CH. 5: Primate Diversity & Ecology Key Terms

Muriqui

(Brachyteles), endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, is the largest primate in South America and is endangered, mainly due to habitat loss. They display egalitarian tendencies in their social relationships.

Basal Metabolic Rate/Active Metabolic Rate

- BMR: the rate of energy use required to maintain life when an animal is at rest. - AMR: the energy that is used in addition to the basal metabolic rate for physical activities.

Binocular/Stereoscopic Vision

- Binocular: vision in which both eyes can focus together on a distant object to produce three-dimensional images - Stereoscopic: vision where three-dimensional images are produced because each eye sends a signal of the visual image to both hemispheres in the brain; requires binocular vision

Cercopithecoid / Ceboid

- Cercopithecoid: a primate of a group that comprises the Old World monkeys. - Ceboid: of or relating to any member of the superfamily (Ceboidea) of monkeys, believed to have evolved from prosimians isolated in South America, and including the marmosets, capuchins, tamarins, sapajous, and spider monkeys.

Diurnal/Nocturnal

- Diurnal: active during the day - Nocturnal: active during the night

Fast Life/Slow Life

- Fast life: early investment in reproduction at a cost of growth and a reduced investment in parenting in favor of further reproduction; Those that can reproduce only once (semelparity) - Slow life: generally develops in a resource abundant, predictable environment, associated with minimal risk to life. Generally experience slower development with delayed maturation; Those that can reproduce multiple times over their lifetime (iteroparity) (e.g., in a predation-free 10-year period, the mouse lemur would produce 10,000,000 young (fast life) and the gorilla only a single baby (slow life)).

Frugivore / Folivore / Insectivore / Gumnivore / Carnivore / Omnivore

- Frugivore: an animal whose diet consists mostly of fruit. - Folivore: an animal whose diet consists mostly of leaves. - Insectivore: an animal whose diet consists mostly of insects. - Gumnivore: an animal whose diet consists mostly of gum. - Carnivore: an animal whose diet consists mostly of flesh. - Omnivore: an animal whose diet consists of both plant and animal matter.

Greater ape/Lesser ape

- Greater ape: the gorilla (Africa), chimpanzee (Africa), bonobo (Africa), and orangutan (SE Asia) are called great apes in recognition of their comparatively large size and humanlike features (much more intelligent than monkeys and gibbons) - Lesser ape: the gibbons (SE Asia) and siamangs (SE Asia) are called lesser apes in recognition of their smaller size, and low sexual dimorphism.

Home Range/Core Area/Territory

- Home Range: an area over which an animal or group of animals regularly travels in search of food or mates, and which may overlap with those of neighboring animals or groups of the same species; the total distance traversed by a primate group over the course of one year. Day-to-day movements are often mapped by primatologists. - Core Area: part of a range in which an animal or group of animals may rest securely, in which young may be raised, and to which in some species food may be taken to be eaten. It is likely to be defended against members of the same species which do not share the range; Repetitive exploitation of the same spaces over and over again can indicate a group's favored. - Territory: the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression; Sometimes primates will forego competition and share spaces and resources amicably with each other. There are two central ideas about why territoriality evolved

Maxilla/Mandible

- Maxilla: upper jaw - Mandible: lower jaw

Platyrrhine/Catarrhine

- Platyrrhine: relating to primates of a group that comprises the New World monkeys, marmosets, and tamarins. They are distinguished by having nostrils that are far apart and directed forward or sideways, and typically have a prehensile tail. - Catarrhine: relating to primates of a group that comprises the Old World monkeys, gibbons, great apes, and humans. They are distinguished by having nostrils that are close together and directed downward.

