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Fruit husks are rarely uniformly hard, varying in penetrability via sulci and changes in thickness. We tested whether a hard-food specialist primate i) bites randomly on food fruit husk surfaces to access seeds, or ii) selects areas most easily penetrated by canines. We consider this would occur so as to minimize deployed mechanical force, energetic expenditure and risk of dental breakage when feeding.A sulcus is the natural line of weakness where a dehiscent fruit breaks open. Using fruits dentally opened for seeds by golden-back uacaris (Cacajao ouakary) we: 1) analysed bite mark distribution on surface of four fruits types (hard-with-sulcus, soft-with-sulcus, hard-no-sulcus, soft-no-sulcus); 2) quantified the force needed to penetrate hard and soft fruits at sulci and elsewhere on fruit surface; 3) measured fruit wall thickness and correlated it with bite-mark distribution in all four categories of fruit.1) Bite marks were distributed at random only on surfaces of soft fruits. For other fruits types, bite locations were concentrated at the thinnest areas of husk, either over the entire surface (non-sulcate fruits), or at sulci (sulcate fruits). 2) For hard-husked fruits, areas where uacaris concentrated their bites were significantly easier to penetrate than those where they did not.This hard-fruit feeding specialist primate is not biting at random on the surface of diet fruits. To access seeds they are focusing on those areas requiring less force to penetrate. This may be to save energy, to minimize the risk of breaking teeth used in food processing, or a combination of both. The study shows, for the first time, the subtlety by which these powerfully-jawed animals process their diet items.

We compared parasitic infection in a crop-raiding and a wild-foraging troop of olive baboons, Papio anubis, in Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria, to quantify how crop raiding may have influenced primate-parasite interactions. We recovered gastrointestinal parasites from fecal samples from all adult individuals in both troops and processed them via formal-ether sedimentation. We compared parasitic species richness, prevalence, output, and load across troops. We recovered 9 parasite taxa. The wild-foraging troop had a significantly higher mean output than the crop-raiding troop for Physaloptera sp., Trichuris sp., and also a significantly higher total helminth load. The crop-raiding troop had a significantly higher mean output for the protozoan Balantidium coli and also showed a higher parasitic species richness, with 9 species recovered compared to the 7 recorded for the wild-foraging individuals. The changes in nutritional intake, behavior, and human proximity caused by crop raiding may have important epidemiological impacts on wild primate populations, and the nature of such impacts may vary across different taxa of parasites.

In order to maintain regulatory processes, animals are expected to be adapted to the range of environmental stressors usually encountered in their environmental niche. The available capacity of their stress responses is termed their reactive scope, which is utilised to a greater or lesser extent to deal with different stressors. Typically, non-invasive hormone assessment is used to measure the physiological stress responses of wild animals, but, for methodological reasons, such measurements are not directly comparable across studies, limiting interpretation. To overcome this constraint, we propose a new measure of the relative strength of stress responses, ‘demonstrated reactive scope’, and illustrate its use in a study of ecological correlates (climate, food availability) of faecal glucocorticoid (fGC) levels in two forest-living troops of baboons. Results suggest the wild-feeding troop experiences both thermoregulatory and nutritional stress, while the crop-raiding troop experiences only thermoregulatory stress. This difference, together with the crop-raiding troop’s lower overall physiological stress levels and lower demonstrated fGC reactive scope, may reflect nutritional stress-buffering in this troop. The relatively high demonstrated fGC reactive scope levels of both troops compared with other baboons and primate species, may reflect their extreme habitat, on the edge of the geographic range for baboons. Demonstrated reactive scope provides a means of gauging the relative strengths of stress responses of individuals, populations, or species under different conditions, enhancing the interpretive capacity of non-invasive studies of stress hormone levels in wild populations, e.g. in terms of animals’ adaptive flexibility, the magnitude of their response to anthropogenic change, or the severity of impact of environmental conditions.

