Predictors of food-related aggression in wild Assamese macaques and the role of conflict avoidance

The quality, availability and distribution of food resources and their influence on types and levels of feeding competition play a central role in ecological models of female social structure in mammals. Here, we investigate the impact of social and ecological factors on rates of food-related aggression and the use of potential conflict avoidance mechanisms in wild Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) in northeastern Thailand. These questions were addressed by examining feeding competition at the level of individual food patches which provides detailed information on resource characteristics, aggression and feeding party composition. Results suggest that the frequency of aggression in food patches increases with increasing feeding group size and decreasing patch size but is not affected by ecological variables representing resource value (abundance and nutritional value of food items in a patch). Interestingly, females appear to employ several mechanisms to avoid direct conflicts, including the use of alternative feeding sites within food patches, delayed arrival at feeding sites, storing food in cheek pouches and co-feeding with individuals they share strong social bonds with. Conflict avoidance may be partially responsible for the absence of a rank-related skew in female energy intake in this population and may explain other cases where empirical data do not fit the predictions of socio-ecological theory. Our findings also inform the debate about the mechanisms generating fitness benefits from strong social bonds by suggesting that by increasing feeding tolerance, social bonds may enhance resource acquisition, reduce the risk of injuries and lower levels of agonism-related stress.     

Dominance rank,female reproductive synchrony,and male reproductive skew in wild Assamese macaques

In groups with multiple males, direct mate competition may select for the evolution of dominance hierarchies that sort males into a queue for access to fertile females. The priority-of-access (PoA) model proposed by Altmann in 1962 makes explicit predictions about the resulting paternity distribution based on an interaction between male dominance rank and the overlap of female receptive phases. Here, we investigated whether the logic of the PoA model predicted the distribution of paternity across ranks in a seasonal breeder with high reproductive synchrony over six consecutive mating seasons. We studied 18 males that resided in a group of wild Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) in their natural habitat at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, between 2006 and 2011 with 5 to 13 conceptions per season. We assessed whether mate guarding increased paternity success, described “short-term” deviations from predicted paternity distribution, and examined how these are related to the number of competitors and fertile females. We determined genetic paternity of 43 (93 %) offspring born into the study group and found reproductive skew to be relatively low with 29 % alpha male paternity in accordance with the high degree of female reproductive synchrony observed. Short-term deviations from expected paternity distribution over ranks were not explained by the number of resident males or the number of conceiving females or their interaction. Within the limits of this study, these results suggest that even if males cannot discern female fertile phases, if reproduction is seasonal, and if reproductive synchrony is high, males may also compete directly over access to females.     

Policy relevance of three integrated assessment tools—A comparison with specific reference to agricultural policies

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a system of market support instruments, direct income transfers, and rural development measures, has been put through an ongoing reform process in recent decades. This paper introduces three policy impact assessment tools (SIAT, SEAMLESS-IF, MEA-Scope tool) and analyses how these tools have responded to a number of challenges for integrated assessment modelling as reported in the international literature. Significant progress has been made with regard to modelling linkages whereas other challenges, particularly those related to issues of scale and uncertainty management, require further efforts. It is also analysed which CAP instruments are represented and what kinds of effects can be analysed at different scales. Market instruments and direct payments are comparatively well represented, while the ability to model rural development measures is mostly beyond the scope of these tools. Because each tool has found a different solution for coping with the common challenges of integrated assessment modelling, the choice of one of the tools for a particular application depends strongly on the policy questions being asked. The SIAT provides the big picture via its ability to represent broad changes in policy instruments with EU-wide cross-sector impacts. The most comprehensive analysis of agricultural policy instruments can be obtained with SEAMLESS-IF. The MEA-Scope tool complements the other two approaches with detailed regional profiles.     

Mantophasmatodea now in the Jurassic

The Mantophasmatodea is the most recently discovered insect order. The fossil records of all other ‘polyneopteran’ orders extend far in the past, but the current absence of pre-Cenozoic fossils of the Mantophasmatodea contradicts a long evolutionary history, which has to be assumed from the morphological distinctness of the group. In this paper, we report the first Mesozoic evidence of a mantophasmatodean from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Furthermore, the new fossil shares apomorphic characters with Cenozoic and recent Mantophasmatodea, suggesting a longer evolutionary history of this order.     

Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South: the involvement of Sinohydro in Ghana’s Bui Dam

The paper examines the role of environmental norms in Chinese overseas investment in hydropower dams, exemplified by Sinohydro’s involvement in the Bui Dam in Ghana. While the investment of Western companies in hydropower dams in the global South is decreasing owing to changing notions of sustainability in the West, the investment of Chinese companies in hydro dams in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America is accelerating at great speed. The emergence of Chinese companies in international markets in the context of China’s Going Abroad strategy has sparked a debate on whether China can be considered a norm-changer in international development. The paper considers this question in the context of the status of environmental norms in Sinohydro’s investment in Ghana’s Bui Dam. The paper argues that the role of international norms in Chinese investment is dependent on two factors: the contractual arrangements under which Chinese companies operate abroad and the political institutions of host countries.     

Characterization of ambient black carbon and wood burning particles in two urban areas

Previously it has been suggested that certain organic aerosol components of wood smoke have enhanced ultraviolet absorption at 370 nm relative to 880 nm in two-wavelength aethalometer measurements. This enhanced absorption could serve as an indicator of wood burning particles. Two-wavelength (370 nm and 880 nm) aethalometer measurements were made at urban sites in Rochester, New York and Laredo, Texas from August 1 to December 31, 2009 and from December 23, 2007 to January 2, 2008, respectively. In Rochester, Delta-C (UVBC(370 nm)- BC(880 nm)) values were higher by a factor of 3 during the night than during the day in November and December when residential wood burning was common. In Laredo, particularly high Delta-C values were observed on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and were attributed to biomass burning and firework emissions. Exponential decay was found to be a good estimator for predicting BC concentrations at different wind speeds regardless of wind directions.     

Screen-positive rate in cell-free DNA screening for microdeletion 22q11.2

Objective

To examine the impact of the fetal fraction (FF) on the screen-positive rate in screening for microdeletion 22q11.2.

Methods

This study is based on samples that were analyzed using the Harmony® Prenatal Test (Roche Inc). The study cohort comprised samples from women with singleton pregnancies who were at least 16 years old and at least at 11 weeks' gestation. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine significant covariates that carry an impact on the screen-positive rate.

Results

The study population consisted of 52,019 pregnancies, including 309 pregnancies with a high-risk result for microdeletion 22q11.2. Thus, the overall screen-positive rate was 0.59%. In the low-risk group, the FF was 10.1%, and in the high-risk group, it was 7.3%. Regression analysis indicated a strong correlation between the FF and the screen-positive rate. In the cases with an FF of <11.0%, the screen-positive rate was 0.92%, while it was 0.13% in the group with a higher FF.

Conclusion

The screen-positive rate depends on the FF. In order to keep the rate low, we recommend restricting the analysis to samples with a FF of 11% and more.