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1. Understanding of animal movement behaviour is critical for developing appropriate conservation strategies because of its profound implications for predicting species' responses to perturbations. To date there is a substantial knowledge gap of the movement behaviour of subterranean invertebrates. 2. In this study temporary emigration (TE), the probability that an individual is absent from the cave on a given sampling occasion, was used as a method to inform on the movement and behaviour of cave‐dwelling invertebrates. Because these animals are difficult to study with traditional tracking techniques, the capture–recapture (CR) modelling framework was used to assess TE and to account for imperfect detectability and unobservable states. 3. Specifically, the influence of season, sex, and surface weather variables on the TE of the facultative cave‐dwelling harvestman species, Paranemastoma sillii sillii (Herman, 1871), was investigated. Multistate CR models were used while accounting for individual heterogeneity on 999 individually marked adults of two populations inhabiting two caves, located in southwestern Romania. 4. Harvestmen demonstrated clear heterogeneity and seasonality in TE. Findings showed that the TE of harvestmen exhibited variation between caves and there was little support for surface weather variables influencing TE and for sex‐specific TE patterns. 5. These results show that the study of TE patterns is useful to gain valuable insights into movement and intrinsic behavioural processes of cave‐dwelling harvestmen. The method could potentially be used for other invertebrate groups with similar movement characteristics and when traditional tracking techniques are difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 the change to the Brazilian legislation regarding the use of natural caves has caused an increase in the number of studies on environmental impacts involving caves. The legislation requires the classification of such environments according to their importance, and caves that are not classified highly may be irreversibly impacted. Thus, caves in rocks of high economic interest have been intensively sampled, which has resulted in the collection of several specimens of Palpigradi in them. The Iron Quadrangle (in Minas Gerais state) stands out among these areas as one the most important sources of iron ore in Brazil. Several palpigrades from this region are housed in collections: most of them belong to the edaphic species Eukoenenia ferratilis, and a small portion belong to new species that are morphologically quite distinct from E. ferratilis, with longer bodies and more elongated appendages, indicating the presence of troglomorphisms. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe threenew troglobitic species of Eukoenenia, which can be distinguished morphometrically and by means of some qualitative characters. These descriptions are important for the preservation of the caves where they occur, since the presence of troglobitic species increases the relevance of the caves, which have been severely threatened by mining activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present text is the first part of a broader study and it provides a new perspective to certain aspects of the issue of the Troglodytes in Thrace. The analysis and the reinterpretation of the available written evidence lead to reconsidering of the traditional view that Troglodytes inhabited the territories close to the Danube Delta, or lived in the caves along the Black Sea coast, giving arguments for a new localisation in the interior of the Getic lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to the actual function of the Fondarca Cave in Italy. It is noted that the cave shows alternation of extended sterile beige layers and dark, greyish layers, containing a large amount of archaelogical material. It was found that the cave was attended in the period between March and September, when the external environment was milder and the cave was easier to reach.

How organisms respond to environmental change is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. Species invading novel habitats provide an opportunity to examine contemporary evolution in action and decipher the pace of evolutionary change over short timescales. Here, we characterized phenotypic evolution in the Italian plethodontid salamander, Hydromantes strinatii, following the recent colonization of an artificial cave by a forest floor population. When compared with a nearby and genetically related population in the natural forest floor and a nearby cave population, the artificial cave population displayed significant differences in overall foot shape, with more interdigital webbing relative to the other populations. Further, this population evolved significantly larger feet, which corresponded more closely to those found in other cave populations than to forest floor populations to which the cave population is closely related. Finally, we quantified the rate of evolution for both foot shape and foot area, and found that both traits displayed large and significant evolutionary rates, at levels corresponding to other classic cases of rapid evolution in vertebrates. Together, these findings reveal that the response to novel environmental pressures can be large and rapid and that the anatomical shifts observed in the artificial cave population of H. strinatii may represent a case of rapid evolution in response to novel environmental pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niche construction theory concerns the modification of environments by all organisms, and gives a new perspective on zooarchaeological records in southwest Australia. Aboriginal people in this region historically used fire to improve habitat and hunt animals, suggesting pre-European traditions of environmental management. Analysis of a new faunal record from the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Region, at the Wonitji Janga rockshelter, suggests post-European changes in Aboriginal hunting are the result of changed firing regimes or restrictions