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International audience; It was long assumed that only humans can distinguish the living from the dead. Renewed interest in this question over the last decade has led several authors to assert that non-human primates are also aware of death. We investigate this issue by comparing the behaviours of monkeys and great apes toward helpless conspecifics, basing our analysis on published reports. We first examine the behaviours of mothers towards the body of their dead offspring. They may carry the corpse for days or more before abandoning it. They groom, inspect and protect it, sometimes allowing group members to explore it, and rare cases of cannibalism have been reported. No significant difference is observed in the way that monkeys and great apes treat the bodies of infants. We then examine responses to collapsed (still able to move and react) and inanimate (unresponsive or dead) conspecifics. Monkeys and great apes guard, care for and inspect their helpless partners, and also manipulate and mobilise them. Through these actions, individuals may inform themselves about the state of their partners, test their responsiveness and/or attempt to rouse them. It appears that only chimpanzees and gorillas show violent action such as display behaviours and the rough treatment of bodies. They can also make distress calls, and periods of "stunned silence" sometimes occur in chimpanzees, indicating that they are experiencing intense emotion. Finally, we argue that while both monkeys and great apes detect body dysfunction through the victims' inability to wake up and move, only great apes can understand that something serious has happened. The signs of emotional disturbance reported in them indicate that they may believe that inanimate conspecifics have entered a state of "dormancy", meaning that they are unlikely to regain wakefulness. However, there is no evidence that any non-human primates are aware of mortality.

Having a thorough understanding of animal feeding behaviour is a basic aim in ecology. Food represents a crucial resource that can strongly rule animal populations, especially where food supplies are seasonal, such as in temperate areas. In Italy, sub-Mediterranean forests dominated by deciduous oaks are commonly inhabited by the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis, the wood mouse A. sylvaticus and the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Despite the rich literature regarding their diet composition in northern Europe, to our knowledge no studies have been published on food preferences of these rodents in syntopy in sub-Mediterranean deciduous forests. Feeding preferences of 33 A. flavicollis, 10 A. sylvaticus and 18 M. glareolus on reproductive parts (flowers, unripe and ripe fruits) of 26 representative plant species in a deciduous oak forest of central Italy were investigated through seasonal cafeteria-style experiments. Our findings evidence that A. flavicollis exhibited distinct preferences in all seasons...

Size and characteristics of home range are fundamental ecological parameters for a species and useful life-history variables for predicting the number of individuals that can occupy a certain area. In Italy, wildlife biologists have largely ignored spatial behaviour of the European pine marten, although this predator is present across the peninsula. We investigated the seasonal socio-spatial behaviour of pine marten in a sub-Mediterranean deciduous oak forest of central Italy, by radio-tracking 16 pine martens (eight males and eight females). To our knowledge, our research is the only published study on spacing pattern of pine marten in sub-Mediterranean deciduous oak forests and the first published radio-telemetry study on pine marten home range in Italy. Size, composition and stability of seasonal ranges (FK 95 and 50 %) were analyzed in both sexes. Unlike what has been reported in literature for other European habitats, home ranges resulted similar in size and forest coverage in both sexes and throughout seasons. The only exception were females’ territories whose size decreased in spring. Males and females occupied ranges stable in both position and size through the year, leading us to hypothesize that the sub-Mediterranean deciduous oak forest was able to meet resource requirements for both sexes and in all seasons. Our results provide useful information on the socio-spatial ecology of the European pine marten and may be helpful for conservation management of this species in southern Europe.

