Using Conditioned Taste Aversion to Reduce Human-nonhuman Primate Conflict: A Comparison of Four Potentially Illness-inducing Drugs

Human-wildlife conflict in the form of crop- and livestock depredation is escalating worldwide and many species of nonhuman primates are considered serious crop pests throughout areas within their ranges that humans inhabit. Animals become habituated to many non-lethal mitigation strategies, which then become ineffective at reducing crop-foraging intensities by nonhuman primates, so people have turned to culling to reduce crop losses. An example of this problem is primate crop depredation in northern India, where rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have been declared vermin. Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA) develops when humans and nonhuman animals associate the taste and odor of food with post-consumption illness and results in subsequent refusal to consume the food associated with illness. The length of time that the food is avoided indicates the aversion’s strength. CTA can be induced deliberately when food is paired with a drug that causes nausea. Thus, exploiting CTA could be a non-lethal and effective method to control crop damage caused by vertebrate pests. We tested four drugs on 88 rhesus macaques to assess their ability to induce a CTA and determine safe and effective doses. Our results suggest that fenbendazole, an anthelminthic drug with a high margin of safety, is ineffective. A similar drug, levamisole also was ineffective, as the monkeys detected it during the acquisition phase. However, we were able to create aversions using thiabendazole, another anthelminthic, and 17 alpha-ethynyl estradiol (EE). Once a dose appropriate to induce a CTA was determined, EE demonstrated a success rate of 86 %, and thiabendazole 46 %. Both drugs have strengths and weaknesses. Only a small dose of EE (25 mg/kg of body weight) was required to induce a CTA, which can be concealed in a small amount of food. However, it is a synthetic hormone, so access to the drug should be limited, and its distribution in the environment controlled. Thiabendazole required a considerably higher dose (160 mg/kg of body weight) to establish a CTA and may be a greater challenge to conceal. Nonetheless, both drugs appeared to go undetected in these tests and could be used with mild baits, e.g., wheat and corn/maize. We urge continued conditioned taste aversion studies across species to reduce crop damage

Possible mineral contributions to the diet and health of wild chimpanzees in three East African forests

For financial support, the authors acknowledge the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund grant numbers 0925272, 10251055, 11252562, 12254904, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Leverhulme Trust grant number ECF‐2013‐507, and the Boise Fund.We present new data on the ingestion of minerals from termite mound soil by East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda, the Gombe National Park and the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Termite mound soil is here shown to be a rich source of minerals, containing high concentrations of iron and aluminum. Termite mound soil is not, however, a source of sodium. The concentrations of iron and aluminum are the highest yet found in any of the mineral sources consumed. Levels of manganese and copper, though not so high as for iron and aluminum, are also higher than in other dietary sources. We focus on the contribution of termite mound soil to other known sources of mineral elements consumed by these apes, and compare the mineral content of termite soil with that of control forest soil, decaying wood, clay, and the normal plant‐based chimpanzee diet at Budongo. Samples obtained from Mahale Mountains National Park and Gombe National Park, both in Tanzania, show similar mineral distribution across sources. We suggest three distinct but related mechanisms by which minerals may come to be concentrated in the above‐mentioned sources, serving as potentially important sources of essential minerals in the chimpanzee diet.PostprintPeer reviewe

Spatiotemporal requirements of the Hainan gibbon: Does home range constrain recovery of the world's rarest ape?

Conservation management requires an evidence-based approach, as uninformed decisions can signify the difference between species recovery and loss. The Hainan gibbon, the world’s rarest ape, reportedly exploits the largest home range of any gibbon species, with these apparently large spatial requirements potentially limiting population recovery. However, previous home range assessments rarely reported survey methods, effort or analytical approaches, hindering critical evaluation of estimate reliability. For extremely rare species where data collection is challenging, it also is unclear what impact such limitations have on estimating home range requirements. We re-evaluated Hainan gibbon spatial ecology using 75 hours of observations from 35 contact days over 93 field-days across wet (June 2011-September 2011) and dry (November 2010-February 2011) seasons. We calculated home range area for three social groups (N=21 individuals) across the sampling period, seasonal estimates for one group (based on 24 days of observation; 12 days per season), and between-group home range overlap using multiple approaches (Minimum Convex Polygon, Kernel Density Estimation, Local Convex Hull, Brownian Bridge Movement Model), and assessed estimate reliability and representativeness using three approaches (Incremental Area Analysis, spatial concordance, and exclusion of expected holes). We estimated a yearly home range of 1–2 km2, with 1.49 km2 closest to the median of all estimates. Although Hainan gibbon spatial requirements are relatively large for gibbons, our new estimates are smaller than previous estimates used to explain the species’ limited recovery, suggesting that habitat availability may be less important in limiting population growth. We argue that other ecological, genetic, and/or anthropogenic factors are more likely to constrain Hainan gibbon recovery, and conservation attention should focus on elucidating and managing these factors

