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Rasoloharijaona S, Randrianambinina B, Radespiel U. Evidence for female dominance in the Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi). Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23658. [PMID: 38924599 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Female dominance over males is more frequent in Malagasy lemurs than in other primate clades, but patterns of female-male dominance vary among species, and few data are available for one particularly species-rich genus, Lepilemur. We investigated the types, temporal distribution, and outcome of female-male agonistic conflicts in the Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi). Ten L. edwardsi belonging to five social units were equipped with radio collars and observed during 79 focal follows between May and November 1998. We quantified agonistic conflicts, monthly conflict rates, and documented the winner and context for all conflicts. Female-male agonistic conflicts (N = 162) occurred at a mean rate of 0.21 conflicts/hour within groups. Agonistic conflicts peaked during the birth season and occurred mostly in unknown or infant proximity contexts. Females won 96% of all decided agonistic conflicts (N = 154). Other outcomes occurred only when females were with infants during the birth season. In that context, one female sometimes withdrew from her pair partner, and another female withdrew or fled from an extra-group male whose attacks eventually led to infanticide. Our results suggest female dominance in pair-living L. edwardsi. We hypothesize that elevated female aggression may convey fitness benefits to female Lepilemur because it generally allows females to intervene quickly and efficiently on behalf of their infants against nonfather males who may approach the newborn infants when they are parked in vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona
- Faculté des Sciences de Technologies et de l'Environnement, University of Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar
- Ecole Doctorale sur les Ecosystèmes Naturels, University of Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar
| | - Blanchard Randrianambinina
- Faculté des Sciences de Technologies et de l'Environnement, University of Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar
- Ecole Doctorale sur les Ecosystèmes Naturels, University of Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar
| | - Ute Radespiel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, Hannover, Germany
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2
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Smith BH. Mammalian Life History: Weaning and Tooth Emergence in a Seasonal World. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:612. [PMID: 39194550 DOI: 10.3390/biology13080612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2024] [Revised: 08/06/2024] [Accepted: 08/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
The young of toothed mammals must have teeth to reach feeding independence. How tooth eruption integrates with gestation, birth and weaning is examined in a life-history perspective for 71 species of placental mammals. Questions developed from high-quality primate data are then addressed in the total sample. Rather than correlation, comparisons focus on equivalence, sequence, the relation to absolutes (six months, one year), the distribution of error and adaptive extremes. These mammals differ widely at birth, from no teeth to all deciduous teeth emerging, but commonalities appear when infants transit to independent feeding. Weaning follows completion of the deciduous dentition, closest in time to emergence of the first permanent molars and well before second molars emerge. Another layer of meaning appears when developmental age is counted from conception because the total time to produce young feeding independently comes up against seasonal boundaries that are costly to cross for reproductive fitness. Mammals of a vast range of sizes and taxa, from squirrel monkey to moose, hold conception-to-first molars in just under one year. Integrating tooth emergence into life history gives insight into living mammals and builds a framework for interpreting the fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Holly Smith
- Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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3
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Kappeler PM, Fichtel C, Radespiel U. The Island of Female Power? Intersexual Dominance Relationships in the Lemurs of Madagascar. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.858859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The extant primates of Madagascar (Lemuriformes) represent the endpoints of an adaptive radiation following a single colonization event more than 50 million years ago. They have since evolved a diversity of life history traits, ecological adaptations and social systems that rivals that of all other living primates combined. Their social systems are characterized by a unique combination of traits, including the ability of adult females to dominate adult males. In fact, there is no other group of mammals in which female dominance is so widespread. Yet, recent research has indicated that there is more interspecific variation in lemur intersexual relationships than previously acknowledged. Here, we therefore review and summarize the relevant literature, quantifying the extent of sex-bias in intersexual dominance relations documented in observational and experimental studies in captivity and the wild. Female dominance is often, but not always, implemented by spontaneous male submission in the absence of female aggression and linked to female sexual maturation. We connect the available evidence to the hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the evolution of female dominance among lemurs. The occurrence of female dominance in all lemur families and the interspecific variation in its extent indicate that it has evolved soon after lemurs colonized Madagascar – presumably in response to particular ecological challenges – and that it has since been reduced in magnitude independently in some taxa. Our study contributes important comparative information on sex roles from an independent primate radiation and provides general insights into the conditions, opportunities and obstacles in the evolution of female-biased power.
