scholarly journals Mothers may shape the variations in social organization among gorillas

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Robbins ◽  
Maryke Gray ◽  
Thomas Breuer ◽  
Marie Manguette ◽  
Emma J. Stokes ◽  
...  

When mothers continue to support their offspring beyond infancy, they can influence the fitness of those offspring, the strength of social relationships within their groups, and the life-history traits of their species. Using up to 30 years of demographic data from 58 groups of gorillas in two study sites, this study extends such findings by showing that mothers may also contribute to differences in social organization between closely related species. Female mountain gorillas remained with their sons for significantly longer than western gorillas, which may explain why male philopatry and multimale groups are more common among mountain gorillas. The presence of the putative father and other familiar males did not vary significantly between species, and we found only limited support for the socio-ecological theory that the distribution of adult males is influenced by the distribution of females. Within each gorilla species, variations in those distributions may also reflect the different stages in the typical life cycle of a group. Collectively, our results highlight the potentially far-reaching consequences of maternal support that extends beyond infancy, and they illustrate the opportunity to incorporate additional factors into phylogenetic analyses of variations in social organization, including studies of human evolution.

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 21-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha M. Robbins

AbstractTwenty-five years of demographic data on free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) from the Karisoke Research Center, Rwanda were used to assess male life histories and the variation within the age-graded social structure. Group types include lone silver-backs, one-male, multimale, and all-male groups. Although 60% of gorilla groups in the Virunga population are one-male, a multimale structure may increase chances of survival and future reproductive success for males at three stages of their lives. Infants born in one-male groups appear more likely to die from infanticide than those in multimale groups. Immature males in one-male groups may face decreased future reproductive opportunities compared to males in multimale groups. Adult males in one-male groups lack possible partners for coalition formation during intergroup encounters. Demographic constraints, such as length of time to male maturation, coupled with intense male-male competition for mates may limit the number and duration of groups with a multimale structure. Individuals are not restricted to one group type for their entire adult lives and males that attain maturity in each group type may eventually reproduce. Variation in male reproductive success is based both on length of reproductive tenure and on the number of mates.


ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1065 ◽  
pp. 101-124
Author(s):  
Yanqing Wu ◽  
Shengchao Shi ◽  
Huiguang Zhang ◽  
Weicai Chen ◽  
Bin Cai ◽  
...  

A new species of the frog genus Rana sensu lato from Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, China is described. Molecular phylogenetic analyses clustered the new species into the R. johnsi group and indicated that it was genetically divergent from its closely related species. The new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: body size medium, SVL 41.4–45.6 mm (42.9 ± 1.9 mm, n = 4) in adult males and 47.6–50.3 mm (n = 2) in adult females; adult male with a pair of internal subgular vocal sacs; lateroventral grooves present on tip of toes; webbing on fourth toes reaching the tip of toe; transverse skin ridges distinctly present on the dorsal surface of thigh and tibia, the number large (mean 26.5 ± 2.7, range 22–29, n = 6); breeding males possess creamy white nuptial pad with tiny velvety spines on the dorsal surface of the first finger, divided into three parts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (9) ◽  
pp. 1886-1897 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. KYAW ◽  
M. M. NGWE TUN ◽  
M. L. MOI ◽  
T. NABESHIMA ◽  
K. T. SOE ◽  
...  

SUMMARYHospital-based surveillance was conducted at two widely separated regions in Myanmar during the 2015 dengue epidemic. Acute phase serum samples were collected from 332 clinically diagnosed dengue patients during the peak season of dengue cases. Viremia levels were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and plaque assays using FcγRIIA-expressing and non-FcγRIIA-expressing BHK cells to specifically determine the infectious virus particles. By serology and molecular techniques, 280/332 (84·3%) were confirmed as dengue patients. All four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV) were isolated from among 104 laboratory-confirmed patients including two cases infected with two DENV serotypes. High percentage of primary infection was noted among the severe dengue patients. Patients with primary infection or DENV IgM negative demonstrated significantly higher viral loads but there was no significant difference among the severity groups. Viremia levels among dengue patients were notably high for a long period which was assumed to support the spread of the virus by the mosquito vector during epidemic. Phylogenetic analyses of the envelope gene of the epidemic strains revealed close similarity with the strains previously isolated in Myanmar and neighboring countries. DENV-1 dominated the epidemic in 2015 and the serotype (except DENV-3) and genotype distributions were similar in both study sites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187
Author(s):  
Lourdes Y. Echevarría ◽  
Pablo J. Venegas ◽  
Luis A. García-Ayachi ◽  
Pedro M. Sales Nunes

