Vocal alliances in Chacma baboons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Papio hamadryas ursinus</Emphasis>)

Theory predicts that females in species with matrilineal dominance hierarchies should use nepotistic support systems to maintain their family’s rank. Female Old World monkeys, however, form alliances against other females at surprisingly low rates. Nonetheless, in many species, females utter threat vocalizations when observing others’ disputes, suggesting that these vocalizations may function as ‘vocal alliances’. We describe a playback experiment testing the efficacy of vocal alliances in free-ranging female baboons. Subjects were played the same female’s threat-grunts under three separate conditions: after being threatened by the signaller’s close relative to mimic kin support, after being threatened by a female maternally unrelated to the signaller to mimic non-kin support, and after a friendly interaction with the signaller’s close relative as a control. Subjects responded more strongly to the playback and avoided the signaller and her matrilineal relatives for a longer period of time in kin support trials than in either non-kin support or no aggression trials. In contrast, there was no difference in subjects’ behaviour between non-kin support and no aggression trials. These results corroborate observational data showing that vocal support occurs at a higher rate than physical support in female baboons, and that kin are more likely to provide vocal support than non-kin. We conclude that vocal support plays a similar role as physical support in the alliances of female baboons.     

Contamination by selected chlorinated pesticides in surface waters in Hanoi, Vietnam

Fifteen insecticides, which were banned in Vietnam in the period from 1990 to 1998, were chosen for the investigation of surface water samples in Hanoi and its surroundings. The investigation was focused on an area of approximately 30 by 20 km. Thirty water samples, in total were analysed: 11 samples from the Red river, seven from the Duong river, four from various lakes (West lake, Thuyen Quang, Bay Mau, Ba Mau), six from irrigation canals and two samples from wells. The procedure was repeated in November 1998 and in August 1999. The results showed that the contamination of the banned pesticides was highest in the rivers and then in the irrigation canals, followed by the lakes and wells. These pesticides could hardly be determined in just two drinking water samples (wells) and their concentrations rarely exceeded detection limits (0.05-0.25 ng l(-1)). The mean concentrations of sigmaHCHs (alpha, beta, gamma, delta-HCH) and sigmaDDTs (2,4'-, 4,4'-DDE; 2,4'-, 4,4'-DDD; 2,4'-, 4,4'-DDT) in the rivers were 17.2 +/- 71.8 and 43.7 +/- 79.9 ng l(-1) in the dry season (DS, November 1998), 29.3 +/- 117 and 56.1 +/- 65.6 ng l(-1) in the rainy season (RS, August 1999), respectively. However, the highest concentration of DDTs detected in a river sample (DS): 0.324 microg l(-1) was much lower than their allowable limit of concentration in surface waters, which is accorded with Criteria of Vietnam (1995) (DDTs < 10 microg l(-1)). Moreover, endrin, heptachlor, aldrin were also detected in most of water samples with considerable mean concentrations in rivers: 25.3 +/- 40.5, 17.4 +/- 23.8, 11.0 +/- 9.02 ng l(-1) in the DS and 18.5 +/- 23.2, 19.3 +/- 29.0, 12.8 +/- 8.44 ng l(-1) in the RS, respectively. Heptachlor epoxide (isomer A) and dieldrin were detected in some water samples with lowest concentrations.     

Male baboon responses to experimental manipulations of loud “wahoo calls”: testing an honest signal of fighting ability

Among male chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus), rank positions in the dominance hierarchy are fiercely contested. Physical fighting is costly but relatively rare in this species. Instead, disputes are frequently resolved using displays that include loud, repetitive “wahoo” (two-syllable bark) vocalizations. We previously found that males of all ranks adjust their contest behavior based on the relative fighting ability of opponents and that length of the second syllable (“hoo” duration), calling rate, and fundamental frequency reliably indicate fighting ability. To test whether males indeed attend to hoo duration when assessing opponents, we designed two sets of playback experiments in which call sequence pairs were identical except for this single modified feature. In experiment 1, we used calls recorded from high-ranking males unfamiliar to all subjects. In experiment 2, callers were familiar rivals that ranked one position below subjects in the dominance hierarchy. In paired analyses, subjects in both experiments responded more strongly to sequences with more intense signal features (most commonly associated with high-quality males) compared to sequences with relatively less exaggerated features (most often associated with low-quality males). Results suggest that males can use acoustic features to both indirectly evaluate strangers and to monitor the changing condition of those rivals that present the biggest intragroup threat to their position in the dominance hierarchy. Taken together with our previous research, baboons appear to follow a classic assessor strategy—signal features related to rank and condition are salient to males and directly affect their propensity to respond to rivals.     

