Female social dynamics as viewed from grooming networks in the Central Himalayan Langur (Semnopithecus schistaceus).

Enhanced survival and reproduction are associated with an individual's direct and indirect social connections with members of a group. Yet, the role of these connections is little known in a vast range of primate species. We studied female Central Himalayan Langur (CHL) to investigate the link between four specific attributes (dominance rank, age, genetic relatedness, and the presence of females carrying infants) and a female's direct and indirect social relationships. By analyzing grooming networks, we revealed different behavioral strategies: high-ranking females form relationships with many females (high degree), whereas females with dependent infants have strong relationships (high strength and eigenvector). Subadult females are important individuals that hold the social network together (high betweenness), while an immigrant female strategy is to integrate herself into the group by forming strong bonds with females who themselves have strong bonds (high eigenvector). Our study sheds light on how behavioral strategies shape female CHL grooming networks, which may help them to secure fitness and survival advantages.

Applying collocation and APRIORI analyses to chimpanzee diets: Methods for investigating nonrandom food combinations in primate self-medication.

Identifying novel medicinal resources in chimpanzee diets has historically presented challenges, requiring extensive behavioral data collection and health monitoring, accompanied by expensive pharmacological analyses. When putative therapeutic self-medicative behaviors are observed, these events are often considered isolated occurrences, with little attention paid to other resources ingested in combination. For chimpanzees, medicinal resource combinations could play an important role in maintaining well-being by tackling different symptoms of an illness, chemically strengthening efficacy of a treatment, or providing prophylactic compounds that prevent future ailments. We call this concept the self-medicative resource combination hypothesis. However, a dearth of methodological approaches for holistically investigating primate feeding ecology has limited our ability to identify nonrandom resource combinations and explore potential synergistic relationships between medicinal resource candidates. Here we present two analytical tools that test such a hypothesis and demonstrate these approaches on feeding data from the Sonso chimpanzee community in Budongo Forest, Uganda. Using 4 months of data, we establish that both collocation and APRIORI analyses are effective exploratory tools for identifying binary combinations, and that APRIORI is effective for multi-item rule associations. We then compare outputs from both methods, finding up to 60% agreement, and propose APRIORI as more effective for studies requiring control over confidence intervals and those investigating nonrandom associations between more than two resources. These analytical tools, which can be extrapolated across the animal kingdom, can provide a cost-effective and efficient method for targeting resources for further pharmacological investigation, potentially aiding in the discovery of novel medicines.

Co-cultures: exploring interspecies culture among humans and other animals.

The concept of 'co-culture' is introduced as a novel framework for understanding the mutual cultural evolution between animal species, including, but not only, humans. It explores the dynamics of interspecies interactions, particularly in how different species influence each other's behavioural and cognitive adaptations. Various instances of interspecies cultural exchange are highlighted, such as the acquisition of medicinal plants from animals resulting in a shared medicinal culture, adaptive behaviours of urban wildlife, and cooperative behaviours between animal species. Co-culture challenges the notion of species-specific culture, underscoring the complexity and interconnectedness of human and animal societies, and between animal societies. Further research into co-culture is advocating and emphasising its implications for conservation, urban planning, and a deeper understanding of animal cognition and behaviour.

Pharmacological and behavioral investigation of putative self-medicative plants in Budongo chimpanzee diets.

Wild chimpanzees consume a variety of plants to meet their dietary needs and maintain wellbeing. While some plants have obvious value, others are nutritionally poor and/or contain bioactive toxins which make ingestion costly. In some cases, these nutrient-poor resources are speculated to be medicinal, thought to help individuals combat illness. In this study, we observed two habituated chimpanzee communities living in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, and collected 17 botanical samples associated with putative self-medication behaviors (e.g., bark feeding, dead wood eating, and pith-stripping) or events (e.g., when consumer had elevated parasite load, abnormal urinalysis, or injury). In total, we selected plant parts from 13 species (nine trees and four herbaceous plants). Three extracts of different polarities were produced from each sample using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol/water (9/1, v/v) and introduced to antibacterial and anti-inflammatory in vitro models. Extracts were evaluated for growth inhibition against a panel of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of bacteria, including ESKAPE strains and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition activity. Pharmacological results suggest that Budongo chimpanzees consume several species with potent medicinal properties. In the antibacterial library screen, 45 out of 53 extracts (88%) exhibited ≥40% inhibition at a concentration of 256 µg/mL. Of these active extracts, 41 (91%) showed activity at ≤256µg/mL in subsequent dose-response antibacterial experiments. The strongest antibacterial activity was achieved by the n-hexane extract of Alstonia boonei dead wood against Staphylococcus aureus (IC50: 16 µg/mL; MIC: 32 µg/mL) and Enterococcus faecium (IC50: 16 µg/mL; MIC: >256 µg/mL) and by the methanol-water extract of Khaya anthotheca bark and resin against E. faecium (IC50: 16 µg/mL; MIC: 32 µg/mL) and pathogenic Escherichia coli (IC50: 16 µg/mL; MIC: 256 µg/mL). We observed ingestion of both these species by highly parasitized individuals. K. anthotheca bark and resin were also targeted by individuals with indicators of infection and injuries. All plant species negatively affected growth of E. coli. In the anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition library screen, 17 out of 51 tested extracts (33%) showed ≥50% COX-2 inhibition at a concentration of 5 µg/mL. Several extracts also exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in COX-2 dose-response experiments. The K. anthotheca bark and resin methanol-water extract showed the most potent effects (IC50: 0.55 µg/mL), followed by the fern Christella parasitica methanol-water extract (IC50: 0.81 µg/mL). This fern species was consumed by an injured individual, a feeding behavior documented only once before in this population. These results, integrated with associated observations from eight months of behavioral data, provide further evidence for the presence of self-medicative resources in wild chimpanzee diets. This study addresses the challenge of distinguishing preventative medicinal food consumption from therapeutic self-medication by integrating pharmacological, observational, and health monitoring data-an essential interdisciplinary approach for advancing the field of zoopharmacognosy.

Medicinal plants in the diet of woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides, E. Geoffroy, 1806) – a bio-rational for the search of new medicines for human use?

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to compare the plant food diet of woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides) inhabiting Intervales State Park in São Paulo, Brazil, with medicinal plant species used by humans in the surrounding areas of the park. The diet of a group of woolly spider monkeys living in an Atlantic forest area was recorded during 43 months of fieldwork. Fifty-three species (87 food items) were recorded. Plant specimens were collected and identified at the University of São Paulo and the Botanical Institute of São Paulo State. Using semi-structured interviews, ethnomedicinal data were also collected from four preselected respondents regarding the human therapeutic value of these plants. The study showed that 24.5% (13/53) of these species are used by residents around the park for medicinal purposes. Of these thirteen, seven species also have validated pharmacological properties, and three are utilized by local residents for similar medicinal purposes. Overlap in the plant food/medicinal diet of woolly spider monkey populations elsewhere were also noted, suggesting potential overlap in their medicinal value for humans and primates. The similarities between the ingestion of plants by primates and their medicinal use by humans provide a bio-rational for the search of bioactive plants in the primate diet. Further detailed investigation of their pharmacological and phytochemical value is warranted.