Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:21:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Priscylla_Amora.pdf: 2731370 bytes, checksum: df0bdce118cb2e0972accdf0962fb604 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-30 / Capuchin monkeys are holders of a strong cognition power and high behavioral flexibility. These features contribute to the adaptation to the various locations and situations. The aims of this study were to test whether capuchin monkeys modulate their behavioral response according to the presence of predators/competitors, the characteristics of the micro-environment and the physical and behavioral characteristics of humans involved interactions. The study was conducted in two natural environments located in Goiânia, Goiás: Parque Areião and Campus Samambaia UFG. Two populations of capuchin monkeys Cebus libidinosus were monitored from March to August 2010. The points of sampling were randomized from georeferenced image of the study sites was divided into quadrants of 50 m x 50 m. Data of hypothesis testing: The animal's tolerance for the approximation of the experimenter, were collected four times a week (6 hours / day). In this test we simulate a predation event using as a model of human predator. The approaching experimental sessions began after the obedience of prerequisites. In each session, we sampled the characteristics of the subject (sex and age) and location (canopy cover and understory, number of people and human objects), the initial, warning and escape distances of the animal with respect to the experimenter, the initial and final height of the animal and the distance traveled after the escape. In the hypothesis testing: Interaction between humans and capuchin monkeys, we observe all interactions between capuchin monkeys and visitors of the areas were the result of interactions were recorded, along with age, height, weight, shoulder width, length of hair and presence of bags to visitors, sex and age of the monkeys and characteristics of the micro-environment where the interactions occurred. The tolerance test showed that the physical characteristics of the monkeys and their position on the environment were closely related to the animal's behavioral response, suggesting that animals closer to the trees were able to better assess the risk of predation due to vegetation near it and thus escape the shorter distances. The interaction test indicated that the behavior emitted by the monkeys is affected by body type and behavior of visitors. Our results suggest that capuchin monkeys have the ability to predict the outcome of interactions between competitors and predators on the basis of physical characteristics and micro-environment, selecting those behaviors in their repertoire that enhance success. / Macacos-prego são detentores de um forte poder cognitivo, o que resulta em uma alta flexibilidade comportamental. Essa característica contribui para sua adaptação aos mais diversos locais e situações. Neste estudo, procuramos testar se o repertório comportamental dos macacos-prego é modulado em função da presença de predadores/competidores, das características do micro-ambiente e das características físicas e comportamentais dos humanos envolvidos nas interações. O estudo foi realizado em dois ambientes antropizados localizados em Goiânia, Goiás: o Parque Areião e o Campus Samambaia da UFG. Duas populações de macacos-prego Cebus libidinosus foram acompanhadas de março a agosto de 2010. Os pontos das observações foram aleatorizados a partir de imagem georeferenciada dos locais de estudo que foi dividida em quadrantes de 50 m x 50 m. Dados do teste de hipótese: Tolerância do animal em relação à aproximação do experimentador foram coletados quatro vezes por semana (6 horas/dia). Neste teste, simulamos um evento de predação utilizando um humano como modelo de predador. As sessões experimentais de aproximação começaram após a obediência de pré-requisitos Em cada sessão, foram amostradas as características do sujeito (sexo e idade) e do local (cobertura de dossel e sub-bosque, número de pessoas e objetos humanos), as distâncias inicial, de alerta e de fuga do animal com relação ao predador, a altura inicial e final do animal e a distância percorrida após a fuga. No teste de hipótese: Interação entre humanos e macacos-prego, observamos todas as interações entre macacos-prego e visitantes das áreas de estudo e o resultado das interações foi registrado, juntamente com a idade, altura, peso, largura do ombro, comprimento dos cabelos e presença de bolsas para os visitantes, o sexo e a idade dos macacos e características do micro-ambiente onde as interações ocorreram. O teste de tolerância demonstrou que o comportamento emitido pelos macacos é influenciado pelas características físicas dos macacos e sua posição no ambiente, o que sugere que indivíduos próximos às árvores fogem a menores distâncias, aumentando o tempo de avaliação de risco. Já o teste de interação indicou que o comportamento emitido pelos macacos é afetado pelo tipo físico e comportamento dos visitantes. Nossos resultados sugerem que os macacos-prego apresentam a capacidade de prever o resultado das interações entre competidores e predadores com base nas características físicas e micro-ambientais, selecionando os comportamentos em seu repertório que incrementam o sucesso.

