Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations are estimated to have decreased by more than 80% from 1990 to 2014. Previously, all four recognized subspecies of chimpanzees were listed as Endangered, but given this dramatic decline, western chimpanzees were uplisted to Critically Endangered. Their habitat covers a wide range of ecoregions and spans across eight countries in West Africa. Much of this range overlaps with the Guinean Forests of West Africa (GFWA) hotspot recognized for its immense species diversity and high levels of endemism. The Republic of Guinea (hereafter Guinea) holds approximately 6% of the remaining Upper Guinean Forest sub-region of the GFWA and is the north-westernmost edge of this hotspot. It is also home to the largest remaining populations of the western chimpanzees. Across their range, the primary threats to western chimpanzees are habitat loss, disease, and poaching. Yet, how these threats are manifested and the social, political, and historical contexts behind these threats varies at the local and national levels. Likewise, the extent to which these threats affect chimpanzees varies by location. In addition to investigating these threats to chimpanzee survival, it is vital to understand the behavior and ecology of chimpanzees in these socioecological systems, where systems of people and nature are coupled and interdependent. This research focuses on two communities of chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea and the socioecological system in which they exist. It aims to contextualize chimpanzee studies within the larger socioecological landscape by integrating three studies: (1) an investigation of the functions of buttress drumming by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, (2) habitat suitability modeling that incorporates behavioral data to identify biophysical variables influencing suitable chimpanzee habitat and map its distribution across the Nimba landscape, and (3) a remote sensing analysis of tree cover loss across southeastern Guinea from 2000 to 2018, including identification of the drivers of loss and how this loss is distributed relative to protected areas and chimpanzee habitat. This work provides knowledge needed for more effective and sustainable chimpanzee conservation in the Nimba landscape.

Humans have a unique ability to coordinate their rhythmic behaviors with those of others. However, little is known about whether this ability is shared with other animals and how this capacity develops in humans. In my presentation, I will show evolutionary and ontogenetic foundations of this ability by introducing comparative studies in humans and chimpanzees and developmental studies in 18- to 42-month-old children. After introducing my main projects, side projects, and future research plans, I would like to express my thanks to all WRC members.

Detailed datasets on the life histories of long-lived species such as primates are rare, but necessary to describe and understand their survival patterns. If such data exist for captive animals, they are likely to be held in studbooks typically managed by zoo staff and not easily accessible to researchers outside of zoos or other such facilities. The life history patterns of very few captive animal populations have been systematically compared across regions/countries. However, such comparisons are important to expose similarities and/or differences in survival and mortality patterns which may be further examined to determine best management strategies. In this seminar, I will present our results from the first ever comparison of the survival patterns of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) between two regions, America (n=730) and Japan (n=660), covering 45 years from 1975 to 2020.

The ability to appropriately update value of an action based on its outcome lies at the core of animal learning. Nevertheless, it becomes difficult when the outcome is delayed in time or other decision-making events occur between that action and outcome, raising so-called credit-assignment problem. Eligibility trace, an algorithmic mechanism in the framework of reinforcement learning, is particularly important in those situations. It keeps past actions eligible for value update for a while depending on the elapsed time. I examined learning mechanisms like eligibility traces in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) using a touchscreen experiment and would like to report the progress of it in the seminar.

Abstract: In the wild, horses form social groups, all year round, composed by at least one adult male (known as stallion), several unrelated females and their immature offspring. In different feral horse populations, multi-stallion groups share over lapping home ranges with single-stallion groups. However, considering that horses are polygynous breeders and a male's reproductive success is largely dependent on its mating opportunities, the existence of multi-stallion groups is puzzling.

I aim to address this question by testing the advantages and functional characteristics predicted for multi-stallion groups by previous hypotheses (mate parasitism, by-product mutualism, reciprocal altruism, and consort hypothesis). To do so, I collected behavioral data on Garrano horses, in Northern Portugal, and compared: (1) group defense effort by stallions, (2) activity budget of stallions and mares, (3) stallion ￫ mare aggression levels, and (4) group size and stability of multi and single-stallion groups.

In this progress report, I present preliminary results and discuss their relevance and future directions.

Females acquire higher fitness when they chose a mate with the best quality trait. However, the quality of the phenotype depends on the individual genotype and its interaction with environmental characteristics. There are many ways the environment can interact with genotypes resulting in different phenotypes. In some cases, the phenotype variation can be decreased by the environmental condition, which finally affects female mate choice. Amazon water types highly differ in their coloration. Black waters are red biased while clear waters show no apparent bias. The sailfin tetra is an Amazon fish species composed by two main lineages, which inhabit black and clear water types. Males show their dorsal and anal fin ornamented with red and yellow colours that have an exponential grow. Here, we investigated the role of the water coloration on the sailfin tetra ornaments coloration as well as in female mate choice. Under black water type, the male’s ornaments coloration would be redder than the actual coloration and, due to the low variation, females from black water type would not chose mates based on coloration. However, females from clear water would show a higher likelihood to accept mates under black water light, since there is no colour bias in their natural environment. We showed that red coloration in male ornaments is higher under black water type. However, variance of the red coloration decreased under black water condition, which may decrease the trait quality during mating assessment. As expected, sailfin tetra females from black water type (that shows little red colour variance) did not chose males based on coloration, but prefer males with larger ornaments. On the other hand, females from clear water type (that shows high red colour variance) were more likely to accept males under black water condition (which increases red coloration) irrespective of their ornaments size. Here, we show that Amazon water coloration can mediate female mate choice and it is also dependent on the individual’s evolutionary history.

