bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cebids (Cebinae)
Authors: Stone Anita I.
Published: April 2017

The cebids are Neotropical primates that include capuchins (genera
Sapajus
and
Cebus
) and squirrel monkeys (genus
Saimiri
). Body size ranges from 600 to 1,000 grams (squirrel monkeys) up to 4 kilograms (some of the larger capuchins). These primates consume a wide variety of ripe fruits, invertebrates, and occasionally nuts and pith (capuchins). They occur in a variety of habitats, including primary and secondary growth forests. Although all squirrel monkeys are characterized by large group sizes (30–75 animals), they show high interspecific variation in social structure and life histories. Compared to
Saimiri
, capuchins live in smaller groups, typically 8–20 individuals, in which males are dominant to females. In general, capuchins and squirrel monkeys show slow life histories and heavy investment in infants. Among New World monkeys, the cebines show the largest brain to body size ratio.
Alloparental Behavior
Authors: García de la Chica Alba , Corley Margaret , Fernandez‐Duque Eduardo
Published: April 2017

Alloparental care is defined as care provided to offspring by individuals other than the parents of the recipient. The main types of care studied have been carrying, nursing, and food sharing, but alloparental care may also include indirect kinds of care such as grooming, playing, and territory defense. Alloparental care has its most extreme expression in the cooperative breeding systems present in callitrichid primates. Alloparental care may arise through a mother's tolerance of others caring for her offspring, or if other group members are motivated to provide care for her offspring. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain why individuals who are not genetic parents to offspring sometimes care for them. Benefits to allocare givers may include the acquisition of maternal skills, the possibility of gaining a reproductive position or gaining increased access to potential mates, and improving one's own inclusive fitness.
Biological Corridors
Authors: Laurance Susan G. W.
Published: April 2017

The future of the world's biological diversity may depend upon maintaining population connectivity across highly fragmented landscapes. Biological corridors are linear habitat features designed to link similar habitats across a modified landscape. Their successful function in moving wildlife will depend on both the habitat quality and species' requirements. Early recognition of the value of corridors in long‐term conservation is fundamental for their success, as it ensures the inclusion of remnant habitat in landscape planning.
History of Primatology—NorthAmerica
Authors: Sussman† Robert W.
Published: April 2017

Although there was some interest in primates from Darwin's time, the real history of American field primatology did not begin until the 1930s, with C. Raymond Carpenter's work. However, with World War II, studies of primates in the field were again suspended. Later, in the 1950s, when fossils of australopithecines began to show us that early hominids were more like primates, American field primatology was re‐established. At that time, Sherwood Washburn was a major catalyst. In the 1970s to 1980s, problem‐oriented studies focused mainly on determining relationships between behavior and morphology, on the one hand, and ecology and social structure, on the other. More recently, many field primatologists are attempting to formulate and test more wide‐ranging theories.
Cheek Pouches
Authors: Lambert Joanna E.
Published: April 2017

Cheek pouches (
bursae buccales
) are epithelial‐lined pockets in the lateral walls of the buccal cavity found in all species of extant Cercopithecinae (“cheek‐pouched” monkeys). Cercopithecine cheek pouches are highly innervated, allometrically scaled, and produce high quantities of α‐amylase for carbohydrate (starch) digestion. The incipient form of this feature probably served as a simple food storage area, similar to what is observed in other mammals. In addition to basic food storage, transport, and predigestion, ecological and behavioral context clearly impacts the likelihood of cheek‐pouch use: cheek pouches are more frequently used under circumstances of high feeding competition and vulnerability to predation.
Oreopithecus
Authors: Rook Lorenzo
Published: April 2017

Oreopithecus
is the most recent representative of the Middle Miocene ape dispersal into Eurasia. The species is known only from a cluster of Late Miocene sites yielding endemic insular faunas in northern Tyrrhenian Italy. Its taxonomic status and locomotor behavior have been debated for a long time. Over the years,
Oreopithecus
has been alternatively interpreted as a separate anthropoid lineage belonging to its own family (Oreopithecidae) or fitting in with cercopithecoids, hominoids, or even within early hominins. A general consensus at present places
Oreopithecus
within the family Hominidae (subfamily incertae sedis) in a separate tribe (Oreopithecini).
Sensory Ecology: Bioacoustics
Authors: Ramsier Marissa
Published: April 2017

Primate bioacoustics includes the study of sounds produced or received by primates, including the acoustic structure of such sounds, underlying mechanisms of production and reception/perception, associated meanings/behaviors, and the influence of habitat structure. The majority of data on primate bioacoustics are focused on vocalizations, both to aid in interpreting the behavior of nonhuman primates, and for comparative purposes in the quest to understand the evolution of human speech and language. Comparably little attention has been paid to the other aspects of primate bioacoustics; however, it is clear that habitat structure may have played an important role in the evolution of primate vocalizations, that primates as a whole are adept at detecting the location of sound sources, and that there may be complex coevolutionary relationships between vocal acoustics, sociality, size, and audition.
L
orisiformes
Authors: Poindexter Stephanie , Nekaris K. A. I.
Published: April 2017

