Circadian variation with a diurnal bimodal profile on scent-marking behavior in captive common marmosets (callitrhix jacchus)

Scent-marking behavior is associated with different behavioral contexts in callitrichids, including signalizing a territory, location of feeding resources, and social rank. In marmosets and tamarins it is also associated with intersexual communication. Though it appears very important for the daily routine of the individuals, very few researchers have investigated distribution through the 24-h cycle. In a preliminary report, we described a preferential incidence of this behavior 2 h before nocturnal rest in families of common marmosets. We expand the data using 8 family groups (28 subjects), 8 fathers, 6 mothers, 8 nonreproductive adults (4 sons and 4 daughters), and 6 juvenile (3 sons and 3 daughters) offspring that we kept in outdoor cages under natural environmental conditions. We recorded the frequency of anogenital scent marking for each group during the light phase, twice a wk, for 4 consecutive wks, from March 1998 to September 1999. Cosinor test detected 24- and 8-h variations in 89.3% and 85.7% of the subjects, respectively, regardless of sex or reproductive status. The 8-h component is a consequence of the 2 peaks for the behavior, at the beginning and end of the light phase. Daily distribution of scent marking is similar to that others described previously for motor activity in marmosets. The coincident rhythmical patterns for both behaviors seem to be associated with feeding behavior, as described for callitrichids in free-ranging conditions, involving an increase in foraging activities early in the morning and shortly before nocturnal rest

Comparação entre técnicas de aferição da temperatura corpórea em micos-estrela cativos (Callithrix penicillata) e sua relação com parâmetros hematológicos, peso corporal e umidade e temperatura do ambiente

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, 2015.

Comparação entre técnicas de aferição da temperatura corpórea em micos-estrela cativos (Callithrix penicillata) e sua relação com parâmetros hematológicos, peso corporal e umidade e temperatura do ambiente

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, 2015.

Identification of theta-class glutathione S-transferase in liver cytosol of the marmoset monkey

The presence of theta-class glutathione S-transferase (GST) in marmoset monkey liver cytosol was investigated. An anti-peptide antibody targeted against the C-terminus of rGSTT1 reacted with a single band in marmoset liver cytosol that corresponded to a molecular weight of 28 kDa. The intensity of the immunoreactive band was not affected by treatment of marmoset monkeys with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, phenobarbitone, rifampicin or clofibric acid. Similarly, activity towards methyl chloride (MC) was unaffected by these treatments. However, GST activity towards 1,2-epoxy3-(p- nitrophenoxy)-propane (EPNP) was increased in marmosets treated with phenobarbitone (2.6-fold) and rifampicin (2.6-fold), activity towards dichloromethane (DCM) was increased by 50% after treatment of marmosets with clofibric acid, and activity towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) was raised slightly (30-42% increases) after treatment with phenobarbitone, rifampicin or clofibric acid. Compared with humans, marmoset liver cytosol GST activity towards DCM was 18-fold higher, activity towards MC was 7 times higher and activity towards CDNB was 4 times higher. Further, EPNP activity was clearly detectable in marmoset liver cytosol samples, but was undetectable in human samples. Immunoreactive marmoset GST was partially purified by affinity chromatography using hexylglutathione-Sepharose and Orange A resin. The interaction of immunoreactive marmoset GST was similar to that found previously for rat and human GSTT1, suggesting that this protein is also a theta class GST. However, unlike rat GSTT1, the marmoset enzyme was not the major catalyst of EPNP conjugation. Instead, immunoreactivity was closely associated with activity towards MC. In conclusion, these results provide evidence for the presence of theta-class GST in the marmoset monkey orthologous to rGSTT1 and hGSTT1.

The geometric structure of the brain fiber pathways.

