Infant-nonmother interactions of free-ranging mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata) in Costa Rica

Proximate and ultimate explanations of interactions between infants and nonmothers vary depending upon the relatedness of the interactors. We investigated interactions of infants and nonmothers from a 22-month continuous study and from the long-term monitoring of the mantled howler population of La Pacifica, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Relatedness is low or absent in these mantled howler groups. Juvenile females appeared to practice care skills with older infants, but as most first infants died, they failed to benefit. Infant positive interactions with adults occurred with the mother and probable father. Other adult females behaved aggressively toward the youngest infants. Mothers were retentive of infants and responded negatively to these interactions, suggesting that they perceived them as threatening. Interactions with infants appear to reflect competition in groups of unrelated adults. A review of other populations of Alouatta palliata and other species of howlers indicate variability in social group size and suggest variability in intragroup relatedness. We suggest that further study will confirm that social behavior (including interactions with infants) will vary by resource availability (group size) and associated demographic patterns (male and female migration) that affect relatedness in howler social groups.

Victims of infanticide and conspecific bite wounding in a female-dominant primate: a long-term study.

The aggression animals receive from conspecifics varies between individuals across their lifetime. As poignantly evidenced by infanticide, for example, aggression can have dramatic fitness consequences. Nevertheless, we understand little about the sources of variation in received aggression, particularly in females. Using a female-dominant species renowned for aggressivity in both sexes, we tested for potential social, demographic, and genetic patterns in the frequency with which animals were wounded by conspecifics. Our study included 243 captive, ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), followed from infancy to adulthood over a 35-year time span. We extracted injury, social, and life-history information from colony records and calculated neutral heterozygosity for a subset of animals, as an estimate of genetic diversity. Focusing on victims rather than aggressors, we used General Linear Models to explain bite-wound patterns at different life stages. In infancy, maternal age best predicted wounds received, as infants born to young mothers were the most frequent infanticide victims. In adulthood, sex best predicted wounds received, as males were three times more likely than females to be seriously injured. No relation emerged between wounds received and the other variables studied. Beyond the generally expected costs of adult male intrasexual aggression, we suggest possible additive costs associated with female-dominant societies - those suffered by young mothers engaged in aggressive disputes and those suffered by adult males aggressively targeted by both sexes. We propose that infanticide in lemurs may be a costly by-product of aggressively mediated, female social dominance. Accordingly, the benefits of female behavioral 'masculinization' accrued to females through priority of access to resources, may be partially offset by early costs in reproductive success. Understanding the factors that influence lifetime patterns of conspecific wounding is critical to evaluating the fitness costs associated with social living; however, these costs may vary substantially between societies.

Maternal rank influences the outcome of aggressive interactions between immature chimpanzees

© 2014 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.For many long-lived mammalian species, extended maternal investment has a profound effect on offspring integration in complex social environments. One component of this investment may be aiding young in aggressive interactions, which can set the stage for offspring social position later in life. Here we examined maternal effects on dyadic aggressive interactions between immature (<12 years) chimpanzees. Specifically, we tested whether relative maternal rank predicted the probability of winning an aggressive interaction. We also examined maternal responses to aggressive interactions to determine whether maternal interventions explain interaction outcomes. Using a 12-year behavioural data set (2000-2011) from Gombe National Park, Tanzania, we found that relative maternal rank predicted the probability of winning aggressive interactions in male-male and male-female aggressive interactions: offspring were more likely to win if their mother outranked their opponent's mother. Female-female aggressive interactions occurred infrequently (two interactions), so could not be analysed. The probability of winning was also higher for relatively older individuals in male-male interactions, and for males in male-female interactions. Maternal interventions were rare (7.3% of 137 interactions), suggesting that direct involvement does not explain the outcome for the vast majority of aggressive interactions. These findings provide important insight into the ontogeny of aggressive behaviour and early dominance relationships in wild apes and highlight a potential social advantage for offspring of higher-ranking mothers. This advantage may be particularly pronounced for sons, given male philopatry in chimpanzees and the potential for social status early in life to translate more directly to adult rank.

Hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in global context.

