Behavioral adjustments of endangered Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living at the edge of an agricultural landscape in Morocco.

Transition zones between natural and human-altered spaces are eroding in most terrestrial ecosystems. The persistence of animals in shared landscapes depends in part on their behavioral flexibility, which may involve being able to exploit human agricultural production. As a forest-dependent species, the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is affected by the progressive conversion of forest-adjacent lands into crops. We explore how Barbary macaque behavior differs between groups living in a forest at the edge of agricultural zones (hereafter "disturbed groups") and groups inhabiting undisturbed forests (hereafter "natural groups"). We compare the diets, activity-budgets, home range sizes, daily path lengths, and sleeping site locations of the groups. We also quantify anthropogenic disturbances (i.e., rates of encounter with humans and dogs) and investigate relationships between such disturbances and the diets and activity budgets of macaques through multiple co-inertia analysis. Disturbed groups included high proportions of cultivated food items in their diet and encountered over 0.5/h anthropogenic disturbances. Activity-budgets differed between disturbed and natural groups and were mostly influenced by diets, not anthropogenic disturbances. Disturbed groups spent more time feeding and less time resting than natural ones. Patterns of space use differed markedly between groups, with disturbed groups displaying smaller home ranges, shorter daily path length, and much higher reutilization of sleeping sites than natural groups. This study highlights the dietary and behavioral flexibility of Barbary macaques living in human-altered environments. Their patterns of space use suggest a reduction in energy expenditure in the disturbed groups due to the inclusion of cultivated food items in their diet possibly leading to increased foraging efficiency. However, the high rates of anthropogenic encounters, including aggressive ones, are likely stressful and may potentially induce extra energy costs and lead to macaque injuries. This could result in demographic costs for crop-foraging groups, threatening the conservation of this endangered species.

The genetic impact of an Ebola outbreak on a wild gorilla population.

BACKGROUND: Numerous Ebola virus outbreaks have occurred in Equatorial Africa over the past decades. Besides human fatalities, gorillas and chimpanzees have also succumbed to the fatal virus. The 2004 outbreak at the Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of Congo) alone caused a severe decline in the resident western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) population, with a 95% mortality rate. Here, we explore the immediate genetic impact of the Ebola outbreak in the western lowland gorilla population. RESULTS: Associations with survivorship were evaluated by utilizing DNA obtained from fecal samples from 16 gorilla individuals declared missing after the outbreak (non-survivors) and 15 individuals observed before and after the epidemic (survivors). We used a target enrichment approach to capture the sequences of 123 genes previously associated with immunology and Ebola virus resistance and additionally analyzed the gut microbiome which could influence the survival after an infection. Our results indicate no changes in the population genetic diversity before and after the Ebola outbreak, and no significant differences in microbial community composition between survivors and non-survivors. However, and despite the low power for an association analysis, we do detect six nominally significant missense mutations in four genes that might be candidate variants associated with an increased chance of survival. CONCLUSION: This study offers the first insight to the genetics of a wild great ape population before and after an Ebola outbreak using target capture experiments from fecal samples, and presents a list of candidate loci that may have facilitated their survival.

Transdisciplinary Bioblitz: Rapid biotic and abiotic inventory allows studying environmental changes over 60 years at the Biological Field Station of Paimpont (Brittany, France) and opens new interdisciplinary research opportunities.