Lorisiformes is an infraorder of nocturnal strepsirhines comprised of three subfamilies: Galaginae (galagos), Perodicticinae (pottos and angwantibos), and Lorisinae (slow and slender lorises). Galaginae has five genera and 18 species, Perodicticinae has two genera and six species, and Lorisinae has two genera and eleven species; in each of these subfamilies, numbers of species and genera are certainly underestimated, with many new taxa awaiting description. Showing wide diversity down to the species level, galagos are characterized by their large naked ears, woolly fur, long thick tail, and elongated hindlimb. They occupy all types of forest habitats in elevations as low as sea level and as high as 2,000 meters throughout Sub‐Saharan Africa. Lorises, pottos, and angwantibos can be characterized by their slow movements,
retia mirabilia
, reduced second digit, and the inability to leap. Pottos range from Senegal to Kenya, while angwantibos are more limited, only ranging between the Niger and Congo Rivers. Lorises are found in South and Southeast Asia, ranging from Sri Lanka and India to the Philippines. Lorisiformes are facing conservation concerns, including deforestation and hunting, and without intervention, population decline will continue.
Primate Trade (Asia)
Authors: Nekaris K. A. I. , Bergin D.
Published: April 2017

Wildlife trade affects primate species worldwide and Asia plays a major role in this trade. Although this practice is centuries old, advances in technology have seen numbers of primates in trade rise to hitherto unseen levels. Primates are traded for scientific research purposes, as ingredients in traditional medicine, as pets, for use in entertainment, as economic tools, and for consumption. Southeast Asia and China are the main hubs of primate trade both as importers and exporters. Cultural attitudes towards primates often provide some protection, although this is very variable even over a small geographical range and is lessening with time. Much of the legislation pertaining to the national and international trade in primates in Asia is weak, largely ignored, or unenforced, leading to high levels of illegal trade. Trade is now among the most significant threats to primate species in Asia and urgent conservation action is needed.
Reproductive Suppression
Authors: Saltzman Wendy
Published: April 2017

Suppression of reproduction refers to the inhibition or impairment of reproductive development, reproductive physiology, and/or reproductive behavior in response to social stimuli. In both male and female primates, cues from or interactions with conspecifics can inhibit reproductive development in juveniles, as well as reproductive physiology and sexual behavior in adults. In males, reproductive maturation may be delayed, and adult testosterone levels and sexual behavior are often reduced, in low‐ranking individuals compared to dominants. Female reproductive maturation can be delayed by the presence of a dominant female and/or the absence of an unrelated adult male, while numerous aspects of adult female reproductive function can be inhibited by cues from same‐sex rivals or adult males. Social suppression of reproduction appears to be a mechanism whereby individuals avoid investing in reproductive attempts that are likely to fail due to inauspicious social conditions, thereby increasing the likelihood of breeding successfully in the future.
Phylogeny and Social Organization
Authors: Shultz Susanne
Published: April 2017

Although primate social organization is highly variable, social behavior in closely related species tend to be more similar than between distantly related ones. In order to understand the role that ecology versus shared evolutionary history plays in the evolution of social structure, it is necessary to use phylogenetic comparative methods. These tools allow us to: (1) control phylogenetic autocorrelation, (2) explore evolutionary processes, and (3) identify evidence for evolutionary coupling between traits.
Space Use
Authors: Ross Stephen R.
Published: April 2017

Space use studies of captive primates can address a wide range of questions but have most often been used in applied welfare investigations. While studies of free‐ranging animals have become increasingly reliant on satellite‐based, automated measures, the relatively small scope of captive environments tends to necessitate direct observational methods. This entry reviews the different methods used for studies of captive primate space use and describes the advantages and limitations of these methods.
Primates in Traditional Folk Medicine
Authors: Alves Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega , Barboza Raynner Rilke Duarte , Souto Wedson Medeiros Silva
Published: April 2017

Nonhuman primates are among the animal species commonly used in traditional medical systems throughout the world. The literature reveals that at least 110 primates species figure in traditional folk medicine, with several primates' body parts being used, including fur, legs, fat, oil, eyes, bile, blood, gallbladder, viscera, bone, meat, brain, and skull, in the preparation of traditional remedies. The families with the largest numbers of species recorded are Cercopithecidae (with 54 species), followed by Cebidae (18), and Hylobatidae (8). This high diversity of medicinal primates has been recorded in different sociocultural contexts throughout the world, comprising 52 countries, mainly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Given that many of the primate species used in medicinal remedies are endangered, this type of utilization should be considered when evaluating conservation statuses and developing conservation actions.
Mangabeys (
Cercocebus
and
Lophocebus
)
Authors: McGraw W. Scott
Published: April 2017