Title: Investigation of Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) Brain Gene Expression using Cross-species Analysis

Abstract:

Grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) are large rodents found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa that are currently being domesticated as meat animals. Most captive grasscutters are only a few generations removed from their wild counterparts, leaving room for genetic improvement. This study compares brain gene expression in the wild grasscutter to the domesticated rat (Rattusnorvegicus) and mouse (Mus musculus.) This revealed several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to behavior. DEGs between the grasscutter and both domesticated species associated with the serotonergic synapse, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and tryptophan metabolism KEGG pathways were overrepresented. The DEGs associated with these pathways are good candidates for selectively breeding tamer grasscutters.

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Title :The evolution of groupmindedness: comparative research with bonobos and chimpanzees

Abstract :

While humans’ psychological disposition towards both large scale cooperation and intergroup competition has long been recognized, only recently has empirical, comparative research begun to unravel its evolutionary history. Leading hypotheses suggest intergroup competition has selected for an association between outgroup threat and ingroup cohesion, and that the neuropeptide oxytocin may be the endocrine mechanism underlying such dispositions acting through biobehavioural feedback loops. In this presentation, I will present the work I’ve done in my master’s degree studying the oxytocin system and group related behaviour in our two closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, who diverged only recently but show considerable differences in both coordinated group cooperation and the intensity of intergroup competition. We found that oxytocin acts differently in modulating bonobos’ and chimpanzees’ social gaze by enhancing species-typical patterns, that perceived outgroup threat promotes group cohesion and tolerance in chimpanzees, that ingroup compared to outgroup attention is modulated by oxytocin and social position in both species, and that oxytocin promotes social grooming in bonobos. These results together provide evidence that oxytocin may underlie bonobo and chimpanzee social divergence through social biobehavioural feedback loops, possibly acting on group behaviour, and that humans share their propensity to unite against a common enemy with chimpanzees.

Title : Synchronized Urination among Captive Chimpanzees

Behavioral synchronization, including phenomena such as contagious yawning

and facial mimicry, has gained increased scientific attention. It is a

fundamental ability required for social animals to maintain group cohesion

and operate in collective behavior. This study examined the possibility of

synchronized urination in captive chimpanzees (*Pan troglodytes*). To our

knowledge, no previous study has examined such a phenomenon. We aimed to

quantitatively demonstrate the existence of synchronized urination of

captive chimpanzees. We then investigated the effects of social closeness

on such synchronization to investigate possible functions of the

phenomenon. We observed 4 groups of captive chimpanzees (N=20) for

cumulative 421 hours at Kumamoto Sanctuary. We recorded all urinations with

a resolution of 1 second as well as grooming interactions and physical

proximity at 2-minute intervals. The observed results were then compared to

a simulation (100 sessions) of random urination timings. We found

synchronizations within 65 seconds occurred at a higher rate than predicted

by the simulation. We did not find a clear relationship with social bond

strength so far, which needs further investigation with larger sample

size.

---------------------------------------

Title : Group Size Estimation of Finless porpoises by Aerial Video

Finless porpoises (*Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri*) are distributed

throughout the shallow (usually <50 m deep) coastal waters of Japan. Their

group size has been reported to be 1.97 individuals in previous research,

yet aggregations of more than 100 individuals have been observed. A recent

study revealed that a bird’s-eye observation technique using a drone may

generate new considerations on finless porpoise behavior and sociality, as

finless porpoises have no dorsal fins, which reduces their visibility for

surface observations. We planned a drone study for estimating more accurate

group size through direct observations. At the Misumi West Port, Ariake

Sound, Japan, settled

finless porpoises are well recognized among local people. We conducted an

observational study for collecting day-long behavioral data at Misumi West

Port by drones. We collected data for 5131 minutes from November 2019 to

November 2020. We defined groups by using interindividual distances (IID),

and mean group size was 1.47 individuals.

ユキヒョウにおける植物食と毛の排出の関係 Plant-eating and hair evacuation in snow leopards (Panthera uncia)

動物の食性は大きく肉食・雑食・植物食に分けられる。植物は現存量が多く、入手しやすい資源である。しかし、セルロースを主成分とし、有毒な化合物を含むことも多いため、特殊な消化システムや解毒能力が必要となる。一方、動物の肉は捕食者と栄養組成が類似しているため、植物と比べて効率の良い栄養源である。ネコ科動物の食性は排他的な肉食であり、他の動物を捕食することに特殊化している。また、セルロースの摂取はネコ科動物の消化率を低下させることが知られている。それにもかかわらず、植物食行動はネコ科動物の間で広くみられる。したがって、植物を食べることは、ネコ科動物にとって何らかの適応的意義を持つと考えられる。食物仮説、薬効利用仮説、毛の排出仮説などが考えられているが、未だ検証されていない。

本研究は、国内6園館で飼育されていた計13個体のユキヒョウ(Panthera

uncia)を対象に、「毛の排出のために植物を食べる」という仮説を検証した。体内の毛は、吐き戻しあるいは糞として排泄される。そこで、植物食と吐き戻しの関係を行動観察で、糞中への毛の排出との関係を糞分析によって調べた。