We tested a model that children's tendency to attribute hostile intent to others in response to provocation is a key psychological process that statistically accounts for individual differences in reactive aggressive behavior and that this mechanism contributes to global group differences in children's chronic aggressive behavior problems. Participants were 1,299 children (mean age at year 1 = 8.3 y; 51% girls) from 12 diverse ecological-context groups in nine countries worldwide, followed across 4 y. In year 3, each child was presented with each of 10 hypothetical vignettes depicting an ambiguous provocation toward the child and was asked to attribute the likely intent of the provocateur (coded as benign or hostile) and to predict his or her own behavioral response (coded as nonaggression or reactive aggression). Mothers and children independently rated the child's chronic aggressive behavior problems in years 2, 3, and 4. In every ecological group, in those situations in which a child attributed hostile intent to a peer, that child was more likely to report that he or she would respond with reactive aggression than in situations when that same child attributed benign intent. Across children, hostile attributional bias scores predicted higher mother- and child-rated chronic aggressive behavior problems, even controlling for prior aggression. Ecological group differences in the tendency for children to attribute hostile intent statistically accounted for a significant portion of group differences in chronic aggressive behavior problems. The findings suggest a psychological mechanism for group differences in aggressive behavior and point to potential interventions to reduce aggressive behavior.

Monitoring maternal Beta carotene and retinol consumption may decrease the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.

Retinoic acids (13-cis and 13-trans) are known teratogens, and their precursor is retinol, a form of vitamin A. In 1995, Rothman et al demonstrated an association between excessive vitamin A, >10,000 IU/day, during the first trimester of pregnancy and teratogenic effects, particularly in the central nervous system. However, vitamin A deficiency has long been known to be deleterious to the mother and fetus. Therefore, there may be a narrow therapeutic ratio for vitamin A during pregnancy that has not previously been fully appreciated. Neurodevelopmental disorders may not be apparent by macroscopic brain examination or imaging, and proving the existence of a behavioral teratogen is not straightforward. However, an excess of retinoic acid and some neurodevelopmental disorders are both associated with abnormalities in cerebellar morphology. Physical and chemical evidence strongly supports the notion that beta carotene crosses the placenta and is metabolized to retinol. Only very limited amounts of beta carotene are stored in fetal fat cells as evidenced by the fact that maternal fat is yellow from beta carotene, whereas non-brown neonatal fat is white. Furthermore, newborns of carotenemic mothers do not share the yellow complexion of their mothers. The excess 13-trans retinoic acid derived from metabolized beta carotene in the fetus increases the concentration of the more teratogenic 13-cis retinoic acid since the isomerization equilibrium is shifted to the left. Therefore, this paper proposes that consideration be given to monitoring all potential sources of fetal 13-cis and 13-trans retinoic acid, including nutritional supplements, dietary retinol, and beta carotene, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Dispersal and Integration in Female Chimpanzees

In chimpanzees, most females disperse from the community in which they were born to reproduce in a new community, thereby eliminating the risk of inbreeding with close kin. However, across sites, some females breed in their natal community, raising questions about the flexibility of dispersal, the costs and benefits of different strategies and the mitigation of costs associated with dispersal and integration. In this dissertation I address these questions by combining long-term behavioral data and recent field observations on maturing and young adult females in Gombe National Park with an experimental manipulation of relationship formation in captive apes in the Congo.

To assess the risk of inbreeding for females who do and do not disperse, 129 chimpanzees were genotyped and relatedness between each dyad was calculated. Natal females were more closely related to adult community males than were immigrant females. By examining the parentage of 58 surviving offspring, I found that natal females were not more related to the sires of their offspring than were immigrant females, despite three instances of close inbreeding. The sires of all offspring were less related to the mothers than non-sires regardless of the mother’s residence status. These results suggest that chimpanzees are capable of detecting relatedness and that, even when remaining natal, females can largely avoid, though not eliminate, inbreeding.