on traditional management techniques. These preliminary findings suggest that similar research planned for the Swan Coastal Plain, coupled with advances in ancient DNA analysis, will demonstrate past landscape modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triatoma dimidiata, currently the major Central American vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, inhabits caves throughout the region. This research investigates the possibility that cave dwelling T. dimidiata might transmit the parasite to humans and links the blood meal sources of cave vectors to cultural practices that differ among locations. Methodology/Principal Findings: We determined the blood meal sources of twenty-four T. dimidiata collected from two locations in Guatemala and one in Belize where human interactions with the caves differ. Blood meal sources were determined by cloning and sequencing PCR products amplified from DNA extracted from the vector abdomen using primers specific for the vertebrate 12S mitochondrial gene. The blood meal sources were inferred by ≥99% identity with published sequences. We found 70% of cave-collected T. dimidiata positive for human DNA. The vectors had fed on 10 additional vertebrates with a variety of relationships to humans, including companion animal (dog), food animals (pig, sheep/goat), wild animals (duck, two bat, two opossum species) and commensal animals (mouse, rat). Vectors from all locations fed on humans and commensal animals. The blood meal sources differ among locations, as well as the likelihood of feeding on dog and food animals. Vectors from one location were tested for T. cruzi infection, and 30% (3/10) tested positive, including two positive for human blood meals. Conclusions/Significance: Cave dwelling Chagas disease vectors feed on humans and commensal animals as well as dog, food animals and wild animals. Blood meal sources were related to human uses of the caves. We caution that just as T. dimidiata in caves may pose an epidemiological risk, there may be other situations where risk is thought to be minimal, but is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is focused on the ways that terminology describing the study of music and sound within archaeology has changed over time, and how this reflects developing methodologies, exploring the expectations and issues raised by the use of differing kinds of language to define and describe such work. It begins with a discussion of music archaeology, addressing the problems of using the term ‘music’ in an archaeological context. It continues with an examination of archaeoacoustics and acoustics, and an emphasis on sound rather than music. This leads on to a study of sound archaeology and soundscapes, pointing out that it is important to consider the complete acoustic ecology of an archaeological site, in order to identify its affordances, those possibilities offered by invariant acoustic properties. Using a case study from northern Spain, the paper suggests that all of these methodological approaches have merit, and that a project benefits from their integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT The upper ankle joint forms a single articular plane between organism and the foot and substrate. Singular warp analysis shows that its shape reflects substrate use. This study explores whether the differences in shape are genetic with a developmental trajectory evident during ontogeny or epigenetic and the result of substrate use by the individual. A total of 418 matched distal tibial and proximal talar landmarked surfaces from adult and subadult specimens from 12 diverse catarrhine taxa were studied. Specimens were grouped by molar eruption (M1, M2, and M3) for comparative analysis. Generalized Procrustes analysis, multivariate regression, relative warp analysis, singular warp analysis, and permutation tests were used. Singular warp analysis for the entire cohort was highly significant in the first singular warp, with the adult taxa sorting by substrate use. All 173 subadults clustered with an adult 'arboreal' shape profile. Among Hominoidea, adults (M3) sorted by substrate use with Pan paniscus and Hylobatidae assuming an 'arboreal' shape separate from Pan troglodytes and the remaining taxa with 'terrestrial' shape. Cercopithecoid adults sorted by substrate use as well, with the M3 specimens of Papio hamadryas and Macaca thibetana demonstrating a 'terrestrial' shape. Differences in mode of locomotion did not affect the findings in the first singular warp. Results confirmed the convergence of talo-crural shape among superfamilies based on substrate use and divergence in shape within Pan and Macaca, based on substrate use. The shape differences among adults (M3) are consistent with a plastic response to the behavioral stimulus of substrate use. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:447-458, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways in which early modern knowledge of the Malay world informed European science, through a case study of the classification of humans in the work of the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. In the 1758 edition of his Systema Naturae, Linnaeus proposed an entirely new species of human, Homo troglodytes, a counterpoint to Homo sapiens, said to be a resident of the Malay world. Whereas this ‘different’ species has hitherto been seen through Linnaeus’ application of his own taxonomic principles, and has also been dismissed as a product of an uncritical reliance on ‘travel lies’ of the day, this article takes the Homo troglodytes back to his assumed natural habitat. Through a detailed examination of Linnaeus’ sources and the genealogies of European writing on the Malay world in the 18th century a complex picture emerges, framed by local folklore and an early modern ‘ethnography of difference’. Crucially, it is suggested that information about the Malay world available to Linnaeus was ultimately generated by the unique ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity of the region, in particular the ambivalent relationships between the ethnically different peoples of the coast and interior, a longstanding theme in Southeast Asian history. The figure of the troglodyte then becomes a powerful interlocutor between interpretations of the diversity of the Malay world that served to shape not only natural history, but also Enlightenment debates on the relationship between man and beast. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remembering the location of fruiting trees for extended periods of time has been hypothesized to play a major role in the evolution of primate cognition. Such ability would be especially useful when paired with a fast learning mechanism capable of consolidating long-term memory after minimal exposure. We investigated whether chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) can remember different food locations after minimal exposure (i.e., 1-2 trials) both after 24 hr and after 3-month. We released pairs of chimpanzees in their indoor enclosure (the enclosure of group A measured 430 m2 and group B's measured 175 m2) and tested them for four consecutive days (Baseline, Test, Retest, and Post-test). During the Test and Retest food was hidden in the same location whereas no food was hidden during the Baseline and Post-test days (control trials). Subjects were tested with four different locations and assessed for their retention after 24 hr and 3-month since the initial food discovery. Results revealed that chimpanzees accurately remembered the locations in which they found the food after one or two exposures to them, and both after 24 hr and a 3-month retention interval. Am. J. Primatol. 76:485-495, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Ornithology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Ornithology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

My purpose in this article is modest: I wish merely to examine why many of us in academe are reluctant to say “I” when we write. We go to considerable lengths to avoid that “I”—even when we mean “I” and nothing else. Why do we resort to such awkward constructions as “The present study will argue that… ,” or “We shall attempt to demonstrate that… ,” or “One perceives in Sartre's hell a stylized version of lived reality… ,” rather than saying simply “I”? What are we trying to hide? What lurks within us and threatens to erupt, unloosed by this “I”? We are not dope fiends or outlaw bikers, utterly enslaved to our basest impulses. We are not troglodytes, grunting and belching our way through life. No. We are monkish folk for the most part, fully accustomed to keeping our ids in check. One doesn't often find us wallowing in the ego, and at the very least we should be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of speaking in our own voice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The presence of Pygmies in Thrace is neither a misunderstanding nor a fantasy of Pliny the Elder: this reference, confirmed by Stephanus of Byzantium, can be explained through the history of the Pygmies, mythic people mentioned in the Iliad and integrated in the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance descriptions of the inhabited world. The modern historian can reveal the reasons that made the Greeks and Romans locate these little men in the northern country of the cranes: the indigenous, under-earth houses of Dobrodgea and the abandoned caves in the region of Yailata as well as the Greek toponymy imported from the Aegean nourished the imagination of the Greeks and their stories about the Euxine Pontus, colonized by Milesians and Megarians. These observations contribute not only to a better understanding of the geography and ethnography of the western Black Sea coast, but also throw light on the process of "inventing" foreign peoples, at the center but also at the periphery of the civilized world, on the basis of racial, geographic and historical otherness, by taking into account the everlasting authority of the literary tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Auk: Ornithological Advances is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We explored the relationship between growth in tooth root length and the modern human extended period of childhood. Tooth roots provide support to counter chewing forces and so it is advantageous to grow roots quickly to allow teeth to erupt into function as early as possible. Growth in tooth root length occurs with a characteristic spurt or peak in rate sometime between tooth crown completion and root apex closure. Here we show that in Pan troglodytes the peak in root growth rate coincides with the period of time teeth are erupting into function. However, the timing of peak root velocity in modern humans occurs earlier than expected and coincides better with estimates for tooth eruption times in Homo erectus. With more time to grow longer roots prior to eruption and smaller teeth that now require less support at the time they come into function, the root growth spurt no longer confers any advantage in modern humans. We suggest that a prolonged life history schedule eventually neutralised this adaptation some time after the appearance of Homo erectus. The root spurt persists in modern humans as an intrinsic marker event that shows selection operated, not primarily on tooth tissue growth, but on the process of tooth eruption. This demonstrates the overarching influence of life history evolution on several aspects of dental development. These new insights into tooth root growth now provide an additional line of enquiry that may contribute to future studies of more recent life history and dietary adaptations within the genus Homo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of environmental variability, animals may be confronted with uncertainty surrounding the presence of, or accessibility to, food resources at a given location or time. While individuals can rely on personal experience to manage this variability, the behavior of members of an individual's social group can also provide information regarding the availability or location of a food resource. The purpose of the present study was to measure how captive chimpanzees individually and collectively adjust their foraging strategies at an artificial termite mound, as the availability of resources provided by the mound varied over a number of weeks. As predicted, fishing activity at the mound was related to resource availability. However, chimpanzees continued to fish at unbaited locations on the days and weeks after a location had last contained food. Consistent with previous studies, our findings show that chimpanzees do not completely abandon previously learned habits despite learning individually and/or socially that the habit is no longer effective. Am. J. Primatol. 