植物食行動が11個体中10個体で157バウト観察されたのに対し、吐き戻しは3個体で4バウトしか観察されなかったことから、吐き戻しの促進は植物食の主な目的ではないと考えられた。また、10個体に対して糞分析を行ったが、通過時間の差を考慮しても、糞中の毛の重量と植物の重量の間にも有意な関係は認められなかった。したがって、植物の摂取はネコ科動物の毛の排出を促進する効果は持たないことが示唆された。

Plants are abundant and relatively easy to obtain, but they are composed

mainly of cellulose and often contain toxic secondary compounds. Thus,

herbivores need to develop special digestive system or detoxifying

mechanism to get nutrition from plants. On the other hand, eating animal

flesh is more efficient to get nutrition because their composition is

similar to predators. Felids are exclusive carnivores and specialized for

hunting. Moreover, cellulose intake even reduces digestibility in felids.

However, plant-eating is a conserved behavioral trait among felid species,

which indicates there should be an adaptive significance to this behavior.

Although some studies have hypothesized that felids consume plants for hair

evacuation, self-medication or as a source of nutrition, no scientific work

has confirmed these effects.

In this study, I validated the hypothesis that carnivores eat plants to

promote hair evacuation. The behavior of 11 captive snow leopards (Panthera

uncia) was observed and scat samples from eight of them and two other

captive individuals were analyzed. Plant-eating was observed in 10

individuals (157 bouts) but vomiting was observed only in 3 individuals (4

bouts). Thus, induce vomiting might not be the main role of plant eating.

Additionally, there was no significant relationship between the dried

weight of hair and plant in scat regardless of time difference. Therefore,

the results indicate plant intake has little effect on hair evacuation in

felid species.

--------------------------

DNAを用いた希少ネコ科の年齢推定と遺伝的多様性評価 DNA methylation age estimation and genetic diversity research of felines

ネコ科動物は多くの生態系において頂点捕食者として生態系全体のバランスを保つ機能を発揮している。しかし、ほとんどの彼らは絶滅の危機に瀕している。集団持続性の量化と後の保全方策の検討には、A.年齢構成とB.遺伝的多様性の把握は重要であり、本研究はこの2点に着目した。

*A. DNAメチル化による年齢推定 DNA methylation age estimation of felines：*

年齢を知るためには、個体追跡による直接観察や歯の加齢変化による推測法がある。しかし、成熟後は外見の変化がわかりにくく、歯の変化は生前に観察することが困難なため、どちらもネコ科のような猛獣の大規模調査には適していない。そこで、私たちは生体そのものではなく、採材しやすい血液や糞サンプルを対象として、年齢と相関するDNAメチル化率を分析することで、年齢を推測する手法に着目した。

野生動物よりもサンプルや年齢の情報を取得しやすいイエネコの血液を用いて方法を確立し、ほかの希少ネコ科動物への応用を目指している。

気候変動の影響を受けやすい雪山に生息するユキヒョウ（Panthera uncia）（IUCNの指標で危急種） は対象希少種の１つである。

イエネコ（血液46検体）とユキヒョウ（血液9検体）を対象に、RT-PCR的手法（MS-HRM、メチル化感受性高精度融解分析）を用いて、ELOVL2

とRALYL遺伝領域のDNAメチル化率と年齢の相関性を調べ、年齢推測モデルを作成した。イエネコについて、健康状態が良好な個体以外に、ネコ科動物が最も罹りやすい病気と言われる慢性腎不全の個体も対象にした。推定誤差は2.51歳であった。

推定できた生理年齢と実年齢の差は加齢に負相関、腎不全と性別（オス）に正相関をした。年取ると腎不全にかかるのは珍しことではなく、逆に若い子がかかることが珍しいゆえ、腎不全による生理年齢の上昇は若い個体で見られるのは予想に沿った結果であった。マーカーとサンプルサイズの増大により、若い個体の腎不全検出用のバイオマーカーとしてもDNAメチル化の活躍は期待される。ユキヒョウでの結果はイエネコと類似していた。しかし、サンプル数が少ないため、より多くのサンプルで今後モデルの検証をする必要はある。

We used DNA methylation rate change which is highly correlated with aging

to estimate age of felines. To establish the method and find age related

markers, we used domestic cat blood samples (46) first and also tried the

markers with some snow leopard blood samples (9). To also evaluate the

disease effect on physiological age (predicted age), we included not only

healthy cats but also cats with chronological kidney disease (CKD), one of

the most common cat diseases.

The DNA methylation rate change of two regions of gene ELOVL2 and

RALYL were found to be correlated with aging, and the estimation error

(Δage=predicted age-age) of the final age estimation model ( ELOVL2 +

RALYL) was 2.51. In the regression model of Δage~age+health condition+sex

was negatively contributed by age and positively contributed by health

condition (CKD) and sex (M). The result is consistent with the fact that if

individuals get CKD at a younger age, it means they are relatively more

unhealthyt and have higher physiological age.For the preliminary results of

snow leopards, we got similar results with domestic cats.

