Morphometrics and testicle size of rain forest lemur species from southeastern Madagascar

Six species of prosimians inhabiting the montane rain forest of the Ranomafana National Park located in southeastern Madagascar were captured, weighed, and measured during the months of May or June of 1987, 1988, and 1989. There were no significant differences in body weights and measurements between male and femaleEulemur rubriventer (red-bellied lemur) orEulemur fulvus rufus (red-fronted lemur). Adult femalePropithecus diadema edwardsi (Milne Edward's sifaka) were heavier than males but the difference was not significant. A fewAvahi laniger laniger (woolly lemur),Hapalemur aureus (golden bamboo lemur) andH. g. griseus (gentle bamboo lemur) also were captured and measured. Body weights of the same individual adultP. d. edwardsi changed over the three years, suggesting variation in food availability. Although there was no difference in body weight among adult males of two groups ofP. d. edwardsi, one male in each group had a testicular volume four times larger than that of other males, even though these measurements were taken five months after the breeding season. These data suggest that only one adult male mates in each group. Testicular size of the polygynousE. f. rufus males was significantly larger than that of the monogamousE. rubriventer. © 1992 Academic Press Limited.

Rain dances in the dry season: overcoming the religious congruence fallacy

Religious congruence refers to consistency among an individual’s religious beliefs and attitudes, consistency between religious ideas and behavior, and religious ideas, identities, or schemas that are chronically salient and accessible to individuals across contexts and situations. Decades of anthropological, sociological, and psychological research establish that religious congruence is rare, but much thinking about religion presumes that it is common. The religious congruence fallacy occurs when interpretations or explanations unjustifiably presume religious congruence. I illustrate the ubiquity of religious incongruence, show how the religious congruence fallacy distorts thinking about religion, and outline an approach to help overcome the fallacy.

Consumption of cyanogenic bamboo by a newly discovered species of bamboo lemur

Three species of bamboo‐eating lemurs were found to be sympatric in the southeastern rain forests of Madagascar. Sympatric species generally differ in habitat utilization or diet, but these three closely related bamboo lemurs lived in the same habitat and all ate bamboo. Behavioral observation revealed that they did select different parts of the bamboo, and chemical analyses confirmed that there was a difference in the secondary compound content present in those selections. The growing tips of Cephalostachyum ef uiguieri selected by the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemuraureus) contained 15 mg of cyanide per 100 g fresh weight bamboo while the leaves of C. perrieri selected by the gentle bamboo lemur (H. griseus)and the mature culms of C. cf uiguieri selected by the greater bamboolemur (H. simus) did not contain cyanide. Since each individual golden bamboo lemur ate about 500 g of bamboo per day, they daily ingestedabout 12 times the lethal dose of cyanide. The mechanism by which this small primate avoids the acute and chronic symptoms of cyanide poisioning is unknown. Copyright © 1989 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company

Mechanical defenses in leaves eaten by Costa Rican howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata).

Primate species often eat foods of different physical properties. This may have implications for tooth structure and wear in those species. The purpose of this study was to examine the mechanical defenses of leaves eaten by Alouatta palliata from different social groups at Hacienda La Pacifica in Costa Rica. Leaves were sampled from the home-ranges of groups living in different microhabitats. Specimens were collected during the wet and dry seasons from the same tree, same plant part, and same degree of development as those eaten by the monkeys. The toughness of over 300 leaves was estimated using a scissors test on a Darvell mechanical tester. Toughness values were compared between social groups, seasons, and locations on the leaves using ANOVA. Representative samples of leaves were also sun-dried for subsequent scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analyses in an attempt to locate silica on the leaves. Both forms of mechanical defense (toughness and silica) were found to be at work in the plants at La Pacifica. Fracture toughness varied significantly by location within single leaves, indicating that measures of fracture toughness must be standardized by location on food items. Monkeys made some food choices based on fracture toughness by avoiding the toughest parts of leaves and consuming the least tough portions. Intergroup and seasonal differences in the toughness of foods suggest that subtle differences in resource availability can have a significant impact on diet and feeding in Alouatta palliata. Intergroup differences in the incidence of silica on leaves raise the possibility of matching differences in the rates and patterns of tooth wear.

Dust accumulation in the canopy: a potential cause of dental microwear in primates.

Dental microwear researchers consider exogenous grit or dust to be an important cause of microscopic wear on primate teeth. No study to date has examined the accumulation of such abrasives on foods eaten by primates in the forest. This investigation introduces a method to collect dust at various heights in the canopy. Results from dust collection studies conducted at the primate research stations at Ketambe in Indonesia, and Hacienda La Pacifica in Costa Rica indicate that 1) grit collects throughout the canopy in both open country and tropical rain forest environments; and 2) the sizes and concentrations of dust particles accumulated over a fixed period of time differ depending on site location and season of investigation. These results may hold important implications for the interpretation of microwear on primate teeth.

Hydraulic redistribution of soil water by roots affects whole-stand evapotranspiration and net ecosystem carbon exchange.

*Hydraulic redistribution (HR) of water via roots from moist to drier portions of the soil occurs in many ecosystems, potentially influencing both water use and carbon assimilation. *By measuring soil water content, sap flow and eddy covariance, we investigated the temporal variability of HR in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation during months of normal and below-normal precipitation, and examined its effects on tree transpiration, ecosystem water use and carbon exchange. *The occurrence of HR was explained by courses of reverse flow through roots. As the drought progressed, HR maintained soil moisture above 0.15 cm(3) cm(-3) and increased transpiration by 30-50%. HR accounted for 15-25% of measured total site water depletion seasonally, peaking at 1.05 mm d(-1). The understory species depended on water redistributed by the deep-rooted overstory pine trees for their early summer water supply. Modeling carbon flux showed that in the absence of HR, gross ecosystem productivity and net ecosystem exchange could be reduced by 750 and 400 g C m(-2) yr(-1), respectively. *Hydraulic redistribution mitigated the effects of soil drying on understory and stand evapotranspiration and had important implications for net primary productivity by maintaining this whole ecosystem as a carbon sink.

Physical activity-related and weather-related practices of child care centers from 2 states

© 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc.Background: Young children's physical activity (PA) is influenced by their child care environment. This study assessed PA practices in centers from Massachusetts (MA) and Rhode Island (RI), compared them to best practice recommendations, and assessed differences between states and center profit status. We also assessed weather-related practices. Methods: Sixty percent of MA and 54% of RI directors returned a survey, for a total of 254. Recommendations were 1) daily outdoor play, 2) providing outdoor play area, 3) limiting fixed play structures, 4) variety of portable play equipment, and 5) providing indoor play area. We fit multivariable linear regression models to examine adjusted associations between state, profit status, PA, and weather-related practices. Results: MA did not differ from RI in meeting PA recommendations (β = 0.03; 0.15, 0.21; P = .72), but MA centers scored higher on weather-related practices (β = 0.47; 0.16, 0.79; P = .004). For-profit centers had lower PA scores compared with nonprofits (β = -0.20; 95% CI: -0.38, -0.02; P = .03), but they did not differ for weather (β = 0.12; -0.19, 0.44; P = .44). Conclusions: More MA centers allowed children outside in light rain or snow. For-profit centers had more equipment-both fixed and portable. Results from this study may help inform interventions to increase PA in children.