The Enhanced Tool-Kit of Two Groups of Wild Bearded Capuchin Monkeys in the Caatinga: Tool Making, Associative Use, and Secondary Tools

The use of stones to crack open encapsulated fruit is widespread among wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) inhabiting savanna-like environments. Some populations in Serra da Capivara National Park (Piaui, Brazil), though, exhibit a seemingly broader toolkit, using wooden sticks as probes, and employing stone tools for a variety of purposes. Over the course of 701.5 hr of visual contact of two wild capuchin groups we recorded 677 tool use episodes. Five hundred and seventeen of these involved the use of stones, and 160 involved the use of sticks (or other plant parts) as probes to access water, arthropods, or the contents of insects` nests. Stones were mostly used as ""hammers""-not only to open fruit or seeds, or smash other food items, but also to break dead wood, conglomerate rock, or cement in search of arthropods, to dislodge bigger stones, and to pulverize embedded quartz pebbles (licking, sniffing, or rubbing the body with the powder produced). Stones also were used in a ""hammer-like"" fashion to loosen the soil for digging out roots and arthropods, and sometimes as ""hoes"" to pull the loosened soil. In a few cases, we observed the re-utilization of stone tools for different purposes (N = 3), or the combined use of two tools-stones and sticks (N = 4) or two stones (N = 5), as sequential or associative tools. On three occasions, the monkeys used smaller stones to loosen bigger quartz pebbles embedded in conglomerate rock, which were subsequently used as tools. These could be considered the first reports of secondary tool use by wild capuchin monkeys. Am. J. Primatol. 71:242-251, 2009. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Larvacean (Chordata, Tunicata) abundance and inferred secondary production off southeastern Brazil

We studied the temporal and vertical variability in larvacean abundance and secondary production on a fixed station off southeast Brazil, from January 2007 to December 2008. Larvacean biomass was derived from length weight regressions, and growth rates were estimated from an empirical model. We identified eleven larvacean species. Oikopleura longicauda occurred throughout the studied period and was the most abundant species, followed by Oikopleura fusiformis. Fritillaria haplostoma, O. fusiformis and O. longicauda were found mainly above the thermocline, whereas Oikopleura dioica and Fritillaria pellucida preferred bottom layers. Higher abundance and biomass were observed in warmer months, when the water column was stratified as a result of the bottom intrusions of the cold and nutrient-rich South Atlantic Central Water. Secondary production mirrored the biomass seasonal pattern. Larvacean biomass equaled to less than 10% of copepod biomass during the same period, but larvacean production comprised on average 77% that of copepods, whereas the production of discarded houses and fecal pellets comprised up to 2800% of larvaceans secondary production. This confirms the potential significance of larvaceans in the carbon flux in tropical and subtropical coastal regions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cochlear Implantation Via the Middle Fossa Approach: Surgical and Programming Considerations

Objectives: To report the results of cochlear implantation via the middle fossa approach in 4 patients, discuss the complications, and present a detailed description of the programming specifications in these cases. Study Design: Retrospective case review. Setting: Tertiary-care referral center with a well-established cochlear implant program. Patients: Four patients with bilateral canal wall down mastoid cavities who underwent the middle fossa approach for cochlear implantation. Interventions: Cochlear implantation and subsequent rehabilitation. A middle fossa approach with cochleostomy was successfully performed on the most superficial part of the apical turn in 4 patients. A Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system was used in 3 patients and a MED-EL Sonata Medium device in 1 patient. The single electrode array was inserted through a cochleostomy from the cochlear apex and occupied the apical, middle, and basal turns. Telemetry and intraoperative impedance recordings were performed at the end of surgery. A CT scan of the temporal bones was performed to document electrode insertion for all of the patients. Main Outcome Measures: Complications, hearing thresholds, and speech perception outcomes were evaluated. Results: Neural response telemetry showed present responses in all but 1 patient, who demonstrated facial nerve stimulation during the test. Open-set speech perception varied from 30% to 100%, despite the frequency allocation order of the MAP. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation via the middle cranial fossa is a safe approach, although it is a challenging procedure, even for experienced surgeons.