Client-side computers connected to the Internet today are exposed to a lot malicious activity. Browsing the web can easily result in malware infection even if the user only visits well known and trusted sites. Attackers use website vulnerabilities and ad-networks to expose their malicious code to a large user base. The continuing trend of the attackers seems to be botnet construction that collects large amounts of data which could be a serious threat to company secrets and personal integrity. Meanwhile security researches are using a technology known as honeypots/honeyclients to find and analyze new malware. This thesis takes the concept of honeyclients and combines it with a proxy and database software to construct a new kind of real time defense mechanism usable in live environments. The concept is given the name Honeyscout and it analyzes any content before it reaches the user by using visited sites as a starting point for further crawling, blacklisting any malicious content found. A proof-of-concept honeyscout has been developed using the honeyclient Monkey-Spider by Ali Ikinci as a base. Results from the evaluation shows that the concept has potential as an effective and user-friendly defense technology. There are however large needs to further optimize and speed up the crawling process.

Un pilier d'une vie sociale fructueuse est la capacité de prédire correctement les actions des autres et de percevoir leurs états émotionnels. Des études d'interaction sociale chez les primates ont montré qu'ils sont capables de déduire ce que les autres peuvent entendre ou voir, et de prédire leurs émotions et intentions. Il a été montré qu'ils peuvent manifester différents degrés de comportements prosociaux, allant de la coopération jusqu'à des comportements altruistes et empathiques. Des études d'imageries fonctionnelles chez l'homme ont identifié l'insula antérieur (AI) comme une région cérébrale clé dans le traitement de l'empathie.Spécifiquement, cette région apparait comme l'aire intégratrice des activités liées à la douleur ressentie et observée, suggérant que l'empathie pourrait impliquer un modèle « miroir » des propriétés affectives et sensorielles de la douleur d'autrui. Cependant, les bases neuronales de ce processus n'ont pas encore été découvertes. Dans le but d'examiner le rôle de l'AI dans le traitement de l'empathie, nous avons enregistré l'activité des neurones dans l'AI de deux singes pendant qu'ils sont engagés dans une tâche sociale leur permettant de délivrer un stimulus aversif ou appétitif à leur partenaire, à lui-même ou à personne. Les résultats comportementaux ont montré que les singes prennent en compte le bien-être de leur partenaire. Les données neuronales rapportent différentes populations neuronales répondant aux stimuli aversif ou appétitif et ceux délivrés à soi ou à autrui. Notamment, la population neuronale répondant au stimulus aversif a montré trois profils d'activité : une représentation neuronale de l'expérience désagréable du partenaire, une représentation neuronale de sa propre sensation désagréable et une minorité de neurones montrant des propriétés miroirs entre soi et autrui. Nos résultats suggèrent un modèle neuronal de l'empathie représentant des propriétés distinctes entre l'expérience vécue et observée / A cornerstone of a successful social life is the ability to correctly predict others’ actions and empathically perceive their emotional states. Studies on primates’ social interaction have shown that thanks to their keen cognitive abilities monkeys are able to deduce what others can hear or see, and to predict others’ emotions and intentions. It has been shown that primates are able to display different degrees of prosocial behavior, from cooperation to even altruism and empathically driven behavior. Studies using fMRI techniques inhumans have identified the anterior insula (AI) as a key brain region in the processing of empathy. More precisely, this region emerged as the overlapping area activated for both experienced and observed pain,leading to the idea that empathy for pain may involve a mirror-matching model of the affective and sensory features of others' pain. However, the neuronal basis of this process has yet to be uncovered. In an attempt toextend and to investigate the role of the AI in the process of empathy we have recorded single cell activity inthe AI of two monkeys while they were engaged in a social task where based on the performed trials positiveor negative reinforcements could be delivered to self, another monkey, or nobody. Behavioral results showed that monkeys take into account the welfare of their partners even when this has no impact on their ownwelfare. Our neuronal findings report that distinct population of neurons respond differentially to outcomesfor self and other, and to appetitive and aversive outcomes. Interestingly the neuronal population responding to the aversive outcome showed mainly three profiles of activity: neuronal representation of conspecifics’unpleasant experience, neuronal representation of own unpleasant experience and a minority of neurons showing mirroring properties between self and other. Thus, our results suggest a neuronal model of empathy that accounts for the distinctive features between feeling and empathizing

