Publicaties

North America and the neotropics harbor nearly all species of plethodontid salamanders. In contrast, this family of caudate amphibians is represented in Europe and Asia by two genera, Speleomantes and Karsenia, which are confined to small geographic ranges. Compared to neotropical and North American plethodontids, mortality attributed to chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has not been reported for European ...

Balantidiasis is considered a neglected zoonotic disease with pigs serving as reservoir hosts. However, Balantidium coli has been recorded in many other mammalian species, including primates. Here, we evaluated the genetic diversity of B. coli in non-human primates using two gene markers (SSrDNA and ITS1-5.8SDNA-ITS2). We analyzed 49 isolates of ciliates from fecal samples originating from 11 species of captive and wild primates, domestic pigs ...

The study of forest herb availability improves knowledge of ecology and conservation of gorillas that depend on such herbs. Density patterns of herbs and location of western gorilla nest sites were studied in different habitat types at a site in south-east Cameroon to assess their relationship. Herb stems of the families Marantaceae and Zingiberaceae were identified and counted in 10,713 1-m2 plots distributed within six habitat types. Stem ...

White-eyelid mangabeys (genus Cercocebus) live in groups of highly variable size. Because of their semi-terrestrial behaviour and preference for dense forest habitats, re-liable data on group size are scarce. During a 5-month study, we collected 17 group counts on a habituated group of agile mangabeys (C. agilis) at Bai Hokou in the Central African Republic. We found a stable group size of approximately 135 individuals. This permanent large ...

Much of the debate about reciprocity in humans and other primates hinges on proximate mechanisms, or more precisely, the contingency of one service on another. While there is good evidence for long-term statistical contingencies of services given and received in primates, results for short-term behavioral contingencies are mixed. Indeed, as we show here controlled experiments using artificial tasks and explicit turn-taking were unlikely to find ...

Genetic data are frequently used to make inferences about evolutionary and ecological processes, but the choice of the number of genetic markers and samples for such studies is usually ad hoc. Unfortunately, suboptimal sampling routinely leads to ambiguous results. spotg is a user-friendly software for optimizing sampling strategy for five common genetic study topics: hybridization, temporal sampling, bottlenecks, connectivity and assignment. ...

Detection of the lethal amphibian fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis relies on PCR-based techniques. Although highly accurate and sensitive, these methods fail to distinguish be- tween viable and dead cells. In this study a novel approach combining the DNA intercalat- ing dye ethidium monoazide (EMA) and real-time PCR is presented that allows quantification of viable B. dendrobatidis cells without the need for culturing. The developed method ...

Fossil evidence for longitudinal arches in the foot is frequently used to constrain the origins of terrestrial bipedality in human ancestors. This approach rests on the prevailing concept that human feet are unique in functioning with a relatively stiff lateral mid-foot, lacking the significant flexion and high plantar pressures present in non-human apes. This paradigm has stood for more than 70 years but has yet to be tested objectively with ...