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4
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Crowley BE, Godfrey LR. Strontium Isotopes Support Small Home Ranges for Extinct Lemurs. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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5
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Adams DC, Collyer ML. Phylogenetic Comparative Methods and the Evolution of Multivariate Phenotypes. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2019. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110218-024555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary biology is multivariate, and advances in phylogenetic comparative methods for multivariate phenotypes have surged to accommodate this fact. Evolutionary trends in multivariate phenotypes are derived from distances and directions between species in a multivariate phenotype space. For these patterns to be interpretable, phenotypes should be characterized by traits in commensurate units and scale. Visualizing such trends, as is achieved with phylomorphospaces, should continue to play a prominent role in macroevolutionary analyses. Evaluating phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) models (e.g., phylogenetic analysis of variance and regression) is valuable, but using parametric procedures is limited to only a few phenotypic variables. In contrast, nonparametric, permutation-based PGLS methods provide a flexible alternative and are thus preferred for high-dimensional multivariate phenotypes. Permutation-based methods for evaluating covariation within multivariate phenotypes are also well established and can test evolutionary trends in phenotypic integration. However, comparing evolutionary rates and modes in multivariate phenotypes remains an important area of future development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean C. Adams
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Michael L. Collyer
- Department of Science, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, USA
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6
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Godfrey LR, Scroxton N, Crowley BE, Burns SJ, Sutherland MR, Pérez VR, Faina P, McGee D, Ranivoharimanana L. A new interpretation of Madagascar's megafaunal decline: The "Subsistence Shift Hypothesis". J Hum Evol 2019; 130:126-140. [PMID: 31010539 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Fundamental disagreements remain regarding the relative importance of climate change and human activities as triggers for Madagascar's Holocene megafaunal extinction. We use stable isotope data from stalagmites from northwest Madagascar coupled with radiocarbon and butchery records from subfossil bones across the island to investigate relationships between megafaunal decline, climate change, and habitat modification. Archaeological and genetic evidence support human presence by 2000 years Before Common Era (BCE). Megafaunal decline was at first slow; it hastened at ∼700 Common Era (CE) and peaked between 750 and 850 CE, just before a dramatic vegetation transformation in the northwest that resulted in the replacement of C3 woodland habitat with C4 grasslands, during a period of heightened monsoonal activity. Cut and chop marks on subfossil lemur bones reveal a shift in primary hunting targets from larger, now-extinct species prior to ∼900 CE, to smaller, still-extant species afterwards. By 1050 CE, megafaunal populations had essentially collapsed. Neither the rapid megafaunal decline beginning ∼700 CE, nor the dramatic vegetation transformation in the northwest beginning ∼890 CE, was influenced by aridification. However, both roughly coincide with a major transition in human subsistence on the island from hunting/foraging to herding/farming. We offer a new hypothesis, which we call the "Subsistence Shift Hypothesis," to explain megafaunal decline and extinction in Madagascar. This hypothesis acknowledges the importance of wild-animal hunting by early hunter/foragers, but more critically highlights negative impacts of the shift from hunting/foraging to herding/farming, settlement by new immigrant groups, and the concomitant expansion of the island's human population. The interval between 700 and 900 CE, when the pace of megafaunal decline quickened and peaked, coincided with this economic transition. While early megafaunal decline through hunting may have helped to trigger the transition, there is strong evidence that the economic shift itself hastened the crash of megafaunal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie R Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
| | - Nick Scroxton
- Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Brooke E Crowley
- Departments of Geology and Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Stephen J Burns
- Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Michael R Sutherland
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Ventura R Pérez
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Peterson Faina
- Département Bassins Sédimentaires Evolution Conservation (BEC), Université D'Antananarivo, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - David McGee
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Lovasoa Ranivoharimanana
- Département Bassins Sédimentaires Evolution Conservation (BEC), Université D'Antananarivo, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
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7