Researchers in the field of social learning have suggested that certain biases may exist in whom animals learn from, creating a non-random flow of social information. A number of potential biases have been proposed based upon theoretical models, including biases to copy more dominant individuals or individuals who receive the best payoff from their behaviour, but empirical evidence for these biases is lacking. This thesis presents the first examination of dominance-based bias in a wild population of primates and of a payoff-based bias in captive capuchins. In two field experiments, dominant and low-ranking females from each of three wild groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops pygerythrus) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were trained to demonstrate contrasting behaviours to their group before observers were provided with a choice between the two modelled preferences. No evidence was found for a consistent bias to copy the behaviour of the dominant female in either experiment. Instead, in both experiments, a preference for one behaviour emerged, regardless of model rank. In the latter experiment, higher-ranking females were significantly more likely to match the dominant model's action than were low-ranking females. The low-ranking models were more likely than their high-ranking counterparts to switch behaviours, despite their trained behaviour continuing to be productive. An analyses of the observations revealed that observers were biased towards attending to kin, and observer age appeared to influence access to the dominant models, but no overall preference to attend to the dominant female was found. Together these findings indicate that kinship, sex, age and preferences for specific behaviours are more important factors than model rank in vervet monkey social learning. Finally, I examined whether captive tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella) utilized a payoff-based social learning bias in their foraging decisions. Subjects did not utilize public information when choosing between demonstrated resource-rich and resource-poor sites, suggesting that the social learning abilities of capuchins may not extend to determining the profitability of feeding sites, although limitations of the study are discussed.

L’apprentissage social améliore les performances non seulement chez l’homme et les primates non humains, mais aussi chez un grand nombre d’espèces. Chez le singe, les corrélats neuronaux de l’apprentissage individuel sont parfaitement connus, mais ceux de l’apprentissage social font cependant défaut, en partie à cause des conditions dans lesquelles il a été étudié, jusqu’à maintenant et qui n’étaient pas compatibles avec les enregistrements neuronaux. Ce travail aborde deux questions d’actualité : Les singes peuvent-ils apprendre par observation dans les conditions contraignantes de l’électrophysiologie ? L’apprentissage social est-il médié par les mêmes mécanismes et circuits cérébraux que l’apprentissage individuel par renforcement ? Nos résultats ont montré que les singes apprennent plus rapidement de l’expérience du model que de leur propre expérience, et que le bénéfice est plus important après observation des erreurs que des succès. L’activité neuronale du cortex préfrontal est modulée de façon parallèle aux résultats comportementaux. Nous proposons que l’apprentissage associatif, qu’il soit basé sur l’expérience individuelle ou celle d’autrui, implique les mêmes réseaux cérébraux incluant les cortex préfrontal, et qu’il est probablement médié par les mêmes mécanismes neuronaux de la prédiction de l’erreur durant l’apprentissage par renforcement. / Social learning improves the performance not only in humans and non-human primates, but in a host of animal species as well. In monkeys, the neuronal correlates of individual learning are well understood, but those of social learning are lacking partly because it has been addressed, so far, in conditions not compatible with neuronal recordings. Do monkeys learn by observation under the constraining conditions of electrophysiology? Is social learning mediated by the same brain circuits and mechanisms as individual, reinforcement based learning? This work addressed these two timely questions. Our findings showed that monkeys learn faster from the model’s experience than from their own experience, and that they benefit more from observed errors than from successes. Neuronal processing of observed errors in the prefrontal cortex parallels this behavioral result. We suggest that associative learning, whether based on individual or others’ experience, involves the same brain networks including prefrontal cortex, and is probably mediated by the same neuronal mechanisms of error prediction during reinforcement-based learning.