Publicaties

Abstract Objectives Primates exhibit variation in rates of growth and development. Variation in female growth and development across ape species appears to be explained by the Ecological Risk Aversion Hypothesis (ERAH). Indeed, existing data on variation in somatic growth and reproductive maturation between humans' closest living ape relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, appear to be consistent with this hypothesis. However, existing data on ...

Quantifying physiological challenges has gained increasing importance in evolutionary biology, behavioral physiology, and conservation. One matrix that is particularly useful for obtaining long-term records of physiological changes in mammals is hair. Potential markers are components of the endocannabinoid (EC) system, which regulates homeostasis of the brain as well as the endocrine and immune systems. Here, we present results from the first ...

Abstract As well as leading to a loss of biodiversity (i.e. species richness and abundance), human activities also affect ecosystem functioning. Documenting how the suite of ecological roles changes following disturbance provides a complementary source of information for conservation management. To this end, we measured mammal diversity in terms of community structure (i.e. abundance, composition and species richness) and functional diversity in ...

A large community of scientists has demonstrated that millions of people located in tropical zones derive a significant proportion of their livelihoods from the extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Despite these results, questions remain as to whether the valorisation of NTFPs can sustainably contribute to the improvement of the livelihood assets of the extractors. This study therefore evaluated the contribution of NTFP valorisation ...

Male Anolis carolinensis lizards will fight and form social dominance hierarchies when placed in habitats with limited resources. Dominance may procure benefits such as priority access to food, shelter or partners, but may also come with costs, such as a higher risk of injuries due to aggressive interaction, a higher risk of predation or a higher energetic cost, all of which may lead to an increase in stress. While most research looks at ...

Segmental duplications or low copy repeats (LCRs) constitute complex regions interspersed in the human genome. They have contributed significantly to human evolution by stimulating neo- or sub-functionalization of duplicated transcripts. The 22q11.2 region carries eight LCRs (LCR22s). One of these LCR22s was recently reported to be hypervariable in the human population. It remains unknown whether this variability exists also in non-human ...