BACKGROUND: The Biological Field Station of Paimpont (Station Biologique de Paimpont, SBP), owned by the University of Rennes and located in the Brocéliande Forest of Brittany (France), has been hosting student scientific research and field trips during the last 60 years. The study area of the SBP is a landscape mosaic of 17 ha composed of gorse moors, forests, prairies, ponds and creeks. Land use has evolved over time. Historical surveys by students and researchers focused on insects and birds. With this study, we aimed to increase the range of taxa observations, document changes in species composition and landscape and provide a basis for interdisciplinary research perspectives. We gathered historical data, implemented an all-taxon biodiversity inventory (ATBI) in different habitats of the SBP study area, measured abiotic factors in the air, water and soil and performed a photographical landscape observation during the BioBlitz held in July 2017. NEW INFORMATION: During the 24 h BioBlitz, organised by the SBP and the EcoBio lab from the University of Rennes and the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), different habitats were individually sampled. Seventy-seven experts, accompanied by 120 citizens and 12 young people participating in the European Volunteer Service, observed, identified and databased 660 species covering 5 kingdoms, 8 phyla, 21 classes, 90 orders and 247 families. In total, there were 1819 occurrences including records identified to higher taxon ranks, thereby adding one more kingdom and four more phyla. Historical data collection resulted in 1176 species and 4270 occurrences databased. We also recorded 13 climatic parameters, 10 soil parameters and 18 water parameters during the BioBlitz. Current habitats were mapped and socio-ecological landscape changes were assessed with a diachronic approach using 32 historical photographs and historical maps. The coupling of historical biodiversity data with new biotic and abiotic data and a photographic comparison of landscape changes allows an integrative understanding of how the SBP changed from agriculturally-used land to a managed natural area within the last 60 years. Hence, this BioBlitz represents an important holistic sampling of biodiversity for studies on trophic webs or on trophic interactions or on very diverse, but connected, habitats. The integration of social, biotic and abiotic data opens innovative research opportunities on the evolution of socio-ecosystems and landscapes.

From groups to communities in western lowland gorillas.

Social networks are the result of interactions between individuals at different temporal scales. Thus, sporadic intergroup encounters and individual forays play a central role in defining the dynamics of populations in social species. We assessed the rate of intergroup encounters for three western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) groups with daily observations over 5 years, and non-invasively genotyped a larger population over four months. Both approaches revealed a social system much more dynamic than anticipated, with non-aggressive intergroup encounters that involved social play by immature individuals, exchanges of members between groups likely modulated by kinship, and absence of infanticide evidenced by infants not fathered by the silverback of the group where they were found. This resulted in a community composed of groups that interacted frequently and not-aggressively, contrasting with the more fragmented and aggressive mountain gorilla ( G. beringei beringei) societies. Such extended sociality can promote the sharing of behavioural and cultural traits, but might also increase the susceptibility of western lowland gorillas to infectious diseases that have decimated their populations in recent times.

Low genetic diversity contrasts with high phenotypic variability in heptaploid Spartina densiflora populations invading the Pacific coast of North America.

Species can respond to environmental pressures through genetic and epigenetic changes and through phenotypic plasticity, but few studies have evaluated the relationships between genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of plant species along changing environmental conditions throughout wide latitudinal ranges. We studied inter- and intrapopulation genetic diversity (using simple sequence repeats and chloroplast DNA sequencing) and inter- and intrapopulation phenotypic variability of 33 plant traits (using field and common-garden measurements) for five populations of the invasive cordgrass Spartina densiflora Brongn. along the Pacific coast of North America from San Francisco Bay to Vancouver Island. Studied populations showed very low genetic diversity, high levels of phenotypic variability when growing in contrasted environments and high intrapopulation phenotypic variability for many plant traits. This intrapopulation phenotypic variability was especially high, irrespective of environmental conditions, for those traits showing also high phenotypic plasticity. Within-population variation represented 84% of the total genetic variation coinciding with certain individual plants keeping consistent responses for three plant traits (chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents, and dead shoot biomass) in the field and in common-garden conditions. These populations have most likely undergone genetic bottleneck since their introduction from South America; multiple introductions are unknown but possible as the population from Vancouver Island was the most recent and one of the most genetically diverse. S. densiflora appears as a species that would not be very affected itself by climate change and sea-level rise as it can disperse, establish, and acclimate to contrasted environments along wide latitudinal ranges.

Effect of habitat quality on diet flexibility in Barbary macaques.

