Vocal individuality is widespread in social animals. Individual variation in vocalizations is a prereq- uisite for discriminating among conspecifics and may have facilitated the evolution of large complex societies. R...Vocal individuality is widespread in social animals. Individual variation in vocalizations is a prereq- uisite for discriminating among conspecifics and may have facilitated the evolution of large complex societies. Ring-tailed lemurs Lemur catta live in relatively large social groups, have con- spicuous vocal repertoires, and their species-specific utterances can be interpreted in light of source-filter theory of vocal production. Indeed, their utterances allow individual discrimination and even recognition thanks to the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract. The purpose of this study is to determine which distinctive vocal features can be derived from the morphology of the upper vocal tract. To accomplish this, we built computational models derived from anatomical measurements collected on lemur cadavers and compared the results with the spectrographic out- put of vocalizations recorded from ex situ live individuals. Our results demonstrate that the mor- phological variation of the ring-tailed lemur vocal tract explains individual distinctiveness of their species-specific utterances. We also provide further evidence that vocal tract modeling is a power- ful tool for studying the vocal output of non-human primates.展开更多
Objective:To observe morphology of Auchenacantha galeopteri(A.galeopteri),Auchenacantha spinosa(A.spinosa) and Auchenacantha parva(A.parva) from Sukabumi and Ujung Kulon, Indonesia using scanning electron microscopy(S...Objective:To observe morphology of Auchenacantha galeopteri(A.galeopteri),Auchenacantha spinosa(A.spinosa) and Auchenacantha parva(A.parva) from Sukabumi and Ujung Kulon, Indonesia using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Methods:Specimens for light microscopy examination were fixed with warm 70%alcohol,cleared and mounted in lactophenol for wet mounting.Drawings were made with the aid of a drawing tube attached to a Nikon compound microscope.Specimens for SEM examination were processed according to Bozzola.Measurements were given in micrometers(μ m) as the average of findings,followed by the range in parentheses, unless otherwise stated.Results:The measurements of Auchenacantha spp are same with those of previously described.The striatums of male and female A.galeopteri are widen towards outside and wavy.The mouth of female with 6 lips,each of them is wider at base than distal end in A.galeopteri and rectangular in A.spinosa.Both species have dentiform protrusion from inner surface of lips,such structure absent in A.parva,but the lips with transverse festoon like pattern at anterior end of each lip.Conclusions:Using SEM,the lip and the striation pattern of three species of Auchenacantha can be clearly distinguished.Sukabumi and Ujung Kulon are new locality of A.galeopteri and A.spinosa,and A.parva is the new record in Indonesia.展开更多
Non-human primate species are considered as good models for human cancer research. Despite the relevant phylogenetic position of prosimians, few reports of neoplastic diseases have been described in these species. The...Non-human primate species are considered as good models for human cancer research. Despite the relevant phylogenetic position of prosimians, few reports of neoplastic diseases have been described in these species. The current study investigated implication of an intestinal T-cell lymphoma in a 5-year-old female ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden. First, a sub-occlusive thickening of the small bowel was found. Histologically, the lesion was caused by a malignant lymphoid infiltrate that was homogeneously CD3+. Moreover, inflammatory patterns peripheral to the lesion suggested a coeliac disease similar to that reported in human. A huge malignant lymphoid infiltrate was present also in the liver and spleen. Overall, the case suggests an etiopathological relationship between coeliac-like disease and intestinal T-lymphoma, as reported in several human studies. Findings from this study are useful to improve our knowledge on the occurrence of the T-lymphoma as well as to improve the husbandry and dietary protocol of prosimians in zoos.展开更多
Among the behavioral traits shared by some nonhuman primate species and humans there is singing. Unfortunately, our understanding of animals' rhythmic abilities is still in its infancy. Indris are the only lemurs ...Among the behavioral traits shared by some nonhuman primate species and humans there is singing. Unfortunately, our understanding of animals' rhythmic abilities is still in its infancy. Indris are the only lemurs who sing and live in monogamous pairs, usually forming a group with their offspri ng. All adult members of a group usually participate in choruses that are emitted regularly and play a role in advertising territorial occupa ncy and in tergroup spaci ng. Males and females emit phrases that have similar frequency ranges but may differ in their temporal structure. We examined whether the individuals' contribution to the song may change according to chorus size, the total duration of the song or the duration of the individual con tribution using the in ter-on set intervals within a phrase and between phrases. We found that the rhythmic structure of indri's songs depends on factors that are different for males and females. We showed that females have sigrdficantly higher variation in the rhythm of their contribution to the song and that, changes according to chorus size. Our findings indicate that female indris sustain a higher cost of singing than males whe n the nu mber of singers in creases. These results suggest that cross-species investigatio ns will be crucial to un derstanding the evoluti on ary frame in which such sexually dimorphic traits occurred.展开更多
