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Ahmed AS, Chala D, Kufa CA, Atickem A, Bekele A, Svenning JC, Zinner D. Potential changes in the extent of suitable habitats for geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in the Anthropocene. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:65. [PMID: 37919657 PMCID: PMC10623689 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02173-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Climate change coupled with other anthropogenic pressures may affect the extent of suitable habitat for species and thus their distributions. This is particularly true for species occupying high-altitude habitats such as the gelada (Theropithecus gelada) of the Ethiopian highlands. To explore the impact of climate change on species distributions, Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) has been extensively used. Here we model the current and future extent of sutibale habitat for geladas. Our modelling was based on 285 presence locations of geladas, covering their complete current distribution. We used different techniques to generate pseudoabsence datasets, MaxEnt model complexities, and cut-off thresholds to map the potential distribution of gelada under current and future climates (2050 and 2070). We assembled maps from these techniques to produce a final composite map. We also evaluated the change in the topographic features of gelada over the past 200 years by comparing the topography in current and historical settings. RESULTS All model runs had high performances, AUC = 0.87-0.96. Under the current climate, the suitable habitat predicted with high certainty was 90,891 km2, but it decreased remarkably under future climates, -36% by 2050 and - 52% by 2070. However, since the habitats of geladas already extend to mountaintop grasslands, no remarkable range shifts across elevation gradients were predicted under future climates. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicated that climate change most likely results in a loss of suitable habitat for geladas, particularly south of the Rift Valley. Currently geladas are confined to higher altitudes and steep slopes compared to historical sightings, probably qualifying geladas as refugee species. The difference in topography is potentially associated with anthropogenic pressures that drove niche truncation to higher altitudes, undermining the climatic and topographic niche our models predicted. We recommend protecting the current habitats of geladas even when they are forecasted to become climatically unsuitable in the future, in particular for the population south of the Rift Valley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Seid Ahmed
- Department of Biology, Hawassa University, P. O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box. 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Desalegn Chala
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1172, Blindern, Oslo, NO-0318, Norway
| | - Chala Adugna Kufa
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box. 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Department of Biology, Woldia University, P. O. Box 400, Woldia, Ethiopia
| | - Anagaw Atickem
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box. 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Afework Bekele
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box. 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ecology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
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Patterson SK, Andonov E, Arre AM, Martínez MI, Negron-Del Valle JE, Petersen RM, Phillips D, Rahman A, Ruiz-Lambides A, Villanueva I, Lea AJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJ, Higham JP. Early life adversity has sex-dependent effects on survival across the lifespan in rhesus macaques. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.30.555589. [PMID: 37693423 PMCID: PMC10491187 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.555589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to adversity during early life is linked to lasting detrimental effects on evolutionary fitness across many taxa. However, due to the challenges of collecting longitudinal data, especially in species where one sex disperses, direct evidence from long-lived species remains relatively scarce. Here we test the effects of early life adversity on male and female longevity in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. We leveraged six decades of data to quantify the relative importance of ten forms of early life adversity for 6,599 macaques (3,230 male, 3,369 female), with a smaller sample size (N=299) for one form of adversity (maternal social isolation) which required high-resolution behavioral data. We found that individuals who experienced more early life adversity died earlier than those who experienced less adversity. Mortality risk was highest during early life, defined as birth to four years old, suggesting acute survival effects of adversity, but heightened mortality risk was also present in macaques who survived to adulthood. Females and males were affected differently by some forms of adversity, and these differences might be driven by varying energetic demands, female philopatry, and male dispersal. By leveraging data on thousands of macaques collected over decades, our results show that the fitness consequences of early life adversity are not uniform across individuals but vary as a function of the type of adversity, timing, and social context, and thus contribute to our limited but growing understanding of the evolution of early life sensitivities in long-lived species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ella Andonov
- High School of American Studies at Lehman College, New York City
| | - Alyssa M. Arre
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | - Melween I. Martínez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | | | | | | | | | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | | | - Amanda J. Lea
- Department of Biological Science, Vanderbilt University
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Study, Toronto, Canada
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University
- School of Life Sciences and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University