74:661-668, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop-raiding is a major source of conflict between people and wildlife globally, impacting local livelihoods and impeding conservation. Conflict mitigation strategies that target problematic wildlife behaviours such as crop-raiding are notoriously difficult to develop for large-bodied, cognitively complex species. Many crop-raiders are generalist feeders. In more ecologically specialised species crop-type selection is not random and evidence-based management requires a good understanding of species' ecology and crop feeding habits. Comprehensive species-wide studies of crop consumption by endangered wildlife are lacking but are important for managing human-wildlife conflict. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of crop feeding records by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), a ripe-fruit specialist. We assessed quantitatively patterns of crop selection in relation to species-specific feeding behaviour, agricultural exposure, and crop availability. Crop consumption by chimpanzees is widespread in tropical Africa. Chimpanzees were recorded to eat a considerable range of cultivars (51 plant parts from 36 species). Crop part selection reflected a species-typical preference for fruit. Crops widely distributed in chimpanzee range countries were eaten at more sites than sparsely distributed crops. We identified 'high' and 'low' conflict crops according to their attractiveness to chimpanzees, taking account of their importance as cash crops and/or staple foods to people. Most (86%) high conflict crops were fruits, compared to 13% of low conflict crops. Some widely farmed cash or staple crops were seldom or never eaten by chimpanzees. Information about which crops are most frequently consumed and which are ignored has enormous potential for aiding on-the-ground stakeholders (i.e. farmers, wildlife managers, and conservation and agricultural extension practitioners) develop sustainable wildlife management schemes for ecologically specialised and protected species in anthropogenic habitats. However, the economic and subsistence needs of local people, and the crop-raiding behaviour of sympatric wildlife, must be considered when assessing suitability of particular crops for conflict prevention and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chimpanzees routinely follow the gaze of humans to outside targets. However, in most studies using object choice they fail to use communicative gestures (e.g. pointing) to find hidden food. Chimpanzees' failure to do this may be due to several difficulties with this paradigm. They may, for example, misinterpret the gesture as referring to the opaque cup instead of the hidden food. Or perhaps they do not understand informative communicative intentions. In contrast, dogs seem to be skilful in using human communicative cues in the context of finding food, but as of yet there is not much data showing whether they also use pointing in the context of finding non-food objects. Here we directly compare chimpanzees' (N = 20) and dogs' (N = 32) skills in using a communicative gesture directed at a visible object out of reach of the human but within reach of the subject. Pairs of objects were placed in view of and behind the subjects. The task was to retrieve the object the experimenter wanted. To indicate which one she desired, the experimenter pointed imperatively to it and directly rewarded the subject for handing over the correct one. While dogs performed well on this task, chimpanzees failed to identify the referent. Implications for great apes' and dogs' understanding of human communicative intentions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trabecular architecture was assessed by 3D micro-computed tomography from spherical volumes of interest located within the head and base of metacarpals (MC) 1, 2, and 5 from n = 19 adult common chimpanzees. Two subspecies, West African Pan troglodytes verus from the Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire ( n = 12) and Central African P. t. troglodytes from Cameroon ( n = 7), were studied. For the combined sample, the metacarpal head is distinguished by greater bone volume fraction across all metacarpals, though the MC 1 is distinctive in having thicker, more plate-like trabeculae. The architecture in the MC 2 and MC 5 can be related to strains associated with terrestrial knuckle-walking. In particular, the relatively robust MC 5 head architecture may result from functional loading incurred during braking and use of a palm-in hand posture. Examining differences between samples, we found that the Cameroon chimpanzees possess a more robust architecture across all metacarpals in the form of greater bone volume fraction, higher connectivity, and somewhat more plate-like structure. These differences are not explicable in terms of population distinctions in body size or daily travel distance, but possibly reflect a combination of more terrestrial knuckle-walking in the Cameroon sample and more diverse hand postures and precision handling required of nut-cracking in West African chimpanzees. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the archaeological excavation of Daisy Cave on California's San Miguel Island. Early human inhabitants of the cave are discussed, with a focus on their seafaring abilities and possible migration patterns. The disruption of burial sites on the island by picnickers during the 19th century is explained. Primary emphasis is given to the excavation efforts of archaeologists Charles Rozaire and, later, Dan Guthrie. The use of radiocarbon dating in determining the general time period of the cave's human occupation is discussed.