Next, I examined whether dispersal was associated with energetic, social, physiological and/or reproductive costs by comparing immigrant (n=10) and natal (n=9) females of similar age using 2358 hours of observational data. Natal and immigrant females did not differ in any energetic metric. Immigrant females received aggression from resident females more frequently than natal females. Immigrants spent less time in social grooming and more time self-grooming than natal females. Immigrant females primarily associated with resident males, had more social partners and lacked close social allies. There was no difference in levels of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in immigrant and natal females. Immigrant females gave birth 2.5 years later than natal females, though the survival of their first offspring did not differ. These results indicate that immigrant females in Gombe National Park do not face energetic deficits upon transfer, but they do enter a hostile social environment and have a delayed first birth.

Next, I examined whether chimpanzees use condition- and phenotype-dependent cues in making dispersal decisions. I examined the effect of social and environmental conditions present at the time females of known age matured (n=25) on the females’ dispersal decisions. Females were more likely to disperse if they had more male maternal relatives and thus, a high risk of inbreeding. Females with a high ranking mother and multiple maternal female kin tended to disperse less frequently, suggesting that a strong female kin network provides benefits to the maturing daughter. Females were also somewhat less likely to disperse when fewer unrelated males were present in the group. Habitat quality and intrasexual competition did not affect dispersal decisions. Using a larger sample of 62 females observed as adults in Gombe, I also detected an effect of phenotypic differences in personality on the female’s dispersal decisions; extraverted, agreeable and open females were less likely to disperse.

Natural observations show that apes use grooming and play as social currency, but no experimental manipulations have been carried out to measure the effects of these behaviors on relationship formation, an essential component of integration. Thirty chimpanzees and 25 bonobos were given a choice between an unfamiliar human who had recently groomed or played with them over one who did not. Both species showed a preference for the human that had interacted with them, though the effect was driven by males. These results support the idea that grooming and play act as social currency in great apes that can rapidly shape social relationships between unfamiliar individuals. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the use of social currency in female apes.

I conclude that dispersal in female chimpanzees is flexible and the balance of costs and benefits varies for each individual. Females likely take into account social cues present at maturity and their own phenotype in choosing a settlement path and are especially sensitive to the presence of maternal male kin. The primary cost associated with philopatry is inbreeding risk and the primary cost associated with dispersal is delay in the age at first birth, presumably resulting from intense social competition. Finally, apes may strategically make use of affiliative behavior in pursuing particular relationships, something that should be useful in the integration process.

Postnatally-transmitted HIV-1 Envelope variants have similar neutralization-sensitivity and function to that of nontransmitted breast milk variants.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is a leading cause of infant HIV-1 infection in the developing world, yet only a minority of infants exposed to HIV-1 via breastfeeding become infected. As a genetic bottleneck severely restricts the number of postnatally-transmitted variants, genetic or phenotypic properties of the virus Envelope (Env) could be important for the establishment of infant infection. We examined the efficiency of virologic functions required for initiation of infection in the gastrointestinal tract and the neutralization sensitivity of HIV-1 Env variants isolated from milk of three postnatally-transmitting mothers (n = 13 viruses), five clinically-matched nontransmitting mothers (n = 16 viruses), and seven postnatally-infected infants (n = 7 postnatally-transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses). RESULTS: There was no difference in the efficiency of epithelial cell interactions between Env virus variants from the breast milk of transmitting and nontransmitting mothers. Moreover, there was similar efficiency of DC-mediated trans-infection, CCR5-usage, target cell fusion, and infectivity between HIV-1 Env-pseudoviruses from nontransmitting mothers and postnatal T/F viruses. Milk Env-pseudoviruses were generally sensitive to neutralization by autologous maternal plasma and resistant to breast milk neutralization. Infant T/F Env-pseudoviruses were equally sensitive to neutralization by broadly-neutralizing monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies as compared to nontransmitted breast milk Env variants. CONCLUSION: Postnatally-T/F Env variants do not appear to possess a superior ability to interact with and cross a mucosal barrier or an exceptional resistance to neutralization that define their capability to initiate infection across the infant gastrointestinal tract in the setting of preexisting maternal antibodies.

