Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes

Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes

Author: Charles Graham

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2012-12-02

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 0323149715

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Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes: Comparative and Biomedical Perspectives discusses the great ape reproduction. The book opens with the menstrual cycle of apes as a good foundation for the subject areas that follow. Accordingly, Chapter 2 focuses on the endocrine changes during the stage of pregnancy among apes, specifically the hormonal changes in chimpanzee. Chapter 3 deals mainly on the condition postpartum amenorrhea. In Chapter 4, the reproductive and endocrine development – from fetal development, infancy, juvenile, to puberty – is discussed. Chapters 5 and 6 thoroughly discuss the female and male ape's genital tract and their secretions. The sole topic of Chapter 7 deals mainly with the comparative aspects of ape steroid hormone metabolism. Meanwhile, Chapter 8 tackles laboratory research on apes' sexual behavior. The succeeding chapters talk about the chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan reproduction in the wild. Chapters 12 and 13 basically look upon the behaviors of the great apes, specifically intermale competition and sexual selection. The next chapters (14 and 15) look at the necessity of breeding and managing apes in captivity to ensure their continued survival. Lastly, Chapter 16 highlights the significance and great value of apes as models and comparative study in human reproduction. This book will be of great use to human physiologists, comparative anatomists and zoologists, primatologists, ape breeders, and biomedical scientists.


Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism

Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism

Author: Elizabeth J. Macfie

Publisher: IUCN

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 87

ISBN-13: 2831711568

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Executive summary: Tourism is often proposed 1) as a strategy to fund conservation efforts to protect great apes and their habitats, 2) as a way for local communities to participate in, and benefit from, conservation activities on behalf of great apes, or 3) as a business. A few very successful sites point to the considerable potential of conservation-based great ape tourism, but it will not be possible to replicate this success everywhere. The number of significant risks to great apes that can arise from tourism reqire a cautious approach. If great ape tourism is not based on sound conservation principles right from the start, the odds are that economic objectives will take precedence, the consequences of which in all likelihood would be damaging to the well-being and eventual survival of the apes, and detrimental to the continued preservation of their habitat. All great ape species and subspecies are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2010), therefore it is imperative that great ape tourism adhere to the best practice guidelines in this document. The guiding principles of best practice in great ape tourism are: Tourism is not a panacea for great ape conservation or revenue generation; Tourism can enhance long-term support for the conservation of great apes and their habitat; Conservation comes first--it must be the primary goal at any great ape site and tourism can be a tool to help fund it; Great ape tourism should only be developed if the anticipated conservation benefits, as identified in impact studies, significantly outweigh the risks; Enhanced conservation investment and action at great ape tourism sites must be sustained in perpetuity; Great ape tourism management must be based on sound and objective science; Benefits and profit for communities adjacent to great ape habitat should be maximised; Profit to private sector partners and others who earn income associated with tourism is also important, but should not be the driving force for great ape tourism development or expansion; Comprehensive understanding of potential impacts must guide tourism development. positive impacts from tourism must be maximised and negative impacts must be avoided or, if inevitable, better understood and mitigated. The ultimate success or failure of great ape tourism can lie in variables that may not be obvious to policymakers who base their decisions primarily on earning revenue for struggling conservation programmes. However, a number of biological, geographical, economic and global factors can affect a site so as to render ape tourism ill-advised or unsustainable. This can be due, for example, to the failure of the tourism market for a particular site to provide revenue sufficient to cover the development and operating costs, or it can result from failure to protect the target great apes from the large number of significant negative aspects inherent in tourism. Either of these failures will have serious consequences for the great ape population. Once apes are habituated to human observers, they are at increased risk from poaching and other forms of conflict with humans. They must be protected in perpetuity even if tourism fails or ceases for any reason. Great ape tourism should not be developed without conducting critical feasibility analyses to ensure there is sufficient potential for success. Strict attention must be paid to the design of the enterprise, its implementation and continual management capacity in a manner that avoids, or at least minimises, the negative impacts of tourism on local communities and on the apes themselves. Monitoring programmes to track costs and impacts, as well as benefits, [is] essential to inform management on how to optimise tourism for conservation benefits. These guidelines have been developed for both existing and potential great ape tourism sites that wish to improve the degree to which their programme constributes to the conservation rather than the exploitation of great apes.


The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates

The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-11-03

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 0309176506

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A 1985 amendment to the Animal Welfare Act requires those who keep nonhuman primates to develop and follow appropriate plans for promoting the animals' psychological well-being. The amendment, however, provides few specifics. The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates recommends practical approaches to meeting those requirements. It focuses on what is known about the psychological needs of primates and makes suggestions for assessing and promoting their well-being. This volume examines the elements of an effective care programâ€"social companionship, opportunities for species-typical activity, housing and sanitation, and daily care routinesâ€"and provides a helpful checklist for designing a plan for promoting psychological well-being. The book provides a wealth of specific and useful information about the psychological attributes and needs of the most widely used and exhibited nonhuman primates. Readable and well-organized, it will be welcomed by animal care and use committees, facilities administrators, enforcement inspectors, animal advocates, researchers, veterinarians, and caretakers.