Maze, or labyrinth, caves are high-porosity zones in karst. Reticular networks may arise through different speleogenetic processes. Here, we present and discuss an apparently multi-stage labyrinthal development in a stripe karst setting in the Norwegian Caledonides. Okshola (the upper part of the Okshola-Kristihola cave system at Fauske, Nordland) displays a network of preserved, essentially phreatic tubes intersected by four distinct, vadose inlet passages. The cave developed along a low-angle fracture (thrust) zone, which is sub-parallel with the foliation. Scallops in the walls of phreatic conduits demonstrate that water flow was directed down-dip into the rock mass, and thus that the phreatic network developed during the last active stage as a groundwater recharge zone. This flow function is consistent with the proximal location of the cave with respect to former topographically directed glacial flow. Cyclic and strong fluctuations in the hydraulic regime are evident from cave interior deposits. We suggest that Okshola developed in concert with the glacial erosion of the surface topography and that a process of caprock stripping resulted in progressive lowering of both sink and spring levels. Morphology, together with radiometric datings, indicate that speleogenesis commenced several glacial cycles ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the larval morphology and peculiar behaviour of several epigean species of molopine beetles (Carabidae: Pterostichini: Molopina) have been known for several years, we know very little about the specialized subterranean species of some genera endemic to the Tyrrhenian area, including Molopidius Jeannel, 1942, Oscadytes Lagar, 1975, Henrotius Jeannel, 1953, Zariqueya Jeannel, 1924, and Speomolops Patrizi, 1955. In this paper, we describe and illustrate the third instar larva of Speomolops sardous Patrizi, 1955, a specialized troglobitic beetle endemic to eastern Sardinia. Diagnostic features include the lack of stemmata; the presence of a longitudinal, membranous furrow along the dorsal surface of the mandibles; a small retinaculum; and a uniquely shaped seta FR8. We compare the morphology of this larva with some of its close relatives in the genera Molops Bonelli, 1810, Tanythrix Schaum, 1858, and Typhlochoromus Moczarsky, 1913. Some data are also given about the habitat and bionomics of the larval stages of Speomolops sardous, which show an obligate, fossorial behaviour into sandy soils in deep zones of large, periodically flooded subterranean systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), five bonobos (Pan paniscus), five gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and seven orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were presented with two invisible object displacement tasks. In full view of the subject, a food item was hidden under one of three opaque cups resting on a platform and, after an experimental manipulation, the subject was allowed to select one of the cups. In the rotation task, the platform was rotated 180° while the subject remained stationary. In the translocation task, the platform remained stationary while the subject walked to the opposite side from where she saw the reward being hidden. The final position of the food relative to the subject was equivalent in both tasks. Single displacement trials consisted of only one manipulation, either a rotation or a translocation, whereas double displacement trials consisted of both a rotation and a translocation. We also included no displacement trials in which no displacements took place. No displacement trials were easier than single displacements which, in turn, were easier than double displacements. Unlike earlier studies with children, there was no difference in performance between rotation and translocation displacements. Overall, apes performed above chance in all conditions, but chimpanzees outperformed the other species. This study reinforces the notion that the great apes use an allocentric spatial coding. Am. J. Primatol. 72:349–359, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wonderwerk Cave (Northern Cape Province, South Africa) is an example of a natural locality that, in the past as in the present, was imbued with meaning and symbolism. Today, local communities associate the cave with a snake spirit, while rock art adorning the cave walls attests to the special status of the cave during the Later Stone Age. In the terminal Acheulean (over 180,000 years ago), hominins introduced manuports with special sensory properties into the back of the cave, a locality with singular acoustic and visual qualities. Thus, the archaeological record of Wonderwerk Cave serves as a unique and extensive diachronic record of milestones in the development of symbolic behaviour. It provides evidence to support the position that elements of symbolic behaviour emerged long before the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of theoretical and empirical research suggests that kinship influences the development and maintenance of social bonds among group-living female mammals, and that human females may be unusual in the extent to which individuals form differentiated social relationships with nonrelatives. Here we combine behavioral observations of party association, spatial proximity, grooming, and space use with extensive molecular genetic analyses to determine whether female chimpanzees form strong social bonds with unrelated individuals of the same sex. We compare our results with those obtained from male chimpanzees who live in the same community and have been shown to form strong social bonds with each other. We demonstrate that party association is as good a predictor of spatial proximity and grooming in females as it is in males, that the highest party association indices are consistently found between female dyads, that the sexes do not differ in the long-term stability of their party association patterns, and that these results cannot be explained as a by-product of the tendency of females to selectively range in particular areas of the territory. We also show that close kin (i.e. mother–daughter and sibling dyads) are very rare, indicating that the vast majority of female dyads that form strong social bonds are not closely related. Additional analyses reveal that “subgroups” of females, consisting of individuals who frequently associate with one another in similar areas of the territory, do not consist of relatives. This suggests that a passive form of kin-biased dispersal, involving the differential migration of females from neighboring communities into subgroups, was also unlikely to be occurring. These results show that, as in males, kinship plays a limited role in structuring the intrasexual social relationships of female chimpanzees. Am. J. Primatol. 