PRIMATES

Thinking Questions Did humans evolve from apes?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/teachstuds/svideos.html

Are non-human primates portrayed accurately in media (TV, Tarzan, Planet of the Apes, King Kong, Curious George)?

Why do you think tree-dwelling primates evolved an opposable thumb?

How does the primate hand structure compare to that of other animal species?

Why study non human primates?

Fill in gaps in human evolutionary history Understand how natural selection shapes

behavior Examine how ape behavior is like human

behavior Chimpanzee- Jane Goodall Gorilla- Dian Fossey Orangutan- Birute Galdikas Why did these researchers study these type of

primates instead of others?

Primate Characteristics 65 million years ago

When did humans (hominids) appear? 4 million years ago Earth 4 billion years old

166 species currently identified

Most are tree dwellers (arboreal)

Most are herbivores (eat fruit and leaves)

Some are omnivores (eat anything)

Different types of teeth? Most have 32 teeth Molars, incisors, canines

Primate Characteristics Pentadactyl?

5 digits on hands and feet

Prehensile hands & feet?

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-animals/monkeys-and-lemurs/gibbon_swinging/ Brachiating Mobile, grasping with

sensitive friction pads, nails, friction skin, opposable thumb

Body Hair

Primate Characteristics Retention of the clavicle Upright posture: bipedalism Stereoscopic vision

(3D vision) Eyes that look forward with

overlapping visual fields- evolution of retina for color vision

Enclosure of eyes in a bony ring or socket

Reduction of olfactory apparatus, especially snout, reduces sense of smell

Primate Characteristics Lengthened maturation

period, low reproductive rate Infant dependency and

gestation compared with most mammals, breast feeding

Long life span Large, complex brain

(cerebral cortex) Especially part concerned

with vision, tactile inputs, muscle coordination, memory & learning

High degree of socialization http://video.nationalgeographic.

com/video/animals/mammals-animals/monkeys-and-lemurs/monkey_rhesus/

Primate Distribution

Difference from Humans What are some differences? Absence of tail Larger brains Skeleton adapted for

suspensory locomotion- short broad chests, dorsal scapulae, long arms, mobile wrists, elbows and shoulders

Vocal cords differs from humans, so inability to speak

Primate Taxonomy

Divided into two suborders: Prosimians:

lemurs, lorises, tarsiers

Anthropoids: New world monkeys, old world monkeys, apes/humans

Apes vs. Monkeys What are some differences between apes and monkeys? Only a small number of types of apes, hundreds of types

of monkeys. Apes are usually larger and heavier than monkeys. Apes have no tail. Apes have a more upright body posture than monkeys,

and are often able to walk on 2 legs. Apes have a broad chest. Apes rely on vision rather than smell, and thus have

shorter noses than some monkeys. Apes have a large brain to body size ratio compared with

other animals. Apes only live in Africa and Asia (monkeys also live in

South America).

Prosimians Lemurs, Lorises, & Tarsiers Small to medium sized 38-65 million years “Furry” Aboreal Well developed olfactory

apparatus Long muzzle with rhinarium

(moist naked surface around nostrils- wet nose)

Claws on some digits Tooth comb for foraging and

grooming Vision well developed but not

fully stereoscopic

Prosimians Lemurs

Only found in Madagascar Diurnal Feed on leaves and fruit Live in structured groups Saifaka, ringtailed, Indrii,

mouse/dwarf lemurs Lorises

Africa and South East Asia Slow moving, eyes close

together Nocturnal Hunts insects Solitary

Prosimians Tarsiers

South East Asia- Borneo, Philippines

Elongated ankle bones (tarsal) or foot bones

Nocturnal Eats insects Small in size, head,

eyes, and ears large Rotate head 180

degrees Single mated pair

Anthropoids New World Monkeys Old World Monkeys Apes and Humans

Characteristics Nails on all digits Complete bony eye socket Extensive thumb and big toe opposability Lack of rhinarium (wet nose) and tooth comb

New World Monkeys Marmoset, tamarin, capuchin, squirrel, night, uakaris,

sakis, howler, spider monkey, wooley Wide flat nostrils and broad nasal septum 38-50 million years 36 teeth Most have long prehensile tails Completely arboreal and diurnal Central and South America Prominent skulls More intelligent Stereoscopic vision

New World MonkeysHowler Monkey Loudest calls among

primates (i.e. the name!!)