Few mammalian orders carry their infants clinging to the mother's fur. I investigated the evolution of carrying behavior in primates and the life-history and ecological correlates of infant care patterns. Primates are ideal for the study as there is variation in infant care patterns. Primate infants are left hidden in nests or parked in trees, both of which strategies I term parking, and are carried orally or ride clinging to the mother's fur: riding. Infant carrying has evolved several times in the Primates and, once evolved, it has been conserved. Significant energetic costs of riding are indicated as riding species maintain smaller home ranges than those of non-riders of the same body size. With body size and phylogenetic influences taken into account, riders appear to incur a reproductive cost by weaning and breeding later than parkers. Although riders do not have lower birth rates than those of parkers, their later age at first reproduction leads to their having a lower reproductive rate, measured by the intrinsic rate of population increase. Precociality of infants is not correlated with either riding or nesting behavior. Although non-nesting species have larger litter sizes, their infants are not significantly smaller, nor are their neonatal brains relatively smaller. Although riding may have some energetic and reproductive costs, its repeated evolution in the Primates suggests that it also has some benefits, the most likely being a reduced mortality risk for carried infants.

The amount of non-maternal care (allocare) found in primates varies greatly from species to species. Our paper examines this variation and focuses on possible reasons why mothers in some anthropoid primate species are prepared to relinquish their infants to other carers whereas others are not. We use data collected from the literature to test a number of hypotheses that attempt to explain the observed variation in non-maternal care. Analyses were carried out using comparative methods that control for the influence of both body size and phylogeny on life-history and ecological variation. The results support previous studies of both primates and other mammals in finding a clear link between the amount of allocare provided and female reproductive rates. Species with high allocare levels grow rapidly post-natally and wean their infants at a younger age (but at the same relative size) than species of the same body size with lower allocare levels. This early weaning allows high allocare species to support higher birth rates than low allocare species but does not result in earlier maturation. Our results, therefore, suggest that mothers allow non-maternal care of their infants in order to increase their own reproductive output. It is not clear whether such a strategy also benefits the infant, as we could find no link between the presence of allocare and early maturation (which would increase the infant’s reproductive output) or between allocare levels and infant survival (as measured by vulnerability to infanticide). This suggests that mothers and infants might come into conflict over transfer to other carers, as the benefits to the mother may not be accompanied by benefits to the infant. However, although mothers may benefit from allocare in some circumstances, they will not be expected to allow allocare if the costs are high (e.g. if there is a high risk to the infant).

The converging forces of globalization, technology, deregulation, economic restructuring and the present threat of recession in many parts of the small business sector, make strategy and strategic thinking an essential prerequisite if business survival is to remain on the agenda for many entrepreneurs and owner-managers. This paper examines the actions and responses of a sample of small firms in the Midlands region of the UK, currently facing adverse trading conditions or the threat of recession. In an earlier study conducted by one of the authors (Beaver, 1997) these firms described themselves as ‘practitioners of strategic management’. Whilst there is no guarantee of immunity for any business from the effects of deteriorating economic conditions, it can be expected that those firms that engage in strategic management, better understand and respond to the changing nature of industry positioning and competitive advantage, and make timely and appropriate adjustments to preserve or enhance their market position (Bracker, Keats and Pearson, 1988; Jennings and Beaver, 1997). Put another way, it is generally well accepted that suboptimal performance and potential business failure are closely correlated with a lack of attention to business strategy (Birley and Westhead, 1990; Wheelen and Hunger, 1992 and 1998; Jennings and Beaver, 1997). It follows therefore, that those firms facing tough trading conditions should fashion their competitive responses in accordance not only with any contingency plans that may have been developed, but should act in a positive and timely manner to underpin their chosen strategic position. Given that many small businesses experience a measure of disadvantage (Beaver and Harrison, 1994; Jennings and Beaver, 1996 and 1997), due not only to the size of the enterprise, but also to their resource-base and operating context, the need to embrace strategic management thinking and actions, especially in a recessionary environment, has never been more necessary.