*B. 日本動物園ユキヒョウ飼育個体の遺伝的多様性評価 Genetic diversity and population structure of

Japanese captive snow leopard population：*

日本動物園ユキヒョウ飼育個体

の21個体のうちの19個体（血液、糞サンプル）を対象として、ユキヒョウ遺伝的多様性の先行研究で開発されたマイクロサテライト8マーカーを用いて飼育集団の遺伝的多様性と遺伝構造を調べた。飼育集団内大きな遺伝的分化は見られないものの、ブリーディング・ローンにより海外動物園からの飼育個体は日本動物園で出生した個体と中程度の遺伝的分化が見られた。世界中の生息地で

ユキヒョウの 遺伝的多様性を網羅的に調査した先行研究（Janecka et al.,

2017）と比較した結果、日本飼育集団の遺伝的多様性はどの野生集団（中央、西、東）よりも高いことが分かった。これは異なる野生集団由来の創始個体間の交雑による可能性はある。

We evaluated the genetic diversity and population structure of Japanese

captive snow leopard population with the use of 8 microsatellite markers

from previous snow leopard studies and blood and fecal samples from 19 out

of 21 captive snow leopards. No great genetic differentiation was found

inside the captive population, while moderate differentiation was found

between Japanese born SLs and SLs from overseas zoos. This implied breeding

loan across overseas could increase the genetic diversity of captive

populations. We compared the genetic diversity level with wild

populations in Janecka et al. 2017 and found that Japanese captive

population has higher genetic diversity than any wild population. This

might be caused by interpopulation cross.

In this seminar, I would like to present the progress of my

research on the inter-group relationships in feral horses.

Our previous study provided evidences that feral horses in Serra D’Arga,

Portugal, had a multilevel society during the breeding season.

From 2018 to 2019, the horses experienced the catastrophic decrease in

numbers; around 2/3 of the population had disappeared because of capturing

by humans and wolf predation.

I examined how theses changes affected the spatial structure of horse

groups.

Mankind adapts to the extreme environment and lives in most part on the

earth. The adaptation process included a clever survival strategy that used

livestock and wild animals as "resources" and "companions." In the

presentation, as a classical field worker and geographer, I would like to

consider the survival power of humankind from the ethnography by

experiences obtained from long-term fieldworks in Altai Mountains (western

Mongolia) and central Himalayan (Western Nepal). I would also like to

discuss how the travel and human mobility restricted by COVID-19 cast a

shadow over intellectual reproduction and discovery in the field.

人類は極限環境に適応し、地球上のあらゆる地域を生活の場としています。その適応プロセスには、家畜動物や野生動物を「資源」「伴侶」として利用する、巧みな生存戦略がありました。発表では、古典的なフィールドワーカーとして、地理学者として、モンゴル西部アルタイ山脈とヒマラヤ中部での長期滞在から得られた体感値のエスノグラフィから、人類の底ヂカラを考えてみたいと思います。また、COVID-19で制限される旅と移動が、フィールドでの知的再生産や発見に、いかに影を落とすかも議論したいと思います。

The museum has two roles, "education" and "research". The role in

"research" is to deposit and maintain specimens. Specimens deposited and

maintained in museums around the world play an important role in the study

of biodiversity, biogeography, and organisms with a wide distribution. In

this seminar, I would like to introduce the role of the museum in

biodiversity research through the summary of my master thesis, "Geographic

variation of skull morphology in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum complex".

Grasscutters are large rodents found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa that are

currently being domesticated for their meat. Although grasscutter meat is

already widely consumed, many captive grasscutters are only a few

generations removed from their wild counterparts, leaving room for genetic

improvement. Comparing grasscutters to rodents that have already been

domesticated could identify candidate genes for selective breeding. This

study compares grasscutter gene expression to rats and mice across three

brain tissues: the frontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus.

Reads from all three species were aligned to their respective genomes, and

orthologous genes were identified between all three species. The counts of

reads that aligned to each gene were analyzed using DESeq2 to identify

differentially expressed genes. Functional analysis identified several

biological processes with a disproportionate number of differentially

expressed genes, including the serotonergic synapse pathway.

動物の住む世界は様々な色で彩られている。なかでも鮮やかな赤色は、私たちヒトの目にとまり、興味を引きつけるものである。近年、心理学の研究成果により、ヒトが赤色に対して、無意識に強い情動を想起させること、赤色を知覚する文脈により、想起する情動（恐怖や愛情など）が大きく変わることが明らかになった。また私たちは、この心理特性を、経験的に、踏切や信号、洋服などの生活デザイン・シグナルとして広く利用してきた。一方、ヒト以外の動物も異性を惹きつけるための求愛シグナルや、自分の危険さを捕食者へ警告するシグナルとして赤色を利用している。それでは、ヒトでみられる赤色に対する情動バイアスは、いつ獲得され、どのような動物群で保存されているのだろうか？本セミナーでは、まず、これまでおこなってきた動物の体色の多様性に関する研究を（とくに赤色の体色研究について）、その後に、現在、おこなっている研究“赤色に対する情動バイアスの起源の探索”について、簡単に紹介します。なお、セミナーは日本語で行います。

井上 (Inoue) (present in Japanese with English slides)

Spatial positioning of individuals within groups of feral horses

Behavioral synchronization, including phenomena such as contagious yawning

and facial mimicry, has gained increased scientific attention. It is a

fundamental ability required for social animals to maintain group cohesion

and operate in collective behavior. This study examined the possibility of

synchronized urination in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). To our

knowledge, no previous study has examined such a phenomenon. We aimed to

quantitatively demonstrate the existence of synchronized urination of

captive chimpanzees. We then investigated the effects of social closeness

on such synchronization to investigate possible functions of the

phenomenon. We observed 4 groups of captive chimpanzees (N=20) for

cumulative 193 hours at Kumamoto Sanctuary. We recorded all urinations with

a resolution of 1 second as well as grooming interactions and physical

proximity at 2-minute intervals. The observed results were then compared to

a simulation (100 sessions) of random urination timings. We found

synchronizations within 65 seconds occurred at a higher rate than predicted

by the simulation. We did not find a clear relationship with social bond

strength so far, which needs further investigation with larger sample size.