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Brook CE, Herrera JP, Borgerson C, Fuller EC, Andriamahazoarivosoa P, Rasolofoniaina BJR, Randrianasolo JLRR, Rakotondrafarasata ZRE, Randriamady HJ, Dobson AP, Golden CD. Population viability and harvest sustainability for Madagascar lemurs. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:99-111. [PMID: 29896899 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Subsistence hunting presents a conservation challenge by which biodiversity preservation must be balanced with safeguarding of human livelihoods. Globally, subsistence hunting threatens primate populations, including Madagascar's endemic lemurs. We used population viability analysis to assess the sustainability of lemur hunting in Makira Natural Park, Madagascar. We identified trends in seasonal hunting of 11 Makira lemur species from household interview data, estimated local lemur densities in populations adjacent to focal villages via transect surveys, and quantified extinction vulnerability for these populations based on species-specific demographic parameters and empirically derived hunting rates. We compared stage-based Lefkovitch with periodic Leslie matrices to evaluate the impact of regional dispersal on persistence trajectories and explored the consequences of perturbations to the timing of peak hunting relative to the lemur birth pulse, under assumptions of density-dependent reproductive compensation. Lemur hunting peaked during the fruit-abundant wet season (March-June). Estimated local lemur densities were roughly inverse to body size across our study area. Life-history modeling indicated that hunting most severely threatened the species with the largest bodies (i.e., Hapalemur occidentalis, Avahi laniger, Daubentonia madagascariensis, and Indri indi), characterized by late-age reproductive onsets and long interbirth intervals. In model simulations, lemur dispersal within a regional metapopulation buffered extinction threats when a majority of local sites supported growth rates above the replacement level but drove regional extirpations when most local sites were overharvested. Hunt simulations were most detrimental when timed to overlap lemur births (a reality for D. madagascariensis and I. indri). In sum, Makira lemurs were overharvested. Regional extirpations, which may contribute to broad-scale extinctions, will be likely if current hunting rates persist. Cessation of anthropogenic lemur harvest is a conservation priority, and development programs are needed to help communities switch from wildlife consumption to domestic protein alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara E Brook
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 105 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08540, U.S.A
| | - James P Herrera
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology, Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024, U.S.A
| | - Cortni Borgerson
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, U.S.A
| | - Emma C Fuller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 105 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08540, U.S.A
| | - Pascal Andriamahazoarivosoa
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Lot K1-056, Ankiadandrefana, Maroansetra, 512, Madagascar
| | - B J Rodolph Rasolofoniaina
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Lot K1-056, Ankiadandrefana, Maroansetra, 512, Madagascar
| | | | - Z R Eli Rakotondrafarasata
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Lot K1-056, Ankiadandrefana, Maroansetra, 512, Madagascar
| | - Hervet J Randriamady
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Lot K1-056, Ankiadandrefana, Maroansetra, 512, Madagascar
| | - Andrew P Dobson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 105 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08540, U.S.A
| | - Christopher D Golden
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, U.S.A
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Lot K1-056, Ankiadandrefana, Maroansetra, 512, Madagascar
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8
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Guatelli-Steinberg D. Dental anthropology in the AJPA: Its roots and heights. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 165:879-892. [PMID: 29574842 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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9
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Le Cabec A, Dean MC, Begun DR. Dental development and age at death of the holotype of Anapithecus hernyaki (RUD 9) using synchrotron virtual histology. J Hum Evol 2017. [PMID: 28622928 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The chronology of dental development and life history of primitive catarrhines provides a crucial comparative framework for understanding the evolution of hominoids and Old World monkeys. Among the extinct groups of catarrhines are the pliopithecoids, with no known descendants. Anapithecus hernyaki is a medium-size stem catarrhine known from Austria, Hungary and Germany around 10 Ma, and represents a terminal lineage of a clade predating the divergence of hominoids and cercopithecoids, probably more than 30 Ma. In a previous study, Anapithecus was characterized as having fast dental development. Here, we used non-destructive propagation phase contrast synchrotron micro-tomography to image several dental microstructural features in the mixed mandibular dentition of RUD 9, the holotype of A. hernyaki. We estimate its age at death to be 1.9 years and describe the pattern, sequence and timing of tooth mineralization. Our results do not support any simplistic correlation between body mass and striae periodicity, since RUD 9 has a 3-day periodicity, which was previously thought unlikely based on body mass estimates in Anapithecus. We demonstrate that the teeth in RUD 9 grew even faster and initiated even earlier in development than suggested previously. Permanent first molars and the canine initiated 49 and 38 days prenatally, respectively. These results contribute to a better understanding of dental development in Anapithecus and may provide a window into the dental development of the last common ancestor of hominoids and cercopithecoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeline Le Cabec
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany; Beamline ID19, Structure of Materials, ESRF - The European Synchrotron, 71, avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, F-38043, Grenoble, Cédex 9, France.
| | - M Christopher Dean
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - David R Begun
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONT M5S 3G3, Canada.