The structure of the brain as a product of morphogenesis is difficult to reconcile with the observed complexity of cerebral connectivity. We therefore analyzed relationships of adjacency and crossing between cerebral fiber pathways in four nonhuman primate species and in humans by using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. The cerebral fiber pathways formed a rectilinear three-dimensional grid continuous with the three principal axes of development. Cortico-cortical pathways formed parallel sheets of interwoven paths in the longitudinal and medio-lateral axes, in which major pathways were local condensations. Cross-species homology was strong and showed emergence of complex gyral connectivity by continuous elaboration of this grid structure. This architecture naturally supports functional spatio-temporal coherence, developmental path-finding, and incremental rewiring with correlated adaptation of structure and function in cerebral plasticity and evolution.

Contested dominance modifies the anovulatory consequences of social subordination in female marmosets

Dominance status among female marmosets is reflected in agonistic behavior and ovarian function. Socially dominant females receive submissive behavior from subordinates, while exhibiting normal ovulatory function. Subordinate females, however, receive agonistic behavior from dominants, while exhibiting reduced or absent ovulatory function. Such disparity in female fertility is not absolute, and groups with two breeding females have been described. The data reported here were obtained from 8 female-female pairs of captive female marmosets, each housed with a single unrelated male. Pairs were classified into two groups: “uncontested” dominance (UD) and “contested” dominance (CD), with 4 pairs each. Dominant females in UD pairs showed significantly higher frequencies (4.1) of agonism (piloerection, attack and chasing) than their subordinates (0.36), and agonistic behaviors were overall more frequently displayed by CD than by UD pairs. Subordinates in CD pairs exhibited more agonistic behavior (2.9) than subordinates in UD pairs (0.36), which displayed significantly more submissive (6.97) behaviors than their dominants (0.35). The data suggest that there is more than one kind of dominance relationship between female common marmosets. Assessment of progesterone levels showed that while subordinates in UD pairs appeared to be anovulatory, the degree of ovulatory disruption in subordinates of CD pairs was more varied and less complete. We suggest that such variation in female-female social dominance relationships and the associated variation in the degree and reliability of fertility suppression may explain variations of the reproductive condition of free-living groups of common marmosets

Preferência alimentar e identificação das principais fontes de repasto sanguíneo de fêmeas Lutzomyia (Diptera: Psychodidae) em áreas endêmicas para leishmaniose visceral na grande Natal

Leishmaniasis are endemic diseases wild spread in the New and Old World, caused by the flagelated protozoan Leishmania. In the New World, the distribution of different forms of leishmaniasis is mostly in tropical regions. In the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeast Brazil, 85% of the captured sand flies fauna is Lutzomyia longipalpis. The distribution of the sand fly vector in the state overlaps with the disease distribution, where the presence of sand flies is associated with presence of animals shelters. The aim of this study was to analyse the blood meal preference of sand flies vector from the genus Lutzomyia spp. in laboratory conditions, to verify the vector life cicle at different temperatures sets and to identify the main blood meal source in endemic areas for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) at peri-urban regions of Natal. Sand flies samples were collected from the municipalities of São Gonçalo do Amarante and Nísia Floresta where female sand flies were grouped for the colony maintenance in the laboratory and for the analysis of the preferred source of sand fly blood meal in natural environment. The prevalence of blood meal preference and oviposition for the females sand flies was 97% for Cavia porcellus with oviposition of 19 eggs/female; 97% for Eqqus caballus with 19 eggs/female; 98% for human blood with 14 eggs/female; 71.3% for Didelphis albiventris with 8.4 eggs/female; 73% for Gallus gallus with 14 eggs/female; 86% for Canis familiaris with 10.3 eggs/female; 81.4% for Galea spixii with 26 eggs/female; 36% for Callithrix jachus with 15 eggs/female; 42.8% for Monodelphis domestica with 0% of oviposition. Female sand flies did not take a blood meal from Felis catus. Sand flies life cycle ranged from 32-40 days, with 21-50 oviposition rates approximately. This study also showed that at 32°C the life cycle had 31 days, at 28° C it had 50 days and at 22°C it increased to 79 days. Adjusting the temperature to 35°C the eggs did not hatch, thus blocking the life cycle. A total of 1540 sand flies were captured, among them, 1.310 were male and 230 were female. Whereas 86% of the sand flies captured were Lu. longipalpis as compared to 10.5% for Lu. evandroi and, 3.2% for L. lenti and 0.3% for Lu whitmani. The ratio between female and male sandfly was approximately 6 males to 1 female. In Nísia Floresta, 50.7% of the collected females took their blood meal from armadillo, 12.8% from human. Among the female sand flies captured in São Gonçalo do Amarante, 80 of them were tested for the Leishmania KDNA infectivity where 5% of them were infected with Leishmania chagasi. Female Lutzomyia spp. showed to have an opportunistic blood meal characteristic. The behavioral parameters seem to have a higher influence in the oviposition when compared to the level of total proteins detected in the host s bloodstream. A higher Lu. longipalpis life cycle viability was observed at 28°C. The increase of temperature dropped the life cycle time, which means that the life cycle is modified by temperature range, source of blood meal and humidity. Lu longipalpis was the most specie found in the inner and peridomiciliar environment. In Nísia Floresta, armadillos were the main source of blood meal for Lutzomyia spp. At São Gonçalo do Amarante, humans were the main source of blood meal due to CDC nets placed inside their houses