Molecular, morphological, and behavioral data indicate that the primates commonly referred to as mangabeys do not comprise a natural group. The
Cercocebus
mangabeys are seven species of African monkeys also referred to as “drill‐mangabeys.”
Cercocebus
is the sister taxon of
Mandrillus
(mandrills and drills). The five species of
Lophocebus
mangabeys, also known as baboon mangabeys, form a clade with
Papio
,
Rungwecebus
, and
Theropithecus
. The
Cercocebus–Mandrillus
clade is united by a suite of skeletodental features and behavioral adaptations related to the acquisition and processing of hard‐object foods collected from the forest floor. Mangabey diphyly highlights the considerable homoplasy among African papionins.
Hominidae (Great Apes and Humans)
Authors: Malone Nicholas
Published: April 2017

Extant members of the family Hominidae (great apes and humans, hereafter
hominids
) are characterized by large brains (relative to body size), protracted life‐history phases, and varied patterns of complex social relationships that extend beyond biological kin, beyond reproductive relationships, and beyond the immediate social group. The potential for the innovation, spread, and inheritance of behavioral patterns and social traditions is much higher in the hominids than in other anthropoid primates. Human grouping patterns, sociality, and the relationships within and between groups might be reflective of shared patterns in the broader taxonomic group. As such, an understanding of these patterns of variation among the nonhuman hominids can provide a comparative evolutionary perspective into the nature and structure of social variation in the human lineage.
Positional Behavior Studies of Sympatric Primates
Authors: McGraw W. Scott
Published: April 2017

Primates have evolved a great diversity of locomotor and postural adaptations in response to the demands of food acquisition, predator avoidance, and so on. Field studies that examine positional behavior of multiple species occupying a single habitat can help distinguish rules and relationships common to most primates (e.g., foraging tends to occur more on small supports, leaping occurs more during travel) from those that are clade‐specific (e.g., the association between leaping and folivory among colobines). Comparing closely related taxa at a single locality helps minimize the possibility that differences in anatomy and behavior are due to distinct phylogenetic histories. The fact that primates have features permitting coexistence does not necessarily mean such attributes evolved in response to competition with current community members. The manner in which primates move through and position themselves within a habitat is associated with many aspects of their biology.
Habitat Fragmentation
Authors: Arroyo‐Rodríguez Víctor , Galán‐Acedo Carmen , Fahrig Lenore
Published: April 2017

Habitat fragmentation is commonly cited as a pervasive threat to the conservation of primates. Nevertheless, the definition and measurement of fragmentation have varied widely among studies, and there are very few assessments of the effects of fragmentation on primates at the correct scale. Thus the hypothesis that habitat fragmentation affects primate distribution, abundance, health, and/or survivorship has not been adequately tested yet. In this entry, we define habitat fragmentation, discuss how its effects on primates should be measured, review what we know about the effects of fragmentation on primates, and highlight the main gaps of information on the topic.
K
oobi
F
ora
Authors: Jablonski Nina G.
Published: April 2017

Koobi Fora in eastern Africa has produced remains of many fossil monkeys belonging to the families Cercopithecidae and Colobidae, constituting the best continuous record of cercopithecid evolution in the world. The site has also yielded plentiful remains of other vertebrates, including four species of hominin. Many of the primate species at Koobi Fora bore little resemblance to the primates of the region today. The earliest part of the Koobi Fora fossil record samples small‐ to medium‐body‐sized early papionins and colobines, giving way to
Theropithecus
(first
Theropithecus brumpti
, then
Theropithecus oswaldi
) and large‐bodied colobines, before these taxa decline and eventually disappear, to leave species of modern genera, including
Colobus
,
Lophocebus
, and
Papio
.
Lemuriformes
Authors: Gould Lisa , Clarke Tara A.
Published: April 2017

The Lemuriformes are a large, unique, and diverse group of primates found only on Madagascar. Lemurs represent 20 percent of all primate species and 30 percent of primate taxonomic families. The smallest lemur is also the smallest primate and weighs only approximately 30 g, while the largest three species weigh 6–6.9 kg. Lemurs are primarily arboreal. Sixty‐six percent of the 103 lemur species are nocturnal, 20 percent are daytime active (diurnal), and 14 percent are cathemeral, or both day‐ and nighttime active. Lemurs are found in highly diverse habitats, including rainforests, spiny and seasonal dry forests, high‐altitude habitats, and littoral forests. Because of their geographic isolation, lemurs have evolved a number of traits not found in primates outside of Madagascar, such as female dominance in most lemurs, and hibernation in the nocturnal dwarf lemurs. Ninety‐four percent of lemur species are now seriously threatened with extinction due to large‐scale habitat destruction, and hunting for the illegal bushmeat trade.
DeVore
,
I
rven
Authors: Fleagle John G.
Published: April 2017