Female mammals bear the energetic costs of gestation and lactation. Therefore, it is often assumed that the overall energetic costs are greater for females than they are for males. However, the energetic costs to males of intrasex competition may also be considerable, particularly if males maintain a much larger body size than females. Using data from 19 non-human primates, this paper examines the relationship between male and female energetic costs both in the short term (daily energy expenditure) and the long term (the energetic cost of producing a single offspring). It is shown that the major determinant of sex differences in energetic costs is body size dimorphism. In the long term, the energetic costs are often greater for females, but, when male body size exceeds female body size by 60% or more, male energetic costs are greater than those for females. That is, in highly sexually dimorphic species the energetic costs of gestation and lactation for the females are matched by the energetic costs to the males of maintaining a large body size.

A pilot study was undertaken of the feasibility of continuous EEG monitoring of patients admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for management of status epilepticus or its immediate sequelae. Eight children were studied and seizure activity was recorded in four patients. Additional information influencing management was obtained: the bedside nurse considered decerebrate posturing in one patient to be a seizure: there were no epileptiform EEG changes. Another patient was considered to have seizures (clonic movements of both upper limbs) following cardiac arrest; the EEG showed electrocerebral silence, and thiopentone treatment was discontinued. In another patient, continuing epileptiform activity on EEG gave intensivists the confidence to use higher than usual doses of thiopentone. The problems encountered were delays in monitoring, once for a CT scan and once because of two admissions within hours of each other. We conclude that EEG monitoring on a PICU is feasible and provides clinically useful information.

An animal's life history can be summarized by key variables that account for its life course from conception to death. Biological parameters that are of interest relate to reproductive effort and developmental rates (e.g., gestation length, neonatal weight, prenatal and postnatal growth rates, weaning age, and weaning weight) and the rate of reproduction (e.g., age at first and last reproduction, interbirth interval, the number of offspring per litter, birth rate, and the intrinsic rate of natural increase [rmax]). The rather obvious fact that such variables differ from species to species and from individual to individual has been the subject of much interest since the late 1960s, following the observation that species seem to be arranged in a spectrum that ranges from small animals that breed rapidly and develop early, have many young per litter, and have short lives, to large animals that breed slowly and develop late, have few young per litter, and have long lives. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We carried out a study of Hanuman langurs in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India during three months in 1990. The area surveyed included habitat disturbed by human activity, with both the grazing of livestock and firewood collecting resulting in degraded forest. Langur population density was estimated to be between 19 and 36 animals/km2. The density of langurs in disturbed areas was significantly lower than in undisturbed areas. Both tree cover, total tree, and shrub cover were positively correlated with langur density, suggesting that a lack of trees in disturbed areas may have caused the lower langur densities. Although bisexual groups were significantly more common in undisturbed areas the distribution of all male groups did not appear to be affected by human disturbance, suggesting that male bands are likely to inhabit more disturbed habitats than bisexual groups. We suggest that either a lack of food trees or the high density of predators in Sariska may prevent bisexual groups from inhabiting areas where tree cover is low, although the more mobile male groups can survive in these areas. Although Hanuman langurs are a relatively common species in India, these results suggest that they are not, as is commonly assumed, immune to the effects of human disturbance. In areas where langurs appear to survive in disturbed habitats the different response of bisexual and all male groups to disturbance may still result in serious disruption to the population structure.

