Sexual selection and canine dimorphism in New World monkeys.

Social and ecological factors are important in shaping sexual dimorphism in Anthropoidea, but there is also a tendency for body-size dimorphism and canine dimorphism to increase with increased body size (Rensch's rule) (Rensch: Evolution Above the Species Level. London: Methuen, 1959.) Most ecologist interpret Rensch's rule to be a consequence of social and ecological selective factors that covary with body size, but recent claims have been advanced that dimorphism is principally a consequence of selection for increased body size alone. Here we assess the effects of body size, body-size dimorphism, and social structure on canine dimorphism among platyrrhine monkeys. Platyrrhine species examined are classified into four behavioral groups reflecting the intensity of intermale competition for access to females or to limiting resources. As canine dimorphism increases, so does the level of intermale competition. Those species with monogamous and polyandrous social structures have the lowest canine dimorphism, while those with dominance rank hierarchies of males have the most canine dimorphism. Species with fission-fusion social structures and transitory intermale breeding-season competition fall between these extremes. Among platyrrhines there is a significant positive correlation between body size and canine dimorphism However, within levels of competition, no significant correlation was found between the two. Also, with increased body size, body-size dimorphism tends to increase, and this correlation holds in some cases within competition levels. In an analysis of covariance, once the level of intermale competition is controlled for, neither molar size nor molar-size dimorphism accounts for a significant part of the variance in canine dimorphism. A similar analysis using body weight as a measure of size and dimorphism yields a less clear-cut picture: body weight contributes significantly to the model when the effects of the other factors are controlled. Finally, in a model using head and body length as a measure of size and dimorphism, all factors and the interactions between them are significant. We conclude that intermale competition among platyrrhine species is the most important factor explaining variations in canine dimorphism. The significant effects of size and size dimorphism in some models may be evidence that natural (as opposed to sexual) selection also plays a role in the evolution of increased canine dimorphism.

Sexual dimorphism in canine length of woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides, E. Geoffroy 1806)

We measured canine teeth from 28 woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides) to assess sexual dimorphism and population differences. The specimens are from the Brazilian states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. We found strong sexual dimorphism in canine length for individuals belonging to populations south of 22°00′ latitude but no sexual dimorphism in canine length from individuals of populations north of 21°00′ latitude. Canine length did not vary among females of northern and southern populations. However, southern males had significantly longer canines than northern males. This geographical difference in canine morphology, together with the presence or absence of thumbs and published accounts of differences in genetics and social structure between northern and southern populations, suggests that Brachyteles arachnoides may be composed of at least two subspecies, which appear to be separated by the rivers Grande and Paraiba do Sul and the Serra da Mantiqueira. © 1993 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

The Transnational Geography of Sexual Rights

Among the signal developments of the last third of the twentieth century has been the emergence of a new politics of human rights. The transnational circulation of norms, networks, and representations has advanced human rights claims in ways that have reshaped global practices. Just as much as the transnational flow of capital, the new human rights politics are part of the phenomenon that has come to be termed globalization. Shifting the focus from the sovereignty of the nation to the rights of individuals, regardless of nationality, the interplay between the local and the global in these new human rights claims are fundamentally redrawing the boundaries between the rights of individuals, states, and the international community. Truth Claims brings together for the first time some of the best new work from a variety of disciplinary and geographic perspectives exploring the making of human rights claims and the cultural politics of their representations. All of the essays, whether dealing with the state and its victims, receptions of human rights claims, or the status of transnational rights claims in the era of globalization, explore the potentialities of an expansive humanistic framework. Here, the authors move beyond the terms -- and the limitations -- of the universalism/relativism debate that has so defined existing human rights literature.

People believe it is plausible to have forgotten memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Pezdek, Blandon-Gitlin, and Gabbay (2006) found that perceptions of the plausibility of events increase the likelihood that imagination may induce false memories of those events. Using a survey conducted by Gallup, we asked a large sample of the general population how plausible it would be for a person with longstanding emotional problems and a need for psychotherapy to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse, even though the person could not remember the abuse. Only 18% indicated that it was implausible or very implausible, whereas 67% indicated that such an occurrence was either plausible or very plausible. Combined with Pezdek et al.s' findings, and counter to their conclusions, our findings imply that there is a substantial danger of inducing false memories of childhood sexual abuse through imagination in psychotherapy.

Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Poultry Litter Associated Contaminates on the Sexual Development of Xenopus laevis

Poultry litter contains high levels of natural sex hormones, nitrogen, phosphorous, and trace amounts of heavy metals. Poultry litter runoff from poultry and farming operations in the Delmarva region can have serious impacts on frog development in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In this study, we investigated potential effects of litter compounds on Xenopus laevis development when exposed to environmental levels (0.35 and 0.70 g/L) of litter solution. We found that despite rapid hormone degradation, poultry litter solution still affected X. laevis development. Hormones were also more persistent in the lower poultry litter concentration, leading to even greater effects. Slowed growth and increased female gonadal abnormalities were observed after exposure to 0.35 g/L but not to 0.70 g/L of litter solution, and increased male gonadal abnormalities were observed after treatment to both litter concentrations. The developmental impacts examined in this study may have greater environmental impacts on frog reproduction and survival.

Estudio de la diferenciación y madurez sexual en la langosta de agua dulce, Cherax quadricarinatus (Decapoda, Astacidea, Parastacidae) y su aplicación en acuicultura

Cherax quadricarinatus, es una especie de langosta de agua dulce nativa de Australia y Papua Nueva Guinea que se cultiva en varios países incluyendo Argentina, por lo que las investigaciones acerca de su biología reproductiva están orientadas a conocer las condiciones óptimas de cultivo, y desarrollar técnicas para su reproducción y crecimiento. El objetivo general fue determinar el momento del desarrollo en que ocurre la diferenciación sexual y el posible rol regulador de la temperatura, caracterizar el proceso de diferenciación gonadal y madurez sexual, y los cambios morfométricos asociados. Los resultados indicaron que la diferenciación sexual secundaria ocurre a partir de los 0,23 g aproximadamente, correspondiente al estadio juvenil VI ó VII. La temperatura no ejerció un claro efecto sobre la diferenciación sexual. Las hembras, desde la diferenciación gonadal hasta su maduración, presentaron tres morfotipos ováricos. En función de la coloración ovárica, la estructura histológica y la proporción de los distintos tipos celulares se distinguieron cuatro estadios de desarrollo ovárico: I (blanco-transparente), II (crema pálido-naranja pálido), III (naranja con oocitos verdes) y IV (verde oliva). En los machos se identificaron tres estadios de desarrollo y dos tipos de appendices masculinae ó papilas fálicas. Se reconocieron diferentes patrones de intersexualidad y cuatro posibles combinaciones de aberturas genitales que permitieron definir cuatro tipos de intersexo: intersexo hembra (I), intersexo macho (II), y dos tipos de intersexo macho-hembra (III y IV). Los resultados del análisis morfométrico mostraron que los intersexos hembras representan un tipo sexual morfométricamente diferenciado de las hembras y los machos, aunque desde el punto de vista funcional son hembras. Los cambios en las relaciones morfométricas de las dimensiones de los quelípedos se vincularon con el inicio de la la madurez sexual desde el punto de vista histológico en los machos e intersexos hembra.

Aptitud reproductiva en toros : etología sexual y fertilidad

p.165-180

The Use of 'Shame' with Sexual Offenders

This article explores the use of shaming mechanisms with sexual offenders, particularly those who offend against children. Shaming, a central concept in the broader theory of restorative justice, may be of two varieties. The first, ‘disintegrative shaming’, characterises the traditional retributive framework of justice and is evident in recent state led and popular responses to the risk posed by released sexual offenders. Far from ensuring offender integration, the net result is often labelling, stigmatisation, ostracism and a return to offending behaviour. The second, ‘reintegrative shaming’, affirms the offender’s membership within law abiding society. This has been used in several jurisdictions as the basis of restorative support and treatment networks for sexual offenders where the community works in partnership with state and voluntary agencies. Contrary to arguments put forward by critics of restorative justice, this article argues that such cases may be particularly suitable for a restorative approach.

''Setting 'Em Up'': Personal, Familial and Institutional Grooming in the Sexual Abuse of Children

The term ‘grooming’ has been used to describe the offender’s actions during the preparatory stage of sexual abuse. This paper will argue that current discourses on grooming have created ambiguities and misunderstandings about child sexual abuse. In particular, the popular focus on ‘stranger danger’ belies the fact that the majority of children are abused by someone well known to them, where grooming can also occur. Current discourses also neglect other important facets of the sex offending pattern. They fail to consider that offenders may groom not only the child but also their family and even the local community who may act as the gatekeepers of access. They also ignore what can be termed ‘institutional grooming’ – that sex offenders may groom criminal justice and other institutions into believing that they present no risk to children. A key variable in the grooming process is the creation and subsequent abuse of trust. Given that the criminal law may be somewhat limited in its response to this type of behaviour, ultimately concerted efforts must be made to foster social and organisational awareness of such processes in order to reduce the offender’s opportunity for abuse.