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Fashing PJ, Nguyen N, Demissew S, Gizaw A, Atickem A, Mekonnen A, Nurmi NO, Kerby JT, Stenseth NC. Ecology, evolution, and conservation of Ethiopia's biodiversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2206635119. [PMID: 36490314 PMCID: PMC9897469 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2206635119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ethiopia is home to one of the richest and most unique assemblages of fauna and flora on the African continent. Contained within its borders are two major centers of endemism, the mesic Roof of Africa (also known as the Ethiopian Highlands) and the arid Horn of Africa, resulting from the country's varied topography and consequent geographic isolation. These centers of endemism are crucial to global conservation as evidenced by their classification within the Eastern Afromontane and Horn of Africa biodiversity hotspots, respectively. Ethiopia's diverse ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain are increasingly threatened by climate change and the growing impacts of Africa's second largest human and largest livestock populations. In this paper, we focus on several key areas of recent and ongoing research on Ethiopian biodiversity that have broadened our understanding of nature and its conservation in Africa. Topics explored include the behavioral ecology of Ethiopia's large social mammals, the ecology and conservation of its unique coffee forests, and Ethiopian approaches to community conservation, fortress conservation, and nature-based solutions. We also highlight the increasing prominence of Ethiopian scientists in studies of the country's biodiversity in recent decades. We suggest promising avenues for future research in evolutionary biology, ecology, systematics, and conservation in Ethiopia and discuss how recent and ongoing work in Ethiopia is helping us better understand and conserve nature in the human-dominated landscapes of Africa and other tropical regions today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. Fashing
- Division of Anthropology & Environmental Studies Program, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA92834
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo0371, Norway
| | - Nga Nguyen
- Division of Anthropology & Environmental Studies Program, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA92834
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo0371, Norway
| | - Sebsebe Demissew
- Department of Plant Biology & Biodiversity Management, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa1176, Ethiopia
| | - Abel Gizaw
- Department of Plant Biology & Biodiversity Management, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa1176, Ethiopia
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo0318, Norway
| | - Anagaw Atickem
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Addisu Mekonnen
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABT2N 1NFCanada
- Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar79, Ethiopia
| | - Niina O. Nurmi
- University of Eastern Finland Library, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu80101, Finland
| | - Jeffrey T. Kerby
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus8000, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus8000, Denmark
| | - Nils Chr. Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo0371, Norway
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Sen S, Carrera SC, Heistermann M, Potter CB, Baniel A, DeLacey PM, Petrullo L, Lu A, Beehner JC. Social correlates of androgen levels and dispersal age in juvenile male geladas. Horm Behav 2022; 146:105264. [PMID: 36155910 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Androgens offer a window into the timing of important male life history events such as maturation. However, when males are the dispersing sex, piecing together normative androgen profiles across development is challenging because dispersing males are difficult to track. Here, we examined the conditions that may be associated with male androgen status (via fecal androgen metabolites, fAMs) and age at dispersal in wild male geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Gelada male life histories are highly variable - dispersal may occur before sexual maturation, dispersal itself can be immediate or drawn out, and, due to their multi-leveled society, social conditions affecting dispersal can vary for juveniles living in different reproductive units within the same band. Using longitudinal data from known natal males, we examined how androgen levels and age at dispersal were associated with: (1) access to maternal resources (i.e., maternal rank, birth of a younger sibling, experiencing maternal loss), and (2) access to male peers (i.e., number of similar-aged males in their unit). We found that androgens were significantly lower in males with high-ranking mothers (in males >2.5 years of age; infant androgens were unrelated) and that having more male peers in their social group and larger groups overall predicted an earlier age at dispersal. Moreover, dispersal in geladas was not preceded or followed by a surge in androgen levels. Taken together, results suggest that social environments can cause individual variation in androgens and dispersal age. Whether this variation leads to differences in male fitness in later life remains to be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharmi Sen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA.
| | - Sofia C Carrera
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Caitlin Barale Potter
- Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Alice Baniel
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Patricia M DeLacey
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
| | - Lauren Petrullo
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
| | - Amy Lu
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Jacinta C Beehner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
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Daily Activity Pattern of Geladas (Theropithecus gelada, Ruppell 1835) in Kotu Forest, Northern Ethiopia. ScientificWorldJournal 2022; 2022:7302240. [PMID: 36199438 PMCID: PMC9529442 DOI: 10.1155/2022/7302240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) is one of the endemic primates of Ethiopia. The ecology of meta populations of geladas outside protected areas is less studied, and their population status is uncertain. As a result, we conducted a study to investigate the daily activity pattern of gelada in Kotu forest and associated grasslands in northern Ethiopia from August 2017 to February 2018 covering both wet and dry seasons. The instantaneous scan sampling method was employed to collect behavioral data. The activity pattern of three selected focal groups of geladas was studied, and predominant behavioral activities were scanned in 15 minutes intervals from dawn 7:00 h to dusk at 18:00 h. Feeding comprised 61.65% of the total scan, followed by moving 18.49%. Feeding activity was more frequent during the dry season (about 65%) than in the wet season (58.20%). On the other hand, moving activity was more frequent during the dry season (about 22%) than in the wet season (about 14%). The daily activity pattern of gelada showed a feeding peak early in the morning and in the late afternoon. The time allocated by geladas for feeding and moving in the study area is higher than other activities. Therefore, there is a need for further in-depth research on diet availability and quality to justify why geladas allocate more time for feeding and moving nexus for conservation interventions.
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