Barbary macaques live in extreme temperate environments characterized by strongly seasonal resource availability. They are mainly terrestrial while foraging, harvesting food from the herbaceous layer. These monkeys are threatened mainly because of anthropogenic habitat degradation. We studied the adaptive capacities of wild groups of Barbary macaques that lived in different cedar forests undergoing varying extents of grazing pressure from domestic livestock. In all three sites, diet varied seasonally. Heavy grazing led to a significant decrease in herbaceous production and species richness. As a consequence, the monkeys' diet in this poor habitat showed a decreased plant species richness. Moreover, it incorporated fewer above-ground herbaceous resources, and a greater proportion of subterranean resources (especially hypogeous fungi and subterranean invertebrates such as earthworms, eggs and adults of earwigs, and ant's larvae) than the diet of monkeys inhabiting ungrazed forest. Cedar bark, cedar strobiles, earthworms, and earwigs were part of the monkeys' diet only in grazed forest. Monkeys in heavily grazed forest compensated for a lack of herbaceous foods by eating subterranean foods preferentially to tree and shrub products. The foods they consumed take longer to harvest and process than the seeds or leaves consumed by Barbary macaques in less heavily grazed forest habitats. Our results suggest that monkeys do differ in their diets according to the degree of habitat change induced by human activities. They also highlight the dietary flexibility of Barbary macaques as a key element that allows them to cope with degraded habitats. We later compare the dietary adjustments of Barbary macaques facing environmental change to dietary strategies of other macaques and temperate-zone primates.

Effect of habitat quality on the ecological behaviour of a temperate-living primate: time-budget adjustments.

Barbary macaques, like other non-human primates living in highly seasonal temperate environments, display high monthly variations in their diet. In addition, their diet changes according to the habitat type they colonize and to the degree of habitat degradation due to resource exploitation by local people, in particular through pastoralism. We studied the time-budget adjustments of wild Barbary macaques in three cedar-oak forests impacted by different intensities of grazing pressure from goats and sheep. We examined how diet variations influenced the time monkeys spent in their activities and their day range lengths (i.e. their energy costs). At three studied sites, diet composition and time budgets showed marked seasonal variations. Diet composition had a strong influence on monkeys' time budget. In the forest where pastoralism was the highest, diet included a greater proportion of underground resources, shrub fruit and acorns, which led to an increase in the time spent foraging and moving, as well as an important increase in day range lengths. Energy costs were therefore higher in a degraded environment than in a suitable habitat. The monkeys living in forests subjected to pastoralism took advantage of increased day lengths to spend more time searching for food. However, in the forest with the highest pastoralism pressure, although monkeys spent more time foraging, they spent less time feeding than monkeys at the other sites. In addition, they appeared to have reached the limits of the available time they could devote to these activities, as their diurnal resting time was at its lowest level over several months. Temperature variations did not appear to modify monkeys' time budgets. In the least favourable habitat, saving time from resting activity allowed monkeys to maintain a relatively high level of social activity, partly linked to rearing constraints.

Dietary adaptations of temperate primates: comparisons of Japanese and Barbary macaques.

Habitat, diet and leaf chemistry are compared between Japanese and Barbary macaques to reveal the similarities and differences in dietary adaptations of temperate primates living at the eastern and western extremes of the genus Macaca. Tree species diversity and proportion of fleshy-fruited species are much higher in Japan than in North Africa. Both species spend considerable annual feeding time on leaves. Japanese macaques prefer fruits and seeds over leaves, and Barbary macaques prefer seeds. These characteristics are adaptive in temperate regions where fruit availability varies considerably with season, since animals can survive during the lean period by relying on leaf and other vegetative foods. The two species are different with respect to the higher consumption of herbs by Barbary macaques, and the leaves consumed contain high condensed and hydrolysable tannin for Barbary but not for Japanese macaques. Barbary macaques supplement less diverse tree foods with herbs. Because of the low species diversity and high tannin content of the dominant tree species, Barbary macaques may have developed the capacity to cope with tannin. This supports the idea that digestion of leaves is indispensable to survive in temperate regions where fruit and seed foods are not available for a prolonged period during each year.

Cross-amplified polymorphic microsatellites for Campbell's monkey.

Population genetic analyses are of considerable importance for conservation strategies to protect endangered primates. We tested microsatellites of human origin with an aim to understand the genetic diversity of a West African forest guenon, Campbell's monkey, Cercopithecus campbelli. Twelve markers amplified successfully, were polymorphic and were inherited in a Mendelian fashion in a group of 4 individuals kept in captivity. These 12 markers were further amplified from 35 faecal samples collected in Taï National Park. These samples proved to originate from 18 free-ranging monkeys and showed that the 12 markers we developed for this species are polymorphic and suitable for future population genetic and parentage analyses.