71:840–851, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual perspective taking research has established that chimpanzees recognize what others can or cannot see in the presence of occluding barriers. Less is known about chimpanzees’ appreciation of what they themselves can or cannot see in similar situations. Additionally, it is unclear whether chimpanzees must rely on others’ gaze cues to solve such tasks or whether they have a more general appreciation of what can be seen from where. Hence, we investigated chimpanzees’ ability to anticipate what they would or would not be able to see from different visual perspectives. Food was hidden among arrays of open containers, with different containers providing visual access from unique viewing perspectives. Chimpanzees immediately adopted the correct perspective for each container type. Follow-up experiments showed that they were not simply moving to align themselves with visible openings. Our study thus suggests that chimpanzees have good visual perspective taking abilities with regard to themselves as well as others, and that both likely reflect a more general knowledge, at least implicit, of what can be seen from where. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to work demonstrating a negative correlation between human staff activity and parturition in laboratory-managed primates, this study examined the distribution of 231 captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) births that occurred in accredited American zoological institutions by the day of the week on which the birth was discovered. We hypothesized that if chimpanzee parturition patterns displayed sensitivity to human presence, then fewer births per day would be reported during the weekend period, when the visitor density was high, as compared with the lower density working week. Analyses indicated that chimpanzee births were randomly distributed throughout the week. In the context of the questionable sensitivity of primate parturition to external influence, results suggest that variations in human presence do not affect the fine-level timing of birth in chimpanzees managed in a zoological setting. Am. J. Primatol. 70:703–706, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhinolophus capensis Lichtenstein, 1823 is a medium-sized rhinolophid commonly called the Cape horseshoe bat. It has a characteristic horseshoe-shaped nose leaf that surrounds its nostrils but does not cover the entire muzzle. This species is endemic to South Africa and is typically found in caves along the coastal parts of Northern, Western, and Eastern Cape provinces. It is a gregarious species that is often found roosting with R. clivosus and Miniopterus schreibersii natalensis. From a conservation standpoint, R. capensis has been listed as vulnerable until recently, when its listing was changed to near threatened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chimpanzee referential models for early hominid behavior have become the most common of all current approaches. In addition to chimpanzees' close evolutionary relationship to humans, the justification for this approach is that their behaviors are complex and human-like compared with those of other animals. An examination of four aspects of chimpanzee society that are prominent in discussions of human evolution—bipedal posture, tool use, cooperative hunting, and culture—indicates that other animals, even nonprimates, engage in analogous behaviors. Some referential models describe early hominid niches (e.g., locomotion, meat procurement) as presumably similar to those of extant great apes, but observed fossil anatomy suggests otherwise. Others attempt to explain hominid innovations with chimpanzee-like behaviors (e.g., bipedal posture, simple tool use, social hunting) when basic evolutionary theory dictates that only differences between closely related forms explain their divergence. Although data on the great apes are crucial for origins modeling, they are too often misapplied in reference to human behavioral evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines several fossil bear bones from Upper Paleolithic deposits recovered from Belgian caves. The bones exhibit traces of ochre. The paper examines the archaeological and archaeozoological data in detail, comparing the finds with other sites containing fossil bear remains and identifying patterns suggesting purposeful staining of bear bones. These patterns are compared with ethnographic examples of bear ceremonialism. On the basis of similarities found in these analyses, the authors argue that a proto bear-ceremonialism existed during the Upper Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaze cues are used as an index of social cognition in primates, yet the sensitivity to different forms of gaze, and consequently the cues required to test gaze-following abilities remain understudied. Whereas the eye is attributed special signal value in humans, the camouflaged ocular morphology of non-human primates has led to the consensus that head orientation may be a more salient cue. This study presents the first documentation of the surface eye movements of the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, in order to determine the behavioral forms of eye-gaze and their saliency as signals, document their functional variation, and