We describe a new species of Selvasaura from the montane forests of the eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru, based on external and hemipenial morphological characters and previous phylogenetic analyses. The new species can be differentiated from the other two Selvasaura species in having keeled dorsal scales usually flanked by longitudinal striations, in adults and juveniles; adult males with a yellow vertebral stripe bordered by broad dark brown stripes on each side and a unilobed hemipenis surrounded by the branches of the sulcus spermaticus. The description of the new species contributes information about new states of diagnostic characters of Selvasaura and natural history.


Author(s):  
Hind M. Alkatan ◽  
Khalid M. Alshomar ◽  
Hala A. Helmi ◽  
Wajda M. Alhothali ◽  
Abdulaziz M. Alshalan

Abstract Background Conjunctival lesions are common with a wide spectrum of benign, premalignant, and malignant lesions. Few histopathological studies have been conducted on conjunctival lesions with variable designs and results. Our aim in this study is to provide information on common conjunctival lesions seen in an ophthalmology tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia. Methods A retrospective, observational study of all consecutive conjunctival tissue specimens sent for histopathological assessment to the pathology department from 2015 to 2019 were analyzed. Clinical data were collected from medical records, and the histopathological slides were reviewed by a single pathologist. Results A total of 110 conjunctival specimens from 108 patients were included (mean age: 53 years, 67 males and 43 females). Bilateral involvement was mostly found in inflammatory lesions (40%). Most lesions were benign (91%), with a significantly longer duration of symptoms in malignant lesions (p = 0.036*). The clinical diagnosis matched the final histopathological diagnosis in 75.5% of the total specimens. The most frequent category of benign lesions was fibrodegenerative and proliferative lesions (53.6%), with a significantly higher prevalence among adult males (p < 0.001). Melanocytic lesions were more common in children (33.3%) than adults (9.8%), and the mean age of children was significantly lower (p = 0.013). The most frequent malignant lesion was ocular surface squamous neoplasia (50%), with equal prevalence among males and females. The overall outcome was favorable in 89.4% and unfavorable in 10.6%, mostly due to surgical complications, further progression of the lesion, or recurrence. Conclusion This study shows variability in the frequency of conjunctival lesions based on gender, age, geographical, racial, and environmental factors. There has been a shift in the gender-based prevalence of ocular squamous neoplasia over the last three decades, probably due to a change in lifestyle.


Nematology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 611-626
Author(s):  
Fariba Mohammadi Zameleh ◽  
Akbar Karegar ◽  
Reza Ghaderi ◽  
Abbas Mokaram Hesar

Summary Helicotylenchus ciceri n. sp. and H. scoticus are described and illustrated based on morphological, morphometric and molecular characters. The new species is characterised by a conical and truncated lip region with five or six distinct annuli, stylet 32-37 μm long with anteriorly concave knobs, secretory-excretory pore posterior to the pharyngo-intestinal valve, dorsally convex-conoid tail with a terminal projection, phasmids 14 (7-20) annuli anterior to the level of anus, empty spermatheca and absence of males. Intraspecific variation of 16 populations of H. scoticus, collected from chickpea and lentil fields in Kermanshah province, western Iran, is discussed. The results of the phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the partial 18S rRNA, D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rRNA and ITS rRNA genes are provided for the studied species, confirming their differences from each other and determining the position of them and their relationships with closely related species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Bai ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Wen Song ◽  
Lifang Li ◽  
Luciana F. Santoferrara ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The taxonomy of tintinnine ciliates is vastly unresolved because it has traditionally been based on the lorica (a secreted shell) and it has only recently incorporated cytological and molecular information. Tintinnopsis, the most speciose tintinnine genus, is also the most problematic: it is known to be non-monophyletic, but it cannot be revised until more of its species are studied with modern methods. Results Here, T. hemispiralis Yin, 1956, T. kiaochowensis Yin, 1956, and T. uruguayensis Balech, 1948, from coastal waters of China, were studied. Lorica and cell features were morphometrically investigated in living and protargol-stained specimens, and sequences of three ribosomal RNA (rRNA) loci were phylogenetically analyzed. The three species show a complex ciliary pattern (with ventral, dorsal, and posterior kineties and right, left, and lateral ciliary fields), but differ in lorica morphology, details of the somatic ciliature and rRNA gene sequences. Tintinnopsis hemispiralis is further distinguished by a ciliary tuft (a ribbon of very long cilia originated from the middle portion of the ventral kinety and extending out of the lorica) and multiple macronuclear nodules. Both T. kiaochowensis and T. uruguayensis have two macronuclear nodules, but differ in the number of somatic kineties and the position of the posterior kinety. Two neotypes are fixed for T. hemispiralis and T. kiaochowensis to stabilize the species names objectively, mainly because of the previous unavailability of type materials. By phylogenetic analysis and comparison with closely-related species, we infer that the ciliary tuft and details such as the commencement of the rightmost kinety in the lateral ciliary field are synapomorphies that may help clarify the systematics of Tintinnopsis-like taxa. Conclusion The redescriptions of three poorly known Tintinnopsis species, namely T. hemispiralis, T. kiaochowensis, and T. uruguayensis firstly revealed their ciliary patterns and rRNA sequences. This study expands knowledge and database of tintinnines and helps in identifying potential synapomorphies for future taxonomic rearrangements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista J Patriquin ◽  
Cylita Guy ◽  
Joshua Hinds ◽  
John M Ratcliffe

