Macaca sylvanus: Effects of water availability and habitat quality on bark stripping behaviour in Barbary macaques

The cedar oak forest of the Middle Atlas in Morocco is not only the last of the large forests in the southern Mediterranean, but it also contains all the surviving forest biodiversity. This forest has been severely affected by drought, overgrazing by mixed herds of goat and sheep, and excessive logging for timber, firewood, and livestock fodder. Recently, cedar bark stripping by Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) has begun to have an effect on the forest. We investigated this behavior by monitoring a 500-km2 mosaic forest of cedar and oak in the Middle Atlas of Morocco between 1994 and 1996. We surveyed the forest 18 times in four different seasons along a 90-km transect. We recorded observations of bark stripping and a variety of quantitative ecological factors that could predict this behavior, such as livestock density, forest quality, undergrowth condition, water availability, and monkey density. The statistical analysis (including rank correlation, regression, and nonparametric variance analysis) strongly suggests that water scarcity and monkey exclusion from previously available permanent water sources are correlated with intense cedar bark-stripping behavior by macaques. The density of cedars and of monkeys appeared to be only secondary factors. As a conservation policy, making water more accessible to wild monkeys might reduce bark-stripping behavior

Successful nodulation of Casuarina by Frankia in axenic conditions

Aims: In order to depict the fine interactions that lead to nodulation, absolute microbiological control of the symbiotic partners is required, i.e. the ability to obtain in vitro axenic nodulation, a condition that has never been fulfilled with the Casuarina-Frankia symbiosis. The effects of culture conditions on plant growth and nodule formation by Casuarina cunninghamiana were investigated. Methods and Results: Axenic (capped tubes with different substrates), and nonaxenic cultures (Gibson tubes, pot cultures) were tested. In axenic conditions, C. cunninghamiana, inoculated with Frankia, had poor growth and did not form nodules at 6 weeks. Plants cultivated in Gibson tubes reached the four axillary shoots stage within 6 weeks and formed nodules 4 weeks after inoculation. Sand-pot cultures allowed us to relate the plant development stage at inoculation with nodulation. Conclusions: The sterile replacement of the cap by a plastic bag increased plant growth and enabled nodule formation 6 weeks after inoculation. The new system of plant culture allows the axenic nodule formation 6 weeks after inoculation. Nodulation behaviour is related to plant development and confinement. Significance and Impact of the Study: This axenic plant nodulation system is of major interest in analysing the roles of Frankia genes in nodulation pathways

Population decline of Macaca Sylvanus in the Middle Atlas of Morocco

An eight-year-long census and habitat evaluation of the Macaca sylvanus population was conducted in a 484-km2 area of the central region of the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco between June 1994 and October 2002. The authors walked a 93.5-km circuit \u2013 divided into 16 transect segments \u2013 30 times with teams of trained research assistant volunteers, collecting data on a total of 2,805 linear km. Previous studies had reported an average density of 44\u201370 individuals per km2, while data from the present study indicate a progressive population decline, from 25 to 30 individuals per km2, down to a current average density of 7\u201310 I/km2. The population decline is attributed to the loss of prime habitat, mainly cedar forest, which has significantly decreased from 1994 to 2002, due to the growing impact of overgrazing by mixed flocks of goats and sheep and consequent forest degradation. At present, human-caused habitat deterioration in the Middle Atlas risks further compromising the future of the world\u2019s only remaining large M. sylvanus population