In animal vocal communication,the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics.However,the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remain po...In animal vocal communication,the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics.However,the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remain poorly understood.In contrast with a historical view of nonhuman primate vocal production as substantially innate,recent research suggests that inheritance and physiological modification can only explain some of the developmental changes in call structure during growth.A particular case of acoustic communication is the indris’singing behavior,a peculiar case among Strepsirrhine primates.Thanks to a decade of intense data collection,this work provides the first long-term quantitative analysis on song development in a singing primate.To understand the ontogeny of such a complex vocal output,we investigated juvenile and sub-adult indris’vocal behavior,and we found that young individuals started participating in the chorus years earlier than previously reported.Our results indicated that spectro-temporal song parameters underwent essential changes during growth.In particular,the age and sex of the emitter influenced the indris’vocal activity.We found that frequency parameters showed consistent changes across the sexes,but the temporal features showed different developmental trajectories for males and females.Given the low level of morphological sexual dimorphism and the marked differences in vocal behavior,we hypothesize that factors like social influences and auditory feedback may affect songs’features,resulting in high vocal flexibility in juvenile indris.This trait may be pivotal in a species that engages in choruses with rapid vocal turn-taking.展开更多
Primates have been found to differ widely in their taste perception and studies suggest that a coevolution between plant species bearing a certain taste substance and primate species feeding on these plants may contri...Primates have been found to differ widely in their taste perception and studies suggest that a coevolution between plant species bearing a certain taste substance and primate species feeding on these plants may contribute to such between-species differences. Considering that only platyrrhine primates, but not catarrhine or prosimian primates, share an evolutionary history with the neotrop- ical plant Stevia rebaudiana, we assessed whether members of these three primate taxa differ in their ability to perceive and/or in their sensitivity to its two quantitatively predominant sweet- tasting substances. We found that not only neotropical black-handed spider monkeys, but also paleotropical black-and-white ruffed lemurs and Western chimpanzees are clearly able to perceive stevioside and rebaudioside A. Using a two-bottle preference test of short duration, we found that Ateles geoffroyi preferred concentrations as low as 0.05 mM stevioside and 0.01 mM rebaudioside A over tap water. Taste preference thresholds of Pan troglodytes were similar to those of the spider monkeys, with 0.05 mM for stevioside and 0.03 mM for rebaudioside A, whereas Varecia variegata was slightly less sensitive with a threshold value of 0.1 mM for both substances. Thus, all three primate species are, similar to human subjects, clearly more sensitive to both steviol glycosides compared to sucrose. Only the spider monkeys displayed concentration-response curves with both stevioside and rebaudioside A which can best be described as an inverted U-shaped function sug- gesting that Ateles geoffroyi, similar to human subjects, may perceive a bitter side taste at higher concentrations of these substances. Taken together, the results of the present study do not support the notion that a co-evolution between plant and primate species may account for between-species differences in taste perception of steviol glycosides.展开更多
Tree shrew （Tupaia belangeri） is currently placed in Order Scandentia and has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia and Southwest China. Due to its unique characteristics, such as small body size, high brain-to-body...Tree shrew （Tupaia belangeri） is currently placed in Order Scandentia and has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia and Southwest China. Due to its unique characteristics, such as small body size, high brain-to-body mass ratio, short reproductive cycle and life span, and low-cost of maintenance, tree shrew has been proposed to be an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. However, there are some debates regarding the exact phylogenetic affinity of tree shrew to primates. In this study, we determined the mtDNA entire genomes of three Chinese tree shrews （T. belangeri chinensis） and one Malayan flying lemur （Galeopterus variegatus）. Combined with the published data for species in Euarchonta, we intended to diseen] the phylogenetic relationship among representative species of Dermoptera, Scandentia and Primates. The mtDNA genomes of Chinese tree shrews and Malayan flying lemur shared similar gene organization and structure with those of other mammals. Phylogenetic analysis based on 12 concatenated mitochondrial proteinencoding genes revealed a closer relationship between species of Scandentia and Glires, whereas species of Dermoptera were clustered with Primates. This pattern was consistent with previously reported phylogeny based on mtDNA data, but differed from the one reconstructed on the basis of nuclear genes. Our result suggested that the matrilineal affinity of tree shrew to primates may not be as close as we had thought. The ongoing project for sequencing the entire genome of Chinese tree shrew will provide more information to clarify this important issue.展开更多
文摘Vocal individuality is widespread in social animals. Individual variation in vocalizations is a prereq- uisite for discriminating among conspecifics and may have facilitated the evolution of large complex societies. Ring-tailed lemurs Lemur catta live in relatively large social groups, have con- spicuous vocal repertoires, and their species-specific utterances can be interpreted in light of source-filter theory of vocal production. Indeed, their utterances allow individual discrimination and even recognition thanks to the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract. The purpose of this study is to determine which distinctive vocal features can be derived from the morphology of the upper vocal tract. To accomplish this, we built computational models derived from anatomical measurements collected on lemur cadavers and compared the results with the spectrographic out- put of vocalizations recorded from ex situ live individuals. Our results demonstrate that the mor- phological variation of the ring-tailed lemur vocal tract explains individual distinctiveness of their species-specific utterances. We also provide further evidence that vocal tract modeling is a power- ful tool for studying the vocal output of non-human primates.