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10
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Boyer DM, Kirk EC, Silcox MT, Gunnell GF, Gilbert CC, Yapuncich GS, Allen KL, Welch E, Bloch JI, Gonzales LA, Kay RF, Seiffert ER. Internal carotid arterial canal size and scaling in Euarchonta: Re-assessing implications for arterial patency and phylogenetic relationships in early fossil primates. J Hum Evol 2016; 97:123-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Revised: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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11
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Phylogeny and Divergence Times of Lemurs Inferred with Recent and Ancient Fossils in the Tree. Syst Biol 2016; 65:772-91. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syw035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
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12
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Deadwood Structural Properties May Influence Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) Extractive Foraging Behavior. INT J PRIMATOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-016-9901-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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13
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Kamilar JM, Tecot SR. Connecting proximate mechanisms and evolutionary patterns: pituitary gland size and mammalian life history. J Evol Biol 2015; 28:1997-2008. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 07/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. M. Kamilar
- Department of Anthropology; University of Massachusetts; Amherst MA USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; University of Massachusetts; Amherst MA USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change; Arizona State University; Tempe AZ USA
| | - S. R. Tecot
- School of Anthropology; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
- Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
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14
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Hogg RT, Godfrey LR, Schwartz GT, Dirks W, Bromage TG. Lemur Biorhythms and Life History Evolution. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0134210. [PMID: 26267241 PMCID: PMC4534448 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Skeletal histology supports the hypothesis that primate life histories are regulated by a neuroendocrine rhythm, the Havers-Halberg Oscillation (HHO). Interestingly, subfossil lemurs are outliers in HHO scaling relationships that have been discovered for haplorhine primates and other mammals. We present new data to determine whether these species represent the general lemur or strepsirrhine condition and to inform models about neuroendocrine-mediated life history evolution. We gathered the largest sample to date of HHO data from histological sections of primate teeth (including the subfossil lemurs) to assess the relationship of these chronobiological measures with life history-related variables including body mass, brain size, age at first female reproduction, and activity level. For anthropoids, these variables show strong correlations with HHO conforming to predictions, though body mass and endocranial volume are strongly correlated with HHO periodicity in this group. However, lemurs (possibly excepting Daubentonia) do not follow this pattern and show markedly less variability in HHO periodicity and lower correlation coefficients and slopes. Moreover, body mass is uncorrelated, and brain size and activity levels are more strongly correlated with HHO periodicity in these animals. We argue that lemurs evolved this pattern due to selection for risk-averse life histories driven by the unpredictability of the environment in Madagascar. These results reinforce the idea that HHO influences life history evolution differently in response to specific ecological selection regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell T. Hogg
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, United States of America
| | - Laurie R. Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Gary T. Schwartz
- Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Wendy Dirks
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy G. Bromage
- Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics, and Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, United States of America
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15
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Comparative and population mitogenomic analyses of Madagascar's extinct, giant ‘subfossil’ lemurs. J Hum Evol 2015; 79:45-54. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2013] [Revised: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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16
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17
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Larger mammalian body size leads to lower retroviral activity. PLoS Pathog 2014; 10:e1004214. [PMID: 25033295 PMCID: PMC4102558 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Retroviruses have been infecting mammals for at least 100 million years, leaving descendants in host genomes known as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). The abundance of ERVs is partly determined by their mode of replication, but it has also been suggested that host life history traits could enhance or suppress their activity. We show that larger bodied species have lower levels of ERV activity by reconstructing the rate of ERV integration across 38 mammalian species. Body size explains 37% of the variance in ERV integration rate over the last 10 million years, controlling for the effect of confounding due to other life history traits. Furthermore, 68% of the variance in the mean age of ERVs per genome can also be explained by body size. These results indicate that body size limits the number of recently replicating ERVs due to their detrimental effects on their host. To comprehend the possible mechanistic links between body size and ERV integration we built a mathematical model, which shows that ERV abundance is favored by lower body size and higher horizontal transmission rates. We argue that because retroviral integration is tumorigenic, the negative correlation between body size and ERV numbers results from the necessity to reduce the risk of cancer, under the assumption that this risk scales positively with body size. Our model also fits the empirical observation that the lifetime risk of cancer is relatively invariant among mammals regardless of their body size, known as Peto's paradox, and indicates that larger bodied mammals may have evolved mechanisms to limit ERV activity. Retroviruses have been invading mammalian genomes for over 100 million years, leaving traces known as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Early genome sequencing studies revealed a marked difference in the activity of retroviruses among species, with humans largely containing inactive lineages of ERVs, while the mouse contains numerous lineages of active ERVs. We explore the hypothesis that life history traits determine the activity of ERVs in mammalian genomes, and show that larger mammals have fewer ERV copies over recent evolutionary time (the last 10 million years) compared to smaller mammals. This association is determined by body size independently of any confounding variables. We build a mathematical model that shows that ERV abundance in genomes decreases with larger body size and increases with horizontal transmission. Retroviral integration can cause cancer, and our analysis suggests that larger bodied animals control ERV replication in order to postpone cancer until a post-reproductive age. This is in line with a long-standing observation that cancer rates do not fluctuate among mammals of different body size, a phenomenon known as Peto's paradox, and opens up the possibility that larger animals have evolved mechanisms to limit ERV activity.