Irven DeVore, a Professor at Harvard during five decades, was a pioneer in field studies of living primates and extant hunter‐gatherers. His research with Sherwood Washburn on baboon behavior was largely responsible for establishing primatology as a part of anthropology. Later projects on the !Kung San (Bushmen) of Botswana and the people of the Ituri rainforest pioneered multidisciplinary research on living hunter‐gatherers. He was a prominent supporter of sociobiology from its beginnings.
Evolution of Neotropical Primates
Authors: Fleagle John G.
Published: April 2017

The primates in the Neotropics of South, Central, and North America are the platyrrhines, or New World monkeys. They are the sister taxon of the catarrhines (Old World monkeys, apes, and humans) of Africa and Eurasia. Platyrrhine monkeys first appeared in the Neotropics in the latest Eocene or Oligocene, apparently by overwater dispersal from Africa. They have subsequently evolved into a broad diversity of families and subfamilies. The fossil record documents species clearly related to living clades in the middle to late Miocene, but the relationships of earlier taxa are debated. From the fossil record, we know that there were extensive radiations of monkeys in southernmost South America (Patagonia) in the early to middle Miocene, and in the Caribbean until very recently. Also there are fossils from the Pleistocene of Brazil that were twice as large as any living platyrrhines.
Asian Colobines
Authors: Kirkpatrick Craig
Published: April 2017

Like their African cousins, Asian colobines are characterized by morphological and behavioral adaptations to folivory, or leaf‐eating. Colobines have a sacculated stomach which ferments foods, allowing access to nutrients otherwise unavailable. Leaves are generally plentiful and colobines have relatively low food competition both within and between groups. This is reflected in the behavior of Asian colobines, which typically occur in small groups, with small ranges, and cooperative behaviors such as alloparental care. The generalization of Asian colobines as leaf‐eaters masks considerable diversity in diet. The diet of Asian colobines is often quite seasonal, with the monkeys preferring young leaves, seeds, and fruits when these foods are available. There is also diversity in social organization; not all Asian colobines live in small groups in small ranges. Due to such variability, Asian colobines have been useful in studies of food choice and, further, the impact of food choice on social behavior and social organization.
Genetics and Primate Conservation
Authors: da Silva Maria J. Ferreira , Bruford Michael W.
Published: April 2017

Nonhuman primates are among the world's most threatened taxa and are especially sensitive to extinction by anthropogenic disturbance. Conservation genetics aims to mitigate extinction risk by attending to genetic processes and suggesting policies aimed at conserving species' adaptive potential. Primate populations often become reduced and fragmented as a result of deforestation and hunting. In small and isolated populations, stochastic effects become important for their long‐term persistence and evolution. Genetic drift and inbreeding contribute to loss of genetic diversity and reproductive fitness. The use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) molecular markers and non‐invasive sampling has allowed genetic surveys of wild nonhuman primates to become common. A set of individual‐based analytical tools is now available to study dispersal patterns at different geographic scales and to assess the effect of landscape features on gene flow. Genome data obtained from non‐invasive sources will allow more accurate estimations of key population parameters and enable studies of local genetic adaptation.
Placenta
Authors: Rutherford Julienne
Published: April 2017

The placenta is the site of nutrient, gas, waste, and hormone transfer between mother and fetus. The structural components of the placenta vary across mammalian taxa and within primates, with lemus and lorises differing from tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and hominins. The placenta plays an obvious role in fetal development, but recent advances have linked placental function with long‐term growth, development, and function across the life course, which could have significant impact on our understanding of distinct primate evolutionary features such as brain complexity and expansion.
Priority of Access
Authors: Corewyn Lisa C.
Published: April 2017

Priority of access provides a functional explanation for why individual primates should strive to be dominant within complex social groups. More dominant individuals are predicted to fight for and maintain priority access to preferred resources such as food, water, space, and affiliative and reproductive partners, leading to higher reproductive success. Depending on the resource, priority of access by dominant individuals can occur among males, among females, or among males and females. Males primarily compete for access to fertile females, females primarily compete for access to food, and males and females will compete for access to food, water, space, and affiliative partners.
Adaptive Radiation
Authors: Elton Sarah
Published: April 2017

Adaptive radiation is the rapid diversification, from a single common ancestor, of a group of species whose members exhibit a diverse array of adaptations and occupy different ecological niches. Numerous adaptive radiations are evident in the primates, past and present, with two of the best‐studied examples being the lemurs of Madagascar and the Neotropical platyrrhines. However, radiations are not always “adaptive” and there is still considerable scope for exploring in detail the evolutionary processes that led to radiation, adaptive or not, in modern and fossil primate taxa.
Association of Primate Veterinarians
Authors: Hopper Kelly J.
Published: April 2017

