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Nautiyal H, Mathur V, Gajare KH, Teichroeb J, Sarkar D, Diogo R. Predatory Dogs as Drivers of Social Behavior Changes in the Central Himalayan Langur ( Semnopithecus schistaceus) in Agro-Forest Landscapes. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:410. [PMID: 38927290 PMCID: PMC11200765 DOI: 10.3390/biology13060410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Globally, habitat fragmentation has increased the proximity between wildlife, humans, and emerging predators such as free-ranging dogs. In these fragmented landscapes, encounters between primates and dogs are escalating, with primates often falling victim to dog attacks while navigating patchy landscapes and fragmented forests. We aim to investigate how these primates deal with the simultaneous threats posed by humans and predators, specifically focusing on the adaptive strategies of Central Himalayan langur (CHL) in the landscape of fear. To address this, we conducted a behavioral study on the CHL in an agro-forest landscape, studying them for a total of 3912 h over two consecutive years. Our results indicate that, compared to their most common resting behavior, CHLs allocate more time to feeding and locomotion, and less time to socializing in the presence of humans and predatory dogs. Additionally, they exhibit increased feeding and locomotion and reduced social behavior in agro-forest or open habitats. These behavioral patterns reflect adaptive responses to the landscape of fear, where the presence of predators significantly influences their behavior and resource utilization. This study suggests measures to promote coexistence between humans and wildlife through the integration of effective management strategies that incorporate both ecological and social dimensions of human-wildlife interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himani Nautiyal
- College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 W St, NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA;
| | - Virendra Mathur
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada; (V.M.); (J.T.)
| | - Kimaya Hemant Gajare
- Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s, Bhavan’s College, University of Mumbai, Andheri (w), Mumbai 400 058, India;
| | - Julie Teichroeb
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada; (V.M.); (J.T.)
| | - Dipto Sarkar
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada;
| | - Rui Diogo
- College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 W St, NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA;
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2
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Antón SC, Middleton ER. Making meaning from fragmentary fossils: Early Homo in the Early to early Middle Pleistocene. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103307. [PMID: 37030994 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Human Evolution, we re-evaluate the fossil record for early Homo (principally Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Homo rudolfensis) from early diversification and dispersal in the Early Pleistocene to the ultimate demise of H. erectus in the early Middle Pleistocene. The mid-1990s marked an important historical turning point in our understanding of early Homo with the redating of key H. erectus localities, the discovery of small H. erectus in Asia, and the recovery of an even earlier presence of early Homo in Africa. As such, we compare our understanding of early Homo before and after this time and discuss how the order of fossil discovery and a focus on anchor specimens has shaped, and in many ways biased, our interpretations of early Homo species and the fossils allocated to them. Fragmentary specimens may counter conventional wisdom but are often overlooked in broad narratives. We recognize at least three different cranial and two or three pelvic morphotypes of early Homo. Just one postcranial morph aligns with any certainty to a cranial species, highlighting the importance of explicitly identifying how we link specimens together and to species; we offer two ways of visualizing these connections. Chronologically and morphologically H. erectus is a member of early Homo, not a temporally more recent species necessarily evolved from either H. habilis or H. rudolfensis. Nonetheless, an ancestral-descendant notion of their evolution influences expectations around the anatomy of missing elements, especially the foot. Weak support for long-held notions of postcranial modernity in H. erectus raises the possibility of alternative drivers of dispersal. New observations suggest that the dearth of faces in later H. erectus may mask taxonomic diversity in Asia and suggest various later mid-Pleistocene populations could derive from either Asia or Africa. Future advances will rest on the development of nuanced ways to affiliate fossils, greater transparency of implicit assumptions, and attention to detailed life history information for comparative collections; all critical pursuits for future research given the great potential they have to enrich our evolutionary reconstructions for the next fifty years and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C Antón
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, NY, NY 10003, USA.