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18
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Williams FL. Dietary reconstruction of Pliocene Parapapio whitei from Makapansgat, South Africa, using dental microwear texture analysis. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2013; 85:21-37. [PMID: 24280695 DOI: 10.1159/000356029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Accepted: 09/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Pliocene Parapapio whitei fossils from Makapansgat have yielded stable isotope values suggesting some foraging on C4 plants and possibly underground storage organs (USOs). Dental microwear texture analysis on Pp.whitei (M 3147, MP 62, MP 223 and MP 239) from Makapansgat Members 3-4 is performed to examine whether tooth surface damage from mastication agrees with prior dietary inferences from isotopes. The enamel surface texture of Pp. whitei is relatively complex, resembling Lophocebus albigena and Cebusapella, and lacks the anisotropy of Trachypithecuscristatus and Alouattapalliata. The textural fill volume of Pp. whitei is distinct from extant forest primates suggesting extremes in hard-object consumption. Grit adhering to USOs is offered as an explanation for these enamel textural properties, corroborating the inference that Pp. whitei supplemented its diet with terrestrial resources. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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19
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Borries C, Gordon AD, Koenig A. Beware of primate life history data: a plea for data standards and a repository. PLoS One 2013; 8:e67200. [PMID: 23826232 PMCID: PMC3691336 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Accepted: 05/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Life history variables such as the age at first reproduction and the interval between consecutive births are measures of investment in growth and reproduction in a particular population or species. As such they allow for meaningful comparisons of the speed of growth and reproduction between species and between larger taxa. Especially in primates such life history research has far reaching implications and has led for instance to the "grandmother hypothesis". Other links have been proposed with respect to dietary adaptations: Because protein is essential for growth and one of the primary sources of protein, leaves, occurs much less seasonally than fruits, it has been predicted that folivorous primates should grow faster compared to frugivorous ones. However, when comparing folivorous Asian colobines with frugivorous Asian macaques we recently documented a longer, instead of a shorter gestation length in folivores while age at first reproduction and interbirth interval did not differ. This supports earlier findings for Malagasy lemurs in which all life history variables tested were significantly longer in folivores compared to frugivores. Wondering why these trends were not apparent sooner, we tried to reconstruct our results for Asian primates with data from four popular life history compilations. However, this attempt failed; even the basic, allometric relationship with adult female body mass that is typical for life history variables could not be recovered. This negative result hints at severe problems with data quality. Here we show that data quality can be improved significantly by standardizing the variables and by controlling for factors such as nutritional conditions or infant mortality. Ideally, in the future, revised primate life history data should be collated in a central database accessible to everybody. In the long run such an initiative should be expanded to include all mammalian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Borries
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, SUNY, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America.
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Aye-aye population genomic analyses highlight an important center of endemism in northern Madagascar. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:5823-8. [PMID: 23530231 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211990110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
We performed a population genomics study of the aye-aye, a highly specialized nocturnal lemur from Madagascar. Aye-ayes have low population densities and extensive range requirements that could make this flagship species particularly susceptible to extinction. Therefore, knowledge of genetic diversity and differentiation among aye-aye populations is critical for conservation planning. Such information may also advance our general understanding of Malagasy biogeography, as aye-ayes have the largest species distribution of any lemur. We generated and analyzed whole-genome sequence data for 12 aye-ayes from three regions of Madagascar (North, West, and East). We found that the North population is genetically distinct, with strong differentiation from other aye-ayes over relatively short geographic distances. For comparison, the average FST value between the North and East aye-aye populations--separated by only 248 km--is over 2.1-times greater than that observed between human Africans and Europeans. This finding is consistent with prior watershed- and climate-based hypotheses of a center of endemism in northern Madagascar. Taken together, these results suggest a strong and long-term biogeographical barrier to gene flow. Thus, the specific attention that should be directed toward preserving large, contiguous aye-aye habitats in northern Madagascar may also benefit the conservation of other distinct taxonomic units. To help facilitate future ecological- and conservation-motivated population genomic analyses by noncomputational biologists, the analytical toolkit used in this study is available on the Galaxy Web site.