Woman-centred care

Changes over the past decade have emphasised the individual service user and their relationship with the health service. Within the maternity services this has been interpreted as woman-centred care a result of key initiatives; the Winterton Report (House of Commons, 1992. Maternity Services. Second Report of the Health Committee (Winterton Report), Vol. 1. HMSO, London) and Changing Childbirth (DoH, 1993a, Changing childbirth: reports of the expert maternity group parts 1 & 2. HMSO, London). Changing Childbirth outlined key principles of the maternity services and the need for the woman (and her partner, if she wishes) to be the focus of care. The key principles are choice, continuity and control. High quality care depends on the recognition of individuals as having unique needs which continues to be reflected within contemporary policy documents (DoH, 1997, The new NHS: modern and dependable. HMSO, London). This paper presents findings related to the provision of woman-centred care from a national research and development study. The study design incorporated (i): a national survey which was undertaken with midwives, midwife supervisors and doctors; and (ii): in-depth case studies in which information was obtained through interviews with midwives, midwife supervisors, educators, managers, doctors and mothers. Midwives, at all levels, are involved in changing maternity service provision and adapting to new systems of care which aim to increase continuity of care and carer for the woman. The researchers sought to understand how woman-centred care was interpreted and experienced in practice. The findings have been used to identify the continuing educational needs of midwives, and to develop an open learning educational package to meet identified need. The curriculum was designed to enhance the move towards the provision of a more integrated woman-centred service.

Beneficial entitlement: no longer doing justice?

Discusses the House of Lords ruling in Stack v Dowden on the size of each legal owner's share of the equity in the family home in the event of the relationship breakdown of an unmarried couple. Considers whether the parties intended their beneficial interests to be different to their legal interests in the property. Comments on the court's primary concern of establishing, from the parties' conduct, their intention as regards beneficial ownership. Looks at whether indirect financial contributions give rise to a beneficial interest under a constructive trust and notes the relevance of the doctrine of proprietary estoppel.

Partners moving freely

Examines the provisions of European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38 protecting the rights of EU citizens' partners to move freely within the EU. Highlights criticisms of the previous legislation, in particular, the lack of rights for cohabitees. Considers the extension of rights to registered partners, and the improved position of unmarried partners, noting, however, the lack of guidance on whether an unmarried couple's relationship is "durable" and "duly attested". Explains the circumstances in which non-EU spouses will not now lose the right of residence on divorce. [From Legal Journals Index]

The food multimix concept: potential of an innovative food based approach on nutritional status in pregnant women in resource-poor communities

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVES: The food multimix (FFM)concept states that limited food resources can be combined using scientific knowledge to meet nutrient needs of vulnerable groups at low cost utilizing the ‘nutrient strengths’ of individual or candidate foods in composite recipes within a cultural context. METHODS: The method employed the food-to-food approach for recipe development using traditional food ingredients. Recipes were subjected to proximate and micronutrient analysis and optimized to meet at tleast 40% of recommended daily intakes. End products including breads, porridge and soup were developed. RESULTS: FMM products were employed in a feeding trial among 120 healthy pregnant women in Gauteng, South Africa resulting in improvements in serum iron levels from baseline values of 14.59 (=/-7.67) umol/L and 14.02 (=/-8.13) umol/L for control and intervention groups (p=0.71), to 16.03 (=/-5.67) umol/L and 18.66 (=/-9.41) umol/L (p=0.19). The increases from baseline to post-intervention were however statistically significant within groups. Similarly Mean Cell Volume values improved from baseline as well as serum ferritin and transferritin levels. CONCLUSION: The FMM concept has potential value in feeding programs for vulnerable groups including pregnant and lactating mothers.

'Tell me Your story applied': ethics in narrative research with young fathers

There has been a significant increase of interest in parents who are considered to be outside of normative discourses; specifically the 'moral panic' relating to an increase in the demography of teenage mothers in the UK (SEU, 1999, 2003; Swann et al., 2003). Recently research has turned to the experiences of parenting from the father's perspective (Daniel and Taylor, 1999, 2001) although there remains a significant gap focusing on the experiences of young fathers. It is argued by Swann et al. (2003) that young fathers are a difficult group to access and this has limited the amount and type of studies conducted with many studies on young parents looking at the role of the father through the eyes of the mother. This contribution focuses on the use of narrative interviews with a small group of young, vulnerable, socially excluded fathers who are users of the statutory social services in the UK. The article looks specifically at the ethics and practical challenges of working with this group and offers insights into the use of the narrative method and the ethical dilemmas resulting from it.

