Simian immunodeficiency virus and storage buffer: Field-friendly preservation methods for RNA viral detection in primate feces.

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which originated in African monkeys, crossed the species barrier into humans and ultimately gave rise to HIV and the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. While SIV infects over 40 primate species in sub-Saharan Africa, testing for RNA viruses in wild primate populations can be challenging. Optimizing field-friendly methods for assessing viral presence/abundance in non-invasively collected biological samples facilitates the study of viruses, including potentially zoonotic viruses, in wild primate populations.

Downclimbing and the evolution of ape forelimb morphologies.

The forelimbs of hominoid primates (apes) are decidedly more flexible than those of monkeys, especially at the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. It is tempting to link the greater mobility of these joints to the functional demands of vertical climbing and below-branch suspension, but field-based kinematic studies have found few differences between chimpanzees and monkeys when comparing forelimb excursion angles during vertical ascent (upclimbing). There is, however, a strong theoretical argument for focusing instead on vertical descent (downclimbing), which motivated us to quantify the effects of climbing directionality on the forelimb kinematics of wild chimpanzees () and sooty mangabeys ().

Limb and hip morphology of two African colobine monkeys and its relationship to the mechanics of leaping and bounding locomotion.

Objectives: Although a bounding gait is practiced by a diversity of animals, the morphological characteristics, kinematics, and energetics associated with this locomotor form remain poorly understood. This study focuses on the locomotor anatomy of two species of African colobine monkeys (Piliocolobus badius, a leaper, and Colobus polykomos, a leaper-bounder) in an effort to assess if bounding should be considered a unique primate locomotor category or is better viewed as a behavior on a leaping continuum.

Materials And Methods: A total of 53 femora, 28 humeri, and 45 ossa coxae from the two species provide comparative morphological data.

Aspects of molar form and dietary proclivities of African colobines.

This study investigates aspects of molar form in three African colobine species: Colobus polykomos, Colobus angolensis, and Piliocolobus badius. Our samples of C. polykomos and P.

Enamel chipping and its ecological correlates in African papionins: Implications for hominin feeding behavior.

African papionins are classic paleoecological referents for fossil hominins. Enamel chips on the teeth of baboons and hominins are argued to represent responses to similar dietary habits; however, a comprehensive analysis of modern papionin chipping is lacking, leaving open the question of analog suitability. Here, we investigate patterns of antemortem enamel chipping across a diverse set of African papionin species occupying a range of ecological niches.

Demography and epidemiology of captive former biomedical research chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) 1: Survival and mortality.

Accurate and up-to-date data on longevity and mortality are essential for describing, analyzing, and managing animal populations in captivity. We assembled a comprehensive demography data set and analyzed survival and mortality patterns in a population of captive former biomedical research chimpanzees. The study synthesized over 51,000 life-years of demographic data collected on 2349 individuals between 1923 and 2014.

Oral Processing of Three Guenon Species in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire.

Three guenon species in Taï National Park frequently form and maintain stable polyspecific associations despite significant feeding competition. This dietary overlap provides an opportunity to examine how closely related and anatomically similar taxa process the same foods. Our research examines whether the oral-processing behaviors of these guenons differ when they consume the same foods.

Masticatory and ingestive effort in Procolobus verus, a small-bodied African colobine.

The olive colobus (Procolobus verus) is the smallest extant colobine. Based on the axiom that folivory is associated with larger body mass, the olive colobus is expected to be less folivorous than its sister taxon Piliocolobus badius, but previous studies show that the opposite is true. Here we test the hypothesis that masticatory and ingestive effort in the olive colobus is greater due to allometric factors related to bite force scaling and throughput of ingested foods.

Dental macrowear, diet, and anterior tooth use in Colobus polykomos and Piliocolobus badius.

Two similarly-sized colobine species living sympatrically in the Ivory Coast's Taï Forest that differ in both diet and oral processing behavior provide an opportunity to explore the strength of associations between feeding behavior and dental wear patterns. Here we test the hypothesis that vigorous processing of tough, hard Pentaclethra macrophylla pods by Colobus polykomos manifests in greater anterior tooth wear relative to that observed in Piliocolobus badius, which does not exploit this resource. We assessed levels of anterior tooth wear in a sample of 160 upper incisors and 131 lower incisors from 18 adult Colobus polykomos and 62 adult Piliocolobus badius naturally deceased individuals from Taï National Park.

Dentin hardness differences across various mammalian taxa.

Differences in dentin microstructure have been used as a tool for dietary reconstruction; however, the extent that diet is associated with this aspect of dental morphology has yet to be empirically tested. We conducted microhardness tests of mammalian dentin sections, hypothesizing that species with adaptations to particularly hard diets would have softer dentin, owing to a higher proportion of soft intertubular dentin. Species adapted to abrasive diets, in contrast, should have harder dentin, resulting from a higher proportion of hypermineralized peritubular dentin.

Locomotion of an adult female and juvenile male aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in Torotorofotsy, Madagascar.

Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) locate and acquire invertebrates from within woody substrates at all levels of the rainforest; yet how their locomotion helps them accommodate this diet has not been explored in detail. We studied the locomotor behavior of an adult female (N = 1,085) and juvenile male (N = 708) aye-aye in the undisturbed forest of Torotorofotsy, Madagascar from May to December 2017. We used bout sampling to record locomotion during foraging and travel of the two radio-collared individuals.

Oral processing, sexual selection, and size variation in the circumorbital region of Colobus and Piliocolobus.

Objectives: The function of the browridge in primates is a subject of enduring debate. Early studies argued for a role in resisting masticatory stresses, but recent studies have suggested sexual signaling as a biological role. We tested associations between circumorbital form, diet, oral processing, and social behavior in two species of colobus monkey-the king colobus (Colobus polykomos) and western red or bay colobus (Piliocolobus badius).

TaqMan Assays for Simultaneous Detection of and biovar .

Anthrax is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium . Primarily a disease of herbivores, human infections often result from direct contact with contaminated animal products (cutaneous and inhalational anthrax) or through consumption of infected meat (gastrointestinal anthrax). The genetic near neighbor, biovar (Bcbva), causes an anthrax-like illness in the wildlife and livestock of west and central Africa due to the presence and expression of -specific virulence factors in this background.

Seed choice differs by sex in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys).

The sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys) practices year-round durophagy. A large part of the C. atys diet consists of the oily nut of Sacoglottis gabonensis, which is accessed by post-canine crushing of the hard, protective seed coat.

Oral Processing Behavior of Diana Monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire.

Primates are hypothesized to "fall back" on challenging-to-process foods when preferred foods are less available. Such dietary shifts may be accompanied by changes in oral processing behavior argued to be selectively important. Here, we examine the oral processing behavior of Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) in the Taï Forest across their dietary breadth, testing relationships among food intake, fruit availability, preference, and oral processing behaviors including those involved in food ingestion and breakdown.

Enamel chipping in Taï Forest cercopithecids: Implications for diet reconstruction in paleoanthropological contexts.

Antemortem enamel chipping in living and fossil primates is often interpreted as evidence of hard-object feeding (i.e., 'durophagy').

Hard plant tissues do not contribute meaningfully to dental microwear: evolutionary implications.

Reconstructing diet is critical to understanding hominin adaptations. Isotopic and functional morphological analyses of early hominins are compatible with consumption of hard foods, such as mechanically-protected seeds, but dental microwear analyses are not. The protective shells surrounding seeds are thought to induce complex enamel surface textures characterized by heavy pitting, but these are absent on the teeth of most early hominins.

Diet, feeding behavior, and jaw architecture of Taï monkeys: Congruence and chaos in the realm of functional morphology.

We review feeding and mandibular anatomy in a community of West African monkeys. We use field observations, food material property data, and skeletal specimens from the Ivory Coast's Taï Forest to explore the factors that shape mandibular architecture in colobines and cercopithecines. Despite excellent geographic control across our sample, the fit between bone form (as conventionally described) and functional activity (as we perceive it) is not spectacular.

Does Oxygen Stable Isotope Composition in Primates Vary as a Function of Vertical Stratification or Folivorous Behaviour?

Stable isotopes of oxygen often vary within a community of primates. For example, folivorous monkeys that forage in the upper reaches of the forest canopy tend to evince high δ18O values, whereas those that prefer the understory tend to have lower δ18O values. Given that leaves also have high δ18O values, particularly higher in the canopy, there is uncertainty as to which behavioural variable - vertical stratification or folivory - is the primary determinant of variation in δ18O values.

Haversian remodeling corresponds to load frequency but not strain magnitude in the macaque (Macaca fascicularis) skeleton.

One way bone adapts to its mechanical environment is by Haversian remodeling, a repair process in which existing bone is resorbed and replaced by new bone. Haversian remodeling forms interconnected, cylindrical structures called secondary osteons. The amount of remodeling that occurs is related to the nature of mechanical loading and accrual of microdamage, but it is uncertain whether habitual loads of high magnitude versus high frequency result in more remodeling.

Long bone structural proportions and locomotor behavior in Cercopithecidae.

Limb bone articular and diaphyseal proportions have been shown to relate to locomotor behavior in broad comparisons across catarrhines, but comparisons among phylogenetically and functionally more closely related species may be particularly useful in investigating form-function relationships that can be applied to fossil taxa. Here we compare inter- and intra-limb proportions of diaphyseal strength and articular surface area and breadth of the femur and humerus with frequencies of leaping and vertical climbing behavior in 13 cercopithecid species. Leaping frequency is highly positively correlated with femoral/humeral diaphyseal strength, moderately positively correlated with femoral/humeral articular breadth, and less highly correlated with femoral/humeral articular surface area.

The Influence of Leaping Frequency on Secondary Bone in Cercopithecid Primates.

Bone remodeling is at least partially mediated by the mechanical environment created by an animal's behavior. Here, we test the hypothesis that bone remodeling is primarily induced by high magnitude loads, likely encountered during leaping/bounding behaviors. Osteon population density (OPD), osteon cross-sectional area (On.