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Primate Behavior (primate + behavior)
Selected AbstractsThe Primate Anthology: Essays on Primate Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation from Natural HistoryAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2000Natalie Vasey The Primate Anthology: Essays on Primate Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation from Natural History. Russell L. Ciochon and Richard A. Nisbett. eds. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. 246 pp. [source] Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foodsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Peter W. Lucas Abstract A number of living primates feed part-year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods,nuts, seeds, and root vegetables,were tested, with accuracy checked on standard materials with known properties by the same means. Results were generally consistent, but the moduli of root vegetables were overestimated here. All these properties are important components of what fieldworkers mean by hardness and help understand how food properties influence primate behavior. Hardness sensu stricto determines whether foods leave permanent marks on tooth tissues when they are bitten on. The force at which a food plastically deforms can be estimated from hardness and modulus. When fallback foods are bilayered, consisting of a nutritious core protected by a hard outer coat, it is possible to predict their failure force from the toughness and modulus of the outer coat, and the modulus of the enclosed core. These forces can be high and bite forces may be maximized in fallback food consumption. Expanding the context, the same equation for the failure force for a bilayered solid can be applied to teeth. This analysis predicts that blunt cusps and thick enamel will indeed help to sustain the integrity of teeth against contacts with these foods up to high loads. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:643,652, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Evolution of the special senses in primates: Past, present, and futureTHE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Nathaniel J. Dominy Abstract The present special issue of The Anatomical Record is the result of a symposium entitled Evolution of the Special Senses in Primates. Considered together, the special senses of primates are remarkable because they constitute a singular and definitive suite of mammalian characteristics. Examining their evolution is pivotal for understanding the origin and present-day variation of primate behavior and ecology. Accordingly, the 14 articles assembled here consider the different constraints and opportunities associated with the uptake and use of physical and chemical stimuli. The present issue brings together experts on different primate sensory modalities and stresses events at the sensory periphery, where the organism is exposed to and comes into contact with its environment. Key topics include color vision, the genetics of olfaction, the morphological basis and significance of chemical communication, and the neural organization and scaling of primate sensory systems. The result is a special issue that both reflects our current understanding of primate sensory modalities and challenges certain fundamental assumptions concerning their evolution. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Variation in dental wear and tooth loss among known-aged, older ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): a comparison between wild and captive individualsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2010Frank P. Cuozzo Abstract Tooth wear is generally an age-related phenomenon, often assumed to occur at similar rates within populations of primates and other mammals, and has been suggested as a correlate of reduced offspring survival among wild lemurs. Few long-term wild studies have combined detailed study of primate behavior and ecology with dental analyses. Here, we present data on dental wear and tooth loss in older (>10 years old) wild and captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Among older ring-tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar (n=6), the percentage of severe dental wear and tooth loss ranges from 6 to 50%. Among these six individuals, the oldest (19 years old) exhibits the second lowest frequency of tooth loss (14%). The majority of captive lemurs at the Indianapolis Zoo (n=7) are older than the oldest BMSR lemur, yet display significantly less overall tooth wear for 19 of 36 tooth positions, with only two individuals exhibiting antemortem tooth loss. Among the captive lemurs, only one lemur (a nearly 29 year old male) has lost more than one tooth. This individual is only missing anterior teeth, in contrast to lemurs at BMSR, where the majority of lost teeth are postcanine teeth associated with processing specific fallback foods. Postcanine teeth also show significantly more overall wear at BMSR than in the captive sample. At BMSR, degree of severe wear and tooth loss varies in same aged, older individuals, likely reflecting differences in microhabitat, and thus the availability and use of different foods. This pattern becomes apparent before "old age," as seen in individuals as young as 7 years. Among the four "older" female lemurs at BMSR, severe wear and/or tooth loss do not predict offspring survival. Am. J. Primatol. 72:1026,1037, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The dangers of multi-male groupings: trauma and healing in cercopithecoid monkeys from CameroonAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2009Tara J. Chapman Abstract This study examines the potential linkage between social organization and trauma in a sample of cercopithecids from Cameroon. Skeletal trauma is described in a museum collection of eight sympatric monkey species. Macroscopic analysis was carried out on a total of 139 complete skeletons of mangabeys, colobines and guenons. Species in multi-male groups were found to have higher fracture frequencies than those in uni-male groups. These higher frequencies may be related to intra-specific male,male aggression; however, similarities in fracture patterning between males and females in multi-male groups suggest that other factors may be involved. Although fracture etiology may not be identified with certainty, this study suggests that predation may indirectly be a cause of traumatic injuries in those species of cercopithecid monkeys displaying multi-male social organizations. The data presented also highlight the utility of museum collections as an additional resource in analyses of primate behavior, demonstrating that behavioral information does not die when the animal does. Am. J. Primatol. 71:567,573, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Perceptual considerations in the use of colored photographic and video stimuli to study nonhuman primate behaviorAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2006Corri Waitt Abstract The use of photographs, slides, computerized images, and video to study behavior is increasingly being employed in nonhuman primates. However, since these mediums have been designed to simulate natural coloration for normal trichromatic human vision, they can fail to reproduce color in meaningful and accurate ways for viewers with different visual systems. Given the range of color perception that exists both across and within different species, it is necessary to consider this variation in order to discern the suitability of these mediums for experimental use. Because of the high degree of visual similarity among humans, Old World monkeys, and apes, the use of photographic and video stimuli should be acceptable in terms of replicating naturalistic coloration and making noticeable color manipulations. However, among New World primates and prosimians, there exists a considerable degree of variation in color perceptual abilities depending on the species, sex, and allelic combination of the animals involved. Therefore, the use of these mediums to study behavior is problematic for these species, and should be done with caution. Am. J. Primatol. 68:1054,1067, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The neglected sense,olfaction in primate behavior, ecology, and evolutionAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Eckhard W. Heymann Abstract This special issue emerged from a symposium held during the 20th Congress of the International Primatological Society in Torino, Italy, in August 2004. The symposium brought together scientists studying several different aspects of olfaction in primates. The topics addressed ranged from the morphology and physiology of the sensory apparatus, the genetics and chemistry of olfactory signals and the use of such signals in primate communication, to a comparative analysis of the role of olfaction in neural evolution. The papers in this issue reflect a surge of interest in diverse aspects of olfaction,an interest that has been stimulated by the more rigorous theoretical approaches and new techniques that have recently become available. This introduction briefly reviews past research on primate olfaction, summarizes the scope of this special issue, and provides a somewhat speculative glimpse of the future. Am. J. Primatol. 68:519,524, 2006.© 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Perceptions of nonhuman primates in human,wildlife conflict scenariosAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2010Catherine M. Hill Abstract Nonhuman primates (referred to as primates in this study) are sometimes revered as gods, abhorred as evil spirits, killed for food because they damage crops, or butchered for sport. Primates' perceived similarity to humans places them in an anomalous position. While some human groups accept the idea that primates "straddle" the human,nonhuman boundary, for others this resemblance is a violation of the human,animal divide. In this study we use two case studies to explore how people's perceptions of primates are often influenced by these animals' apparent similarity to humans, creating expectations, founded within a "human morality" about how primates should interact with people. When animals transgress these social rules, they are measured against the same moral framework as humans. This has implications for how people view and respond to certain kinds of primate behaviors, their willingness to tolerate co-existence with primates and their likely support for primate conservation initiatives. Am. J. Primatol. 72:919,924, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||