The effect of the strict classification of spermatozoal morphology on the outcome of in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer treatment cycles has been assessed in a retrospective analysis of 2144 consecutive cycles. The patients all had a standardized long protocol gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue cycle, with luteal phase start, to achieve down-regulation. All treatment cycles where the sperm density was abnormal (20 x 10(6)/ml), or where progressive motility was abnormal (40%), were excluded. The study excluded treatment cycles where the oocytes inseminated did not include at least one grade 1 or grade 2 oocyte. The percentage of couples achieving the normalized results of the clinic, including median fertilization rate per patient, insemination rates, numbers of embryos transferred, rates of 'spare embryo' blastocyst formation, cumulative pregnancy rates and pregnancy outcome, were calculated. No statistically significant difference arose between the two groups of patients with regard to the percentage of patients achieving the normalized median fertilization rate or higher (group 1 with14% normal forms, and group 2 withor = 4%,or = 14% normal forms). There was a statistically significantly lower chance of achieving this rate in patients of group 3 (4% normal forms) (P0.005), but 68.6% did achieve that fertilization rate or higher. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the other end points. In conclusion, a morphological classification may be appropriate as an indicator for counselling patients with regard to treatment expectations, but its use would be seem inappropriate as an index of fertilizing potential in clinical management.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Objective To determine the effects of zona slitting and subsequent embryo transfer performed on different days of in vitro human embryonic development to allow appropriate application of assisted hatching techniques to clinical IVF-ET. Design A microsurgical technique was used to make a standardized slit in the zona pellucida of bipronucleate human embryos on day 2, 3, or 5 after oocyte retrieval. A mock ET was performed after the procedure and the rate of blastocyst formation and the process of hatching in each embryo was monitored. Setting All embryos used were donated for research by patients attending the IVF Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom. Main Outcome Measures The effects of the mock ET on the integrity of zona-slit embryos was documented. The embryos were cultured further and parameters such as blastocyst formation, initiation, and completion of hatching were monitored in all three groups of embryos. Results The mock ET did not have a detrimental effect on embryos as assessed by their morphology and subsequent blastocyst formation rate. The technique used in this study to make an opening in the zona increased the rate and number of blastocysts hatching in all three groups compared with nonmanipulated controls. However, the day on which the slit was made did not significantly alter the outcome. Conclusion A gap in the zona pellucida of human embryos significantly increases the rate of hatching. Micromanipulative techniques such as zona slitting can be suitably used for this purpose without loss of blastomeres through the gap in the zona or trapping of the embryo during the process of hatching.

Patients with substance dependence and psychiatric symptoms often present a diagnostic conundrum because each of these problems may mutually and reciprocally complicate the other. This may challenge the ability to identify dual-diagnosis patients who have both a substance abuse disorder and a definitive symptom-based psychiatric disorder. The main purpose of this explorative study was to identify variables suggestive of dual diagnosis in the population of substance-dependent patients with psychiatric symptoms. A secondary purpose was to examine the subgroups in this population for their distinctiveness from one another. Based upon clinical experience and the literature, seven independent variables were hypothesized as suggestive of dual diagnosis. Seventy-nine patients with substance dependence and psychiatric symptoms of depression, anxiety, and/or psychosis were assessed for symptom and disorder status generating three subgroups: I) 20 patients with psychiatric symptoms not meeting thresholds for clinical significance; II) 36 patients exhibiting a psychiatric disorder (dual diagnosis); and III) 23 patients with psychiatric symptoms meeting thresholds for clinical significance but not for a disorder. Odds ratios were calculated to examine the risk for dual diagnosis using the seven independent variables. A persistent increased risk for dual diagnosis was observed in patients who were positive for the seven variables. The seven variables were combined into an overall measure of patients' risk for dual diagnosis. Mean scores were significantly different for the three groups F(2, 76) = 8.4, p.001. This study indicates variables that may be suggestive of dual diagnosis and finds subgroup distinctiveness in this sample. Both of these findings have treatment implications.

CHDS State/Local This thesis bridges the knowledge gap between Title 10 Active Duty and Title 32 National Guard in order to breakdown cultural barriers and reach unity of effort for response operations in the homeland. Regrettably, a unified response was missing among Title 10 Active Duty and Title 32 National Guard members following Hurricane Katrina. Since then, initiatives based in doctrine, statutes and formal recommendations have been established to address unity of effort, however, a serious knowledge gap remains. Future threats, manmade or natural, will require a unified response to save lives and mitigate suffering. Case studies on the Israeli Home Front Command and the Florida Division of Emergency Management help determine best practices to reach unity of effort between Title 10 Active Duty and Title 32 National Guard. Appreciating the varying perspectives, concerns and competing interests among state and federal stakeholders on command and control of military forces in the homeland is vital to moving forward. Understanding culture and context among Title 10 Active Duty and Title 32 National Guard will facilitate learning and resolve conflict. Progress is underway to reach unity of effort through the Council of Governors on dual-status command and this thesis recommends next steps to enhance efforts. http://archive.org/details/gettingtoonefrom109455551 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

