Single Review on past events

We invited you to our Jour fixe on Tuesday, 28 June.

Our three new Senior Fellows Amanda Melin (Dept. of Biological Anthropology, University of Calgary, Canada),  James Higham (Dept. of Anthropology, New York University, USA), and Nathaniel Dominy (Dept. of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, USA) presented their research and discussed in a round table, moderated by Gisela Kopp.

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Amanda's talk was entitled "Anatomy and dietary specialization influence sensory behaviour among sympatric frugivorous primates".

Abstract:

As the interface between animals and their environments, the form and function of sensory systems provide a window into the ecology of past and present species. Here, I discuss my collaborative sensory ecology research on three wild, sympatric primate species: white-faced capuchins, Cebus imitator; black-handed spider monkeys Ateles geoffroyi, and mantled howler monkeys, Alouatta palliata. I present analyses of foraging behaviour sequences together with measurements of sensory variation (color vision phenotype, olfactory and hand morphology) and dietary specialization. I find the most frugivorous species (Ateles geoffroyi) sniffs fruits most often, that the species with the highest measure of manual dexterity (Cebus imitator) uses manual touch the most often, and that main olfactory bulb volume is a better predictor of sniffing behaviour than is nasal turbinate surface area. I also find evidence that colour vision phenotype impacts use of non-visual senses. These findings shed light on how dietary specialization and sensory variation shape foraging behaviors, and on methods for investigating the relationships between behaviour and anatomy.

References:

Melin AD, Veilleux CV, Janiak MJ, Hiramatsu C, Sánchez‐Solano KG, Lundeen IK, Webb SE, Williamson RE, Mah MA, Murillo-Chacon E, Schaffner CM, Hernández‐Salazar L, Aureli F, Kawamura S. Anatomy and dietary specialization influence sensory behaviour among sympatric frugivorous primates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In Review.

Melin AD, Nevo O, Shirasu M, Williamson RE Garrett E, Endo M, Sakurai K, Matsushita Y, Touhara K, Kawamura S. 2019. Fruit scent and observer colour vision shape food-selection strategies in wild capuchin monkeys. Nature Communications. 10: 2407. Fruit scent and observer colour vision shape food-selection strategies in wild capuchin monkeys | Nature Communications

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James reported on "What can monkeys tell us about responses to climate-change related natural disasters?".

Abstract:

Primates such as rhesus macaques represent our best non-human models for understanding how the physical and social environment ‘gets under the skin’ and impacts our health. In September 2017, Puerto Rico was devastated by the largest and strongest hurricane ever to strike the island, Hurricane Maria. Just before it made landfall, it first struck a small island off the coast, Cayo Santiago, home to 1500 rhesus macaques, and the longest-running study of primates in the world. Here, I discuss the hurricane and its aftermath on Cayo Santiago. I show evidence that the impacts of the hurricane have aged the animals molecularly, with animals living through the hurricane being biologically older for their chronological age than animals who did not. I also show that animals responded to the disaster by reaching out and making new social connections, with those individuals who were particularly socially isolated before the storm increasing their social effort and making new friends. This occurrence offers a unique opportunity to study how natural disasters impact longterm health, and also shows the role of sociability and of societies in providing resilience and support in the face of adversity.

References:

Watowich, M.M., Chiou, K.L, Montague, M.J., Simons, N.D., Horvarth, J.E., Ruiz-Lambides, A.V., Martinez, M.I., Higham, J.P., Brent, L.J.N., Platt, M.L., Snyder-Mackler, N. 2022. Natural disaster and immunological aging in a nonhuman primate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 119:8

Testard, C., Larson, S.M., Watowich, M., Kaplinsky, C.H., Bernau, A., Faulder, M., Marshall, H.H., Lehmann, J., Ruiz-Lambides, A., Higham, J.P., Montague, M., Snyder-Mackler, N., Platt, M.L., Brent, L.J.N. 2021. Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster. Current Biology 31: 2299-2309

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Nathaniel told us about "Secrets of the sacred baboons".

Abstract:

Punt was a major emporium for monkeys during the 2nd millenium BC. It was reached by land or sea and located south and east of Egypt, suggesting a position in the southern Red Sea region, either in Africa or Arabia. Maritime trade between Egypt and Punt spanned 1200 years, and many scholars view it as the first long-distance leg of the Spice Route. Others describe the Egypt-Punt trading relationship as the beginning of economic globalization. Punt is therefore a port of considerable historical importance, but its location is uncertain and the subject of enduring debate. This lightning talk will focus on the bones and teeth of mummified baboons recovered from New Kingdom temples and Ptolemaic tombs. The isotope composition of these tissues is a valuable source of information on the life and lifeways of animals. It is evident that some baboons spent a lifetime in Egypt, which suggests a captive breeding program, but others were imported from faraway lands. So far, this line of evidence puts Punt in the modern-day countries of Eritrea and northern Somalia, which partially corroborates the hypothesis of German anthropologist Rolf Herzog.

References:

Dominy NJ, Ikram S, Moritz GL, Wheatley PV, Christensen JN, Chipman JW, Koch PL (2020). Mummified baboons reveal the far reach of early Egyptian mariners. eLife 9:e60860.
https://elifesciences.org/articles/60860