The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) is an international professional organization that consists of veterinarians who promote the science, medicine, management, and humane care of all nonhuman primate (NHP) species. These veterinarians work together and gather annually to set standards for the care and use of NHPs in captivity and to provide guidance for scientists and information to the public regarding NHP research, welfare, medicine, and responsible use.
The Three Rs
Authors: Prescott Mark J.
Published: April 2017

The term “the three Rs” in science refers to replacement, reduction, and refinement, a set of guiding principles for more humane animal research: replacement of animals with nonsentient alternatives; reduction of the number of animals used to the minimum consistent with achieving the scientific objectives; refinement of scientific procedures and husbandry to minimize pain and distress and improve animal welfare. The three Rs were originally conceived by UFAW scholars William Russell and Rex Burch and represent a framework for minimizing animal use and suffering in science without prejudicing scientific or medical progress. Today the three Rs are increasingly recognized as principles that also support the generation of valid and robust scientific data, helping to improve quality of science and business efficiency. Opportunities exist to apply all three Rs to research using nonhuman primates, including biomedical, cognitive, and behavioral research, drug development, and safety assessment.
Copulatory Plug
Authors: Parga Joyce A.
Published: April 2017

Copulatory plugs, or sperm plugs, form from coagulated ejaculate and are found in several animal species, including many nonhuman primates. Although different adaptive functions have been suggested for copulatory plugs, studies have shown that they generally do not prevent the female from mating with subsequent males in primates. Male copulatory plug displacement via penile intromission during mating commonly occurs. Males and females can also manually and/or orally remove copulatory plugs, and plug ingestion may occur. Copulatory plugs are more commonly found in primate species in which females mate with multiple males. Copulatory plug removal may disrupt male fertilization success, suggesting that both male and female primates may be affecting the outcome of a male's success in sperm competition.
Friendships
Authors: Palombit Ryne A.
Published: April 2017

The term “friendship” in primatology originally denoted the cohesive social relationship between a lactating female and adult male described in baboons (
Papio
spp.). These relationships were characterized by high rates of proximity and affiliative social behavior (though typically not sexual in nature) and were generally argued to confer benefits to females in the form of protection from harassment or aggression, and to males in the form of paternal investment or future mating opportunities. Use of the term “friendship” has recently been extended to characterize strong social bonds between individuals generally in many species, including non‐primates, which may be based upon a variety of psychosocial mechanisms. A growing body of empirical evidence (primarily from apes and cercopithecines at present) suggests that social bonding in and of itself confers fitness benefits to individuals.
Tail Anatomy
Authors: Organ Jason M.
Published: April 2017

This entry describes the anatomy of the primate tail. Specific anatomy that is discussed includes osteology, myology, connective tissue, and neurovascular supply. The last section briefly discusses the anatomical differences observed between prehensile and nonprehensile tails.
Cayo Santiago Field Station
Authors: Ruiz‐Lambides Angelina V.
Published: April 2017

The Cayo Santiago Field Station, home to a provisioned colony of free‐ranging rhesus macaques (
Macaca mulatta
), is a world‐renowned field site for the study of nonhuman primate behavior. The population of Cayo Santiago offers a unique resource for long‐term studies of rhesus macaques in a naturalistic setting on topics such as behavior, ecology, demography, life history, and genetics. The constant surveillance of the population since 1956 and the detailed knowledge of DNA profiles of the monkeys since the 1990s have served to improve our understanding of primate behavior and to ultimately link behavior to its underlying biology.
Habitat Restoration
Authors: Campos Fernando A.
Published: April 2017

Habitat restoration is the intentional process of initiating or speeding up the recovery of a degraded or damaged ecosystem through land management activities, often with the specific aim of increasing the amount of available habitat for one or more target species. Habitat restoration is an increasingly important conservation strategy for animals threatened by habitat reductions and habitat degradation.
Reproductive Seasonality
Authors: Thompson Melissa Emery
Published: April 2017

Reproductive seasonality refers to the temporal clustering of reproductive events in response to seasonal variation in resource availability or climate. Among primates, there are species with defined birth seasons, those with moderate seasonal peaks in births, and those with no significant seasonal pattern of reproduction. Seasonal breeding patterns are further classified according to whether lactation or conception coincides with peak resource abundance, and the degree to which female reproductive physiology responds to exogenous or endogenous cues. Smaller species and those with a highly seasonal resource base exhibit higher degrees of seasonality and increased reliance on energetic “income.” Males of many seasonal species experience behavioral and physiological changes that correspond to periods of intense mating effort.
Home Range
Authors: Klegarth Amy R.
Published: April 2017

Home ranges reflect long‐term ranging patterns of individuals or groups over time. This is a particularly important metric within primatology given the relationship between home range size and habitat choice, foraging efficiency, and territoriality. The wide range of taxonomic diversity within primates related to diet, substrate use, and home range overlap has been linked to shifts in home range size scaling as it relates to both body and group size.
Buccal Swabs
Authors: Klegarth Amy R.
Published: April 2017