Dípteros (Culicidae) transmissores de arbovírus em área de proteção ambiental urbana (Parque das Dunas Natal-RN,) 2004-2006

Desenvolvido no Parque das Dunas, segunda reserva ambiental urbana do Brasil, ocupando uma área de 1.172,80 hectares, com característica de mata atlântica de dunas, situada numa faixa litorânea na região urbana do município de Natal (05° 46 S, 35º 12 W), o presente estudo, realizado durante os anos de 2004 a 2006, teve como objetivo identificar as espécies de culicídeos existentes no Parque das Dunas, capazes de transmitir arbovírus, tendo em vista que em 2004 houve uma epizootia de saguis (Callitrix jacchus), que causou grande mortandade, sem definição do agente etiológico. No ano de 2004, foram pesquisados sete pontos no interior da mata, com instalação de 20 armadilhas de ovitrampas e 20 de bambu para coleta dos imaturos. Para os adultos, durante quatro vezes por semana, foram usadas as armadilhas de Sannhon. Foram coletados 5.691 imaturos, sendo 839 Ae. aegypti, 3.184 Ae. albopictus e 1.668 Hg. leucocelaenus. A coleta dos adultos foi realizada de 2004 a 2006, etapa em que se recolheu 17.506 culicídeos adultos, sendo 17.244 Wy. bourrouli, 255 Ae. aegypti, 593 Ae. albopictus, 1.275 Hg. leucocelaenus, 294 Oc. scapularis, 05 Oc. taeniorynchus, 02 Oc. serratus e 3 Li. durhami. Para os imaturos houve correlação significativa entre Ae. aegypti e umidade relativa do ar p = 0, 049 e pluviometria p = 0,00, Ae. albopictus apresentou correlação significativa positiva com a pluviometria, enquanto Hg. leucocelaenus não apresentou nenhuma das variáveis climáticas. Para os adultos, a análise de série temporal aponta flutuação sazonal significativa para Ae. aegypti (p = 0,003); Ae. albopictus (p = 0,04); Oc. scapularis (p = 0,008 ) e Hg. leucocelaenus (p = 0,003). Uma correlação significativa negativa foi observada entre o número de Ae. albopictus coletado e a temperatura (Corr= - 0,50, p = 0,01); isto é, para cada 1°C a mais há diminuição de 7 espécimes. Este estudo teve a participação de uma equipe multidisciplinar: biólogos, entomologistas, para confirmação das espécies; técnicos de laboratório, para acompanhamento diário das larvas eclodidas das armadilhas de ovitrampas. Teve a importante colaboração de profissionais da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz FIOCRUZ/Rio de Janeiro, da Universidade de São Paulo USP para identificação do grupo Wyeomyia.