Malayan tapir (*Tapirus indicus*) comes from family Tapiridae and presently

facing high risk of extinction due to multiple factors including loss of

habitat and human disturbance. Currently, Malayan tapir is listed as

Endangered on the IUCN Red List, which calls for more serious conservation

efforts for this mammal. Mating with relatives in captivity becomes common

when the number of individuals decreases. As this happens, inbreeding

depression and the reduction of population fitness will cause major threats

to the viability of successive generation. Therefore, successful mating,

fertilization and genetic diversity are vital to ensure the viability of

the population. Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a set of highly

polymorphic genes in vertebrates with hundreds of different alleles at some

loci. Some of the functions related to MHC region include immune response,

olfaction and reproduction. One of the mechanism MHC genes polymorphism is

maintained is by disassortative mating selection by kin recognition that

contributes to inbreeding avoidance. The objective of this study is to

characterize the MHC genes of *Tapirus indicus*. gDNA was isolated from

whole blood samples from seven individuals. Next, primers targeting MHC

Class II loci were designed from closely related species on consensus

region and amplified using PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of each MHC loci was

performed on consensus alignment against sequences from other closely

related species. In exon 2, we found at least two alleles that encode for

DRα and DQα domains, while three alleles are found encoding DRβ and DQβ

domains. Evidence of selection was observed at DRB loci and exhibit

possibility of trans-species polymorphism when aligned with closely related

species. This preliminary study in Malayan tapir will serve as a basis for

further studies of MHC variability, mate choice and pathogen resistance

which aims to increase the population size of Malayan tapir in Malaysia

through ex situ conservation by improving its survival rate and

reproduction success in long term.

*Biography *

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Geetha Annavi has her expertise in population genetics,

molecular and behavioral ecology and conservation biology, particularly of

wild animals (i.e., mammals) and terrestrial ecosystems. Currently, her

research is focused on the endangered Malayan tapir (*Tapirus indicus*)

both in captive and wild in Peninsular Malaysia. She is investigating the

genetic, ecology and behavior aspects of this animal to protect them from

extinct further in the wild. She is also interested to develop an effective

ex situ captive breeding model to maximize the number of healthy progeny

that are produced in captivity and a successful reintroduction program of

these captive born tapirs into wild.

Snow leopards (VU, IUCN) are apex predators in Asia plateau ecosystems

whose top-down control (snow leopards -> herbivores-> plants) is important

in keeping the ecosystem healthy, same as the famous yellowstone wolves.

.For the snow leopard conservation, one important mission is the assessment

of population viability in which genetic diversity and age structure etc.

should be considered.

My main focus is the epigenetic age estimation of snow leopards. Snow

leopards do not change a lot after being mature, therefore it is hard to

apply classical morphological observation. DNA methylation is a new key to

conquer that which has been proven to have high accuracy to estimate age.

In my preliminary result (9 blood samples from 6 captive individuals), I

found a region that has the possibility to be correlated with age

(cor=0.82, p<0.01), however more samples definitely are needed to verify

the result. In future, I will add domestic cats and Tsushima leopard cats

as my target species to both enlarge the sample size and contribute to the

understanding of aging mechanisms in felidae and the conservation of

Tsushima leopard cats.

For the genetic diversity part, I conducted research in 12 captive

individuals with 8 microsatellite markers. The result implied that the

genetic diversity of captive individuals was higher than every wild

population shown in Janecka et al.,2017. This could be because of

interpopulation cross.

I previously did species and sex identification for 65 fecal samples

collected in Kyrgyzstan (48 snow leopards, F:M =26:20, 2 of 48 had no

sexing results). In the near future, I will finish the individual

identification and genetic diversity research for the population.

10:00-10:30

Hanling Yeow (Wildlife Science)

Chimpanzee behavioural reactions to cues of death

10:30-11:00

Annegret Moto Naito (Wildlife Science)

Genetic diversity of the endangered Japanese golden eagle

内藤 アンネグレート素 (野生動物)

絶滅危惧種ニホンイヌワシの遺伝的多様性

11:00-11:30

Xu Zhihong (Ecology and Social Behavior)

Predicting intestinal parasite infection using social network analysis

The Japanese golden eagle is an endangered subspecies in east Asia, with

high conservation priority. Maintenance of genetic diversity is crucial to

ensure sustainability of populations, and past studies have revealed

adequate levels of neutral genetic diversity (mitochondrial DNA,

microsatellites) in populations from northern Japan. In my Master's

research, I conducted the following to fill knowledge gaps in golden eagle

conservation genetics:

1. Increased sampling efforts for better representation of populations

across Honshu and in captivity and reevaluated the neutral diversity and

genetic structure. Analyses indicate that genetic diversity is maintained

at sustainable levels throughout Japan, with no genetic structure in the

wild, but slight differentiation between captive and wild populations.

2. Developed more informative genetic markers to conduct fine-scale

analysis (e.g. relatedness, kinship), but results suggested that

microsatellites are still insufficient.