Studies at small spatial scale are often fundamental to highlight the behavioural plasticity of a species and thus have important implications for conservation planning, in particular for species usually considered as habitat specialists. We investigated second-order habitat selection of the European pine marten in an area dominated by deciduous oak forest and open fields in central Italy, by radio-tracking 16 pine martens (eight males, eight females). Pine martens placed home ranges in areas with more open field than in the study area, whereas woodland (oak and conifer forests) comprised a smaller portion of the home range than predominant forest character of the studied area. Although the presence of the species in the open habitats has been documented, to our knowledge, our results provide the first evidence of home range establishment in this cover type by pine marten at population level. The combination of low predation risk and high availability of resources could allow pine martens to occupy open fields in our study area. We highlighted different individual strategies of habitat selection, with some individuals placing home ranges in areas with high forest coverage while others occupying open areas. We found no effects of sex and body condition on habitat selection, and this could indicate that in the study area, both forested and non-forested cover types, such as open fields, shrub and anthropic areas, can provide adequate food, overhead cover and resting sites for all individuals. Pine marten ability to occupy open fields seems thus more related to the behavioural flexibility of the species, rather than to the need to supplement dens and forage from complementary lower quality habitat. The high quality of the Mediterranean continental area studied could also explain the selection of open areas by the pine marten. Our results offer useful information on pine marten ecology and may be helpful for conservation management of this species in southern Europe.

Males living in multi-male groups are both strong rivals and potential allies. In several primate species they regularly interact through ritualized exchanges known as greetings. We studied five captive groups of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) to test five hypotheses regarding the social function of greetings. We found that greetings were mostly reciprocal interactions, and that they often involved physical contact and facial displays. Although they were mostly initiated by the higher-ranking individual in each dyad, subordinates could initiate approximately one-third of greetings, which indicates that greetings do not serve as a formal acknowledgement of dominance relationships. Although greeting frequencies were negatively correlated to the frequency of supplantations and conflicts, they were not significantly influenced by age and dominance status, showing that greetings are not used to appease partners or decrease tension between males. Males most frequently greeted partners with whom they spent more time in proximity and body contact, and this is consistent with the hypothesis that greetings play a role in reinforcing social relationships. Lastly, greetings increased in frequency between individuals involved in challenges for rank, lending support to the hypothesis that males assess the state of their social relationships through greetings. Am. J. Primatol. 76:989–998, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Few researches have been carried out on wild populations of small carnivores involving animals live trapping. Problems in field data collection make spatial and reproductive dynamics of these species still not understood. This research used data about only 14 live trapped individuals, because of the quoted problems, nevertheless results showed important and preliminary considerations on this topic. In the study, genetic microsatellite methodology applied to natural weasel population produced data on kinship and dispersal patterns. All the 11 microsatellite analyzed loci were found polymorphic, with an average number of alleles per locus of 5.36 ; estimated expected heterozygosity He (0.62) is at the highest end of the range of other Mustela species. No significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found (p≥ 0.05). The analysis of genetic kinship showed no full siblings and only one parent-offspring pair : so only 1.09% of the total possible pair wise comparisons (91) showed close genetic kinship. The proportion of related animals from the sampled population was 14,2%., Magrini Caterina, Cento Michele, Manzo Emiliano, Pierpaoli Massimo, Zapponi Livia, Cozzolino Roberto. Pilot study of genetic relatedness in a solitary small carnivore, the weasel: implications for kinship and dispersal. In: Ecologia mediterranea, tome 38 n°2, 2012. pp. 23-27.

Evaluating presence and abundance of small carnivores is essential for their conservation. In Italy, there is scarce information on European pine marten distribution, and no data are published on its abundance. Camera traps have been widely used to estimate population density applying capture–recapture models for species in which individual recognition is possible. Here we estimate the abundance of European pine martens in central Italy using camera trapping and a model that allows the estimation of population density without the need for individual recognition Rowcliffe et al. (Anim Conserv 11:185–186, 2008). Camera trapping was also used to evaluate habitat use patterns by martens. Fifteen camera traps were deployed in 90 placements for 15 days each, for a total of 1,334 camera days. Pine martens were captured in 24% of camera trap placements with a mean trap success rate of 0.33 photographs per camera placement. Estimated pine marten population density in the study area was 0.34 individuals km−2. Marten trap rate was not strongly associated with any habitat type, although there were trends towards lower probability of records at locations with high coverage of cultivated fields and higher probability of records at locations with high coverage of human-made woodland. The results suggest that pine martens in this area are not confined to wooded habitat. To our knowledge, this study is the first application of the Rowcliffe et al. (Anim Conserv 11:185–186, 2008) method to a wild carnivore population and, furthermore, the first estimation of population density of pine martens in Italy.