Polyandry/Polygyny/Monogamy

- Polyandry: mating system where a single female forms a table pair-bond with two different males at the same time. It is generally rare among mammals (occurs with marmoset and tamarins) -Polygyny: mating system where a single male mates with many females (most common in primate species) -Monogamy: mating with one for life

Polygyny (unimale, multimale, exploded unimale)

- Polygyny: Multi-male groups, also known as multi-male/multi-female, are a type of social organization where the group contains more than one adult male, more than one adult female, and offspring. - Unimale: E.g., a silverback alpha male among mountain gorillas -multimale - E.g., baboons - Exploded unimale - E.g., unimale polygyny among orangutans, in which males travel long distances to consecutively mate with several different females in different regions.

Proteins / Carbohydrates /Lipids / Vitamins / Minerals / Trace elements / Water

- Proteins: critical to most of the work done by cells and are required for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. A protein is made up of one or more long, folded chains of amino acids (each called a polypeptide), whose sequences are determined by the DNA sequence of the protein-encoding gene (young tender leaves are the major source). - Carbohydrates: any of a large group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starch, and cellulose, containing hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water (2:1) and used as structural materials and for energy storage within living tissues (chiefly fruits). - Lipids: any of a class of organic compounds that are fatty acids or their derivatives and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. They include many natural oils, waxes, and steroids (insects, seeds, nuts). - Vitamins: any of a group of organic compounds which are essential for normal growth and nutrition and are required in small quantities in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the body (water-soluble BC / fat-soluble ADEK). - Minerals: a solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence (NaCl, K, Fe, Se, etc.). - Trace elements: a chemical element required only in minute amounts by living organisms for normal growth (NaCl, K, Fe, Se, etc.). - Water: a colorless, transparent, odorless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms. (primates must drink it every day).

Territoriality (resource-defense, mate-defense)

- Resource defense: meant to protect food commodities that are valuable, clumped, and defendable. Examples would be baboons watching over seed patches or gibbons driving off conspecifics from fruiting trees. These situations generally take place in locales where resource structure is good. - Mate-defense: an appropriate case in point is the banding together of male chimpanzees in one troop to drive away neighboring males in a rival troop who are vying for females. This scenario often happens where resource structure is comparatively poor.

Scramble Competition / Contest Competition

- Scramble Competition: results when the ability to monopolize females is relatively low, and males will range widely in home ranges overlapping with multiple females in an attempt to access as many mating opportunities as possible - Contest Competition: refers to a situation where available resources, such as food and mates, are utilized only by one or a few individuals, thus preventing development or reproduction of other individuals. It refers to a hypothetical situation in which several individuals stage a contest for which one eventually emerges victorious. Contest competition is the opposite of scramble competition, a situation in which available resources are shared equally among individuals.

Group Formation (solitary, monogamous, polygynous, polyandrous)

- Solitary: a term used for animals that do not live in social group and don't form regular associations with conspecifics. - Monogamous: the sense of sexual, if not genetic (reproductive), exclusivity. - Polygynous: the association of one male with multiple females. This mating system is found in a few birds and insects, but is most common in mammals. Polygyny is a strategy used by males to increase their reproductive fitness. - Polyandrous: The mating of one female with more than one male while each male mates with only one female is known as polyandry (literally, "many males").

Strepsirhine / Haplorhine

- Strepsirhine: any member of the group containing lemurs and lorises. The system classifying primates into haplorrhines and strepsirrhines is a cladistic alternative to the evolutionary systematic taxonomy, in which primates are divided into prosimians and anthropoids, and tarsiers are grouped with prosimians. - Haplorine: any member of the group containing tarsiers and anthropoid primates. The system classifying primates into haplorrhines and strepsirrhines is a cladistic alternative to the evolutionary systematic taxonomy, in which primates are divided into prosimians and anthropoids, and tarsiers are grouped with prosimians.

Dietary Adaptation (teeth, gut)

- Teeth are also adapted to diet in animals—particularly ones that chew their foods, and can be used to reconstruct aspects of dietary ecology. It is often assumed that there is a relationship between the mechanical and ecological aspects of diet (e.g., leaves need to be sheared, and fruits need to be crushed), which is why there is a relationship between ecological diet and dental form. - Intestinal adaptation is a natural compensatory process that occurs following extensive intestinal resection, whereby structural and functional changes in the intestine improve nutrient and fluid absorption in the remnant bowel. The adaptation phase is characterized by structural and functional changes to the remaining small bowel and colon in order to increase nutrient absorption and slow the gastrointestinal transit. The adaptive phase usually lasts for one to two years.