Buccal swabs are an alternative to non‐invasive fecal sampling for host DNA and hormone data collection. Saliva can also be used to detect particular pathogens shed in the oral mucosa in addition to providing information on salivary analytes and the oral microbiome. Though most extensively utilized in captive populations, researchers are now beginning to collect saliva via buccal and chew swabs in wild or free‐ranging nonhuman primate populations.
Primates as Economic Resources
Authors: Sprague David S.
Published: April 2017

Human communities have utilized primates as natural resources for millennia, and primates continue to contribute today to the livelihoods of human communities around the world. Primates are attractive animals that add value to temples and parks where they intermingle with humans, they can be captured and trained to carry out economically valuable activities, and they are often harvested as a natural resource. The commercialization of hunting in primate‐range regions around the world has made possible the rapid expansion of the trade in primates and primate‐derived products. Primatologists are now alarmed by the widespread trade of primates for bushmeat, medicinal use, and pets, supplied by the hunting of wild populations of primates. Primatologists study the economics of wildlife commerce to monitor the scale of the trade and understand the drivers of wildlife harvesting to propose policies mitigating unsustainable rates of harvest.
Dominance
Authors: Majolo Bonaventura
Published: April 2017

Dominance describes the relative capacity of an individual (or group) to win an agonistic interaction with another animal/group. Differences in dominance rank emerge when ecological conditions force animals to compete over valuable, limited resources and attaining a dominant position gives fitness‐related benefits (e.g., resource monopolization). The dominance rank position of an animal depends on its fighting ability, which in turn depends on its age, body/canine size, physical strength, and network of allies. Dominance is an important factor to consider when analyzing life‐history variables and socioecology.
Sexual Coercion
Authors: Knott Cheryl D.
Published: April 2017

Sexual coercion is the use by a male of force, or threat of force, to secure a mating with a female, decreasing her chances of mating with other males and inflicting a cost on the female. It is a third type of sexual selection and falls under sexual conflict theory. Three forms of sexual coercion are recognized. Direct coercion includes forced copulation, harassment, and intimidation. Indirect coercion involves coercive mate guarding, herding, punishment, and sequestration. Infanticide is considered sexual coercion when it is committed by a male on a nursing infant, bringing the mother back into estrus sooner, and increasing the likelihood that the infanticidal male will father her next offspring. Sexual coercion is most prevalent in Old World monkeys and apes. It is commonly directed at estrous females, but non‐estrous females may receive conditioning aggression, increasing the probability that she will mate with the aggressor male in the future.
Boesch,Christophe
Authors: Sanz Crickette M.
Published: April 2017

Christophe Boesch is a primatologist, who has dedicated his career to understanding the behavioral diversity of wild great apes. He and his wife (Hedwige Achermann‐Boesch) were among the first scientists to habituate wild chimpanzees to the presence of researchers without provisioning, and their field research in the Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire, would continue for more than 40 years. Boesch also made efforts to observe apes at other localities to better understand variation in chimpanzee behavior, and later in his career expanded his fieldwork to include semi‐nomadic hunter‐gatherers. Boesch was named Director of Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, in 1997. He has authored or edited ten books which have prompted major advancements in understanding chimpanzee society, hunting behavior, technology, and culture. In 2000, he founded the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation which has the mission of enhancing the survival of the remaining wild chimpanzee populations and their habitat throughout tropical Africa.
Measles
Authors: Niphuis Henk
Published: April 2017

Measles virus is an airborne respiratory virus and is spread from an infected person via coughs, sneezes, or sharing food or drinks. Direct contact is not necessary. It can easily be transmitted to primates, with mortality in monkeys up to 100 percent, but this can be prevented by proper prevention and control.
D
unbar,
R
.
I
.
M
. (
R
obin
I
an
MacDonald
)
Authors: Hill Russell
Published: April 2017

Robin Dunbar is a leading figure in British primatology. Since his early work on the social and reproductive strategies of gelada baboons in the 1970s, his research has focused on the evolution of sociality in primates. He has made significant contributions to understanding the constraints on social group size, particularly through the development of time budget models that showed how climatic variables influenced grouping patterns and biogeographical distribution in primates. His studies of primate brain evolution, leading to his
social brain hypothesis
, identifying Dunbar's Number, and his
gossip hypothesis
for the evolution of language, have made significant contributions to the field and led to his current investigations into the structure and dynamics of contemporary human social networks.
Fossey, Dian
Authors: Stewart Kelly
Published: April 2017

Dian Fossey started a long‐term study of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes in 1967. Her research center, Karisoke, still operates in Rwanda today. At the beginning of the 1980s, Fossey helped spark a massive conservation program that stopped the decline of the mountain gorilla. She was murdered at Karisoke in 1985.
Environmental Enrichment
Authors: Mulcahy J. B.
Published: April 2017