Quality control and quality assurance for particle size distribution measurements at an urban monitoring station in Augsburg, Germany

Long-term observations of atmospheric constituents such as aerosol particles are increasingly needed to assess their impact on climate and human health. In contrast to particle mass concentration (MC), there are currently no standardized quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) procedures for the measurement of particle size distribution (PSD). This study describes some fundamental QC and QA procedures associated with the collection and evaluation of a 2 year dataset between 2005 and 2006 at an urban background monitoring site in Augsburg, Germany. The considered parametres include ambient PSD between 3 nm and 10 microm (merged from a twin differential mobility and an aerodynamic particle sizer, TDMPS and APS, respectively) as well as total particle number (TNC), length (LC) and MC determined by independent instruments. The hourly 1st and 0th moment of PSD showed good correlations with the independently measured LC (R(2) = 0.86) and TNC (R(2) = 0.79), respectively, the deviation for LC with 4% and for TNC with 22% being rather small. The volume concentration (3rd moment) of hourly measured PSD and the resultant MC (when assuming a realistic apparent density of 1.5 g cm(-3)) correlated well with the independently measured MC of PM(2.5) or PM(10) (R(2) > 0.86) and showed only small deviation from PM(2.5) (1%) or PM(10) (5%), respectively. The study demonstrates that the described QC and QA measures define both a high accuracy of the PSD measurements and their long-term comparability against data obtained in similar measurement programmes.     

People, power and timber: The politics of community-based forest management

The potential of devolved conservation to empower people, reduce poverty and protect forest resources has yet to be realized in much of the developing world. This is particularly evident in the Philippines where the central state paradoxically recentralizes political power through devolution at the policy, program and project level in forest management. We investigate how centralized state power emanates through devolved networks to affect the success of local timber utilization involving community-based forest management (CBFM) on Mindanao Island, the southern Philippines. By examining broader shifts from centralized to devolved forest management, results suggest that centralized political power continues to control and adversely affect local uses of timber through CBFM. We discuss how in the process of state authorities recentralizing devolved rights and responsibility over timber management, community-based logging operations were threatened but sustained by members relying on community-based structures and their own capabilities. The conclusion asserts that broader state processes of devolving power over timber management remains constrained by political motives and interests and so largely fails to fulfill the objectives of community-based forest management.     

Formation of oxidation by-products of the iodinated X-ray contrast medium iomeprol during ozonation

The present work describes the investigation of the formation of oxidation by-products of the iodinated X-ray contrast medium (ICM) iomeprol during ozonation in water treatment. Bench-scale investigations revealed that ICM can be partly oxidized during ozonation processes, whereas the ionic diatrizoic acid showed the lowest reactivity. Iomeprol, as a representative of ICM, was not fully mineralized during ozonation. Thus, unknown oxidation by-products were formed. Aqueous solutions of iomeprol were treated by ozonation in order to assess the formation of oxidation by-products. The by-products were characterized by different liquid chromatography methods including detection of single-stage mass spectra, product ion mass spectra, and induced in-source fragmentation for analysis of iodine containing oxidation by-products. Aldehyde and carbonyl containing compounds were proposed to be among the stable by-products. A derivatization step confirms that the aldehyde and carbonyl moieties are major functional groups in oxidation by-products of iomeprol. Furthermore, oxidation by-products of iomeprol were detected at the outlet of an ozone reactor at a full-scale waterworks. However, the toxicological relevance of the by-products is a major future research tasks.     

Testosterone predicts future dominance rank and mating activity among male chacma baboons

Despite the many benefits that testosterone has on male reproduction, sustaining high levels of testosterone for long periods can be costly. The challenge hypothesis predicts that males will show temporarily sustained elevations of testosterone at critical periods, counterbalanced by decreased levels during noncritical periods. We investigated male testosterone measures extracted from fecal samples in a group of chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) living in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Because rank serves as a proxy for competition for mates, we examined how male testosterone was related to dominance rank, age, aggression, and mating activity. Males showed an elevation in testosterone at maturity; young adult males had the highest testosterone levels followed by a steady decline with age. Among dispersing males, testosterone was temporarily elevated in the month following dispersal. After controlling for age, testosterone and rank were unrelated, but testosterone and changes in rank were positively correlated, such that males rising in rank had higher testosterone than males falling in rank. Thus, for males in this group, testosterone was predictive of a male's rank trajectory, or future rank. Similarly, male testosterone levels predicted future, rather than current, mating activity. Finally, male testosterone and aggression rates were unrelated during stable periods in the dominance hierarchy but positively related during unstable periods when high ranks were being contested. In general, our results support the challenge hypothesis with males exhibiting elevated testosterone in association with the acquisition of high rank (ensuring access to mates), rather than with mating itself.     

The impact of swidden decline on livelihoods and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia: A review of the evidence from 1990 to 2015

Global economic change and policy interventions are driving transitions from long-fallow swidden (LFS) systems to alternative land uses in Southeast Asia’s uplands. This study presents a systematic review of how these transitions impact upon livelihoods and ecosystem services in the region. Over 17 000 studies published between 1950 and 2015 were narrowed, based on relevance and quality, to 93 studies for further analysis. Our analysis of land-use transitions from swidden to intensified cropping systems showed several outcomes: more households had increased overall income, but these benefits came at significant cost such as reductions of customary practice, socio-economic wellbeing, livelihood options, and staple yields. Examining the effects of transitions on soil properties revealed negative impacts on soil organic carbon, cation-exchange capacity, and aboveground carbon. Taken together, the proximate and underlying drivers of the transitions from LFS to alternative land uses, especially intensified perennial and annual cash cropping, led to significant declines in pre-existing livelihood security and the ecosystem services supporting this security. Our results suggest that policies imposing land-use transitions on upland farmers so as to improve livelihoods and environments have been misguided; in the context of varied land uses, swidden agriculture can support livelihoods and ecosystem services that will help buffer the impacts of climate change in Southeast Asia.