Consequently, very low aggressive encounters

Arboreal Diurnal Rain forest habitat Feed mainly on leaves Prehensile tails

(“grasping” appendage)

New World MonkeysSquirrel Monkey Abundant food in

leaves, fruits, flowers, and even insects

Consequently – widespread habitat

Smaller Arboreal White face, dark eyes Long non-prehensile

tails used for balance

My ExperiencePrimate Sanctuaryhttp://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/chimp-attack-video-missions-wcvin/

Monkeys hate meanieshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnZLV2pWsD8

Old World Monkeys- Cercopithecoidea

Largest group of primates African in origin Narrower noses with thinner nasal septum and

downward facing nostrils No prehensile tails, presence of check pouches 2 premolars Arboreal and terrestrial Ischial callosities- Hardened area of skin serves as

cushion (thickened, hairless, and often bright-colored skin on buttocks)

Proboscis, Mandril, Rhesus macaque, Baboons

Old World Monkeys- Cercopithecoidea

Guenons (Blue Monkey) Small (12-20lbs) Arboreal Omnivores Live in troops of about 20 with

one dominant male Larger sexual dimorphism due

to competition among mating males

Non-dominant males live solitary and will mate with wandering females of a troop

Large variation in facial patterns

Baboons Largest monkey species (80-

150lbs) Adapted for walking on the

ground (non-arboreal) using all 4 limbs

Classic dimorphism…large difference btw male and female. Large muscles, long tail, large teeth and jaws…used only for aggressive “display”. Will actually stand and defend against predators!!

Complex social organization…both male (“alpha”) and female have rank

Males leave the troops around age 4, females stay (prevents inbreeding)

Highly successful social species Hairless “Ischial callosites” on

their butts…bare callous to sit

Old World Monkeys- Cercopithecoidea

Japanese Macaque & Proboscis Monkey

The mountain-dwelling Japanese macaque lives in the north of Honshū where there is snow-cover eight months of the year

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2012/feb/06/snow-monkeys-hot-springs-video

The Proboscis monkeys needs his big snout to get attention from the ladies. It also amplifies his warning call when he spots a crocodile trying to sneak up on a wading female.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-animals/monkeys-and-lemurs/weirdest-proboscis-monkey/

Hominoidea

HOMINOIDEA

Lesser Apes Great Apes Hominidae

Gibbons Orangutan Human Siamangs Gorilla

Chimpanzee Bonobo

Ape Distribution

Lesser Apes Larger Brain, no tail, evolved from Old World

Monkeys about 25 million years agoGibbons 3 feet tall. Strictly arboreal, mostly herbivorous. Walk upright (bipedalism), but mostly move by

Brachiation (“swinging). Can leap 20 feet and brachiate at 35 mph (fastest of all primates!!)

Thumbs are small and useless. Hands are used like hooks for swinging quickly

Monogamous couples live with offspring (like human!!). Leaves the family after 6-8 years.

Very little sexual dimorphism, due to low competition among males

Non confrontational, and due to their speed, are rarely preyed upon.

Great ApesOrangutans First of the Great Apes to evolve

(10 million years) Heaviest tree dwelling animal

(arboreal) in the world (165lbs) Shy solitary animal, difficult to

study naturally. Male and female socialize only to mate.

Diet limited to hard to find fruits…better to be on you own!

Can grasp with their feet

Great ApesGorillas Only discovered in the 19th century by European scientists Contrary to myth, gorillas are the shyest and gentlest of all primates, in spite

of 300-600 lbs body standing over 6 feet tall!! Live in small family groups of about 8-24. One large dominant silver-back

male leads the troop. Females move out after maturity (no inbreeding) Herbivorous – eats 70lbs of vegetation per day!! Cannot grasp with their feet….usually walk on all fours…NON-arboreal. Chest pounding may indicate threat, sexual arousal, play, frustration, or

dominance. Yawning is a submissive gesture No “rump pad” (ischial callosites) – need to sleep in soft nest of leaves Threat display: (usually accompanied with loud screams and roars)

1. Bluff Charge: charge past adversary 2. Rush Charge: charge and stop short 3. Slam charge: slams directly into adversary

Gorilla Talk http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-an

imals/apes/gorilla-talk-eorg/Dian Fossey: Gorilla in the Mist (1998)

