Publications by authors named "Joanna M Setchell"

Zoopharmacognosy is the study of the self-medication behaviors of non-human animals that use plant, animal or soil items as remedies. Recent studies have shown that some of the plants employed by animals may also be used for the same therapeutic purposes in humans. The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Ceiba pentandra, Myrianthus arboreus, Ficus subspecies (ssp.

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Postings on social media on Twitter (now X), BioAnthropology News (Facebook), and other venues, as well as recent publications in prominent journals, show that primatologists, ecologists, and other researchers are questioning the terms "Old World" and "New World" due to their colonial implications and history. The terms are offensive if they result in erasing Indigenous voices and history, ignoring the fact that Indigenous peoples were in the Americas long before European colonization. Language use is not without context, but alternative terminology is not always obvious and available.

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Translocation and reintroduction are common tools in conservation management and can be very successful. However, translocation can be stressful for the animals involved, and stress is implicated as a major cause of failure in release programs. Conservation managers should therefore seek to understand how the stages of translocation impact stress physiology in the animals involved.

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We hope to raise awareness of mental health and well-being among primatologists. With this aim in mind, we organized a workshop on mental health as part of the main program of the Winter meeting of the Primate Society of Great Britain in December 2021. The workshop was very well received.

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Cysts and trophozoites of vestibuliferid ciliates and larvae of Strongyloides were found in fecal samples from captive orangutans Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii from Czech and Slovak zoological gardens. As comparative material, ciliates from semi-captive mandrills Mandrillus sphinx from Gabon were included in the study.

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  • This study focuses on olfactory communication in mammals, specifically how odors impact mating decisions in Japanese macaques, a type of primate.
  • Researchers analyzed urine and vaginal swab samples to assess the relationship between odor characteristics and female identity or reproductive cycle phase.
  • Findings indicate that individual odors differ more significantly than those categorized by cycle phases, suggesting that female odors encode information about identity and reproductive status, though further research is needed to explore how other macaques might interpret these signals.
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  • - The study aimed to determine the presence and diversity of gastrointestinal parasites in the sun-tailed monkey (Allochrocebus solatus) at a primatology center.
  • - Researchers analyzed 46 fecal samples using the modified McMaster technique, finding seven different types of parasites, with strongyles being the most common at 98%.
  • - The findings underscore the importance of monitoring the health of this monkey species and taking necessary steps for their management and welfare.
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Samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis schwarzi) in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa, experience a highly seasonal climate, with relatively cold, dry winters. They must show behavioural flexibility to survive these difficult conditions near the southern limit of the species' distribution and maintain the minimum nutritional intake they require. Through environmental monitoring and behavioural observations of a habituated group of samango monkeys, we explored how they adapted to the highly seasonal climate they experienced in the mountains.

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Accentuated lines in dental microstructure are hypothesized to correlate with potentially stressful life history events, but our understanding of when, how and why such accentuated lines form in relation to stressful events is limited. We examined accentuated line formation and life history events in the teeth of three naturally deceased mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx, Cercopithecidae), for whom we had detailed life history information. We determined the ages at formation of accentuated lines in histological tooth sections and used dates of birth and death to calibrate dental histology to calendar time and individual age.

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Wildlife ecotourism can offer a source of revenue which benefits local development and conservation simultaneously. However, habituation of wildlife for ecotourism can cause long-term elevation of glucocorticoid hormones, which may suppress immune function and increase an animal's vulnerability to disease. We have previously shown that western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) undergoing habituation in Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic, have higher fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGCM) levels than both habituated and unhabituated gorillas.

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  • Neonatal screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) is being successfully implemented in some urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa, but rural regions like Koula-Moutou, Gabon, face unique challenges.
  • A study involving 215 women revealed that only 24% were aware of SCD, and 30% consented to neonatal screening, with younger and more educated mothers more likely to approve.
  • Cultural and educational barriers, rather than a lack of disease knowledge, hinder acceptance of neonatal screening, highlighting the need for a supportive team of psychosocial and health workers familiar with the local community.
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  • Female primates, like olive baboons, use various signals to indicate ovulation, but previous research has mostly overlooked the importance of olfactory (smell) signals.
  • This study analyzed the vaginal odour of eight adult female baboons to identify volatile compounds and their relationship with the female's fertile period, discovering 74 compounds, including 25 that matched odour profiles found in other primates.
  • The findings indicate that the intensity of vaginal odour changes throughout the female reproductive cycle, suggesting that these olfactory signals may be significant in communicating fertility, with differences observed based on group composition but not clearly tied to female age or identity.
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All Neotropical primates are arboreal and thus depend on forests for their survival. Arboreality puts many Neotropical primates at risk of extinction due to the high rates of deforestation in the tropics. We assessed the influence of vegetation structure and forest patch attributes on the occurrence of the threatened red-handed howler monkey (Alouatta belzebul) in an Amazonian savanna.

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Threats to biodiversity are well documented. However, to effectively conserve species and their habitats, we need to know which conservation interventions do (or do not) work. Evidence-based conservation evaluates interventions within a scientific framework.

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In their reply to our article "A new identification of the monkeys depicted in a Bronze Age wall painting from Akrotiri, Thera" [Primates 61(3), 2019], Urbani and Youlatos (Primates https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00825-2 , 2020) argue for the traditional identification of the monkeys depicted on the north and west walls of Room 6 of Building Complex Beta at Akrotiri, Thera, as vervet monkeys (Fig.

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Objectives: We examine how dental sexual dimorphism develops in mandrills, an extremely sexually dimorphic primate. We aimed to (a) establish the chronology of dental development (odontochronology) in male and female mandrills, (b) understand interindividual and intersex variation in odontochronologies, and (c) determine how dental sexual dimorphism is achieved.

Materials And Methods: We prepared histological ground sections from the permanent teeth of four female and four male mandrills from the semi-free ranging colony at the Centre International de Recherches Médicales, Franceville, Gabon.

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Stress is a major factor in determining success when releasing endangered species into the wild but is often overlooked. Mandrills () are vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss and demand for bush meat and the pet trade. To help bolster populations, rehabilitated rescued mandrills recently were released into a protected area in the Republic of Congo.

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Primates were traditionally thought to have a reduced sense of smell. Although there is now evidence that olfaction plays a greater role in primate social life than previously assumed, research on the sense of smell in non-human apes is scarce. Chimpanzees sniff the ground and vegetation on boundary patrols, but the function of this behaviour is unclear.

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Humans are the only species to have evolved cooperative care-giving as a strategy for disease control. A synthesis of evidence from the fossil record, paleogenomics, human ecology, and disease transmission models, suggests that care-giving for the diseased evolved as part of the unique suite of cognitive and socio-cultural specializations that are attributed to the genus Homo. Here we demonstrate that the evolution of hominin social structure enabled the evolution of care-giving for the diseased.

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Strategies for conserving species threatened with extinction are often driven by ecological data. However, in anthropogenic landscapes, understanding and incorporating local people's perceptions may enhance species conservation. We examine the relationships shepherds, living on the periphery of the mixed oak forest of Bouhachem in northern Morocco, have with animals in the context of a conservation project for Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus).

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Biodiversity conservation is one of the grand challenges facing society. Many people interested in biodiversity conservation have a background in wildlife biology. However, the diverse social, cultural, political, and historical factors that influence the lives of people and wildlife can be investigated fully only by incorporating social science methods, ideally within an interdisciplinary framework.

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