3. Analyzed the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region to evaluate

functional genetic diversity. I found that this region's genetic variation

is also maintained at high levels.

Based on these findings, neutral and functional genetic diversity should be

continuously monitored to detect any declines in the future. Additionally,

the Honshu population should be conserved as a single management unit, and

the captive population needs to be bred cautiously to avoid further genetic

differentiation.

*This presentation is a rehearsal for my Master thesis defense, so I would

appreciate all your participation & feedback!*

Outgroup threat has been identified as an important driver of

ingroup cohesion in humans, but the evolutionary origin of such a

relationship is unclear. Chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) in the wild are

notably aggressive towards outgroup members but coordinate complex

behaviours with many individuals in group hunting and border patrols. One

hypothesis claims that these behaviours evolve alongside one another, where

outgroup threat selects for ingroup cohesion and group coordination. To

test this hypothesis, 5 groups of chimpanzees (N = 29) were observed after

hearing either pant hoots of unfamiliar wild chimpanzees or control crow

vocalizations both in their typical daily environment and in a context of

induced feeding competition. We observed a behavioural pattern that was

consistent both with increased stress and vigilance (self-directed

behaviours increased, play decreased, rest decreased) and increased ingroup

cohesion (interindividual distance decreased, aggression over food

decreased, and play during feeding competition increased). These results

support the hypothesis that outgroup threat elicits ingroup tolerance in

chimpanzees. This suggests that in chimpanzees, like humans, competition

between groups fosters group cohesion.

For my master’s research, I studied primate thanatology using experimental

approaches on chimpanzees at Kumamoto Sanctuary. Chimpanzees are

intelligent and social animals and they demonstrate various complex

reactions to the deaths of conspecifics, including curiosity and emotional

distress. One particularly interesting reaction is prolonged dead-infant

carrying, because it is energetically costly for the mothers to keep

transporting their infant corpses, and would be evolutionarily

disadvantageous because of potential disease transmission. In addition,

chimpanzees reportedly do not seem bothered by the stench of advanced decay

emanating from the corpses, which is contrary to how humans and other

animals behave around such smells.

I used putrescine, a pungent odor released from the decay of bodies, to

test how they detect and respond behaviourally to such chemical cues of

death. I also paired this with a visual cue of death to see if they are

able to associate them. Results show that chimpanzees appear to avoid

putrescine, but they may not associate it with death. This study

contributes data about primate sense of smell, which has been limited in

research so far. It also has implications about interpreting dead-infant

carrying behaviour.

Waterbirds are the primary reservoir for influenza A viruses that infect

poultry as well as humans. The Copper River Delta in Alaska, US is a

stopover site for many waterbirds during the spring migration in April and

May to the northern breeding ground. The intermixing of different water

bird species (waterfowls, order Anseriformes, and shorebirds and gulls,

order Charadriiformes) attracts tourists for bird watching but also creates

opportunities for influenza A virus transmission and reassortment.

Waterfowls and gulls are known to have a higher prevalence of influenza A,

but how that impacts shorebirds remain ambiguous. We collected fecal

samples as well as swab samples from captured shorebirds at Hartney Bay to

test for presence of influenza A viral particles in these birds. We also

collected blood samples to test for antibodies in case of past exposure.

The prevalence data collected were fit into General Linear Models with

environmental factors including wind, other species present, and water

level to find the most important predictor. Results suggest that the

species present is the most significant predictor of high prevalence of

avian influenza in shorebirds.

Two major threats are affecting pelagic seabird populations in the southern

ocean; accidental capture by long-line fishing hooks and changes in polar

climates. Many seabirds form long-lasting pair bonds and the loss of a

partner has fitness costs which can further reduce the population

fecundity. These individual-level effects and demographic consequences of

pair bond disruption should be incorporated in current and prospective

conservation management of seabirds. However, most demographic studies

addressing population responses to threats have neglected the impacts of

pair bond disruption in population dynamics because it is difficult to

comprehend the rates, causes,and consequences of pair bond disruption and

to explicitly include males and females, as well as mating processes in a

demographic model. Broadly, in wild populations, the consequences of pair

bond disruption in monogamous species remain poorly understood at both

individual- and population- level. And the mechanisms underlying pair bond

disruption is virtually unexplored. Here, we aim to explore the impacts of

current pair bond status on fitness consequences in terms of survival and

reproduction. We addressed our questions using a multievent

capture-mark-recapture (MECMR) statistical framework, which allows for

imperfect observations and uncertainty in the assignment of pair bond

status. We applied the framework to a long-term demographic data set of

wandering albatross (*Diomedea exulans*) breeding in Crozet. The population

experiences female-biased mortality due to fishery by-catch. We detected

lower survival rates and breeding probabilities for individuals after a

pair bond disruption. We found that males have a higher probability of

becoming widowed and newly formed pairs have higher divorce rates. Our

study shows a substantial cost of pair disruption and highlights the

importance of considering survival when addressing the fitness consequences

of pair bond status.