Environmental enrichment is a method of improving the physical health and psychological well‐being of captive animals by enhancing their environments. The goals of environmental enrichment include promoting species‐typical behavior, reducing abnormal behavior, increasing overall physical and mental activity, and providing animals with the opportunity to exercise control and choice. Enrichment is an essential part of modern primate husbandry in sanctuaries, zoos, and laboratories.
Development and Primate Conservation
Authors: James Nicholas L.
Published: April 2017

The quest to find resolution between development and primate conservation is an ongoing battle. In the tropics, where land conversion rates are high as well as primate population densities, solutions that suit both primates and nonhuman primates can be difficult to find. This entry discusses current views on sustainable development strategies and the positive and negative aspects of each approach. Primate conservation with regard to development is deemed to have a higher chance of success with community involvement and satisfactory compensation for those living in or near nonhuman primate habitat.
Primate Trade (Neotropics)
Authors: Maldonado Angela M. , Waters Sian
Published: April 2017

Wildlife trafficking threatens food security and livelihoods in developing countries. In the Neotropics, primates have been used for millennia by indigenous people for different purposes such as consumption, pets, cultural artifacts, and traditional medicine. In more recent times, hunting has become commercialized and primate harvests have increased to fulfill demands from the bushmeat trade, biomedical research, and tourist markets. Hunting, live primate capture for biomedical research, the pet and entertainment trade, and traditional uses are all implicated in the trade in Neotropical primates over much of their range. Lack of interest by many governments in range countries and beyond, and the resulting lack of accountability and transparency of legal systems in range countries make illegal trade untraceable. Illegal trade often goes unchecked and unpunished, leading to the impoverishment of both wildlife and forests in the region.
Vaccination
Authors: Cranfield Michael R.
Published: April 2017

The terms
vaccine
and
vaccination
were derived from
Variolae vaccinae
(smallpox of the cow), by Edward Jenner in 1798. A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease‐causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, one of its surface proteins, or a small portion its DNA. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and keep a record of it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters. Vaccines can be prophylactic (example: to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or “wild” pathogen) or therapeutic (e.g., vaccines against cancer).
Quality of Life Assessment
Authors: Lambeth Susan P.
Published: April 2017

The quality of life (QOL) assessment process for primates with a terminal or debilitating condition incorporates multiple components (specialized veterinary and husbandry care, positive reinforcement training, and behavioral assessments) of animal care practices in an established clinical protocol for evaluating end‐of‐life scenarios. To initiate the process, a QOL team is formed with key staff members (caregivers, veterinarians, pathologists, veterinary technicians, trainers, and behavior specialists), each with specific experience and/or knowledge of the individual primate. The team compiles a list of characteristics or activities unique to that animal and determines the number of deviations from the established “normal” behavioral repertoire that are needed to trigger a discussion of the necessity for humane euthanasia of the animal. The team is also responsible for implementing any management changes that might be beneficial for the animal. This process improves animal welfare by continuing the quest to most effectively define QOL for captive primates.
Bachelor Males
Authors: Roberts Su‐Jen
Published: April 2017

Bachelor males live outside heterosexual social groups, typically alone or associating with other bachelors in all‐male groups. Resident males must defend their groups against bachelors, who can stage takeovers and become residents themselves. Bachelors have less access to females than do residents and typically sire offspring at lower rates; however, they may be able to make up for this reproductive disadvantage by reproducing for longer or in multiple groups.
Energetics
Authors: Bender Richard L.
Published: April 2017

Energetics is the study of how organisms obtain and utilize energy from the environment. Primates use energy to support growth, bodily maintenance, survival, and reproduction. Primate taxa differ markedly in the energy density of their diets, with the foods of folivores tending to be less energy‐dense than the foods of frugivores. Patterns of energy expenditure also differ markedly between and within taxa, since they are influenced by life history stage, locomotor pattern, reproductive status, and body size. For females, gestation and lactation are especially costly aspects of energy expenditure. In general, smaller‐bodied primates have relatively (but not absolutely) higher metabolic rates and require more energy‐dense foods than larger‐bodied primates. Primates bear the costs of energetically expensive brains; in hominin evolution particularly, these costs may have been met by increased dietary quality and a concurrent reduction in the size of other energetically expensive organ systems, such as the gut.
Disease
Authors: Whittier Christopher A.
Published: April 2017

A disease is any impairment of a part, an organ, or a system of an organism that interferes with or modifies the performance of normal functions. Disease can result from a single or combination of causes such as infection, genetic defect, environmental stress, or degeneration. Most diseases are characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms and reduce the fitness of the diseased organism. Although a variety of diseases may affect both captive and wild nonhuman primates, disease can be especially difficult to detect, monitor, and understand in wild nonhuman primate populations.
Puberty
Authors: Howells Michaela
Published: April 2017