The Pygmy Chimpanzee

The Pygmy Chimpanzee

Author: Randall L. Susman

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 1475700822

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Historical Remarks Bearing on the Discovery of Pan paniscus Whether by accident or by design, it was most fortunate that Robert M. Yerkes, the dean of American primatologists, should have been the first scientist to describe the characteristics of a pygmy chimpanzee, which he acquired in August 1923, when he purchased him and a young female companion from a dealer in New York. The chimpanzees came from somewhere in the eastern region of the Belgian Congo and Yerkes esti mated the male's age at about 4 years. He called this young male Prince Chim (and named his female, com mon chimpanzee counterpart Panzee) (Fig. I). In his popular book, Almost Human, Yerkes (1925) states that in all his experiences as a student of animal behavior, "I have never met an animal the equal of this young chimp . . . in approach to physical perfection, alertness, adaptability, and agreeableness of disposition" (Yerkes, 1925, p. 244). Moreover, It would not be easy to find two infants more markedly different in bodily traits, temperament, intelligence, vocalization and their varied expressions in action, than Chim and Panzee. Here are just a few points of contrast. His eyes were black and in his dark face lacked contrast and seemed beady, cold, expressionless. Hers were brown, soft, and full of emotional value, chiefly because of their color and the contrast with her light complexion.


Seasonality in Primates

Seasonality in Primates

Author: Diane K. Brockman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-11-17

Total Pages: 616

ISBN-13: 9780521820691

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This book explores how seasonal variation in resource abundance might have driven primate and human evolution.


Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans

Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans

Author: Martin N. Muller

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-06-19

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 9780674033245

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This book presents extensive field research and analysis to evaluate sexual coercion in a range of species—including all of the great apes and humans—and to clarify its role in shaping social relationships among males, among females, and between the sexes.


Best Practice Guidelines for the Re-Introduction of Great Apes

Best Practice Guidelines for the Re-Introduction of Great Apes

Author: Benjamin Beck

Publisher: IUCN

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 2831710103

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From the website: Although the IUCN has previously established working protocols for plant and animal re-introduction, the great apes present unique challenges and concerns owing to their singular cognitive development. This prompted the Primate Specialist Group to reconsider the existing guidelines in terms of the specific needs of great apes. The resulting synthesis, representing the expert opinion of primatologists and re-introduction practitioners, is presented here as part of the series of best-practices documents. Specifically designed for rehabilitators and specialists in re-introduction, these guidelines start from the fundamental assumption that re-introductions should not endanger wild populations of great apes or the ecosystems they inhabit. Equally important is the health and welfare of the individual great apes being re-introduced, as well as the caretaker staff and the residents of the surrounding areas. The re-introduction guidelines also require that the factors which first threatened great apes in the proposed site of release have been addressed and resolved.


How We Do It

How We Do It

Author: Robert Martin

Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)

Published: 2013-06-11

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0465030157

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A primatologist explores the mystery of the origins of human reproduction, explaining that understanding the evolutionary past can provide insight into what worked, what didn't, and what it all means for the future of mankind.


Primate Life Histories and Socioecology

Primate Life Histories and Socioecology

Author: Peter M. Kappeler

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2003-02

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0226424642

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We know a great deal about roles the environment plays in shaping survival, reproductive success, and even social systems among primates. But how do primate life histories affect social systems and vice versa? Do baboons' patterns of growth, for example, help to structure their societies? Does fission-fusion sociality interact with predator pressure to influence the timing of maturation in chimpanzees? Exploring these issues and many others, the contributors to Primate Life Histories and Socioecology provide the first systematic attempt to understand relationships among primate life histories, ecology, and social behavior conjointly. Topics covered include how primate life histories interact with rates of evolution, predator pressure, and diverse social structures; how the slow maturation of primates affects the behavior of both young and adult caregivers; and reciprocal relationships between large brains and increased social and behavioral complexity. The first collection of its kind, this book will interest a wide range of researchers, from anthropologists and evolutionary biologists to psychologists and ecologists. Contributors: Paul-Michael Agapow, Susan C. Alberts, Jeanne Altmann, Robert A. Barton, Nicholas G. Blurton Jones, Robert O. Deaner, Robin I. M. Dunbar, Jörg U. Ganzhorn, Laurie R. Godfrey, Kristen Hawkes, Nick J. B. Isaac, Charles H. Janson, Kate E. Jones, William L. Jungers, Peter M. Kappeler, Susanne Klaus, Phyllis C. Lee, Steven R. Leigh, Robert D. Martin, James F. O'Connell, Sylvia Ortmann, Michael E. Pereira, Andy Purvis, Caroline Ross, Karen E. Samonds, Jutta Schmid, Stephen C. Stearns, Michael R. Sutherland, Carel P. van Schaik, and Andrea J. Webster.