Great ApesBonobos Used to be called pygmy chimps, but they’re not

much smaller than chimps Slimmer build, narrower shoulders, longer legs

smaller head Inhabit different areas in the wild, so they don’t mix

with chimps. Enjoy water (unlike chimps)…also have small

webbing between toes! Walk upright more easily than chimps Society dominated by females (unlike chimps!) Like humans, bonobos are sexually active all the

time Love, Not War: Sex is used to maintain harmony

within the group! Sex is used to avoid aggression, reconcile, or relieve

tension (even between same sex bonobos)Bonobo mom’s in charge http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/m

ammals-animals/apes/chimp_bonobo_alphafemale/

Great ApesChimpanzee Share over 98% of human genes…share common

ancestor. Jane Goodall, Gombe, Tanzania (1960)…witnessed tool

use and carnivores 60-90 lbs. Only 200,000 left in the wild. Usually NON-arboreal Unlike baboons, males stay with the group while

females migrate. Huge array of facial expressions and vocalizations

(pant-hoot) Males hunt monkeys in groups, each with a specific role

(driver, blockers, chasers, ambushers) Chimps at war: they may seek out and kill members of

a different community…not eaten for food. Only primate (other than human) to commit “murder”. Suggested that it’s for territorial expansion…war???

Tools Criteria traditionally used to show the evolution of human

intelligence. However, it no longer is used to determine intelligence

because it is NOT linked with the development or complexity of the Central NS.

It’s an adaptive mechanism for animals to get food rather than changing their physical morphology.

We change our behaviors rather than our bodies (generalization rather than specialization)

Crack nuts with rocks Use twigs to dig for termites Goodall worked with chimpanzees for over 35 years. She

has shown that chimps not only make and use tools, but display remarkable similarities to humans in terms of behavior. 

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-animals/apes/gorilla_lowland_tools/

Intelligence Chimpanzees doing fractions? Language and math

skills have long been thought to be solely human abilities, but an Ohio State University researcher has taught some chimpanzees to solve simple arithmetic problems. Primatologist Sally Boysen, who has been working with chimpanzees for many years, shows that the chimps are truly processing the information and not just learning by rote. Boysen's discoveries mean we may have to re-evaluate how we think about primate intelligence.

Bonobo’s shaking head “no” http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/ani

mals-news/bonobos-say-no-vin/

Communication Since the 1940s, numerous scientists have tried to

determine whether meaningful communication between humans and apes might be possible through the use of a symbolic language. Their results have often seemed promising on the surface. One very famous gorilla named Koko, for example, seems to have learned how to “speak” with American Sign Language. Dr. Francine Patterson spent almost two decades teaching American Sign Language to Koko, a lowland gorilla. Koko has a sign language vocabulary of over 600 words. Dr. Patterson and many other researchers believe that vocabulary development is one of the best indicators of intelligence.

LearningReaching adulthood…No other species has a longer developmental period than humans do, but other primates are close behind.

LearningThe investment in a long learning period and more intense parenting: Many animals learn by operant and classical conditioning.

Primates spend much more effort on observational learning…watching another perform a behavior, then remembering what they see and trying it themselves in a safe setting.

This process saves time and energy and also lowers the dangers associated with making a mistake in the wild.

Taking advantage of what others in the group already know…building tradition (a collection of learned and socially transmitted behaviors)

Evidence shows that the tendency to imitate is probably innate.

Innate or Learned? Observational learning occurs primarily in primates, but

otherwise is actually quite rare in the animal kingdom (although does occur in a few others, such as some mammals and birds)

It is an efficient, fast, and safe way to function within your environment. The passing on of behaviors through generations may result in traditions.

For most animals, it is innate (you’re born with it). These instinctive responses protect animals from danger.

Lots of research still being done!! Nature versus nurture.

Early Childhood Do you find parallels in human

society to primate society? Do you think non-human primates

have culture? If so, how is it passed from one generation to the next?

Do you think peacemaking and cooperation is instinctive in primates or have they developed a system of mutual cooperation in which they will all benefit?

Contact Comfort- touch, warmth, protective security

Peer Relations- social isolation led to over-aggressiveness, sexual inadequacy, rejection by others…also, rocking, swaying, self-mutilation…never learned to get along with others in a very social society.

Mother Deprivation Motherless mothers would sit

on the infant, throw it against the wall, or try to kill it

Infants who were raised by mothers then separated from them became passive, sad, upset, tearful, and depressed (Anaclitic depression)

Normal development was slowed down on all levels.

How many of these findings can we generalize to humans?

Behavior Behaviors (aggression/courting) are species-

specific from generation to generation. What do you think stimulate this behavior? Are behaviors environmental, seasonal,

hormonal, temperature-dependent? Inherited behavior is stimulated by specific cues,

which they call releasers or sign stimuliPower struggle http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/a

nimals-news/gelada-monkey-takeover-vin/

Chimps mourning death http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animal

s/mammals-animals/apes/zambia-chimpanzee-death-reaction-vin/

Play May be social, exercise, or exploration. Costs; use energy, risk harm Benefits must outweigh costs…healthy

development of the brain and nervous system. (Greater stimulation led to larger brain with more synapses.) Practice movements needed for survival…deer vs. mountain lion playing. Explore in safety. Practice social behaviors. Stimulates the development of the nervous system and thinking abilities. And maybe just for fun!