How Ebola impacts genetics of Western lowland gorilla populations.

BACKGROUND: Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife are major threats for both human health and biodiversity conservation. Infectious diseases can have serious consequences for the genetic diversity of populations, which could enhance the species' extinction probability. The Ebola epizootic in western and central Africa induced more than 90% mortality in Western lowland gorilla population. Although mortality rates are very high, the impacts of Ebola on genetic diversity of Western lowland gorilla have never been assessed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We carried out long term studies of three populations of Western lowland gorilla in the Republic of the Congo (Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Lossi gorilla sanctuary both affected by Ebola and Lossi's periphery not affected). Using 17 microsatellite loci, we compared genetic diversity and structure of the populations and estimate their effective size before and after Ebola outbreaks. Despite the effective size decline in both populations, we did not detect loss in genetic diversity after the epizootic. We revealed temporal changes in allele frequencies in the smallest population. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Immigration and short time elapsed since outbreaks could explain the conservation of genetic diversity after the demographic crash. Temporal changes in allele frequencies could not be explained by genetic drift or random sampling. Immigration from genetically differentiated populations and a non random mortality induced by Ebola, i.e., selective pressure and cost of sociality, are alternative hypotheses. Understanding the influence of Ebola on gorilla genetic dynamics is of paramount importance for human health, primate evolution and conservation biology.

Sex-biased dispersal in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

We explored two hypotheses related to potential differences between sexes in dispersal behaviour in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Direct observations suggest that immature females have more opportunities to move between breeding groups than immature males. The distribution of kin dyadic relationships within and between groups does not, however, support this hypothesis. At larger geographical scales, dispersal is likely to be easier for males than females because of the solitary phase most blackbacks experience before founding their own breeding group. However, previous work indicates that males settle preferentially close to male kin. By specifically tracing female and male lineages with mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal genetic markers, we found that male gorillas in the 6000 km2 area we surveyed form a single population whereas females are restricted to the individual sites we sampled and do not freely move around this area. These differences are more correctly described as differences in dispersal distances, rather than differences in dispersal rates between sexes (both sexes emigrate from their natal group in this species). Differences in resource competition and dispersal costs between female and male gorillas are compatible with the observed pattern, but more work is needed to understand if these ultimate causes are responsible for sex-biased dispersal distances in western lowland gorillas.

[Psychological impacts of terrorism on victims and the general population]. / Impacts psychologiques du terrorisme sur les victimes et la population générale.

Terrorism is a major public health concern. The impact of violence against the civilian population is reinforced by the media reporting. Thus, terrorism has a psychological impact not only on its direct victims but also on the population as a whole. More research is needed on how to manage these consequences.

Ancient co-speciation of simian foamy viruses and primates.

Although parasite-host co-speciation is a long-held hypothesis, convincing evidence for long-term co-speciation remains elusive, largely because of small numbers of hosts and parasites studied and uncertainty over rates of evolutionary change. Co-speciation is especially rare in RNA viruses, in which cross-species transfer is the dominant mode of evolution. Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) are ubiquitous, non-pathogenic retroviruses that infect all primates. Here we test the co-speciation hypothesis in SFVs and their primate hosts by comparing the phylogenies of SFV polymerase and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II from African and Asian monkeys and apes. The phylogenetic trees were remarkably congruent in both branching order and divergence times, strongly supporting co-speciation. Molecular clock calibrations revealed an extremely low rate of SFV evolution, 1.7 x 10(-8) substitutions per site per year, making it the slowest-evolving RNA virus documented so far. These results indicate that SFVs might have co-speciated with Old World primates for at least 30 million years, making them the oldest known vertebrate RNA viruses.

[Psychological trauma: intrusion and unveiling]. / Le traumatisme psychique: effraction et dévoilement.

Effects of psychical trauma are frequently described in our contemporary culture, in contexts as diverse as war, assault and disasters of many kinds. These various types of events themselves are not new, but what is more emphasised today is their impact on the overall group. Although traumatic events may affect sizeable populations or sub-populations, Psychical trauma involves a subjective specificity that cannot be reduced simply to a generalised disorder of the emotions and of stress. It relates back to the most profound aspects of being, of the subject in his relationship to language. Trauma produces the conditions of a veritable forcing of the psychical apparatus and an unveiling of a real of the subject which is subsequently expressed through symptoms of repetition, as seen in PTSD.