address the signal value of the eyes distinct from head orientation. Movements of the eye were identified as Scan (continuous movement), Glance (a single movement <1 sec), or Fixate (no movement). Scans, glances, and fixations were reliably detected by humans during live observation and from video (Cohen's kappa over 0.70) and, therefore, are likely also to be detected by conspecifics. Eye-gaze comprised a nonunitary measure of visual attention, reflecting the attentional task demands of different activities. Specifically, chimpanzees spent significantly more time scanning while feeding and resting, than grooming, F(2,28) = 10.23, P<0.001, and spent significantly more time fixating while grooming, than feeding or resting, F(2,28) = 7.52, P<0.01. Further, eye-gaze was often incongruent with head movement, varying significantly with the form of eye-gaze: incongruence was found during 12–21% of fixations, during 42–49% of scans, and during 70–100% of glances, F(2,16) = 30.17, P<0.001. These findings provide the basis for discrimination of the adaptive significance of gaze-processing abilities with emphasis on sensitivity to eye-gaze distinct from head orientation. If we are to continue exploring gaze-processing abilities in primates, then we need greater consideration of the precise nature of the signals themselves. Here we present evidence for special consideration of the eyes as a salient signal in P. troglodytes. Am. J. Primatol. 69:562–575, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gammarus abstrusus, a new gammarid from Longmendong Cave in the southwestern part of Sichuan Province, China, is reported. A detailed description and illustrations of this freshwater amphipod are presented and differences with related species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the trophic niche of a poorly studied cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus. We examined Central Appennine hypogean populations that inhabit seven caves situated in three limestone areas in Umbria Region (Italy). Adults displayed feeding activity from May to December and the Vacuity Index analysis revealed a discontinuous trophic activity pattern throughout the year related to prey phenology. According to the qualitative analysis of the trophic spectrum, the populations in question can be defined as euryphagous, while the quantitative analysis (in terms of number and volume of preyed taxa) revealed a specialist strategy with a clear preference towards Diptera Limnobiidae. Both sexes presented similar trophic niche breadth and a high diet overlap, showing no intersexual differences. The hypogean populations of S. italicus, similarly to S. strinatii, showed a narrower trophic niche than epigeans of the same species, probably due to the limited food availability in the cave habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As wild primate populations decline, numbers of orphaned primates, sanctuaries, and attempts to release primates back to the natural environment increase. Release projects frequently are poorly documented despite IUCN guidelines recommending post-release monitoring and systematic data collection as central to the process. Since 1996, Habitat Ecologique et Liberté des Primates (HELP) has been releasing wild-born orphaned chimpanzees into natural habitat in the Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo. HELP developed a post-release monitoring system as an integral component. We present activity budgets and diet of released chimpanzees, and compared them to those of wild chimpanzee, as primary indicators of successful release. Feeding, moving, and resting dominated activity budgets, reflecting the overall patterns in wild populations. Diet was diverse and dominated by fruit, and the released chimpanzees showed specialization on a smaller number of species, as in many wild communities. The high survival rates of the chimpanzees and overall success of the release program are attributed to careful planning and post-release support facilitated via the monitoring process. Systematic post-release data collection monitoring has confirmed that wild-born chimpanzees can adjust behaviorally and nutritionally to the wild. Survival statistics of the reintroduced chimpanzees—confirmed 56%, possible 88%— reflect the behavioral adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates an historical episode that involved an object that was both scientific and popular. In 1908, the first almost complete Neanderthal skeleton was discovered at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. From its very rebirth, the specimen became an object of interest to scientists holding different views of human evolution. It also was of interest for a public whose Catholic and anti-clerical stances were voiced through the press, and for the modernist clerical prehistorians who had discovered it. Conceiving of reconstruction as referring to either verbal or visual representation of the caveman from La Chapelle-aux-Saints, this paper discusses the multiplication of Neanderthal images in newspaper articles and illustrations that expressed particular scientific and political interests. This treatment of the newspaper as a site of encounters and knowledge production among these various constituencies is afforded by a set of newspaper excerpts on the specimen collected by the first person to physically reconstruct the bones, Marcellin Boule, at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. While the newspapers were welcome allies in the dissemination of the discovery and of the scientist's renown at home and abroad, Boule might have been less content with the way in which the various papers represented his work - or was he? As an object associated with such large issues as religion, evolutionism and nationalism, the ‘Old Man from La Chapelle-aux-Saints’ had to fulfil contradictory desires and his images multiplied accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world's obligate cave-dwelling fauna holds considerable promise for biogeographic analysis because it represents a large number of independent evolutionary experiments in isolation