Gary P. Aronsen

Redtail and red colobus monkeys show intersite urinary cortisol concentration variation in Kibale National Park, Uganda

We compare cortisol levels in monkeys at two sites with varying habitat disturbance within Kibale National Park, Uganda. Both species have higher cortisol levels at the less disturbed of the two sites. Factors such as social dynamics or predation may be responsible, illustrating the subtleties of wild primate ecophysiology.

An Instance of Tick Feeding to Repletion Inside a Human Nostril

Abstract A single fully engorged nymphal tick of the genus Amblyomma was collected from the nostril ofa field researcher returning from Kibale National Park, Uganda. While unfed ticks have previouslybeen removed from human nostrils, this is the first time that a specimen so situated was permitted to feed to repletion and detach naturally.

Animals Behaving Badly and the People who Love/Hate Them

Conservation biology has rapidly changed from a branch of research to an industry. This is due to its unique, house-of-cards structure: conservation biologists must be aware of political stresses on legislation and protection, as well as community perspectives on animals and land ownership. They must also maintain emphasis on careful data collection to determine wildlife population size, landscape ecology, and the impacts of incursion/exploitation by humans (and vice versa). These problems are encapsulated in this latest volume of the conservation biology series. Unlike many treatises that focus exclusively on how humans exploit and diminish wildlife and wildlands, this volume illuminates how wildlife directly impacts human communities – through crop raiding, predation on domestic animals, and, ultimately, preying on humans themselves. It is clear that expanding human populations and land use are the primary causes for these interactions, but it is refreshing to see research on how some species do not shrink from this contact, but adapt to it – “Animals Gone Wild,” academically speaking. The first half of the book (Chaps. 1–10) provides a general review of human-wildlife conflict issues: crop-raiding, depredation, hunting, ecotourism, etc. The later chapters (11–23) have more site and taxon-specific studies. We see an array of techniques for mitigating conflict, from non-lethal techniques such as fencing and guarding livestock (Breitenmoser et al.: Chap. 4) to more direct action: killing problem and pest animals based on public perception of certain wild species (Treves and Naughton-Treves: Chap. 7). Chapters on the utility of ecotourism (Walpole and Thouless: Chap. 8) and trophy hunting/extractive use (Leader-Williams and Hutton: Chap. 9) are important reviews via their global view of costs and benefits to communities with differing social, economic, and political structures. While the early chapters provide solid background on these myriad issues, they too often lapse into the status quo statement of cautious scientists and nervous politicians: more research is needed. I paraphrase a colleague who slammed his hand on the table as we ate dinner in the center of Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda: “More research is NOT needed! We know what the problems are, and we need to act on them!” In the second half of this book, a series of rich

Inventory and Assessment of the Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1799) Skeletal Collection Housed at the Yale Peabody Museum

Abstract Museum collections are critical resources for examining comparative anatomy, developmental biology and life history hypotheses. Evaluation of skeletal collections provides insight into spatiotemporal, species, population and individual variation associated with environmental, social and epidemiological history. For endangered species such as primates, these collections provide data that are nearly impossible to replicate today. In this first in a series of papers reviewing the great ape holdings of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, we describe the Pan troglodytes skeletal collection. Although most of the collection is from Central Africas Atlantic coast, it includes several Pan troglodytes subspecies. Multiple age and sex classes are present, with craniodental and postcranial elements available for each age class. All material was assessed for developmental, disease, trauma and socioecological indicators. Multiple indicators of metabolic stress are present and likely associated with nutritional and epidemiological factors. Instances of trauma and injury, ranging from antemortem to perimortem events, are described. For some individuals, these injuries are likely associated with intraspecific and intrasexual competition and violence, whereas others are suggestive of infanticide attempts. Other injuries associated with interspecific violence are of value for forensic examination. Our evaluation of the Yale Peabody Museum collection provides a baseline for future research and testable hypotheses for alternate techniques, such as isotopic analyses of calculus and noninvasive genetic testing. Museum collections continue to provide new insights into taxonomic and individual variation and environmental cues, and ultimately allow for comparisons between modern and historical environmental and behavioral variables.