Abstract Understanding how wildlife respond to ever-encroaching urbanization is of great concern. Bats are the second-most speciose mammalian order and while many appear to be urban adapted, we currently have a limited understanding of their demography and habitat use within urban environments. Using a combination of captures to obtain demographic data, radio-telemetry to examine foraging and roosting behaviour, and data on diet and prey availability, we examined how big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), a synurbic species, use an urban green space (High Park) in Canada’s largest city centre, Toronto. We found that adult males outnumbered adult females more than two to one and that males were found throughout the park, while females were concentrated in an area with greater access to water, but lower prey availability. We also found that bats of both sexes were in poorer body condition than reported for other non-urban areas, including a site within southern Ontario. Our data suggest that High Park may not provide adequate resources for reproductive females as they were never found roosting in the park and beetles, their preferred prey, were limited. Although previous studies suggest urban green spaces may offer refuge to bats, most have not considered sex-specific responses to urbanization as they have largely been based on acoustic surveys. Our study therefore highlights the importance of considering demographic differences in response to urbanization to better inform urban management plans and green space development.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 375 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
YAN-JUN YI ◽  
ZHEN-WEI SUN ◽  
SI HE ◽  
MAMTIMIN SULAYMAN

Morphologically, recognition of the genus Plagiomnium may be relatively easy. Yet identifications of closely related species have met great difficulties. The contemporary species delimitations of P. carolinianum, P. maximoviczii, and P. rhynchophorum largely based on sexuality as the sole distinction have not been satisfactory. As shown from literature, character variations among these three taxa were continuous and intergraded within or among different populations throughout a wide geographic range. No gametophytic characters could be reliably used to distinguish them from each other. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using ITS2 and rps4 gene were undertaken to resolve delineations for these three morphologically similar species. The results suggest that they form a well support monophyletic clade, which can be defined as representing one single species with two subspecies, i.e. P. rhynchophorum subsp. maximoviczii and P. rhynchophorum subsp. rhynchophorum. The present molecular study supports the treatment of P. carolinianum as synonym of P. rhynchophorum as purposed previously by Koponen based on morphology.


MycoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 53-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-Pin Xiao ◽  
Sinang Hongsanan ◽  
Kevin D. Hyde ◽  
Siraprapa Brooks ◽  
Ning Xie ◽  
...  

Ophiocordyceps is entomopathogenic and the largest studied genus in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. Many species in this genus have been reported from Thailand. The first new species introduced in this paper, Ophiocordycepsglobiceps, differs from other species based on its smaller perithecia, shorter asci and secondary ascospores and additionally, in parasitising fly species. Phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, SSU, ITS, TEF1α and RPB1 sequence data indicate that O.globiceps forms a distinct lineage within the genus Ophiocordyceps as a new species. The second new species, Ophiocordycepssporangifera, is distinguished from closely related species by infecting larvae of insects (Coleoptera, Elateridae) and by producing white to brown sporangia, longer secondary synnemata and shorter primary and secondary phialides. We introduce O.sporangifera based on its significant morphological differences from other similar species, even though phylogenetic distinction is not well-supported.


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