Article
Genetics & Heredity
Liulu Yang, Hongjie Ren, Niuping Zhu, Shilin Xin, Gaohui Mao, Yiheng Ma, Junbao Li, Qunchao Liang, Yurong Yang, Jose Maria Requena
Summary: In this study conducted in China, it was found that 8 out of 13 non-human primates were confirmed to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Among them, 1 out of 5 New World monkeys tested positive for T. gondii antibodies, and 3 out of 5 tested positive for T. gondii DNA. Furthermore, 4 out of 7 Old World monkeys tested positive for T. gondii antibodies, and 5 out of 7 tested positive for T. gondii DNA.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kimberley J. Hockings, Benjamin Mubemba, Charlotte Avanzi, Kamilla Pleh, Ariane Dux, Elena Bersacola, Joana Bessa, Marina Ramon, Sonja Metzger, Livia V. Patrono, Jenny E. Jaffe, Andrej Benjak, Camille Bonneaud, Philippe Busso, Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann, Moussa Gado, Sebastien Gagneux, Roch C. Johnson, Mamoudou Kodio, Joshua Lynton-Jenkins, Irina Morozova, Kerstin Matz-Rensing, Aissa Regalla, Abilio R. Said, Verena J. Schuenemann, Samba O. Sow, John S. Spencer, Markus Ulrich, Hyacinthe Zoubi, Stewart T. Cole, Roman M. Wittig, Sebastien Calvignac-Spencer, Fabian H. Leendertz
Summary: This study found leprosy-like lesions in wild populations of western chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau and Cote d'Ivoire, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The chimpanzee strains were identified as belonging to rare genotypes, suggesting leprosy may be circulating in more wild animals than previously suspected.
Article
Zoology
Yvonne A. Jong, Thomas M. Butynski
Summary: The Critically Endangered southern patas monkey, Erythrocebus baumstarki, has been reclassified as a separate species based on geographical isolation and physical characteristics. Its population has declined significantly due to threats such as human encroachment, habitat degradation, and climate change, leading to a current population estimate of 100 to 200 individuals mainly concentrated in the western Serengeti National Park. Urgent conservation actions are needed to protect this species.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Camille Lacroux, Benjamin Robira, Nicole Kane-Maguire, Nelson Guma, Sabrina Krief
Summary: This study aims to explore how chimpanzees in African savannah forests engage in nocturnal activities. The results show that chimpanzees mainly engage in nocturnal activities in maize fields, possibly due to lower human surveillance. This survey reveals the behavioral plasticity of chimpanzees in response to neighboring human farming activities.
Article
Biology
Kimberly E. Roche, Johannes R. Bjork, Mauna R. Dasari, Laura Grieneisen, David Jansen, Trevor J. Gould, Laurence R. Gesquiere, Luis B. Barreiro, Susan C. Alberts, Ran Blekhman, Jack A. Gilbert, Jenny Tung, Sayan Mukherjee, Elizabeth A. Archie
Summary: The ecological relationships between bacteria play an important role in the gut microbiome's impact on host health. This study investigates the universality of these relationships across hosts and finds that most bacterial correlations are weak, negative, and universal. Hosts with similar correlation patterns also tend to have similar microbiome taxonomic compositions and genetic relations. The universality in baboons is similar to human infants and stronger than one data set from human adults.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lior Greenspoon, Eyal Krieger, Ron Sender, Yuval Rosenberg, Yinon M. Bar-On, Uri Moran, Tomer Antman, Shai Meiri, Uri Roll, Elad Noor, Ron Milo
Summary: A total wet biomass of approximately 20 million tonnes was estimated for terrestrial wild mammals, with large herbivores contributing the most. The total biomass of wild marine mammals was estimated to be around 40 million tonnes, with baleen whales dominating.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Biology
Sarah F. Brosnan
Summary: In the past decade, there has been a growing interest in using games derived from experimental economics to test decision-making behavior across species. These games are being used as tools to understand factors influencing decision-making, differences across species or contexts, and broader questions about species' tendencies to cooperate or compete. By breaking down economic decision-making into smaller components and using data from economic games, researchers aim to compare these components across species and contexts, leading to a better understanding of the evolution of economic behavior.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Ting Jia, Wei-Shan Chang, Vanessa R. Marcelino, Sufen Zhao, Xuefeng Liu, Yuyan You, Edward C. Holmes, Mang Shi, Chenglin Zhang