| | - Emily R Middleton
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
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3
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McGrath K, Eriksen AB, García-Martínez D, Galbany J, Gómez-Robles A, Massey JS, Fatica LM, Glowacka H, Arbenz-Smith K, Muvunyi R, Stoinski TS, Cranfield MR, Gilardi K, Shalukoma C, de Merode E, Gilissen E, Tocheri MW, McFarlin SC, Heuzé Y. Facial asymmetry tracks genetic diversity among Gorilla subspecies. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212564. [PMID: 35193404 PMCID: PMC8864355 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Mountain gorillas are particularly inbred compared to other gorillas and even the most inbred human populations. As mountain gorilla skeletal material accumulated during the 1970s, researchers noted their pronounced facial asymmetry and hypothesized that it reflects a population-wide chewing side preference. However, asymmetry has also been linked to environmental and genetic stress in experimental models. Here, we examine facial asymmetry in 114 crania from three Gorilla subspecies using 3D geometric morphometrics. We measure fluctuating asymmetry (FA), defined as random deviations from perfect symmetry, and population-specific patterns of directional asymmetry (DA). Mountain gorillas, with a current population size of about 1000 individuals, have the highest degree of facial FA (explaining 17% of total facial shape variation), followed by Grauer gorillas (9%) and western lowland gorillas (6%), despite the latter experiencing the greatest ecological and dietary variability. DA, while significant in all three taxa, explains relatively less shape variation than FA does. Facial asymmetry correlates neither with tooth wear asymmetry nor increases with age in a mountain gorilla subsample, undermining the hypothesis that facial asymmetry is driven by chewing side preference. An examination of temporal trends shows that stress-induced developmental instability has increased over the last 100 years in these endangered apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate McGrath
- State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA,Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615, Pessac, France,Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA,Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Daniel García-Martínez
- Physical Anthropology Unit, Department of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jordi Galbany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615, Pessac, France,Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aida Gómez-Robles
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton St, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Jason S. Massey
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Lawrence M. Fatica
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615, Pessac, France,Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Halszka Glowacka
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, Phoenix 85004, USA
| | - Keely Arbenz-Smith
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Richard Muvunyi
- Department of Tourism and Conservation, Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Tara S. Stoinski
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, GA 30315, USA
| | - Michael R. Cranfield
- Gorilla Doctors (MGVP, Inc.), Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kirsten Gilardi
- Gorilla Doctors (MGVP, Inc.), Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Chantal Shalukoma
- Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, Virunga National Park, Rumangabo, Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Emmanuel de Merode
- Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, Virunga National Park, Rumangabo, Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Emmanuel Gilissen
- Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium,Laboratory of Histology and Neuropathology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Matthew W. Tocheri
- Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7B 5E1,Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
| | - Shannon C. McFarlin
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615, Pessac, France,Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - Yann Heuzé
- State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA
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Ruff CB, Junno JA, Eckardt W, Gilardi K, Mudakikwa A, McFarlin SC. Skeletal ageing in Virunga mountain gorillas. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190606. [PMID: 32951549 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bone loss and heightened fracture risk are common conditions associated with ageing in modern human populations and have been attributed to both hormonal and other metabolic and behavioural changes. To what extent these age-related trends are specific to modern humans or generally characteristic of natural populations of other taxa is not clear. In this study, we use computed tomography to examine age changes in long bone and vertebral structural properties of 34 wild-adult Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) whose skeletons were recovered from natural accumulations. Chronological ages were known or estimated from sample-specific dental wear formulae and ranged between 11 and 43 years. Gorillas show some of the same characteristics of skeletal ageing as modern humans, including endosteal and some periosteal expansion. However, unlike in humans, there is no decline in cortical or trabecular bone density, or in combined geometric-density measures of strength, nor do females show accelerated bone loss later in life. We attribute these differences to the lack of an extended post-reproductive period in gorillas, which provides protection against bone resorption. Increases in age-related fractures (osteoporosis) in modern humans may be a combined effect of an extended lifespan and lower activity levels earlier in life. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | | | | | - Kirsten Gilardi
- Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Antoine Mudakikwa
- Department of Tourism and Conservation, Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Shannon C McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Nicholson TE, Mayer KA, Staedler MM, Gagné TO, Murray MJ, Young MA, Tomoleoni JA, Tinker MT, Van Houtan KS. Robust age estimation of southern sea otters from multiple morphometrics. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:8592-8609. [PMID: 32884643 PMCID: PMC7452773 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Reliable age estimation is an essential tool to assess the status of wildlife populations and inform successful management. Aging methods, however, are often limited by too few data, skewed demographic representation, and by single or uncertain morphometric relationships. In this study, we synthesize age estimates in southern sea otters Enhydra lutris nereis from 761 individuals across 34 years of study, using multiple noninvasive techniques and capturing all life stages from 0 to 17 years of age. From wild, stranded, and captive individuals, we describe tooth eruptions, tooth wear, body length, nose scarring, and pelage coloration across ontogeny and fit sex-based growth functions to the data. Dental eruption schedules provided reliable and identifiable metrics spanning 0.3-9 months. Tooth wear was the most reliable predictor of age of individuals aged 1-15 years, which when combined with total length, explained >93% of observed age. Beyond age estimation, dental attrition also indicated the maximum lifespan of adult teeth is 13‒17 years, corresponding with previous estimates of life expectancy. Von Bertalanffy growth function model simulations of length at age gave consistent estimates of asymptotic lengths (male Loo = 126.0‒126.8 cm, female Loo = 115.3‒115.7 cm), biologically realistic gestation periods (t 0 = 115 days, SD = 10.2), and somatic growth (male k = 1.8, SD = 0.1; female k = 2.1, SD = 0.1). Though exploratory, we describe how field radiographic imaging of epiphyseal plate development or fusions may improve aging of immature sea otters. Together, our results highlight the value of integrating information from multiple and diverse datasets to help resolve conservation problems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Martin Tim Tinker
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterSanta CruzCAUSA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyLong Marine LaboratoryUniversity of CaliforniaSanta CruzCAUSA
| | - Kyle S. Van Houtan
- Monterey Bay AquariumMontereyCAUSA
- Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke UniversityDurhamNCUSA
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