Chimpanzee seed dispersal in a montane forest fragment in Rwanda.

Primate seed dispersal plays an important role in forest regeneration. It may be particularly important to anthropogenically disturbed habitats such as forest fragments. However, few studies have examined primate seed dispersal in these types of environments. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are frugivorous and large-bodied, and are therefore able to disperse both large and small seeds, making them an important seed dispersal species. We examined chimpanzee seed dispersal in Gishwati forest, a 14 km2 montane rainforest fragment in Rwanda. We systematically collected ≤24-hr-old fecal samples and counted the number of seeds of each fruit species. We also recorded observations of seeds found in wadges. We found that chimpanzees dispersed at least 18 fruit species in 14 families in their feces. Ninety-five percent of feces had seeds, the most common of which were Ficus spp., Myrianthus holstii, and Maesa lanceolata. We estimated that the Gishwati chimpanzee community with a density of 1.7 individuals per km2 dispersed an average of 592 (>2 mm) seeds km-2 day-1 . We also found that chimpanzees dispersed the seeds of at least two fruit species, Ficus spp. and Chrysophyllum gorungosanum, in their wadges. In addition, 17% of the tree species recorded in our vegetation plots were chimpanzee-dispersed. This study emphasizes the importance of chimpanzees as large seed dispersers in regenerating forest fragments. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Chimpanzees in Gishwati disperse a significant number of large seeds. Large-bodied seed dispersers, like chimpanzees, are particularly important in regenerating forest fragments.

Eastern chimpanzees, but not bonobos, represent a simian immunodeficiency virus reservoir.

Chimpanzees in west central Africa (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) are endemically infected with simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVcpzPtt) that have crossed the species barrier to humans and gorillas on at least five occasions, generating pandemic and nonpandemic forms of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) as well as gorilla SIV (SIVgor). Chimpanzees in east Africa (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are also infected with SIVcpz; however, their viruses (SIVcpzPts) have never been found in humans. To examine whether this is due to a paucity of natural infections, we used noninvasive methods to screen wild-living eastern chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Rwanda. We also screened bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the DRC, a species not previously tested for SIV in the wild. Fecal samples (n = 3,108) were collected at 50 field sites, tested for species and subspecies origin, and screened for SIVcpz antibodies and nucleic acids. Of 2,565 samples from eastern chimpanzees, 323 were antibody positive and 92 contained viral RNA. The antibody-positive samples represented 76 individuals from 19 field sites, all sampled north of the Congo River in an area spanning 250,000 km(2). In this region, SIVcpzPts was common and widespread, with seven field sites exhibiting infection rates of 30% or greater. The overall prevalence of SIVcpzPts infection was 13.4% (95% confidence interval, 10.7% to 16.5%). In contrast, none of the 543 bonobo samples from six sites was antibody positive. All newly identified SIVcpzPts strains clustered in strict accordance to their subspecies origin; however, they exhibited considerable genetic diversity, especially in protein domains known to be under strong host selection pressure. Thus, the absence of SIVcpzPts zoonoses cannot be explained by an insufficient primate reservoir. Instead, greater adaptive hurdles may have prevented the successful colonization of humans by P. t. schweinfurthii viruses.

Females are choosier in the dark: environment-dependent reliance on courtship components and its impact on fitness.

A broad understanding of multimodal courtship function necessitates knowledge of the potential information content of signal components, the efficacy of signal components in eliciting the appropriate receiver response, and the fitness consequences of mating decisions based upon various signal components. We present data addressing each of these requirements for the multimodal-signaling wolf spider, Schizocosa floridana Bryant. Using diet manipulations, we first demonstrate that both visual and seismic courtship signals are condition-dependent. Next, using high- and low-quantity diet individuals in mate choice trials across manipulated signaling environments, we demonstrate that the seismic signal is crucial for mating success and further show that female choosiness is environment-dependent. Females mated more with high diet males only in the absence of visual signals, showing no discrimination in the presence of visual signals. Finally, by quantifying the number of offspring produced by our mated females, we reveal that a female's mating environment, in conjunction with her potential resource availability, influences her fitness-in environments in which females exerted choice, heavier females produced more offspring. Together, this comprehensive set of experiments demonstrates that female choosiness varies across environments, leading to direct fitness consequences.

Ground squirrels use an infrared signal to deter rattlesnake predation.

The evolution of communicative signals involves a major hurdle; signals need to effectively stimulate the sensory systems of their targets. Therefore, sensory specializations of target animals are important sources of selection on signal structure. Here we report the discovery of an animal signal that uses a previously unknown communicative modality, infrared radiation or "radiant heat," which capitalizes on the infrared sensory capabilities of the signal's target. California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) add an infrared component to their snake-directed tail-flagging signals when confronting infrared-sensitive rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus), but tail flag without augmenting infrared emission when confronting infrared-insensitive gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus). Experimental playbacks with a biorobotic squirrel model reveal this signal's communicative function. When the infrared component was added to the tail flagging display of the robotic models, rattlesnakes exhibited a greater shift from predatory to defensive behavior than during control trials in which tail flagging included no infrared component. These findings provide exceptionally strong support for the hypothesis that the sensory systems of signal targets should, in general, channel the evolution of signal structure. Furthermore, the discovery of previously undescribed signaling modalities such as infrared radiation should encourage us to overcome our own human-centered sensory biases and more fully examine the form and diversity of signals in the repertoires of many animal species.

Overview: Animal acoustic communication and the role of the physical environment.

Scientists from many distinct disciplines often use concepts such as habitat, environment, and niche to describe among other things the physical characteristics of the communicative worlds of animals. Often these descriptions center on the physical characteristics most salient to humans' perceptual systems. In this article, the authors advocate an approach to the description and analysis of the physical characteristics of animal communicative worlds based on J. von Uexküll's (1934/1957) concept of the Umwelt. Such an approach emphasizes the physical characteristics of the world as perceived by the organism in question, and its use has often led to novel and unexpected insights into animal communicative systems.

The rattling sound of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) as a communicative resource for ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) and burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia).

Animal communication involves very dynamic processes that can generate new uses and functions for established communicative activities. In this article, the authors describe how an aposematic signal, the rattling sound of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), has been exploited by 2 ecological associates of rattlesnakes: (a) California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) use incidental acoustic cues in rattling sounds to assess the danger posed by the rattling snake, and (b) burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) defend themselves against mammalian predators by mimicking the sound of rattling. The remarkable similarity between the burrowing owl's defensive hiss and the rattlesnake's rattling reflects both exaptation and adaptation. Such exploitation of the rattling sound has favored alternations in both the structure and the deployment of rattling by rattlesnakes.