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-animals/apes/chimp_baby/

Pets or Zoos? Many species of primates are kept as pets by humans, the Allied Effort to

Save Other Primates (AESOP) estimates that around 15,000 primates live as exotic pets in the United States. The expanding Chinese middle class has increased demand for primates as exotic pets in recent years. Pet trade was banned in the U.S. in 1975, but smuggling still occurs along the United States – Mexico border, with prices ranging from $3000 for monkeys to $30,000 for apes.

Not recognized as an assist animal, but Capuchin monkeys' can be used to assist quadriplegic humans because their intelligence, memory, and manual dexterity make them ideal helpers.

Primates are kept in zoos around the globe. Historically, zoos were primarily a form of entertainment, but more recently have shifted their focus to conservation, education and research. Many zoos now feature naturalistic exhibits and educational material for the public; in the United States many participate in the Species Survival Plan (SSP), developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), to maximize genetic diversity through captive breeding. Primates born in captivity cannot be released back into the wild because captive-born primates lack the knowledge and experience to survive in the wild if released. Second, zoos provide living space for primates and other animals threatened with extinction in the wild.

Scientific Research or Space?

The Great Ape Project (GAP) does not permit chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas be used for animal experiments.

Primates are used as model organisms in laboratories and have been used in space missions.

Thousands of non-human primates are used around the world in research because of their psychological and physiological similarity to humans. In particular, the brains and eyes of primates more closely parallel human anatomy than those of any other animals. Primates are commonly used in preclinical trials, neuroscience, ophthalmology studies, and toxicity studies. Rhesus macaques are often used, as are other macaques, African green monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, squirrel monkeys, and marmosets, both wild-caught and purpose-bred. In 2005, GAP reported that 1,280 of the 3,100 primates living in captivity in the United States were used for experiments. In 2004, the European Union used around 10,000 primates in such experiments; in 2005 in Great Britain, 4,652 experiments were conducted on 3,115 primates. Governments of many nations have strict care requirements of primates kept in captivity. In the US, federal guidelines extensively regulate aspects of NHP housing, feeding, enrichment, and breeding. European groups such as the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments are seeking a ban on all primates use in experiments as part of the European Union's review of animal testing legislation.]

Conservation The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists

more than a third of primates as critically endangered or vulnerable. Common threats to primate species include deforestation, forest fragmentation, monkey drives (resulting from primate crop raiding), and primate hunting for use in medicines, as pets, and for food. Large-scale tropical forest clearing is widely regarded as the process that most threatens primates. More than 90% of primate species occur in tropical forests. The main cause of forest loss is clearing for agriculture, although commercial logging, subsistence harvesting of timber, mining, and dam construction also contribute to tropical forest destruction. In Indonesia large areas of lowland forest have been cleared to increase palm oil production, and one analysis of satellite imagery concluded that during 1998 and 1999 there was a loss of 1,000 Sumatran orangutans per year in the Leuser Ecosystem alone.

Madagascar, home to five endemic primate families, has experienced the greatest extinction of the recent past; since human settlement 1,500 years ago, at least eight classes and fifteen of the larger species have become extinct due to hunting and habitat destruction. Among the primates wiped out were Archaeoindris (a lemur larger than a silverback gorilla) and the families Palaeopropithecidae and Archaeolemuridae.

Poaching Primates with a large body size (over 5 kg) are at increased extinction risk due

to their greater profitability to poachers compared to smaller primates. They reach sexual maturity later and have a longer period between births. Populations therefore recover more slowly after being depleted by poaching or the pet trade.Data for some African cities show that half of all protein consumed in urban areas comes from the bushmeat rade. Endangered primates such as guenons and the drill are hunted at levels that far exceed sustainable levels. This is due to their large body size, ease of transport and profitability per animal. As farming encroaches on forest habitats, primates feed on the crops, causing the farmers large economic losses. Primate crop raiding gives locals a negative impression of primates, hindering conservation efforts.

There are 21 critically endangered primates, 7 of which have remained on the IUCN's "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates" list since the year 2000: the silky sifaka, Delacour's langur, the white-headed langur, the gray-shanked douc, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, the Cross River gorilla and the Sumatran orangutan. Miss Waldron's red colobus was recently declared extinct when no trace of the subspecies could be found from 1993 to 1999. A few hunters have found and killed individuals since then, but the subspecies' prospects remain bleak.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-animals/apes/gorillas-executed-congo-vin/

No more primates!