基金Supported by DIPA.Project/2010 of Research Centre on Biology-LIPI
文摘Objective:To observe morphology of Auchenacantha galeopteri(A.galeopteri),Auchenacantha spinosa(A.spinosa) and Auchenacantha parva(A.parva) from Sukabumi and Ujung Kulon, Indonesia using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Methods:Specimens for light microscopy examination were fixed with warm 70%alcohol,cleared and mounted in lactophenol for wet mounting.Drawings were made with the aid of a drawing tube attached to a Nikon compound microscope.Specimens for SEM examination were processed according to Bozzola.Measurements were given in micrometers(μ m) as the average of findings,followed by the range in parentheses, unless otherwise stated.Results:The measurements of Auchenacantha spp are same with those of previously described.The striatums of male and female A.galeopteri are widen towards outside and wavy.The mouth of female with 6 lips,each of them is wider at base than distal end in A.galeopteri and rectangular in A.spinosa.Both species have dentiform protrusion from inner surface of lips,such structure absent in A.parva,but the lips with transverse festoon like pattern at anterior end of each lip.Conclusions:Using SEM,the lip and the striation pattern of three species of Auchenacantha can be clearly distinguished.Sukabumi and Ujung Kulon are new locality of A.galeopteri and A.spinosa,and A.parva is the new record in Indonesia.
文摘Non-human primate species are considered as good models for human cancer research. Despite the relevant phylogenetic position of prosimians, few reports of neoplastic diseases have been described in these species. The current study investigated implication of an intestinal T-cell lymphoma in a 5-year-old female ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden. First, a sub-occlusive thickening of the small bowel was found. Histologically, the lesion was caused by a malignant lymphoid infiltrate that was homogeneously CD3+. Moreover, inflammatory patterns peripheral to the lesion suggested a coeliac disease similar to that reported in human. A huge malignant lymphoid infiltrate was present also in the liver and spleen. Overall, the case suggests an etiopathological relationship between coeliac-like disease and intestinal T-lymphoma, as reported in several human studies. Findings from this study are useful to improve our knowledge on the occurrence of the T-lymphoma as well as to improve the husbandry and dietary protocol of prosimians in zoos.
文摘Among the behavioral traits shared by some nonhuman primate species and humans there is singing. Unfortunately, our understanding of animals' rhythmic abilities is still in its infancy. Indris are the only lemurs who sing and live in monogamous pairs, usually forming a group with their offspri ng. All adult members of a group usually participate in choruses that are emitted regularly and play a role in advertising territorial occupa ncy and in tergroup spaci ng. Males and females emit phrases that have similar frequency ranges but may differ in their temporal structure. We examined whether the individuals' contribution to the song may change according to chorus size, the total duration of the song or the duration of the individual con tribution using the in ter-on set intervals within a phrase and between phrases. We found that the rhythmic structure of indri's songs depends on factors that are different for males and females. We showed that females have sigrdficantly higher variation in the rhythm of their contribution to the song and that, changes according to chorus size. Our findings indicate that female indris sustain a higher cost of singing than males whe n the nu mber of singers in creases. These results suggest that cross-species investigatio ns will be crucial to un derstanding the evoluti on ary frame in which such sexually dimorphic traits occurred.