Giant panda habitat has been highly disturbed by overgrazed livestock, and giant pandas also migrated to the higher elevation in recent decades. The more frequent direct encounters with livestock brought increased interspecies competition as well as their massive droppings on giant panda habitat. The mechanisms of giant panda’s avoidance behavior remain unclear. Competition theory and odor repellent theory are two hypotheses that may able to explain giant panda’s avoidance behavior coordinately or independently. This study designed experiments to test the odor repellent hypothesis by observing behavioral and distance changes of captive giant panda under variate experimental settings: with or without livestock feces, cattle or horse feces, 1kg or 5kg feces. Our results suggested cattle feces and horse feces had some significant impact on giant pandas’ behavior pattern and activity range, and feces type could lead to different changes in giant panda’s behavioral responses.

----

Presenter: Elle Xu（徐晶晶）

International Enforcement Cooperation Specialist, CWT Program, WCS

Master of Environmental Policy, Duke Kunshan University

Elle was a Finance student and had broad conservation experiences and research interests from behavioral studies, human-wildlife conflicts, community development, to conservation education. Her current focus is on countering wildlife trafficking.

For this seminar, Elle will give us an English presentation mainly about her master research. The seminar will long 1hr with a 30-40 min presentation followed with Q&A session. You can ask her anything that you are curious about without limitation to the main content of her presentation.

卒業研究では、日本在来の土壌生物ニホンヒメフナムシの系統地理を北海道南部と青森県で調べた。この地域のヒメフナムシには複数のハプロタイプグループがあり、そのうち北海道と青森の両方に分布するものの放散時期はこのあたりの遺跡が現れた時期と一致した。修士ではイヌの性格関連遺伝子について研究する。トイプードルとダックスフンドについて多型が確認されている遺伝子のアレル頻度を調べる。性格の評価は飼い主の評価による。

協力や親和的行動は、集団内では血縁淘汰や互恵性などにより進化しうるが集団外個体に対しては進化しにくいと言われている。ボノボは、安定した集団を持ちつつも必ずしも敵対的とは言えない集団間関係を持つ。集団が出会うと数時間から数日をともに過ごし、集団間の攻撃的交渉も起こるが、異なる集団の個体同士での毛づくろい、食物配分、遊び、交尾などの親和的交渉が観察される。ボノボは、他集団個体と「積極的に」親和的交渉を行っているのだろうか？集団が出会っている間の毛づくろい、性的交渉の分析を行った。メスは、自集団メスよりも他集団メスを毛づくろい・ホカホカ相手に選んでいたが、他集団オスを自集団オスよりも選ぶ傾向は見られなかった。オスでは、他集団オス・メスを自集団オス・メスよりも毛づくろい相手に選ぶ傾向は見られなかったが、他集団オスを強く避けているわけでもなさそうだ。オスは自集団メスよりも他集団メスを交尾相手に選んでいた。ボノボ、特にメスにとって、他集団個体との関係構築が重要であることが示唆された。また、2018－20年に4例観察された、集団間の養子取りの事例も紹介する。

Although xenophobia and ingroup altruism are widespread in the animal

kingdom, relatively little is known about inter-group affiliation and

cooperation. In bonobos, individuals of different groups occasionally

associate with each other and may interact affiliatively, though whether

they proactively interact with out-group individuals or not is unknown. I

investigated grooming and sexual partner selections by wild bonobos when

out-group individuals are available. Females preferentially selected

out-group females as grooming and genito-genital rubbing partners. I did

not find evidence that males actively selected out-group females and males

as grooming partners, while they preferentially copulated with out-group

females. Bonobos, especially females, put effort into interacting with

out-group females for the limited period of time that they are associated,

suggesting that inter-group social bonding could provide benefits.

I also report four cases of permanent and temporary inter-group adoption

that we observed between 2018 and 2020.

陸上に適応して進化した羊膜類（哺乳類・爬虫類・鳥類をあわせた分類群）の中から、複数の系統が互いに独立に海へと進出を果たした。これら海棲羊膜類は、比較形態学ではもはや陸棲の近縁種が分からないほど形態が変化しており、生理や生態も祖先種とは大きく異なる。では、ゲノムから見ると、海棲羊膜類は陸棲の近縁種と比べて何が異なるのだろうか。また、互いに独立に海洋環境へと進出したグループの間で、分子レベルではどのような収斂進化が見られるのだろうか。加えて、海棲羊膜類はその起源が明瞭であるため、海洋における種分化の研究に適している。陸地と比べて明瞭な地理的分断の存在しない大洋において、どのような要因が生物の多様化を促進、あるいは抑制するのだろうか。主に鯨類とウミヘビ類、それにアマゾンマナティーを研究対象として、私はこうした疑問に取り組んできた。本発表では、WRCにおけるこれまでの私の研究成果を紹介する。

Aquatic amniotes, which have terrestrial ancestors, offer a valuable opportunity for studying environmental adaptation and diversification of animals. I have studied 1. genomic basis of aquatic adaptation, 2. convergent evolution among aquatic amniotes, and 3. speciation in the open ocean, using several species of aquatic amniotes such as cetaceans, sea snakes and an Amazonian manatee. In this talk, I will introduce about my research on these topics, which I have studied at WRC.

