Publicaties

Determining individual health status is of great importance for a better understanding of life history trade-offs between growth, reproduction, and maintenance. However, existing immunological methods are invasive and therefore not suitable for investigating health status in wild populations. Thus, there is an urgent need for non-invasive methods to assess the immune status of animals. Neopterin is involved in the cell-mediated pathway of the ...

In several group-living species, individuals' social preferences are thought to be influenced by cooperation. For some societies with fission-fusion dynamics, sex-specific association patterns reflect sex differences in cooperation in within-and between-group contexts. In our study, we investigated this hypothesis further by comparing sex-specific association patterns in two closely related species, chimpanzees and bonobos, which differ in the ...

Introduction: Ground reaction forces in sound horses with asymmetric hooves show systematic differences in the horizontal braking force and relative timing of break-over. The Center Of Pressure (COP) path quantifies the dynamic load distribution under the hoof in a moving horse. The objective was to test whether anatomical asymmetry, quantified by the difference in dorsal wall angle between the left and right forelimbs, correlates with asymmetry ...

In a landscape fragmented by agriculture, the extent to which forest-dwelling primates can use the matrix between fragments can be critical for their long-term survival. So far, the golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), an endangered primate inhabiting the Atlantic Forest of south Bahia, is only known to use shaded cacao (Theobroma cacao) agroforests within the matrix. We report on the use of a rubber plantation by a group of ...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The Nkundo people (Nkundo area of Bolongo, Mai-Ndombe district, Bandundu Province, DR Congo) use various plant parts of the tree Greenwayodendron suaveolens (Engl. Diels) Verde. (syn. Polyalthia suaveolens Engl. Diels) (Annonaceae) against malaria, but its antiprotozoal constituents are not known. Materials and methods: The crude 80% ethanol extract from the fruits, leaves, root bark and stem bark and 16 ...

Hunting for meat and profit threatens a very large number of primate species. This chapter presents evidence of the extent of hunting of wild animals, and primates in particular, across the tropical areas of the globe. We review studies investigating whether estimated extraction rates of mammal species across the tropics exceed the production levels for these taxa. In particular, data on primate extraction levels in Latin America, Africa, and ...

In southern Bahia, Brazil, rapid deforestation of the Atlantic Forest threatens a variety of endemic wildlife, including the Endangered golden-headed lion tamarin (GHLT; Leontopithecus chrysomelas) and the Near Threatened Wied’s black-tufted-ear marmoset (Wied’s marmoset; Callithrix kuhlii). Identifying high quality areas in the landscape is critical for mounting efficient conservation programs for these primates. We constructed ecological niche ...

Human language is a fundamentally cooperative enterprise, embodying fast-paced and extended social interactions. It has been suggested that it evolved as part of a larger adaptation of humans’ species-unique forms of cooperation. Although our closest living relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, show general cooperative abilities, their communicative interactions seem to lack the cooperative nature of human conversation. Here, we revisited this ...