Puberty is a life history stage in primates that is characterized by reproductive and physical development which results in sexual maturation. This life stage marks the transition from the social and physical characteristics of juveniles to those of an adult. This is an extensive phase in many primates when hormonally induced physiological, morphological, and behavioral maturations occur at different rates. Puberty results in a nonsynchronous pattern of maturity in reproductive, skeletal, and dental anatomy, body mass, and behavior that ultimately results in adulthood. Timing of puberty in primates can be influenced by demographic, ecological, and social factors. Using a life history framework, it is evident that this period of development is critical for the social, physical, sexual, and neurological development of primates.
Long‐Term Field Studies—
A
mericas
Authors: Strier Karen B.
Published: April 2017

Despite a relatively slow start, field studies of New World primates have proliferated throughout Mesoamerica and South America since the 1970s and especially the 1980s. Long‐term studies spanning multiple generations have provided data on the life histories and demographic fluctuations of particular study groups and populations for a number of different species. At the same time, a number of established field sites have supported continuous or nearly continuous studies on different species of primates and their ecological communities. Together, these research efforts have contributed to broad, comparative perspectives about the behavioral variation of New World primates over space as well as time. Ongoing threats of extinction have continued to fuel urgent new and ongoing field research that can contribute to informed conservation efforts.
Jolly,Cliff
Authors: Delson Eric
Published: April 2017

Clifford James (Cliff) Jolly (born 1939) has broadened the impact of primatology on physical anthropology through integration of genetic, paleontological, and behavioral data with evolutionary theory. He has drawn on primate models to illuminate aspects of human evolution and combined diverse data to synthesize novel ideas and hypotheses about primates as well as people. Over his more than 50‐year career, he has undertaken research on almost every conceivable area of primatology, and (at the time of this writing) he continues to do so.
Trematodes
Authors: Gillespie Thomas R. , Bakuza Jared
Published: April 2017

Trematodes (class Trematoda), also known as flukes, are flatworms belonging to the phylum Platyhelminthes, characterized by a dorsal‐ventrally flattened and unsegmented body. Surprisingly few trematode species are known from primates; however, commonly reported trematodes in wild primates include
Schistosoma mansoni
,
Fasciola hepatica
,
Dicrocoelium
species, and, less commonly,
Metagonimus yokogawai
and
Paragonimus
species. Integration of standardized empirical data collection and DNA amplification‐based molecular diagnostics has the potential to rapidly improve our knowledge of primate trematodes and the factors that influence infection.
Infectious Agent
Authors: Whittier Christopher A.
Published: April 2017

Aninfectious agentis an entity that is capable of replicating in a host and, in combination with host and environmental factors, producing infection or infectious disease. Infectious agents range from simple prion proteins to complex multicellular animals such as parasitic helminth worms. They are transmitted from one individual to another by various routes or modes of transmission. Infectious agents must evade host defenses in order to multiply during an incubation period, after which the host may start to manifest disease. Many laboratory primates serve as experimental models for human diseases caused by infectious agents. Infectious agents are increasingly recognized alongside hunting and habitat loss as a major threat to wild primate populations.
GPS/GIS
Authors: Shaffer Christopher A.
Published: April 2017

The Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) are two distinct but closely related technologies that allow for the collection, storage, management, analyses, and display of spatial data. Despite the exponential increase in the advancement and availability of GPS/GIS technology in the early twenty‐first century, they are currently underutilized in primatology. In addition to basic applications like thematic mapping and data querying, GPS and GIS have a wide variety of applications for both fine‐scale and broad‐scale questions in primatology. Fine‐scale applications include analysis of primate ranging, assessing spatial patterning in behavior, quantifying resource dispersion or patchiness, and measuring social spacing and fission–fusion dynamics. Broad‐scale, population‐level applications include habitat suitability modeling, assessing the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on primates, biogeography, and conservation management.
Subfossil Lemurs
Authors: Godfrey Laurie R.
Published: April 2017

Seventeen species of large‐bodied lemurs recently lived on the island of Madagascar alongside their smaller‐bodied still‐extant relatives. Called koala lemurs, monkey lemurs, and sloth lemurs (because of their convergences with other, distantly related animals), these lemurs occupied a wide variety of niches, displayed a range of locomotor behaviors, and had distinctively different diets. Known to scientists for well over a century, these creatures sported bizarre adaptations that have long fascinated paleontologists. Advances in molecular techniques have allowed scientists to reconstruct likely divergence dates and relationships among living and extinct lemur taxa; the Archaeolemuridae and Palaeopropithecidae are related to Indriidae, and the Megaladapidae to Lemuridae. Extinction occurred well after humans colonized Madagascar. There is increasing evidence that hunting played a major role in their extinction. While several lived well into the last millennium, populations appear to have been decimated prior to approximately 1,000 years ago.