International audience; Aggression is potentially disruptive for social groups. Although individuals witnessing a conflict are not directly threatened by aggressive interactions, the aftermath of aggression appears to be a period of social instability.We expected bystanders to respond to conflicts by affiliating with other group members and so reducing social tension. To test this hypothesis we collected data on two captive groups of Tonkean macaques, Macaca tonkeana. After an agonistic interaction, the behaviours of focal individuals uninvolved in the conflict were recorded over 5 min postconflict periods, for comparison with baseline periods. The results showed that bystanders were more likely to show affiliation during postconflict periods than in baselines. We found that affiliation occurred more frequently between individuals linked by friendship, whereas no significant effect of kinship appeared, which may be related to the open social relationships reported in Tonkean macaques. Females initiated affiliation sooner than males and conflicts involving physical contact were more quickly followed by affiliation between bystanders. Rates of scratching tended to decrease after the first affiliative interaction. None the less, few signs of anxiety were observed in bystanders. Our results reflect the high propensity of Tonkean macaques to appease others and stop aggression. This study demonstrates that postconflict affiliation occurs between bystanders in a species characterized by tolerant social relationships. It could be a pervasive means of social cohesion among primates.

A set of 13 polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from a genomic library enriched for dinucleotide repeats in the European pine marten Martes martes. Microsatellite loci amplification was tested on a panel of 12 tissue samples and 9 distinct hair samples collected from either road-killed or trapped animals in Tuscany, Italy. Allelic diversity was 6 and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 10. Mean observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.610 (range: 0.238–0.905) and 0.698 (range: 0.400–0.856), respectively. This novel set of microsatellite loci will be particularly useful for non-invasive genetic studies to assess population distribution and patterns of population structure and dispersal of M. martes in woodlands and fragmented habitats.

The ability to recognize the close associates of other group members may permit the display of redirected aggression against the relatives of the former aggressor. However, the dominance structure and the kin-based alliance system of macaque society are expected not to favour the occurrence of this kin-oriented redirection. Nevertheless, within 1 h of being the victim of an attack, Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, were more likely to attack the former aggressor's kin than without such a conflict. The conditions under which the victim redirected against the former aggressor's kin were investigated. This kin-oriented redirection did not occur preferentially either after conflicts between individuals with unstable and/or uncertain dominance relationships or after conflicts with individuals that were unlikely to intervene in favour of their kin. Victims redirected against individuals that were younger than the former aggressor and often subordinate to the victim. They also redirected in an opportunistic way by joining polyadic interactions against the former aggressor's kin. The possibility that this kin-oriented redirection may have a long-term function in changing the aggressive attitude of the aggressor towards the victim is also discussed. In addition, the victim's kin also displayed a form of kin-oriented redirection. They were more likely to attack the kin of an individual after it had attacked their own kin.

This study investigated the relationship between social rank and sex-biased maternal investment in captive Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) using reproductive and behavioural data. High-ranking mothers showed a significantly male-biased secondary sex ratio, spent more time in contact with and carried male infants for longer than female infants. Low-ranking mothers showed no bias in secondary sex ratio nor in the time spent in contact with male and female infants, but carried female infants for longer. No differences were observed in the interbirth intervals following male and female infants nor in the frequency and intensity of aggression received by mothers with male and female infants, either in high-ranking or in low-ranking mothers. These results show that Japanese macaque mothers can adopt flexible and rank-dependent rearing strategies.