Temporal variation and age influence activity budget more than sex and reproductive status in wild brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba clamitans) inhabiting a large, continuous forest.

Activity budget analyses are important for understanding how animals spend their time in daily activities like resting, foraging, moving and socializing. These behaviors are closely linked to energy management, so habitat quality and resource availability are known to influence the activity budgets of species. Therefore, many studies have examined the consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation on the energetic demands and activity budgets of species.

Lyophilization as an alternative for conservation of equine plasma as a source of immunoglobulin G for neonatal foals.

Providing plasma with immunoglobulins is essential for the health of foals with failure of passive transfer of immunity. The use of lyophilized plasma (LP) offers a simple and affordable option in terms of transportation and storage. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG), total protein (TP), and total solids (TS) in fresh equine plasma before and after lyophilization.

Fiddler crabs from highly disturbed beaches are more sensitive to human presence.

The presence of humans frequently modifies the behavior of animals, particularly their foraging patterns, compromising energetic demands. The fiddler crab Leptuca leptodactyla inhabits mangroves with high degrees of anthropogenic influence. Thus, we tested if populations living in highly anthropized mangroves respond differently from those living in more protected areas.

A new sphenodontian (Diapsida: Lepidosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Germany and its implications for the mode of sphenodontian evolution.

The Arnstadt Formation of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany has yielded some of Germany's most substantial finds of Late Triassic tetrapods, including the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus and the stem-turtle Proganochelys quenstedti. Here, we describe an almost complete skull of a new sphenodontian taxon from this formation (Norian, 227-208 Ma), making it the oldest known articulated sphenodontian skull from Europe and one of the oldest in the world. The material is represented by the dermal skull roof and by the complete maxilla and temporal region, as well as parts of the palate, braincase, and lower jaw.

Facial and genital color ornamentation, testosterone, and reproductive output in high-ranking male rhesus macaques.

Males in many vertebrate species have colorful ornaments that evolved by sexual selection. The role of androgens in the genesis and maintenance of these signals is unclear. We studied 21 adult high-ranking male rhesus macaques from nine social groups in the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, and analyzed facial and genital skin luminance and redness, fecal androgens, rates of mating behaviors, and offspring sired.