A take-over and infanticide were observed in a South Indian population of Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). A one-male, bisexual troop of langurs (Troop B1) was attacked by a band of two adult males and one subadult male. During the take-over, the resident male and one elderly female were driven from the troop. The youngest infant, about two months old, was fatally wounded by an attack from the dominant incoming male (S1). However, other young infants in Troop B1 were left unharmed. All three incoming males remained in Troop B1 but the troop appeared to remain functionally one-male, as S1 did not allow the other adult male to copulate. There was no sign that S1 attempted to eject the other two males from troop B1. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

This study compares the distribution of two monkey species, Hanuman langurs Presbytis entellus and rhesus macaques Macaca mulatta, in mixed forest, pine forest and town areas around the town of Shimla, Northern India. The two species responded differently to human disturbance. Macaques frequent town areas as well as mixed and pine forests. In contrast the langur population is found almost exclusively in mixed forest, rarely in towns and almost never in pine forest. We believe that increasing urbanisation and the current practice of replanting forest with chir pine Pinus roxburghii, rather than broad-leaved trees, will have a detrimental effect on the langur population in this area.

In Amazonian seasonally flooded forest (igapo), golden-backed uacaris, Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary, show high selectivity for sleeping trees. Of 89 tree species in igapo, only 16 were used for sleeping (18%). Hydrochorea marginata (Fabaceae) and Ormosia paraensis (Fabaceae) were used most frequently (41% of records) despite being uncommon (Ivlev electivity ratios were 0.76, and 0.84, respectively), though the third most commonly used species (11%), Amanoa oblongifolia (Euphorbiaceae), was selected at near parity. All three species have broad, open canopies with large horizontal limbs and uncluttered interiors. Compared with random trees, sleeping trees had above average diameter at breast height (DBH) and height, lacked lianas and wasp nests, and were more frequently within 5 m of open water. Uacaris generally slept one adult per tree or widely separated in the same canopy and on the outer third of the branch. These behaviours are interpreted as maximising detection of both aerial and arboreal predators.

The remote Gashaka region is still largely unexplored, although this area in north-eastern Nigeria is a premier wilderness where monkeys and apes still survive in large numbers. They are part of a rich assemblage of, often endemic, wildlife that has developed at this interface between the dry sub-Saharan Guinea savannah and the moist Cameroonian highlands. Primates include a large population of the rarest chimpanzee subspecies as well as colobus, guenons and baboons, which thrive here despite an unusually wet climate. The main ethnic groups – Fulani cattle herders and Hausa speaking subsistence farmers – still follow age-old traditions. Conservation challenges come in the form of human settlements in national parks, deforestation, annual bush fires, livestock grazing and hunting for bush-meat. This chapter reviews the inception and history of the Gashaka Primate Project, founded in the year 2000 and dedicated to research and conservation in this iconic primate habitat. The project’s international network of researchers and conservationists engage in areas such as primate socioecology; genetics and phylogeography; nutritional ecology; vocal communication and cognition; ethno-botany and ethno-primatology; human subsistence strategies and conflicts with wildlife; as well as habitat surveys assessing success and failure of conservation approaches. The contributions assembled in the volume Primates of Gashaka aim for interdisciplinarity and comparative dimensions, across species and the African continent.

We investigated the causes and consequences of crop-raiding for the ecology and life-history of two troops of olive baboons studied in Nigeria’s Gashaka Gumti National Park over 8 years. Kwano troop feeds entirely on wild foods whilst the Gamgam troop regularly consumes crops grown within its home-range. Crop-raiding provides both energetic and reproductive advantages as Gamgam troop spent less time travelling and feeding and more time resting and socialising. The crop-raiding troop has also shorter inter-birth intervals and lower infant mortality. Costs to crop-raiding due to chasing and attacks by farmers are outweighed by the benefits of increased access to high-quality foods, a reduced susceptibility to pathogen loads, and a consequently increased reproductive output.