Densidade e tamanho populacional de primatas em um fragmento florestal no sudeste do Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hyper abundant mesopredators and bird extinction in an Atlantic forest island

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Density and population size of mammals introduced on a land-bridge island in southeastern Brazil

The introduction of alien species is one of the main threats to the conservation of native species, especially in island ecosystems. Here, we report on the population growth of 15 species of mammals introduced in 1983 on the island of Anchieta, an 828 ha land-bridge island in southeastern Brazil. We estimated the density of mammals through 296 km of line transect census. Five species introduced became extinct (coypu, brocket deer, six-banded armadillo, nine-banded armadillo, maned three-toed sloth); six became over-abundant (marmoset, coati, agouti, seven-banded armadillo, and capybara); one has a stable population (capuchin monkey). Anchieta Island has the highest density of mammals in the entire Atlantic forest (486.77 ind/km(2)), especially nest predators (232.83 ind/km(2)) and herbivores (253.58 ind/km(2)). Agoutis (Dasyprocta spp.) and marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) were, by far, the species with the highest population growth. The high density of mammals in this island may have strong consequences for plant recruitment and bird diversity.

The current status of the new world monkey phylogeny

Four DNA datasets were combined in tandem (6700 bp) and Maximum parsimony and Neighbor-Joining analyses were performed. The results suggest three groups emerging almost at the same time: Atelidae, Pitheciidae and Cebidae. The total analysis strongly supports the monophyly of the Cebidae family, grouping Aotus, Cebus and Saimiri with the small callitrichines. In the callitrichines, the data link Cebuela to Callithrix, place Callimico as a sister group of Callithrix/Cebuella, and show Saguinus to be the earliest offshoot of the callitrichines. In the family Pithecidae, Callicebus is the basal genus. Finally, combined molecular data showed congruent branching in the atelid clade, setting up Alouatta as the basal lineage and Brachyteles-Lagothrix as a sister group and the most derived branch. Two major points remain to be clarified in the platyrrhine phylogeny: (i) what is the exact branching pattern of Aotus, Cebus, Saimiri and the small callitrichines, and (ii), which two of these three lineages, pitheciines, atelines or cebids, are more closely related?

Frequência de anticorpos contra Leptospira spp. e Trypanosoma cruzy em primatas neotropicais mantidos em cativeiro

Faz um levantamento sorológico para anticorpos contra Leptospira spp e Trypanosoma cruzi em primatas neotropicais mantidos em cativeiro. Amostras de 94 primatas neotropicais adultos, machos e fêmeas de diferentes espécies pertencentes ao criatório do Centro Nacional de Primatas (CENP)-Ananindeua-PA, coletadas para a realização da Soroaglutinação Microscópica (SAM), na qual foram utilizadas 84 amostras sorológicas, em que 35 (41,67%) apresentaram anticorpos contra leptospira e 49 (58,33%) foram soronegativas. De 11 espécies utilizadas na pesquisa, as maiores positividades estavam nas espécies de Cebus apella 69.23% (9/13), Aotus infullatus 33,33% (5/15), Callithrix penicillata 28,57% (4/14) e Saimiri sciureus 22,73 (5/22). De 35 amostras positivas, 11 (31,42%) reagiram contra o sorovar Cynopteri, oito (22,85%) foram reagentes para Andamana, seis (17,14%) contra o sorovar Hebdomadis, quatro (11,42%) para Copenhageni, três (8,57%) contra o sorovar Patoc, duas (5,71%) para o sorovar Cuíca, e o restante reagiram para pelo menos um sorovar (2,85%) sorovar Hardjo, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Grippotyphosa e Autumnalis. Para detecção de anticorpos contra o T. cruzi, foram utilizadas 94 amostras sorológicas de primatas neotropicais. As amostras de cada animal foram submetidas aos exames sorológicos de Hemaglutinação Indireta (HAI) e Ensaio Imunoenzimático (ELISA). Das amostras avaliadas pela HAI, apenas uma fêmea da espécie Saguinus niger revelou resultado positivo, porém todas as amostras revelaram resultado negativo quando submetidas ao ELISA-recombinante. Com relação aos parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos não foram observadas alterações que indicassem uma possível infecção. Conclui-se que a ocorrência de anticorpos contra as leptospiras nas espécies de primatas foi alta, mesmo não apresentando sintomas, e todos os parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos estarem normais indicando que apesar destes animais encontrarem-se em cativeiro, possivelmente tiveram contato em vida livre com a bactéria e a infecção pode estar sendo mantida entre eles e casos de leptospirose e doença de Chagas em primatas neotropicais são raros, porém deve-se lembrar que os mesmos atuam como reservatórios de Leptospira spp e Tripanosma cruzi no ambiente silvestre.

