Determinants of Paternity Success in a Group of Captive Vervet Monkeys ( Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus )

Paternity success of high-ranking primate males is affected by the number of males and the number of fertile females and their cycle synchrony. Female vervets in the wild show strong reproductive seasonality and do not advertise the ovulatory period with conspicuous signals or behavior. Because this makes it difficult for males to monopolize fertile females, it can be expected that male reproductive skew in this species is lower than in other cercopithecines living in multimale groups that advertise the ovulatory period. We assessed male reproductive success in a captive vervet group, initially consisting of 4 males and 12 unrelated females. Besides a general low reproductive skew, we predicted paternity success of the alpha males to be dependent on the overlap of synchronously fertile females, month into alpha male tenure, and housing conditions (the subjects were kept in a large park but had to be locked in a small indoor compartment during the winter months). Further, because the number of males reaching their prime increased over time, we predicted a decrease in reproductive success of the alpha male with increasing tenure length of the alpha male. To assess this we collected genetic samples from 27 of 32 offspring born into the group during 3yr, using 7 polymorphic human microsatellite markers. Contrary to our predictions, reproductive success of the males occupying the alpha position during the study was among the highest found in cercopithecines, with the alpha males siring 78% of all offspring. The degree of overlapping fertile periods did not affect paternity success, nor did paternity success of the alpha male differ between the 2 housing conditions. Only the alpha male's tenure length had an effect. Alpha male reproductive success decreased over time, which we attribute to either a shift in female mate choice toward younger males or to increased competition among the males in the later stage of the alpha male's tenure. This study demonstrates the importance of assessing reproductive success of males throughout >1 season and should spawn more research into the role of female choice and postcopulatory mechanisms in this specie

A multiplex-system to target 16 male-specific and 15 autosomal genetic markers for orang-utans (genus: Pongo )

Genetic studies of dispersal on local spatial and short temporal scales require a large number of autosomal microsatellites. However, the study of dispersal over large spatial scales and the resolution of deep evolutionary histories require marker systems that are preferentially inherited through the male or female line. Addressing such questions in endangered orang-utans (genus: Pongo) bears significant relevance to species conservation, as habitat destruction and fragmentation pose a significant threat to the whole genus. Here, we report 16 male-specific markers (nine human-derived microsatellites, six single nucleotide and one insertion-deletion polymorphisms), and 15 novel Pongo-derived autosomal microsatellite loci. All 31 markers can be amplified in four multiplex polymerase chain reactions even in DNA derived from faecal material. The markers can be applied to studying a wide range of important questions in this genus, such as conservation genetics, social structure, phylogeny and phylogeograph

Contribution of nanoclays to the barrier properties of a model proton exchange membrane for fuel cell application

peer reviewedaudience: researcherDirect methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) that use a proton exchange membrane (PEM) as electrolyte, is a promising alternative source of energy for the future. However, methanol crossover from the anodic side to the cathodic one is a major problem in DMFC. Proper dispersion of layered silicates within the fuel cell membrane has been proposed as a strategy for improving the barrier properties of the membrane. The validity of this approach has been tested in case of a model membrane consisting of phosphotungstic acid doped poly(vinyl alcohol). A solvent casting technique has been used, which allows the nanofiller to be delaminated by an ultrasonic pre-treatment, as confirmed by TEM and XRD analysis. The layered silicates have a favourable impact on the methanol permeability, whose the decrease overcompensates some loss in ionic conductivity

Similarity in Food Cleaning Techniques within Matrilines in Wild Vervet Monkeys

Social learning and the formation of traditions rely on the ability and willingness to copy one another. A central question is under which conditions individuals adapt behaviour to social influences. Here, we demonstrate that similarities in food processing techniques emerge on the level of matrilines (mother – offspring) but not on the group level in an experiment on six groups of wild vervet monkeys that involved grapes covered with sand. Monkeys regularly ate unclean grapes but also used four cleaning techniques more similarly within matrilines: rubbing in hands, rubbing on substrate, open with mouth, and open with hands. Individual cleaning techniques evolved over time as they converged within matrilines, stabilised at the end and remained stable in a follow-up session more than one year later. The similarity within matrilines persisted when we analyzed only foraging events of individuals in the absence of other matriline members and matriline members used more similar methods than adult full sisters. Thus, momentary conversion or purely genetic causation are unlikely explanations, favouring social learning as mechanism for within matriline similarities. The restriction of traditions to matriline membership rather than to the group level may restrict the development of culture in monkeys relative to apes or humans

Identification of Diagnostic Mitochondrial DNA Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Specific to Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) Populations

The hypervariable region I of mitochondrial DNA has frequently been used to distinguish among populations, in particular in species with strong female philopatry. In such cases, populations are expected to diverge rapidly for hypervariable region I markers because of the smaller effective population size and thus increased genetic drift. This rapid divergence leads to the accumulation of mutations exclusively found in one population, which may serve as diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). To date, diagnostic SNPs distinctive to Sumatran orangutan populations have not yet been described. However, given the continuously declining numbers of Sumatran orangutans, this information can be vital for effective conservation measures, especially regarding reintroductions of orangutans in rehabilitation centers. Phylogenetic analyses of 54 samples of Sumatran orangutans from nine sampling sites with good provenance, we found five major clades and a total of 20 haplotypes. We propose a total of 52 diagnostic SNPs that are specific to Sumatran orangutan populations. Data can be used to develop restriction fragment length polymorphism assays to carry out genetic assignments using basic laboratory equipment to assign Sumatran orangutan to their population of origin