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops, an Old World monkey, has been often used in biomedical research programs (toxicological studies and fertility) because of the inaccessibility of relevant human tissues. Data from nonhuman primates have been a vital component of advances in areas such as infertility, contraception, and other reproductive processes because of the phylogenetic closeness of the primates to humans. The aims and objectives of the study were 1) to describe the gross morphology, histology and ultrastructure of the male reproductive system, 2) to describe and compare the processes of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis of the vervet monkey to humans and other nonhuman primates, and 3) to evaluate the vervet monkey as a possible experimental model for future human reproductive studies. Twenty-nine adult male vervet monkeys, aged between 5 and 11 years, were used. Gross morphological features of different organs of the reproductive tract were recorded. Light and electron microscopic techniques, and methacrylate sections were used on selected tissues of the reproductive tract. The results showed that the vervet monkey has a male reproductive system similar to many non-human primates studied and man. The epididymis was distinctively subdivided into the caput, corpus, and the caudal regions. No significant differences were observed on the epithelial height of these three regions. Four cell types, apical, principal, and basal cells, and the intraepithelial lymphocytes were observed. The basal cell distribution showed significant differences among three regions of the epididymis (P ≤ 0.01). There were numerous phagocytic vesicles found in three regions of the epididymis. The Sertoli cells showed perforated sleeve-like processes which encased elongated and mature spermatids ready for spermiation. The nuclei of the Sertoli cells were found to be multilobed (4 to 5) compared to the less lobular nuclei of the human Sertoli cells (2 to 3). The Leydig cells showed typical features of steroidogenic cells with abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, numerous large mitochondria, and few rough endoplasmic reticulum. It was concluded that the gross morphology and structure of the reproductive tract of the vervet monkey has many similarities to humans and other mammals. Secondly, the organization of spermatogenesis is similar to that found in humans, and is commonly known as a helical arrangement. The results further suggest that the vervet monkey could be regarded as suitable model for human male reproductive studies

PhD (Zoology) / Department of Zoology / A general introduction about the need for studying forest dwelling primate populations in fragmented landscapes and more specifically in the Soutpansberg is given in Chapter 1. Forests affected by fragmentation are at risk of losing primate populations over the long term. In addition, although the impact of fragmentation on primate populations has been studied in many places in Africa, Asia and South America there is no consensus of how the different primate species react to forest disturbance and fragmentation. This study aims to investigate the impacts of natural and anthropogenic forest fragmentation on the Soutpansberg samango monkey population including their distribution, genetics, and phylogeography, identifying threats and mitigation measures. To date, no detailed population level research has been undertaken on samango monkey populations in the far north of their South African distribution. By collecting a diverse data set, in addition to existing ecological data, this study generates conservation and management recommendations suited specifically to the study area and the study species and provides baseline data for future monitoring. Chapter 2 details how through creating an accurate forest distribution map and collecting samango monkey distribution records through surveys we were able to investigate how both natural and anthropogenic forest fragmentation influences the distribution of samango monkeys in the Soutpansberg. We explored forest patch occupancy and connectivity, determined the degree and nature of matrix utilisation and identified possible threats to forests and samango monkeys between the contrasting landscapes of the eastern and western Soutpansberg. Here we found that samango monkeys largely occupied forest patches <100 ha in size and that the Soutpansberg has very few forest patches > 100 ha available. We showed that samango monkeys used all components of the surrounding matrix and that lone or bachelor group males used the matrix more extensively than groups. We found that paved roads pose a major threat, however not a barrier, to samango monkey populations when navigating the matrix. Forest connectivity was found to be influenced by the distance between patches and possible corridors or stepping stones of isolated forest patches connecting them. Patterns found in this chapter contrasted between the eastern and western landscapes requiring different adaptive strategies from the samango monkeys and different conservation approaches from practitioners. In this chapter we conclude that samango monkeys, having evolved in fragmented landscapes, are comparatively tolerant and adaptable to a human- transformed matrix. In Chapter 3 we focused on the effects that natural and anthropogenic habitat fragmentation in the Soutpansberg has on the genetic diversity and structure of the samango monkey population in the mountain range. Here we used microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA data from faecal and tissue samples collected from four local samango monkey populations across the Soutpansberg. We also included samples from an outlying population on the escarpment south of the mountain, the most likely historical migration route into the Soutpansberg. Our analyses showed that the