[Medico-legal aspects of post traumatic disorders and their after-effects]. / Aspects médico-légaux des traumatismes psychiques et de leurs séquelles.

The psycho-traumatic situations are numerous with sometimes very invalidating consequences for the subjects which were exposed. The question arises then of a possible repair. The stacks are different for every wounded person. It could'nt be possible to envisage them only under the angle of a financial compensation. The medico-legal expertise is an essential phase in the progress towards a possible taken out of the influence of the trauma. The decree of January 10, 1992 concerning the repair of the war psychological troubles opens a new area in the consideration of a very actual problem.

Screening for simian foamy virus infection by using a combined antigen Western blot assay: evidence for a wide distribution among Old World primates and identification of four new divergent viruses.

Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) belong to a genetically and antigenically diverse class of retroviruses that naturally infect a wide range of nonhuman primates (NHPs) and can also be transmitted to humans occupationally exposed to NHPs. Current serologic detection of SFV infection requires separate Western blot (WB) testing by using two different SFV antigens [SFV(AGM) (African green monkey) and SFV(CPZ) (chimpanzee)]. However, this method is labor intensive and validation is limited to only small numbers of NHPs. To facilitate serologic SFV testing, we developed a WB assay that combines antigens from both SFV(AGM) and SFV(CPZ). The combined-antigen WB (CA-WB) assay was validated with 145 serum samples from 129 NHPs (32 African and Asian species) and 16 humans, all with known SFV infection status determined by PCR. Concordant CA-WB results were obtained for all 145 PCR-positive or -negative primate and human specimens, giving the assay a 100% sensitivity and specificity. In addition, no reactivity was observed in sera from persons positive for human immunodeficiency virus or human T cell lymphotropic virus (HIV/HTLV) (n = 25) or HIV/HTLV-negative U.S. blood donors (n = 100). Using the CA-WB assay, we screened 360 sera from 43 Old World primate species and found an SFV prevalence of about 68% in both African and Asian primates. We also isolated SFV from the blood of four seropositive primates (Allenopithecus nigroviridis, Trachypithecus françoisi, Hylobates pileatus, and H. leucogenys) not previously known to be infected with SFV. Phylogenetic analysis of integrase sequences from these isolates confirmed that all four SFVs represent new, distinct, and highly divergent lineages. These results demonstrate the ability of the CA-WB assay to detect infection in a large number of NHP species, including previously uncharacterized infections with divergent SFVs.

Population dynamics of Macaca sylvanus in Algeria: An 8-year study.

The demography and dynamics of two groups, one living in an evergreen cedar-oak forest (Tigounatine) and the other, in a deciduous oak forest (Akfadou) in Algeria, were studied from 1982 to 1990. Group size fell within the range of other wild groups except for the Tigounatine group when it reached 88 individuals before splitting into three new independent groups. The structure of the studied groups, except one which was temporarily "one male," was comparable to that of other groups of Barbary macaques. There were 43-50% of immatures on average depending on the group. The sex ratio (M:F) of the sexually mature animals was relatively balanced (1:0.9-1.2). The mean age of primiparous females was 5.5 years in Tigounatine and 5.3 in Akfadou; the rate of reproduction of sexually mature females was 0.56 and 0.63, respectively, while the infant mortality rate was 0.23 and 0.38, respectively. Great interannual variations occurred at both sites. The differences between natality and mortality induced a higher intrinsic mean annual increase for the Tigounatine group (14.6%) than for the Akfadou group (4.8%). The rate of intergroup transfers was not correlated with the increase in group size. Integration of male immigrants did not lead to the departure of resident males. Conversely, fission process promoted a substantial increase in the number of transfers in Tigounatine. The period presenting the greatest risk of infant mortality was the summer dry period, in both habitats. Wide interannual variations occurred in the availability of two staple foods for monkeys: caterpillars and acorns. The cumulative effects of a low acorn supply during the gestation period (autumn) and a low caterpillar supply during the beginning of the following nursing period (spring) led to a temporary increase in infant mortality. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.