Attempts to deal with human–animal conflicts are often beset with difficulties due to a lack of local consultation and appreciation of local knowledge systems. We address these issues by investigating human–wildlife conflict, specifically crop-raiding, as experienced by a population of Fulani living within the highland enclaves of Gashaka Gumti National Park. We classify sources of risk and perceived benefits experienced by the Fulani, who are traditionally pastoralists but have taken on a settled lifestyle. By distinguishing between risk incidence and severity of subjective risk perceptions we view crop-damage in the context of other costs and benefits associated with living in the enclaves and more specifically with living inside a national park. Attitudes toward specific crop depredating wildlife and domestic animals are also investigated, as well as reasons for recent changes in agricultural productivity and cattle herd dynamics. Results show that prosperity of livestock was considered the greatest benefit of living in the highland enclaves, whilst the secure environment afforded by the park authorities, contributing to the safety of family and cows, was identified as the greatest benefit of living inside the national park. The greatest perceived risk to local livelihoods associated with living in the enclaves was damage to crops, whilst the most serious problem with living in the park was prohibitions on the use of local resources. Animal damage by 16 species was rated as the risk that had the greatest negative impact on crop yields. The olive baboon was considered to pose the greatest threat to subsistence. Comparisons then made with actual recorded amounts of damage revealed a significant disparity. Why such a disparity should exist is complex. The Fulani live in the enclaves, not because they wish to farm, but because it is a good place to rear cattle. Adverse changes in crop productivity are perceived to have a direct negative impact on herd size, but the socio-economic status of individuals may well determine the reasons for diversification from pastoralism into farming. This may influence the ­identification of particular sources of risk which, in turn, affects how an individual perceives the park authorities and the animals they are charged to protect.

Our long-term study of baboons in Gashaka Gumti National Park (GGNP) is one of very few that looks at West African baboons, and is also unusual because it focuses on animals living in a forested environment with high annual rainfall. Here, we present data on troop size, activity budgets, ranging behaviour, diet, and life-history, and compare these data with those from other baboon study sites. The troop sizes at GGNP are significantly smaller than many other baboon populations, and this may be linked to low predation pressure at the site. The high productivity and floral diversity at GGNP allow animals to avoid eating difficult to process subterranean foods and feed on preferred foods such as fruits and seeds. The diet of wild-feeding animals at the site is diverse, and includes a high proportion of fruit and low proportion of leaves, subterranean items, and animal foods when compared with other baboon populations. Gestation length, cycle length, and length of post-partum amenorrhea for the wild-feeding K troop are typical of baboons but the inter-birth interval in this population is significantly longer than that found in most other baboon populations due to a long duration of cycling. The high rainfall at GGNP may increase disease risk, forcing wild-feeding mothers to invest heavily in their offspring, resulting in a long period of cycling before successful pregnancy and hence a long inter-birth interval.

Although many studies have analyzed the causes and consequences of social relationships, few studies have explicitly assessed how measures of social relationships are affected by the choice of behaviors used to quantify them. The use of many behaviors to measure social relationships in primates has long been advocated, but it was analytically difficult to implement this framework into primatological work. However, recent advances in social network analysis (SNA) now allow the comparison of multiple networks created from different behaviors. Here we use our database of baboon social behavior (Papio anubis, Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria) to investigate (i) to what extent social networks created from different behaviors overlap, (ii) to what extent individuals occupy similar social positions in these networks and (iii) how sex affects social network position in this population of baboons. We used data on grooming, aggression, displacement, mounting and presenting, which were collected over a 15-month period. We calculated network parameters separately for each behavior. Networks based on displacement, mounting and presenting were very similar to each other, whereas grooming and aggression networks differed both from each other and from mounting, displacement and presenting networks. Overall, individual network positions were strongly affected by sex. Individuals central in one network tended to be central in most other networks as well, whereas other measures such as clustering coefficient were found to vary depending on the behavior analyzed. Thus, our results suggest that a baboon's social environment is best described by a multiplex network based on affiliative, aggressive and sexual behavior. Modern SNA provides a number of useful tools that will help us to better understand animals' social environment. We also discuss potential caveats related to their use. Am. J. Primatol. 73:775–789, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Macaques are found both in broadleaf evergreen forest and in more variable habitats. The former group might be expected to be subject to less variability in their environment and hence to suffer lower rates of density independent mortality. Life history evolution models predict that species in such conditions will have lower rates of development and breeding than those found in more variable habitats where density independent mortality is high. This prediction is tested here by comparing the breeding and development rates of nine species of macaque. Although measures of developmental rate are not found to vary in a predictable way with habitat, measures of breeding rate do correlate with habitat categories used. As predicted, species that are found in more variable habitats tend to have higher birth rates and a higher intrinsic rate of natural increase than do species in more stable, forest habitats. Contrary to prediction selection does not always act to produce an early age at first reproduction in macaques living in seasonal environments. This is discussed with relation to physiological and environmental constraints.

