola Schiel
- Laboratório de Etologia Teórica e Aplicada, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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Kreyer M, Stewart K, Pashchevskaya S, Fruth B. What fecal analyses reveal about Manniophyton fulvum consumption in LuiKotale bonobos (Pan paniscus): A medicinal plant revisited. Am J Primatol 2021; 84:e23318. [PMID: 34418128 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Observations of animals in the wild can result in the discovery of plants for human medicinal purposes. In this context, our closest relatives, the great apes, are of particular interest. The Euphorbiaceae Manniophyton fulvum possesses both phytochemical and biomechanical properties. Its use in the genus Pan (P. troglodytes; P. paniscus) is thought to be based on its mechanical properties promoting the egestion of intestinal parasites, but additional observations from different habitats where the behavior is performed may shed more light on its true purpose. To improve our understanding of what triggers this behavior, we investigated M. fulvum consumption in wild bonobos at LuiKotale, Democratic Republic of the Congo between December 2018 and July 2020. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that M. fulvum ingestion is related to gastro-intestinal parasite expulsion. Of 649 focal follows of 37 individuals from two habituated communities, consumption of M. fulvum was observed on 111 days (N = 507), independent of seasons, environmental factors and the plant's availability. A total of 588 fecal samples were assessed for the presence/absence of gastro-intestinal parasites. We found strongyle eggs in 2.89% of samples and their presence was not associated with the ingestion of M. fulvum or environmental conditions. We discuss the importance of seasonality in the life cycle of strongyle species that may influence the pattern of M. fulvum consumption observed at LuiKotale. Our data open additional perspectives concerning behavioral parameters such as the existence of a cultural component when comparing ingestion behavior between communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélodie Kreyer
- Ecology of Animal Societies, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Kathrine Stewart
- Ecology of Animal Societies, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sonya Pashchevskaya
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Fruth
- Ecology of Animal Societies, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Hagen EH, Roulette CJ, Sullivan RJ. Explaining human recreational use of 'pesticides': The neurotoxin regulation model of substance use vs. the hijack model and implications for age and sex differences in drug consumption. Front Psychiatry 2013; 4:142. [PMID: 24204348 PMCID: PMC3817850 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 10/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Most globally popular drugs are plant neurotoxins or their close chemical analogs. These compounds evolved to deter, not reward or reinforce, consumption. Moreover, they reliably activate virtually all toxin defense mechanisms, and are thus correctly identified by human neurophysiology as toxins. Acute drug toxicity must therefore play a more central role in drug use theory. We accordingly challenge the popular idea that the rewarding and reinforcing properties of drugs "hijack" the brain, and propose instead that the brain evolved to carefully regulate neurotoxin consumption to minimize fitness costs and maximize fitness benefits. This perspective provides a compelling explanation for the dramatic changes in substance use that occur during the transition from childhood to adulthood, and for pervasive sex differences in substance use: because nicotine and many other plant neurotoxins are teratogenic, children, and to a lesser extent women of childbearing age, evolved to avoid ingesting them. However, during the course of human evolution many adolescents and adults reaped net benefits from regulated intake of plant neurotoxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward H. Hagen
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Casey J. Roulette
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Roger J. Sullivan
- Department of Anthropology, California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Debban CL, Dyer KA. No evidence for behavioural adaptations to nematode parasitism by the fly Drosophila putrida. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:1646-54. [PMID: 23663194 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 07/24/2012] [Revised: 02/27/2013] [Accepted: 03/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural adaptations of hosts to their parasites form an important component of the evolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions. As mushroom-feeding Drosophila can tolerate deadly mycotoxins, but their Howardula nematode parasites cannot, we asked how consuming the potent mycotoxin α-amanitin has affected this host-parasite interaction. We used the fly D. putrida and its parasite H. aoronymphium, which is both highly virulent and at high prevalence in some populations, and investigated whether adult flies utilize food with toxin to prevent infection in the next generation or consume the toxin to reduce the virulence of an already established infection. First, we found that uninfected females did not prefer to eat or lay their eggs on toxic food, indicating that selection has not acted on the flies to alter their behaviour towards α-amanitin to prevent their offspring from becoming infected by Howardula. However, we cannot rule out that flies use an alternate cue that is associated with toxin presence in the wild. Second, we found that infected females did not prefer to eat food with α-amanitin and that consuming α-amanitin did not cure or reduce the virulence of the parasite in adults that were already infected. In sum, our results indicate there are no direct effects of eating α-amanitin on this host-parasite interaction, and we suggest that toxin tolerance is more likely maintained by selection due to competition for resources than as a mechanism to avoid parasite infection or to reduce the virulence of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Debban
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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