今回の発表ではこれまでの研究結果と今後の研究計画について発表する。動物の食性は大きく肉食・雑食・植物食に分けられる。植物は現存量が多く、入手しやすい資源である。しかし、動物とは構成成分が異なる上、有毒な化合物を含むことも多いため、特殊な消化システムや解毒能力が必要となる。一方、他の動物を捕食する場合、必要な栄養素を備えているため食物として理想的である。ゆえに、他種を捕食することに特殊化した肉食動物は肉だけを食べれば良いはずだが、多くの肉食動物で植物食行動が見られる本研究は、飼育下のユキヒョウ(Panthera uncia)を対象に、「毛の排出のために植物を食べる」という仮説を検証した。体内の毛は、吐き戻しあるいは糞として排泄されると考えられるため、行動観察および糞分析を行った。植物食行動が11個体中10個体で157バウト観察されたのに対し、吐き戻しは3個体で4バウトしか観察されなかったことから、吐き戻しの促進は植物食の主な目的ではないと考えられた。また、10個体に対して糞分析を行ったが、糞中の毛の重量と植物の重量の間にも有意な関係は認められず、植物食は糞中への毛の排出を促進する効果を持たないことが示唆された。したがって、肉食動物の植物食行動には毛の排出を促進する以外の適応的意義がある可能性が高いと考えられた。

Plants are abundant and relatively easy to obtain, but their composition is

different from animal body and often contain toxic secondary compounds. Thus,

herbivores need to develop special digestive system or detoxifying mechanism

to get nutrition from plants. On the other hand, other animals are ideal as food

because their body composition is similar to predators, which means they

contain all necessary nutrients. Carnivores are specialized for hunting, so they

should not need to eat plants. Still, even exclusively carnivorous species are

reported to eat plants.

In this study, I tested the hypothesis that carnivores eat plants to promote hair

evacuation. The behavior of 11 captive snow leopards (Panthera uncia) was

observed and scat samples from eight of them and two other captive individuals

were analyzed. Plant-eating was observed in 10 individuals (157 bouts) but

vomiting was observed only in 3 individuals (4 bouts). Therefore, induce

vomiting might not be the main role of plant eating. Additionally, there was no

significant relationship between the dried weight of hair and plant in scat

indicating plant-eating has little effect to promote hair evacuation in scat. In

conclusion, there should be another adaptive significance for carnivores eating

plants.

本研究は現在も進行中であり、今回の発表ではアイディア、解析、簡単な結果紹介という形でおこなう。 動物の群れは日常的に集団的意思決定をしなければならない。その意思決定は群れを形成するメリットにもなりうるが、合意に達する際、自己利益の違いから個体間のコンフリクトが生じるとコストにもなりうる。この問題は安定な群れを形成する種で大きな問題となりうる。集団的意思決定は古くから注目を集めてきたテーマではあるが、現状ではその意思決定過程や情報伝達過程を定量的に実証した研究例は限られている。特に飼育の困難な大型の種において、大きな課題となっている。その一要因はデータ取得の際の技術的な問題である。これまで、群れの全個体を同時発生的に追跡することは困難だった。本研究では、野生ウマをモデルに、ドローンを利用することで、群れの全個体の行動を定量的に得ることに成功した。そして、採食から移動に至るデパーチャーと呼ばれるイベントでの意思決定過程に注目した。解析の結果、デパーチャーを開始するイニシエーターの役割は、全個体が担うことができることが示唆された。さらに、個体ごとの反応順位を解析したところ、個体間で平均順位に有意差はなく、大きな権力をもつ個体は発見できなかった。追従相手を解析したところ、個体間の社会的親和性(近接頻度・グルーミング頻度)には依存せず、純粋に距離の近い個体に追従することが明らかになった。また、特定のペアで、追従が起きやすいといったことも発見できなかった。これらの結果から、魚類や鳥類で報告されているように、デパーチャーにおける意思決定は物理的に局所的な相互作用によって意思決定を成立していると考えられる。

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus Desmarest) is an endangered fauna listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with an estimated population size of less than 2,500 individuals worldwide. The species is native to Southeast Asia in Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Sumatra of Indonesia. Despite the existing conservation programme and ecological information about this species, not much is known about the genetic diversity of the Malayan tapir populations. The lack of such information may impede the on-going efforts for its conservation and management.

During my master research, I used genetic markers for the investigation of genetic diversity and population genetic structure of the Malayan tapir in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 41 microsatellite markers in literature and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database were screened with polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing and fragment analysis in 67 Malayan tapirs. Eight polymorphic markers were successfully developed and used in the population genetic structure analysis. Five genetic clusters and a fine-scale population genetic structure were detected in the wild Malayan tapir population in Peninsular Malaysia. Analysis of the mitochondrial control region sequences in Peninsular Malaysia samples revealed twelve novel haplotypes, in addition to the eleven known haplotypes present in Thailand, and two clades that might be established during the late Pleistocene. One of the clades was exclusive in Peninsular Malaysia samples in comparison with the Thailand samples from a previous study. Both the markers suggested low to moderate genetic diversity in the Malayan tapir studied. In addition, a universal sex-typing method based on the sex-determining region Y and zinc finger gene was tested. A preliminary assessment of sex ratio was conducted using the data extracted from the tapir databases provided by various authorities, and aided by sex-typing unknown samples using the developed sex marker. Overall, there was no significant bias towards either sex. No sex-biased dispersal was detected that might shape the population structure of the Malayan tapir observed in the study.

For my current project, I aim to develop a novel set of genetic markers (i.e. microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms) that are more robust and informative to investigate the genetic diversity of the Malayan tapir populations in Peninsular Malaysia (validation of previous results) and Japan zoos, as well as populations in Thailand and Sumatra. Currently, a total of 39 microsatellite loci were designed in-silicon and tested, at least 20 markers may be useful for future analysis.