Review of GPS Collar Deployments and Performance on Nonhuman Primates

Over the past twenty years, GPS collars have emerged as powerful tools for the study of nonhuman primate (hereafter, "primate") movement ecology. As the size and cost of GPS collars have decreased and performance has improved, it is timely to review the use and success of GPS collar deployments on primates to date. Here we compile data on deployments and performance of GPS collars by brand and examine how these relate to characteristics of the primate species and field contexts in which they were deployed. The compiled results of 179 GPS collar deployments across 17 species by 16 research teams show these technologies can provide advantages, particularly in adding to the quality, quantity, and temporal span of data collection. However, aspects of this technology still require substantial improvement in order to make deployment on many primate species pragmatic economically. In particular, current limitations regarding battery lifespan relative to collar weight, the efficacy of remote drop-off mechanisms, and the ability to remotely retrieve data need to be addressed before the technology is likely to be widely adopted. Moreover, despite the increasing utility of GPS collars in the field, they remain substantially more expensive than VHF collars and tracking via handheld GPS units, and cost considerations of GPS collars may limit sample sizes and thereby the strength of inferences. Still, the overall high quality and quantity of data obtained, combined with the reduced need for on-the-ground tracking by field personnel, may help defray the high equipment cost. We argue that primatologists armed with the information in this review have much to gain from the recent, substantial improvements in GPS collar technology

Primate responses to changing environments in the anthropocene

Most primates have slow life-histories and long generation times. Because environmental change is occurring at an unprecedented rate, gene-based adaptations are unlikely to evolve fast enough to offer successful responses to these changes. The paper reviews the most common types of habitat/landscape alterations, the extent of human-primate interactions, and the impact of climate change. It demonstrates how understanding behavioural flexibility as a response to environmental change will be crucial to optimize conservation efforts by constructing informed management plans. Comparisons across species, space, and time can be used to draw generalizations about primate responses to environmental change while considering their behavioural flexibility

人手の加わった地域に棲息しているチャクマヒヒ(Papio hamadryas ursinus)の土食行動と遊動に関する研究

京都大学0048新制・論文博士博士(理学)乙第12702号論理博第1529号新制||理||1552(附属図書館)30000(主査)准教授 Michael Huffman Alan, 教授 湯本 貴和, 教授 古市 剛史学位規則第4条第2項該当Doctor of ScienceKyoto UniversityDA

Choice of telemedicine and nurse practitioner in rural areas: The role of health status.

Increased access to rural primary care is associated with decreased mortality and morbidity and increased consumer involvement in local health system development. Efforts to increase access to primary care in rural underserved areas may be more successful if policymakers, were more aware of public preferences for type of provider and the relationship between health status and provider preference. Preference for four provider types suitable for rural primary care were examined in this study, including an out-of-town physician, an itinerant physician, a nurse practitioner, and telemedicine. Data for this dissertation were derived from a parent study funded by the Health Care Financing Administration. A two-stage probability sample was used to select 334 residents from two rural counties in Georgia who participated in two waves of in-home interviews before and after telemedicine was established. Respondents were rank-ordered their preferences among four provider types for each of ten presenting health problems. Declines in physical or mental health were hypothesized to be associated with preference for telemedicine when health problems are of low or moderate levels of complexity, and for an out-of-town physician for problems of high complexity. Conversely, respondents in stable or improved physical or mental health were expected to prefer either the nurse practitioner or itinerant physician for low and moderately complex problems, and either telemedicine or the out-of-town physician for high complexity problems. Multiple logistic regression was used to test hypotheses. In all cases, the null hypothesis could not be rejected. Although changes in health status were not associated with changes in preference as hypothesized, some relationships between health status and provider preference were observed, but the results were not conclusive. Respondents in declining physical health preferred nurse practitioner-based care for low and high complexity problems. Between Times 1 and 2, preference for telemedicine for low and medium complexity problems increased significantly. The data demonstrated that rural residents of Georgia were open to a variety of options for providing primary care services and, in particular, favored nurse practitioners and telemedicine-based care.Ph.D.Health and Environmental SciencesHealth care managementNursingPublic healthUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131629/2/9929807.pd