Sex talk? overcoming barriers about sex and contraception after childbirth

Anecdotal evidence tells professionals that childbirth is the best form of contraception. However, sexual health problems are the very common after childbirth with Barrett et al (2000) arguing that only 15% of women who have a postnatal sexual problem reported discussing it with a health professional. As health professionals with a predilection for the ‘clinical’ and the ‘prescriptive’ we organise antenatal classes to discuss bathing the baby and post partum reunions to recount birth stories, but often fail to address sexual health problems and contraception after birth.(Glazener 1997). Many women who have carefully used contraception for years prior to pregnancy are often not helped to re-engage with the issues following birth. This would seem to be a particular problem for the most vulnerable parents such as adolescent mothers and their partners (Social Exclusion Unit 1999, 2004) where some young women go on to have more than one baby in a short time period (Reeves 2003). The focus of this paper is to explore the apparent general failure of health professionals to discuss sex after childbirth and provide information regarding reliable contraception. Glazener (1997) tells us that health professionals are encouraged to educate and prepare patients antenatally, for example to be trained to identify problems and deal with them openly and sympathetically. What is brought into question is why this form of rigorous support is not extended to providing sexual health advice in the immediate and often vulnerable postnatal period and why this provision is not a priority for some groups. The paper will explore if this situation caused by a lack of training or is it a symptom of our culture and a British attitude towards sex and contraception.

Breast milk levels of zinc and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and growth of healthy Chinese infants

AIM: To examine the concentrations of zinc and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 PUFAs) in breast milk, the impact of zinc on omega-6 PUFA metabolism, and the growth rate of infants. METHODS: Forty-one mother-term infant pairs from a rural area of northern Beijing, China, who were 1 month (n = 18, group I) and 3 months (n = 23, group II) old and exclusively breastfed, were studied. The dietary records and the concentrations of zinc and omega-6 PUFAs in the milk of lactating women and the increase in weight and length of their infants during 1 and 3 postnatal months were analysed. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of mothers in the two groups were the same, i.e. high in carbohydrate and low in fat, protein and energy. The maternal zinc intake was 7.5mg/d and thus reached only 34.6% of the current Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI). The levels of zinc and arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4 omega-6) in the milk of group I were significantly higher than those in group II. Furthermore, significant positive correlations were found between the concentrations of zinc and AA in the breast milk and between the level of milk AA and weight gain. CONCLUSION: Zinc may be a co-factor and essential for essential fatty acids (EFA) metabolism. Thus suboptimal zinc intake may cause EFA imbalance. Further studies of Chinese rural mother-infant pairs are necessary to determine whether zinc supplementation should be recommended when lactation exceeds 3 months.

Predominance of genetic monogamy by females in a hammerhead shark, Sphyrna tiburo: Implications for shark conservation.

There is growing interest in the mating systems of sharks and their relatives (Class Chondrichthyes) because these ancient fishes occupy a key position in vertebrate phylogeny and are increasingly in need of conservation due to widespread overexploitation. Based on precious few genetic and field observational studies, current speculation is that polyandrous mating strategies and multiple paternity may be common in sharks as they are in most other vertebrates. Here, we test this hypothesis by examining the genetic mating system of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo, using microsatellite DNA profiling of 22 litters (22 mothers, 188 embryos genotyped at four polymorphic loci) obtained from multiple locations along the west coast of Florida. Contrary to expectations based on the ability of female S. tiburo to store sperm, the social nature of this species and the 100% multiple paternity observed in two other coastal shark species, over 81% of sampled bonnethead females produced litters sired by a single male (i.e. genetic monogamy). When multiple paternity occurred in S. tiburo, there was an indication of increased incidence in larger mothers with bigger litters. Our data suggest that sharks may exhibit complex genetic mating systems with a high degree of interspecific variability, and as a result some species may be more susceptible to loss of genetic variation in the face of escalating fishing pressure. Based on these findings, we suggest that knowledge of elasmobranch mating systems should be an important component of conservation and management programmes for these heavily exploited species.