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Molar size and diet in the Strepsirrhini: Implications for size-adjustment in studies of primate dental adaptation. J Hum Evol 2012; 63:796-804. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2011] [Revised: 07/01/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Bribiescas RG, Ellison PT, Gray PB. Male Life History, Reproductive Effort, and the Evolution of the Genus Homo. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1086/667538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Dewar RE, Richard AF. Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Most of the ancestors of today's human and animal populations reached Madagascar over the last 65 million years, by a variety of routes at a variety of times. Settlers encountered a big, isolated island with an unpredictable climate and a wide array of landscapes. Although patterns of diversification were driven by different mechanisms in humans and animals, the complex interplay between historical contingency and responsiveness to local conditions is evident in both. Global climate change will affect Madagascar, although exactly how remains unclear, and the immediate impact of human activity on the island is overtaking that of gradual global change. Three themes in this review bear on the future: the continuing impact of recent, cataclysmic events on modern communities of people, plants, and animals; Madagascar's long and dynamic environmental history; and the complicated history of how people settled and interacted with the island's landscapes. A deeper understanding of all three can contribute to wise decision making in the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E. Dewar
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511-8277
| | - Alison F. Richard
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511-8277
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Perry GH, Reeves D, Melsted P, Ratan A, Miller W, Michelini K, Louis EE, Pritchard JK, Mason CE, Gilad Y. A genome sequence resource for the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a nocturnal lemur from Madagascar. Genome Biol Evol 2011; 4:126-35. [PMID: 22155688 PMCID: PMC3273163 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evr132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a high-coverage draft genome assembly of the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a highly unusual nocturnal primate from Madagascar. Our assembly totals ~3.0 billion bp (3.0 Gb), roughly the size of the human genome, comprised of ~2.6 million scaffolds (N50 scaffold size = 13,597 bp) based on short paired-end sequencing reads. We compared the aye-aye genome sequence data with four other published primate genomes (human, chimpanzee, orangutan, and rhesus macaque) as well as with the mouse and dog genomes as nonprimate outgroups. Unexpectedly, we observed strong evidence for a relatively slow substitution rate in the aye-aye lineage compared with these and other primates. In fact, the aye-aye branch length is estimated to be ~10% shorter than that of the human lineage, which is known for its low substitution rate. This finding may be explained, in part, by the protracted aye-aye life-history pattern, including late weaning and age of first reproduction relative to other lemurs. Additionally, the availability of this draft lemur genome sequence allowed us to polarize nucleotide and protein sequence changes to the ancestral primate lineage-a critical period in primate evolution, for which the relevant fossil record is sparse. Finally, we identified 293,800 high-confidence single nucleotide polymorphisms in the donor individual for our aye-aye genome sequence, a captive-born individual from two wild-born parents. The resulting heterozygosity estimate of 0.051% is the lowest of any primate studied to date, which is understandable considering the aye-aye's extensive home-range size and relatively low population densities. Yet this level of genetic diversity also suggests that conservation efforts benefiting this unusual species should be prioritized, especially in the face of the accelerating degradation and fragmentation of Madagascar's forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- George H Perry
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, IL, USA.
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Hogg RT, Walker RS. Life-History Correlates of Enamel Microstructure in Cebidae (Platyrrhini, Primates). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2011; 294:2193-206. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.21503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2011] [Accepted: 09/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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van Woerden J, van Schaik C, Isler K. Effects of Seasonality on Brain Size Evolution: Evidence from Strepsirrhine Primates. Am Nat 2010; 176:758-67. [DOI: 10.1086/657045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Borries C, Lu A, Ossi-Lupo K, Larney E, Koenig A. Primate life histories and dietary adaptations: A comparison of Asian colobines and Macaques. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 144:286-99. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2010] [Accepted: 08/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Subchondral Bone Apparent Density and Locomotor Behavior in Extant Primates and Subfossil Lemurs Hadropithecus and Pachylemur. INT J PRIMATOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-010-9401-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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