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== Ecology and behavior ==
== Ecology and behavior ==
[[Image:Rhesus band rishikesh india2008.jpg|thumb|A roadside band of Rhesus macaque in [[Rishikesh]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[India]]. Although they are infamous as urban pests, who are quick to steal not only food, but also household items, it is not certain if the pair of jeans draped over the wall on the right is their handiwork.]]
[[Image:Rhesus band rishikesh india2008.jpg|thumb|A roadside band of Rhesus macaque in [[Rishikesh]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[India]]. Although they are infamous as urban pests, who are quick to steal not only food, but also household items, it is not certain if the pair of jeans draped over the wall on the right is their handiwork.]]
Rhesus macaques are [[diurnal animal]]s, and both [[arboreal]] and [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]]. They are mostly [[herbivorous]] feeding on [[seed]]s, [[roots]], [[buds]], [[bark]], [[fruit]] and [[cereal]]s. It has been estimated that they consume around 99 different plant species in 46 families. During the [[monsoon]] season, they get much of their water from ripe and succulent fruit. Macaque living far from water sources lick dewdrops from leaves and drink rainwater collected in tree hollows.<ref name= "Makwana 1979">Makwana, S. (1979). "Field Ecology and Behavior of the rhesus macaque. Food, Feeding and Drinking in Dehra Dun Forests." Indian Journal of Forestry 2(3): 242–253</ref>
Rhesus macaques are [[diurnal animal]]s, and both [[arboreal]] and [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]]. They are mostly [[herbivorous]] feeding on [[seed]]s, [[roots]], [[buds]], [[bark]], [[fruit]] and [[cereal]]s. It has been estimated that they consume around 99 different plant species in 46 families. During the [[monsoon]] season, they get much of their water from ripe and succulent fruit. Macaque living far from water sources lick dewdrops from leaves and drink rain water accumulated in tree hollows.<ref name= "Makwana 1979">Makwana, S. (1979). "Field Ecology and Behavior of the rhesus macaque. Food, Feeding and Drinking in Dehra Dun Forests." Indian Journal of Forestry 2(3): 242–253</ref> They have also been observed eating [[termite]]s, [[grasshopper]]s, [[ant]]s and [[beetle]]s.<ref>Lindburg, D.G. (1971) ''The rhesus monkeys in north India: an ecological and behavioural study.'' In: Rosenblum, LA (ed.) ''Primate Behaviour: Developments in the field and laboratory research.'' Academic Press, New York, vol.1, pp. 83–104.</ref>


They also eat [[fungi]] and [[invertebrates]] like insects and spiders. The food is abundant but is distributed in patches and macaques forage throughout the day in their home range. They drink water when foraging and gather around streams and rivers.<ref name= "Southwick 1965"/> Rhesus macaques have specialized pouch-like cheeks, allowing them to temporarily hoard their food.
They also eat [[fungi]] and [[invertebrates]] like insects and spiders. When food is abundant, they are distributed in patches and forage throughout the day in their home range. They drink water when foraging and gather around streams and rivers.<ref name= "Southwick 1965"/> Rhesus macaques have specialized pouch-like cheeks, allowing them to temporarily hoard their food.


In [[comparative psychology|psychological]] research, Rhesus macaques have demonstrated a variety of complex [[cognitive abilities]], including the ability to make same-different judgments, understand simple rules, and monitor their own mental states.<ref>{{Cite journal |author = Couchman, J. J., et al. |title = Beyond Stimulus Cues and Reinforcement Signals: A New Approach to Animal Metacognition |journal = Journal of Comparative Psychology |volume = 124 |issue = 4 |pages = 356–368 |year = 2010 |url = http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/com-124-4-356.pdf}}</ref>
In [[comparative psychology|psychological]] research, Rhesus macaques have demonstrated a variety of complex [[cognitive abilities]], including the ability to make same-different judgments, understand simple rules, and monitor their own mental states.<ref>{{Cite journal |author = Couchman, J. J., et al. |title = Beyond Stimulus Cues and Reinforcement Signals: A New Approach to Animal Metacognition |journal = Journal of Comparative Psychology |volume = 124 |issue = 4 |pages = 356–368 |year = 2010 |url = http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/com-124-4-356.pdf}}</ref>

Revision as of 08:45, 24 January 2011

For other uses, see Rhesus (disambiguation).

Rhesus Macaque[1]

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Primates
Family:
Cercopithecidae
Genus:
Macaca
Species:
M. mulatta
Binomial name
Macaca mulatta
(Zimmermann, 1780)
Rhesus Macaque range

The Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), also called the Rhesus Monkey, is one of the best known species of

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and its tolerance of a broad range of habitats.[2]

Description

The Rhesus macaque is brown or grey in color and has a pink face, which is bereft of fur. Its tail is of medium length and averages between 20.7 and 22.9 cm (8.1 and 9.0 in). Adult males measure approximately 53 cm (21 in) on average and weigh about 7.7 kg (17 lb). Females are smaller, averaging 47 cm (19 in) in length and 5.3 kg (12 lb) in weight.