in caves and adaptation to subterranean life. We focus on seven north temperate regions of at least 2000 km2, utilizing more than 4300 records of obligate cave-dwelling terrestrial invertebrates. In North America, highest diversity was found in northeast Alabama while in Europe highest diversity was found in Ariège, France, and in southeast Slovenia. Based on these regions as well as more qualitative data from 16 other regions, we hypothesize that a ridge (ca 42°–46° in Europe and 34° in North America) of high biodiversity occurs in temperate areas of high productivity and cave density. This may reflect a strong dependence of cave communities on long term surface productivity (as reflected in actual evapotranspiration), because the subterranean fauna relies almost entirely on resources produced outside caves. This dependence may explain the unique biodiversity pattern of terrestrial cave invertebrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently much debate about the nature of social learning in chimpanzees. The main question is whether they can copy others’ actions, as opposed to reproducing the environmental effects of these actions using their own preexisting behavioral strategies. In the current study, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) and human children ( Homo sapiens) were shown different demonstrations of how to open a tube—in both cases by a conspecific. In different experimental conditions, demonstrations consisted of (1) action only (the actions necessary to open the tube without actually opening it); (2) end state only (the open tube, without showing any actions); (3) both of these components (in a full demonstration); or (4) neither of these components (in a baseline condition). In the first three conditions subjects saw one of two different ways that the tube could open (break in middle; caps off ends). Subjects’ behavior in each condition was assessed for how often they opened the tube, how often they opened it in the same location as the demonstrator, and how often they copied the demonstrator’s actions or style of opening the tube. Whereas chimpanzees reproduced mainly the environmental results of the demonstrations (emulation), human children often reproduced the demonstrator’s actions (imitation). Because the procedure used was similar in many ways to the procedure that Meltzoff (Dev Psych 31:1, 1995) used to study the understanding of others’ unfulfilled intentions, the implications of these findings with regard to chimpanzees’ understanding of others’ intentions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As previously reported (Beran and Rumbaugh, 2001), two chimpanzees used a joystick to collect dots, one-at-a-time, on a computer monitor, and then ended a trial when the number of dots collected was equal to the Arabic numeral presented for the trial. Here, the chimpanzees were presented with the task again after an interval of 6 months and then again after an additional interval of 3.25 years. During each interval, the chimpanzees were not presented with the task, and this allowed an assessment of the extent to which both animals retained the values of each Arabic numeral. Despite lower performance at each retention interval compared to the original study, both chimpanzees performed above chance levels in collecting a quantity of dots equal to the target numeral, one chimpanzee for the numerals 1?7, and the second chimpanzee for the numerals 1?6. For the 3.25-year retention, errors were more dispersed around each target numeral than in the original study, but the chimpanzees' performances again appeared to be based on a continuous representation of magnitude rather than a discrete representation of number. These data provide an experimental demonstration of long-term retention of the differential values of Arabic numerals by chimpanzees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The new species Leptogenys khammouanensis sp. nov. is described from two caves of the Khammouan karst (Laos). It is characterized by a set of striking morphological characters (reduced eyes. light pigmentation, slender body and very elongated legs and antennae), which recall the troglobiomorphic traits of cave arthropods. Relations between caves and ants are discussed at this occasion, in the light of the recent biological explorations of caves in Southeast Asia. The classical view that ants are rare and unimportant in caves is challenged. Ants are actually major and regular components of guano assemblages in many caves of the region, but none of these guano species exhibit cave-related adaptation in its external morphology. Conversely, ants are very rare in low-resources habitats, where only accidental occurrence of outside species are reported in Southeast Asia. Leptogenys khammouanensis has been found only in such an oligotrophic environment, very deep in the cave and far from any guano deposits. Its presence there, together with its trogiobiomorphic traits, support the idea that Leptogenys khammouanensis might be the first truly troglobitic ant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations of cave-dwelling bat species were investigated in the transitory region between the Eastern Thrace and the Western Pontus. Data were collected during 30 surveys in 13 underground sites, 10 of which had not been surveyed previously by bat researchers, between March 1999 and March 2000. Approximately 20 000 bats representing eight species were recorded. Grouping the sites according to their ecological resemblance, by means of cluster and correspondence analyses, yielded different results for the summer and winter data. In summer, there was a partial separation of the sites by their location in biogeographic regions. In winter, no regional grouping was observed. It was concluded that in the transitory region, species distribution does not differ considerably between the Eastern Thracian and Western Pontic ecosystems. In addition, a conservation scoring system is proposed for those sites investigated, their status is evaluated, and the most important local roosts are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]