Summary: This study compared the microbiome and antibiotic resistance genes in captive and wild rhesus macaques in two zoos in China. The results showed that while the microbial diversity was similar among the three groups, the composition differed significantly, with captive animals displaying a greater abundance and diversity of antibiotic genes.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mar Sobral, Luis Sampedro, Isabelle Neylan, David Siemens, Rodolfo Dirzo
Summary: As plants develop, they may reallocate their antiherbivore defense traits due to changing costs and benefits. Herbivory triggers genome methylation in targeted plants and their offspring, leading to direct induction of physical defenses in progeny by mother plants with effects lasting from seedling to reproductive stages. Transgenerational priming was observed in physical and chemical defenses, particularly in adult plants, indicating differences in transgenerational plasticity in response to herbivore offense across plant life stages.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Katie F. Gerstner, Jill D. Pruetz
Summary: Adequate nutrition is crucial for the well-being, survival, and reproductive fitness of individuals. Evaluating nutrition and health in wild animals, including great apes like chimpanzees, poses challenges. This study aims to review nutritional data on wild chimpanzee foods to better understand their diet, and to highlight key findings on nutrition and welfare related to their diet, shedding light on the importance of discussing welfare issues in wild chimpanzees for conservation and human-chimpanzee interaction settings.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Raquel Castillo-Contreras, Gregorio Mentaberre, Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, Carles Conejero, Andreu Colom-Cadena, Arian Raez-Bravo, Carlos Gonzalez-Crespo, Johan Espunyes, Santiago Lavin, Jorge R. Lopez-Olvera
Summary: The study investigated the impact of urbanisation on wild boars, showing that urban wild boars have larger body size, higher body mass, better body condition, and different serum metabolite concentrations compared to non-urban wild boars. Urban wild boars also consumed food from anthropogenic origin more frequently. These results suggest that urbanisation can induce adaptive changes in morphology and physiology in wild boars.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
David J. Pascall, Matthew C. Tinsley, Bethany L. Clark, Darren J. Obbard, Lena Wilfert
Summary: This study investigates the diversity of newly discovered bumblebee viruses in Scotland and finds that they are more genetically diverse than viruses shared with honeybees. The presence of multiple infections and environmental factors such as temperature and UV radiation play important roles in shaping viral prevalence. This research represents an initial step in understanding predictors of bumblebee infection in the wild.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Andrea K. Townsend, Kendra B. Sewall, Anne S. Leonard, Dana M. Hawley
Summary: Infectious diseases are associated with impaired cognition in a variety of host species and cognitive abilities, leading to variation in cognitive performance within and among populations. This impairment can result from direct damage by the parasite, host immune response, or lost opportunities for learning. Additionally, factors such as stress and malnutrition that increase infection risk and impair cognition further compound cognitive impairment. However, essential questions about the frequency, duration, and fitness consequences of infection-linked cognitive impairment in wild animal populations, the specific cognitive abilities most affected, and the potential for adaptive evolution of cognition in response to the emergence of infectious diseases remain unresolved.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Johanna Henke-von der Malsburg, Peter M. Kappeler, Claudia Fichtel
Summary: The study revealed that habitat generalists like grey mouse lemurs have cognitive advantages in innovation and spatial learning, while more specialized species like Madame Berthe's mouse lemurs excel in learning associative reward contingencies, providing relative advantages in stable environmental conditions. This may help explain why specialists face a greater extinction risk in the context of current environmental changes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Camille Lacroux, Sarah Bonnet, Emmanuelle Pouydebat, Marie Buysse, Nil Rahola, Sabine Rakotobe, John-Paul Okimat, Rachid Koual, Edward Asalu, Sabrina Krief, Olivier Duron
Summary: This study investigated ticks and tick-borne pathogens in a forested habitat of a community of 100 chimpanzees living in Kibale National Park, Western Uganda. The presence and abundance of ticks were found to be influenced by environmental factors, and various tick-borne pathogens were detected. The results of this study are important for understanding the health status of chimpanzees and other wildlife.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