Divergent evolution and purifying selection of the H (FUT1) gene in New World monkeys (Primates, Platyrrhini)

In the present study, the coding region of the H gene was sequenced and analyzed in fourteen genera of New World primates (Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Brachyteles, Cacajao, Callicebus, Callithrix, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontopithecus, Pithecia, Saguinus, and Saimiri), in order to investigate the evolution of the gene. The analyses revealed that this coding region contains 1,101 nucleotides, with the exception of Brachyteles, the callitrichines (Callithrix, Leontopithecus, and Saguinus) and one species of Callicebus (moloch), in which one codon was deleted. In the primates studied, the high GC content (63%), the nonrandom distribution of codons and the low evolution rate of the gene (0.513 substitutions/site/MA in the order Primates) suggest the action of a purifying type of selective pressure, confirmed by the Z-test. Our analyses did not identify mutations equivalent to those responsible for the H-deficient phenotypes found in humans, nor any other alteration that might explain the lack of expression of the gene in the erythrocytes of Neotropical monkeys. The phylogenetic trees obtained for the H gene and the distance matrix data suggest the occurrence of divergent evolution in the primates.

Abundância e tamanho populacional de mamíferos náo-voadores introduzidos na Ilha Anchieta, SP

Espécies de plantas, animais ou microrganismos introduzidos em ecossistemas do qual não fazem parte originalmente podem ser chamados de exóticos. Esses organismos podem se adaptar e propagar, prejudicando processos naturais e espécies nativas. Os impactos das introduções sobre a biota nativa podem ser imperceptíveis ou mesmo catastróficos, uma vez que estas espécies podem causar profundas alterações na estrutura dos ecossistemas. Em 1983, 15 espécies de mamíferos foram introduzidas na Ilha Anchieta, Ubatuba, SP. Em 2005 a partir de transecções lineares foi possível determinar a abundância relativa, densidade e tamanho populacional de nove espécies introduzidas e uma nativa que mostro que a ilha possui uma alta densidade de mamíferos (480.21 ind/km²). Neste estudo, a partir de dados de coletados em 2008-2009 poderemos comparar os resultados obtidos no mesmo local em 2004-2005. Foram instaladas 42 armadilhas fotográficas para detecção dos mamíferos (sete armadilhas no mês de outubro de 2008 e 35 entre os meses de fevereiro e julho de 2009). Foi utilizado também e como principal ferramenta o censo via transectos lineares onde, foram dispostas 17 trilhas de 400m cada e o levantamento dos mamíferos foi realizado durante o dia, com saídas na parte da manhã às 6:00 e na parte da tarde às 17:00. As trilhas foram percorridas entre os meses de fevereiro e outubro de 2009 e foram percorridos 38,4 km nos transectos lineares. Foram introduzidas duas espécies de cutias (Dasyprocta azarae e D. leporina) entretanto os VIII indivíduos registrados na amostragem por transectos lineares foram identificados apenas ao nível de gênero. Dasyprocta spp. (33%), Dasypus novemcinctus (27,97%) e Callithrix penicillata (19,49%) foram as espécies com maior frequência relativa de ocorrência no censo (vestígios e avistamentos)... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)