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Jack KM, Kulick NK. Primate field research during a pandemic: Lessons learned from the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23551. [PMID: 37706674 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23551] [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: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted most primate field research in early 2020. While international travel bans and regional travel restrictions made continuing primate field research impossible early on in the pandemic, ethical concerns of transmitting the virus from researchers to primates and surrounding human communities informed decisions regarding the timing of resuming research. Between June and September 2020, we surveyed field primatologists regarding the impacts of the pandemic on their research. We received 90 completed surveys from respondents residing in 21 countries, though most were from the United States and Canada. These data provide a valuable window into the perspectives and actions taken by researchers during the early stages of the pandemic as events were still unfolding. Only 2.4% of projects reported continuing research as usual, 33.7% continued with some decrease in productivity, 42.2% reported postponing research projects, and 21.7% reported canceling projects or postponing research indefinitely. Respondents most severely impacted by the pandemic were those establishing new field sites and graduate students whose projects were postponed or canceled due to pandemic-related shutdowns. Fears about increased poaching, the inability to pay local assistants, frozen research funds, declining habituation, disruptions to data collection, and delays in student projects were among the top concerns of respondents. Nearly all the projects able to continue research in any capacity during the early months of the pandemic were run by or employed primate habitat country primatologists. This finding is a major lesson learned from the pandemic; without habitat country scientists, primate research is not sustainable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine M Jack
- Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Nelle K Kulick
- Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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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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Feder JA, Beehner JC, Baniel A, Bergman TJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Lu A. OUP accepted manuscript. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:654-664. [PMID: 35600996 PMCID: PMC9113362 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Female reproductive maturation is a critical life-history milestone, initiating an individual's reproductive career. Studies in social mammals have often focused on how variables related to nutrition influence maturation age in females. However, parallel investigations have identified conspicuous male-mediated effects in which female maturation is sensitive to the presence and relatedness of males. Here, we evaluated whether the more "classic" socioecological variables (i.e., maternal rank, group size) predict maturation age in wild geladas-a primate species with known male-mediated effects on maturation and a grassy diet that is not expected to generate intense female competition. Females delayed maturation in the presence of their fathers and quickly matured when unrelated, dominant males arrived. Controlling for these male effects, however, higher-ranking daughters matured at earlier ages than lower-ranking daughters, suggesting an effect of within-group contest competition. However, contrary to predictions related to within-group scramble competition, females matured earliest in larger groups. We attribute this result to either: 1) a shift to "faster" development in response to the high infant mortality risk posed by larger groups; or 2) accelerated maturation triggered by brief, unobserved male visits. While earlier ages at maturation were indeed associated with earlier ages at first birth, these benefits were occasionally offset by male takeovers, which can delay successful reproduction via spontaneous abortion. In sum, rank-related effects on reproduction can still occur even when socioecological theory would predict otherwise, and males (and the risks they pose) may prompt female maturation even outside of successful takeovers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Feder
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Circle Rd, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Address Correspondence to J. A. Feder. E-mail: ; A. Lu. E-mail:
| | - Jacinta C Beehner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alice Baniel
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Thore J Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, N. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Amy Lu
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Circle Rd, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Circle Rd, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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