Soutpansberg population is divided across the mountain and that genetic diversity within the Soutpansberg decreases with increasing distance to the escarpment population and from east to west. We found a lack of contemporary gene flow suggesting that the Soutpansberg population is completely isolated from the closest source population in the escarpment and that populations within the mountain range are isolated from each other. Based on our results we suggest that extensive anthropogenic changes to the landscape in the eastern Soutpansberg and distance between high canopy forest patches in the western Soutpansberg appear to have reduced the ability of samango monkeys to disperse between sampling areas. Overall, we found that natural and anthropogenic fragmentation and geographical distance are potential drivers for the observed population genetic differentiation and that the matrix surrounding forests and its suitability for samango utilisation plays a role at the local scale. In this chapter we conclude that the degree of samango monkey population subdivision and the apparent lack of contemporary migration between populations raises concerns about the long-term viability of populations across the mountain range. Having identified road fatalities as the main direct anthropogenic threat samango monkeys are exposed to when utilizing the matrix, we further investigated this issue in more detail in Chapter 4. Here we aimed to get a better understanding of where roadkills most likely occur and how to mitigate these through using suitable canopy overpasses. As road fatalities threaten primate populations globally, we used the samango monkey (Cercopithecus albogularis) as a model species to test the suitability of two different canopy bridge designs through field experimentation and behavioural data collection for arboreal guenon roadkill mitigation. Analysis of actual roadkill data collected in the study area provided insights into the nature of high-risk localities. We showed that canopy overpasses are a viable intervention for mitigating arboreal guenon road fatalities, reducing the probability that monkeys will cross a road on the ground. Samango monkeys clearly preferred a pole bridge over a rope ladder design and canopy bridges were preferred to trees and the ground when the tree canopy was open. Pole bridges were also used by other non-guenon primates and non-primate species. We showed that although samango road kills were not predictable in time (no seasonality), adult female and immature fatalities were predictable in space, restricted to bisected riparian zones and roads close to intact forests. We further found that adult male road fatalities can be expected in seemingly unsuitable habitat areas. This chapter highlights the importance of the correct interpretation of spatial, temporal and demographic data on road fatalities and how experimental research prior to installing crossing structures could increase mitigation impact. In Chapter 5 we investigate the regional phylogeography of samango monkeys, providing a deeper understanding into their evolutionary history in repeatedly fragmented forest habitat due to paleoclimatic fluctuations. Here we used mtDNA and microsatellite data obtained from tissue samples from a coastal population (Vamizi Island) in Mozambique and compared this to existing data from South Africa. The additional analysis of Mozambique animals allowed us to further test the number and timing of radiation events of Cercopithecus monkeys in southern Africa. In this chapter we propose the occurrence of a single, north-south radiation event during the midPleistocene along the Afromontane forest belt and that after the Last Glacial Maximum, samango populations re-radiated into (re)established coastal forests on a more local scale. Taking the findings from all chapters together we provide overall conclusions and conservation and management recommendations in Chapter 6. Here we also include interview data to give insights into public perceptions of samango monkeys and possible human-primate conflicts as we consider this an important aspect of conservation planning. In this final chapter we conclude that although samango monkeys appear comparatively adaptable to changes in the matrix surrounding their forest habitat, direct threats and forest patch isolation by distance may pose risks to populations in future. We advocate that conservation and management strategies aimed at the longterm persistence of the samango monkey populations and their forest habitat across the Soutpansberg should be formulated separately for the eastern and western parts of the mountain range as differing landscape variables pose different threats to forest and samango monkeys, thus requiring separate conservation and management approaches. We further recommend explicit mention of distinct management requirements for maternal groups and lone or bachelor group males to achieve a holistic conservation approach for samango monkey populations on the landscape scale. Findings of our study are not only relevant for samango monkey populations in the Soutpansberg but also for populations elsewhere in South Africa and southern Africa generally where forests and samango monkeys share the same paleohistory and current anthropogenic threats. / NRF

No description available.