Secondary Compounds (caffeine, morphine, alkaloids, tannins)

- toxic chemical compounds produced by plants and concentrated in plant tissues to prevent animals from eating the plant; plants manufacture for use in metabolic processes and defense.

Gum

A sticky carbohydrate produced by some trees in response to physical damage. Gum is an important food for many primates.

Toxins

Various poisonous substances produced by some microorganisms (bacteria and viruses).

Bonobo

a chimpanzee with a black face and black hair, found in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire); "Make Love, Not War" apes. They are famous for their creative and wide-ranging sexual activities. Sexual contact goes far beyond reproduction and is used for social bonding, pleasure, play, greeting, and conflict resolution.

Vertical Clinging and Leaping

a form of locomotion where the body is oriented vertically and movement occurs by leaping from tree to tree

Prosimian

a group of primates that includes all living and extinct strepsirrhines (lemurs, lorisoids, and adapiforms), as well as the haplorhine tarsiers and their extinct relatives, the omomyiforms, i.e. all primates excluding the simians.

Dominance Matrix

a square table constructed to keep track of dominance interactions among a group of individuals

Brachiator

a type of primate mostly from the family Hylobatidae, which includes gibbons - that moves through the trees by grasping branches and swinging arm over arm; arms are elongated and thumbs are reduced

Cathemeral

active during day and night; active at any point in a 24 hour period (some lemurs)

Silverback

an older adult usually dominant male gorilla having gray or whitish hair on the back.

Primates

any mammal of the group that includes the lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans.

Bilateral Symmetry

arrangement of body parts so there are distinct left and right halves that mirror each other

Inbreeding

breed from closely related people or animals, especially over many generations.

Prehensile

capable of grasping or holding (esp. by wrapping around); Ex. prehensile tails or limbs

Grooming

consists of going through the fur, using either the hands or teeth, to remove debris. Some species of primates have specific adaptations for grooming.

Habitat Loss

destruction or disruption of Earth's natural habitats, most often due to human actions such as agriculture, forestry, mining, and urbanization

Resource Patchiness (time & space)

diet influences organisms' ranging patterns. If resources are patchy, they must get food from another place or at a different time

Sexual Dimorphism

differences in body size or morphology between sexually mature males and females.

Carl Linnaeus

father of taxonomy; introduced a simple binomial system (binomial nomenclature), based on the combination of two Latin names denoting genus and species; similar to the way that a name and surname identify humans.

Viviparity

giving birth to live young

Hominoid

group of anthropoids that includes gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans

Anthropoid

humanlike primates that include New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and hominoids

Cusp

major elevation on the masticatory surfaces of canines and posterior teeth

Conspecific

members of the same species

Y-5 Molar

molar that has five cusps with grooves running between them, forming a Y shape. This is characteristic of hominoids

Dominance Hierarchy

ordering of individuals within a group in which group members with lower status defer to those with greater status

Olfactory

relating to the sense of smell

Natal Group

the group or the community an animal has inhabited since birth.

Dental Formula

the numerical description of a species' teeth, listing the number, in one quadrant of the jaws, of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.

Kleiber Curve

the observation that the vast majority of animals' metabolic rates scales to the 3/4 power of the animal's mass; The so-called "mouse-to-cattle-curve" depicts the relationship between basal metabolic rates and the corresponding body masses of the birds and mammals investigated

Predation

the preying of one animal on others.

Socioecology

the study of interactions among the members of a species, and between them and the environment

Infraorder

the taxonomic level between order and superfamily. An order may contain several infraorders, and an infraorder may contain several superfamilies.

Philopatry

the tendency of an animal to remain in or return to the area of its birth. In many species of animals, individuals directly benefit from living in groups