SONiCS: PCR stutter noise correction in genome-scale microsatellites

Motivation Massively parallel capture of short tandem repeats (STRs, or microsatellites) provides a strategy for population genomic and demographic analyses at high resolution with or without a reference genome. However, the high Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) cycle numbers needed for target capture experiments create genotyping noise through polymerase slippage known as PCR stutter. Results We developed SONiCS—Stutter mONte Carlo Simulation—a solution for stutter correction based on dense forward simulations of PCR and capture experimental conditions. To test SONiCS, we genotyped a 2499-marker STR panel in 22 humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) using target capture, and generated capillary-based genotypes to validate five of these markers. In these 110 comparisons, SONiCS showed a 99.1% accuracy rate and a 98.2% genotyping success rate, miscalling a single allele in a marker with low sequence coverage and rejecting another as un-callable. Availability and implementation Source code and documentation for SONiCS is freely available at https://github.com/kzkedzierska/sonics. Raw read data used in experimental validation of SONiCS have been deposited in the Sequence Read Archive under accession number SRP135756

Comparative evaluation of the MAPlex, Precision ID Ancestry Panel, and VISAGE Basic Tool for biogeographical ancestry inference

Biogeographical ancestry (BGA) inference from ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) has strong potential to support forensic investigations. Over the past two decades, several forensic panels composed of AIMs have been developed to predict ancestry at a continental scale. These panels typically comprise fewer than 200 AIMs and have been designed and tested with a limited set of populations. How well these panels recover patterns of genetic diversity relative to larger sets of markers, and how accurately they infer ancestry of individuals and populations not included in their design remains poorly understood. The lack of comparative studies addressing these aspects makes the selection of appropriate panels for forensic laboratories difficult. In this study, the model-based genetic clustering tool STRUCTURE was used to compare three popular forensic BGA panels: MAPlex, Precision ID Ancestry Panel (PIDAP), and VISAGE Basic Tool (VISAGE BT) relative to a genome-wide reference set of 10k SNPs. The genotypes for all these markers were obtained for a comprehensive set of 3957 individuals from 228 worldwide human populations. Our results indicate that at the broad continental scale (K = 6) typically examined in forensic studies, all forensic panels produced similar genetic structure patterns compared to the reference set (G′ ≈ 90%) and had high classification performance across all regions (average AUC-PR > 97%). However, at K = 7 and K = 8, the forensic panels displayed some region-specific clustering deviations from the reference set, particularly in Europe and the region of East and South-East Asia, which may be attributed to differences in the design of the respective panels. Overall, the panel with the most consistent performance in all regions was VISAGE BT with an average weighted AUC̅W score of 96.26% across the three scales of geographical resolution investigated

Reconstructing the colonization history of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Northwestern Australia

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) are found in waters around Australia, with T. truncatus typically occupying deeper, more oceanic habitat, while T. aduncus occur in shallower, coastal waters. Little is known about the colonization history of T. aduncus along the Western Australian coastline; however, it has been hypothesized that extant populations are the result of an expansion along the coastline originating from a source in the north of Australia. To investigate the history of coastal T. aduncus populations in the area, we generated a genomic SNP dataset using a double-digest restriction-site-associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing approach. The resulting dataset consisted of 103,201 biallelic SNPs for 112 individuals which were sampled from eleven coastal and two offshore sites between Shark Bay and Cygnet Bay, Western Australia. Our population genomic analyses showed a pattern consistent with the proposed source in the north with significant isolation by distance along the coastline, as well as a reduction in genomic diversity measures along the coastline with Shark Bay showing the most pronounced reduction. Our demographic analysis indicated that the expansion of T. aduncus along the coastline began around the last glacial maximum and progressed southwards with the Shark Bay population being founded only 13 kya. Our results are in line with coastal colonization histories inferred for Tursiops globally, highlighting the ability of delphinids to rapidly colonize novel coastal niches as habitat is released during glacial cycle-related global sea level and temperature changes

Multi-network-based diffusion analysis reveals vertical cultural transmission of sponge tool use within dolphin matrilines

Behavioural differences among social groups can arise from differing ecological conditions, genetic predispositions and/or social learning. In the past, social learning has typically been inferred as responsible for the spread of behaviour by the exclusion of ecological and genetic factors. This ‘method of exclusion’ was used to infer that ‘sponging’, a foraging behaviour involving tool use in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) population in Shark Bay, Western Australia, was socially transmitted. However, previous studies were limited in that they never fully accounted for alternative factors, and that social learning, ecology and genetics are not mutually exclusive in causing behavioural variation. Here, we quantified the importance of social learning on the diffusion of sponging, for the first time explicitly accounting for ecological and genetic factors, using a multi-network version of ‘network-based diffusion analysis'. Our results provide compelling support for previous findings that sponging is vertically socially transmitted from mother to (primarily female) offspring. This research illustrates the utility of social network analysis in elucidating the explanatory mechanisms behind the transmission of behaviour in wild animal populations