The relationship between basal metabolic rate (BMR), body weight and diet is examined for primates. Contrary to the results reported in several recent works, there is no strong evidence that diet is directly linked to BMR, although a low BMR, relative to body weight, may be found in species with folivorous diets. There is some evidence that nocturnal haplorhine species have a relatively low BMR, but strepsirhines appear to have a uniformly low relative BMR regardless of their primary activity period. The evolution of BMR in primates is discussed in the light of these findings. Some predictions are made about the relative BMRs that should be found for other species whose BMR is, as yet, unknown.

Baboons are the most successful and ubiquitous African primates, renowned for their behavioral and reproductive flexibility, which enable them to inhabit a wide variety of habitat types. Owing to a number of long-term field studies, comparative behavioral, developmental, demographic, and life-history data are available from several populations, but study sites show a heavy bias toward South and East African savannahs, with little research in West or Central Africa. Life-history data from such areas are important if we are fully to understand the nature of the environmental factors that limit baboon distribution. Here, we present demographic data for olive baboons at Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP), Nigeria, collected from December 2000-February 2006, and use these data to test comparative models of baboon life-history. The GGNP habitat, which includes large areas of rainforest, is an environment in which baboons are little studied, and rainfall is much higher than at previous study sites. GGNP troop size data are presented from censuses, as well as life-history data for two troops, one of which is within the park and wild-feeding (Kwano troop), whereas the other dwells at the park edge, and supplements its diet by crop-raiding (Gamgam troop). Troop sizes at GGNP are small compared with other field sites, but fit within previously suggested ranges for baboons under these climatic conditions. Inter-birth intervals in Kwano troop were long compared with most studied populations, and values were not as predicted by comparative models. Consistent with known effects of food enhancement, Gamgam troop experienced shorter inter-birth intervals and lower infant mortality than Kwano troop. We indicate some possible factors that exclude baboons from true rainforest, and suggest that the clearing of forests in Central and West Africa for agricultural land may allow baboons to extend their range into regions from which they are currently excluded.

Allometric methods are used to investigate the life history patterns of New World monkeys. These patterns are compared to those found in other haplorhines and links with ecology are explored. The life history characteristics of the cebid monkeys suggest that these species are primarily slow breeding and slow developing for primates of their size. I suggest that these characteristics arose during a long period of adaptation to stable rainforest habitats. The capuchins and squirrel monkeys are a notable exception to the general rule that genera found outside primary forests will have a “fast” life history. In the marmosets and tamarins selection for small size and high birth rate has occurred, probably as a result of their adapting to more secondary habitats. It is this selection for rapid breeding, combined with the preadaptation of paternal care, that has probably led to twinning in these species. The evidence presented indicates that it is unlikely that twinning arose as a direct result of the mechanical constraints of small size but is more probably due to selection for increased reproductive output.

Micromanipulation of human oocytes and embryos has provided new opportunities for both the treatment of infertility and the preimplantation diagnosis of genetic disease. It is important to determine whether manipulated embryos develop normally in vitro, as an indication of their suitability for transfer. However, at present there is little information on the development of non-manipulated embryos in vitro for comparison. We have therefore monitored morphological changes and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) secretion in 36 non-manipulated human embryos, including 26 blastocysts and 10 cavitating morulae, daily from day 3 to day 14 of culture. Hatching was observed in 10 (38.5%) blastocysts and five of these adhered to the culture dish and appeared viable until day 14. The secretion of HCG was first detected on day 8, peaked at day 10 (51.11 +/- 8.7 mIU/ml) and then declined but was still detectable in four blastocysts on day 14. There was no overall difference in HCG secretion by hatched blastocysts and those which remained within the zona. However, those hatched blastocysts which showed adherence had significantly increased (P less than 0.05) HCG secretion. For individual blastocysts, the pattern of HCG secretion correlated well with the assessment of morphology. These data provide the basis for comparative studies of morphological changes and HCG secretion in manipulated embryos.