Analysis of rhesus monkey alphoid DNA suggests that it arose by tandem duplication of an ancestral monomer unit followed by independent variation within two adjacent monomers (one becoming more divergent than the other) before their amplification as a dimer unit to produce tandem arrays. The rhesus monkey alphoid DNA is a tandemly repeated, 343-bp dimer; the consensus dimer is over 98% homologous to the alphoid dimers reported for baboon and bonnet monkey, 81% homologous to the African green monkey alpha monomer, and less than 70% homologous to the more divergent human alphoid DNAs. The consensus dimer consists of two wings (I and II, 172 and 171 bp, respectively) that are only 70% homologous to each other, but share seven regions of exact homology. These same regions are highly conserved among the consensus sequences of the other cercopithecid alphoid DNAs. The three alpha-protein binding sites reported for African green monkey alpha DNA by F. Strauss and A. Varshavsky (Cell 37: 889-901, 1984) occur in wings I and II, but with one site altered in wing I. Two cloned dimer segments are 98% homologous to the consensus, each containing 8 single-base-pair differences within the 343-bp segment. Surprisingly, 37% of these differences occur in regions that are evolutionarily conserved in the alphoid consensus sequences, including the alpha-protein binding sites. Sequence variation in this highly repetitive DNA family may produce unique nucleosomal architectures for different members of an alphoid array. These unique architectures may modulate the evolution of these repetitive DNAs and may produce unique centromeric characteristics in primate chromosomes.

Adopted individuals have an increased risk for a variety of psychopathological disorders. Studies of the effects adoption in humans are difficult to perform because of the difficulty separating genetic risk and treatment effects. This is a developmental study investigating the effects of at birth adoption using a nonhuman primate model. Three experimental paradigms were used to assess maternal treatment, stress-related behavior, and physiology late in infancy and again later in life. Rhesus monkeys were reared for their first six months of life by either their biological mother or an unrelated, lactating adult female. Adoptions occurred immediately following birth. At six months of age, both groups were exposed to four, 4-day mother-infant separations. Behavioral observations and plasma stress hormones were used to compare the two group's responses to the separation stressor. Maternal treatments were also compared. In a second experiment performed about three years later when subjects were adolescents or young adults, an unfamiliar intruder was placed outside their home pen and stress-related behavioral responses were again measured. In the third experiment, adolescent subjects were allowed free access to a sweetened alcohol solution and daily alcohol consumption was measured across 8-10 weeks. Analyses showed that adopted subjects exhibited more behavior withdrawal and higher ACTH during the Acute and Chronic phases of the separation than infants reared by their biological mothers. This persisted when subjects were again tested with an intruder stressor 1-3 years later, with adopted subjects still showing more behavioral withdrawal during the Intruder Challenge stressor. Adopted subjects also differ in their relationship with their mother, showing more independence at an early age in non-stressful environments. Paradoxically, alcohol intake was lower in adolescents raised by an adoptive mother. Differences in maternal treatment and mismatches in temperament between the adopted mother and her infant are potential mechanisms that lead to the increased stress and anxiety in subjects raised by an adopted mother.