基金supported by the University of Torino and the Parco Natura Viva—Centro Tutela Specie Minacciate,with the financial assistance of the European Union,through the Project BIRD(ACP SandT Program,Contract FED/2009/217077)。
文摘In animal vocal communication,the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics.However,the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remain poorly understood.In contrast with a historical view of nonhuman primate vocal production as substantially innate,recent research suggests that inheritance and physiological modification can only explain some of the developmental changes in call structure during growth.A particular case of acoustic communication is the indris’singing behavior,a peculiar case among Strepsirrhine primates.Thanks to a decade of intense data collection,this work provides the first long-term quantitative analysis on song development in a singing primate.To understand the ontogeny of such a complex vocal output,we investigated juvenile and sub-adult indris’vocal behavior,and we found that young individuals started participating in the chorus years earlier than previously reported.Our results indicated that spectro-temporal song parameters underwent essential changes during growth.In particular,the age and sex of the emitter influenced the indris’vocal activity.We found that frequency parameters showed consistent changes across the sexes,but the temporal features showed different developmental trajectories for males and females.Given the low level of morphological sexual dimorphism and the marked differences in vocal behavior,we hypothesize that factors like social influences and auditory feedback may affect songs’features,resulting in high vocal flexibility in juvenile indris.This trait may be pivotal in a species that engages in choruses with rapid vocal turn-taking.
文摘Primates have been found to differ widely in their taste perception and studies suggest that a coevolution between plant species bearing a certain taste substance and primate species feeding on these plants may contribute to such between-species differences. Considering that only platyrrhine primates, but not catarrhine or prosimian primates, share an evolutionary history with the neotrop- ical plant Stevia rebaudiana, we assessed whether members of these three primate taxa differ in their ability to perceive and/or in their sensitivity to its two quantitatively predominant sweet- tasting substances. We found that not only neotropical black-handed spider monkeys, but also paleotropical black-and-white ruffed lemurs and Western chimpanzees are clearly able to perceive stevioside and rebaudioside A. Using a two-bottle preference test of short duration, we found that Ateles geoffroyi preferred concentrations as low as 0.05 mM stevioside and 0.01 mM rebaudioside A over tap water. Taste preference thresholds of Pan troglodytes were similar to those of the spider monkeys, with 0.05 mM for stevioside and 0.03 mM for rebaudioside A, whereas Varecia variegata was slightly less sensitive with a threshold value of 0.1 mM for both substances. Thus, all three primate species are, similar to human subjects, clearly more sensitive to both steviol glycosides compared to sucrose. Only the spider monkeys displayed concentration-response curves with both stevioside and rebaudioside A which can best be described as an inverted U-shaped function sug- gesting that Ateles geoffroyi, similar to human subjects, may perceive a bitter side taste at higher concentrations of these substances. Taken together, the results of the present study do not support the notion that a co-evolution between plant and primate species may account for between-species differences in taste perception of steviol glycosides.
基金supported by grants from Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos.KSCX2-EW-R-11 and KSCX2-EW-J-23)the National 863 Project of China (No.2012AA021801)Yunnan Province (No.2009CI119)
文摘Tree shrew （Tupaia belangeri） is currently placed in Order Scandentia and has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia and Southwest China. Due to its unique characteristics, such as small body size, high brain-to-body mass ratio, short reproductive cycle and life span, and low-cost of maintenance, tree shrew has been proposed to be an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. However, there are some debates regarding the exact phylogenetic affinity of tree shrew to primates. In this study, we determined the mtDNA entire genomes of three Chinese tree shrews （T. belangeri chinensis） and one Malayan flying lemur （Galeopterus variegatus）. Combined with the published data for species in Euarchonta, we intended to diseen] the phylogenetic relationship among representative species of Dermoptera, Scandentia and Primates. The mtDNA genomes of Chinese tree shrews and Malayan flying lemur shared similar gene organization and structure with those of other mammals. Phylogenetic analysis based on 12 concatenated mitochondrial proteinencoding genes revealed a closer relationship between species of Scandentia and Glires, whereas species of Dermoptera were clustered with Primates. This pattern was consistent with previously reported phylogeny based on mtDNA data, but differed from the one reconstructed on the basis of nuclear genes. Our result suggested that the matrilineal affinity of tree shrew to primates may not be as close as we had thought. The ongoing project for sequencing the entire genome of Chinese tree shrew will provide more information to clarify this important issue.