In April, 2008, a 60-year-old man was admitted to our hospital, with paraesthesia and progressive weakness of all four limbs. He had longstanding asthma, recurrent chest infections, and a facial rash; although he had attended a dermatology clinic, the cause of the rash had never been identifi ed. He also had nasal polyps, and a weak sense of smell—32 years before, as his wife vividly recalled, he had been unable to smell a gas leak. In 2006, he had had a septoplasty, and endoscopic sinus surgery, to relieve nasal blockage. 8 weeks before his admission, he had had an episode of gastroenteritis; 2 weeks before admission, he had developed severe backache. When we saw him, he was unable to leave his bed without help. He reported diplopia and blurred vision. We noted a purpuric rash on the trunk and limbs, as well as fever (temperature 37∙4°C), wheezing, reduced power in all limbs, and weak refl exes. We suspected Guillain-Barre syndrome. However, a lumbar puncture showed normal cerebro spinal fl uid. Blood tests showed severe eosinophilia (28∙27×109 cells per L), and high con centrations of C-reactive protein (131∙5 mg/L), ferritin (2430 pmol/L; normal range 50–700 pmol/L), IgE (603 kU/L; normal range

Baboon researchers commonly use the timing of sexual swelling detumescence to infer the timing of ovulation. These estimates are then used for a variety of purposes, including the interpretation of male and female behaviour, assessment of likely paternity, and the calculation of gestation lengths. Although captive studies have measured the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence, this has not been measured in wild baboons. Here, we use observational data on female sexual swellings, and hormonal data measured from faeces, to investigate the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence in wild olive baboons. Our data show similar variability in the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence as that produced by captive studies, although there are some notable differences, including the absence of any ovulations measured on or after the day of swelling detumescence. We discuss the importance of our results for baboon researchers using swellings to infer ovulation as part of their studies.

Primate sexual swellings are hormone-dependent sexual signals that play a key role in determining patterns of behavior. They are among the most conspicuous signals exhibited by any mammal, and their large size and bright coloration have fascinated evolutionary biologists for well over a century. A number of different adaptive hypotheses have been proposed for the evolution of sexual swellings, and there have been several recent attempts to test some of these using precise swelling measurements made in the field. Most of these studies have focused only on the size element of the swelling, and those that have measured other aspects of swellings, such as color, have done so only crudely. A focus solely on swelling size is inconsistent with most theoretical models of mate choice, which emphasize the importance of multiple cues within sexual signals. Here, we present data on baboon (Papio hamadryas anubis) sexual swellings, including measures of both swelling size and color, measured objectively using digital photography at Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria. We combined these measurements with detailed data on fecal progestogen and estrogen levels, and estimates of the timing of ovulation and the fertile period around ovulation based on those levels. We show that swelling color and size vary independently, and that, consistent with results in other species, swelling size contains information about the timing of ovulation and the fertile period. However, we show that swelling color does not contain such information. In addition, swelling size contains information about female parity, and we found some evidence to suggest that color may also contain such information. These results indicate that baboon sexual swellings may contain information about multiple aspects of female fertility. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding the nature of swellings as behavioral signals, and the role of swellings in mate choice.

In samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis labiatus), males compete for residency in unimale troops where they defend females against other males, although extratroop males may sneak copulations with females opportunistically. Here, we attempt to determine whether these are alternative strategies yielding equivalent lifetime reproductive success, or whether the extratroop male component is simply a tactic followed by males who are unable to follow the resident troop male strategy because of their age or physical condition. Observations of mating success and male-male competition support the latter of these hypotheses. Modeling the expected reproductive success of males following the different strategies suggests that dedicated extratroop males in this population would not be able to live for long enough to compensate for their extremely low rate of mating success compared with males achieving troop residency. However, other studies of Cercopithecus mitis have revealed a much higher proportion of mating by extratroop males, and it is suggested that ecological and demographic factors may affect the costs and benefits of these two male strategies.