Distribution and habitat

Red Fort of Agra in India
Rhesus macaque in Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, India

Rhesus macaques are native to northern

Burma, Thailand, Afghanistan, Vietnam, southern China, and some neighboring areas. The Rhesus monkey has the widest geographic ranges of any nonhuman primate, occupying a great diversity of altitudes throughout Central, South, and Southeast Asia. Inhabiting arid, open areas, Rhesus macaques may be found in grasslands, woodlands and in mountainous regions up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in elevation. They are regular swimmers. Babies as young as a few days old can swim, and adults are known to swim over a half mile between islands, but are often found drowned in small groups where their drinking waters lie. Rhesus macaques are noted for their tendency to move from rural to urban areas, coming to rely on handouts or refuse from humans.[3]
They have become a pest in some areas, perceived as a possible risk to public health and safety.

Distribution of subspecies and populations

The name rhesus is reminiscent of the Greek mythological king Rhêsos. However, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Audebert who applied the name to the species, stated that it had no meaning.[4]

According to Zimmermann’s first description of 1780, the Rhesus macaque is distributed in eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, as far east as the Brahmaputra Valley in peninsular India, Nepal and northern Pakistan. Today, this is known as the Indian Rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta mulatta, which includes the morphologically similar Macacus rhesus villosus described by True in 1894 from Kashmir and Macaca mulatta mcmahoni described by Pocock in 1932 from Kootai, Pakistan. Several Chinese subspecies of Rhesus macaques have been described between 1867 and 1917. The molecular differences identified among populations however are alone not consistent enough to conclusively define any subspecies.[5]
The Chinese subspecies can be divided in:

  • Macaca mulatta mulatta – is found in western and central China, in the south of Yunnan and southwest of Guangxi;[6]
  • Macaca mulatta lasiota (Gray, 1868) – the West Chinese Rhesus macaque is distributed in the west of Sichuan, northwest of Yunnan, southeast of Qinghai;[6] possibly synonymous with Macaca mulatta sanctijohannis (Swinhoe, 1867), if not with Macaca mulatta mulatta.[5]
  • Macaca mulatta tcheliensis (Milne-Edwards, 1870) – the North Chinese Rhesus macaque lives in the north of Henan, south of Shanxi and near Beijing. Some consider it as the most endangered subspecies.[7] Others consider it possibly synonymous with M. m. sanctijohannis, if not with M. m. mulatta.[5]
  • Macaca mulatta vestita (Milne-Edwards, 1892) – the Tibetan Rhesus macaque lives in the southeast of Tibet, northwest of Yunnan (Deqing), and perhaps including Yushu;[6] possibly synonymous with M. m. sanctijohannis, if not with M. m. mulatta.[5]
  • Macaca mulatta littoralis (Elliot, 1909) – the South Chinese Rhesus macaque lives in Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, northwest of Guangdong, north of Guangxi, northeast of Yunnan, east of Sichuan and south of Shaanxi;[6] possibly synonymous with M. m. sanctijohannis, if not with M. m. mulatta.[5]
  • Macaca mulatta brevicaudus, also referred to as Pithecus brevicaudus (
    Wanshan Islands in Guangdong, and the islands near Hong Kong;[6] may be synonymous with M. m. mulatta.[5]
  • Macaca mulatta siamica (
    Kloss, 1917) – the Indochinese Rhesus macaque is distributed in Myanmar, in the north of Thailand and Vietnam, in Laos and in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, northwest Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, central and eastern Sichuan, western and south-central Yunnan; possibly synonymous with M. m. sanctijohannis, if not with M. m. mulatta.[5]

Feral colonies

Main article:
Feral Rhesus Macaque

Around the spring of 1938, a colony of Rhesus macaques were released in the

zoos and wildlife parks destroyed in hurricanes, most notably Hurricane Andrew.[9]

There is also a notable colony of Rhesus macaques on Morgan Island, one of the Sea Islands in the South Carolina Lowcountry. They were imported in the 1970s for use in local labs and are by all accounts thriving.[10]

Ecology and behavior

A roadside band of Rhesus macaque in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. Although they are infamous as urban pests, who are quick to steal not only food, but also household items, it is not certain if the pair of jeans draped over the wall on the right is their handiwork.

Rhesus macaques are

buds, bark, fruit and cereals. It has been estimated that they consume around 99 different plant species in 46 families. During the monsoon season, they get much of their water from ripe and succulent fruit. Macaque living far from water sources lick dewdrops from leaves and drink rain water accumulated in tree hollows.[11] They have also been observed eating termites, grasshoppers, ants and beetles.[12]

They also eat

invertebrates like insects and spiders. When food is abundant, they are distributed in patches and forage throughout the day in their home range. They drink water when foraging and gather around streams and rivers.[13]
Rhesus macaques have specialized pouch-like cheeks, allowing them to temporarily hoard their food.

In

cognitive abilities, including the ability to make same-different judgments, understand simple rules, and monitor their own mental states.[14]

Intertroop behavior

Like other macaques, the Rhesus troop comprises a mixture of 20–200 males and females.[15] Females may outnumber the males by a ratio of 4:1. Males and females both have separate hierarchies. Females have highly stable matrilineal hierarchies in which a female’s rank is dependent on the rank of her mother. In addition, a single group may have multiple matrilineal lines that exist in a hierarchy, and a female outranks any unrelated females that rank lower than their mother.[16] Rhesus macaques are unusual in that the youngest females tend to outrank their older sisters.[17] This is likely because young female are more fit and fertile. Mothers seem to prevent the older daughters from forming coalitions against her. The youngest daughter is the most dependent on the mother, and would have nothing to gain from helping her siblings in overthrowing their mother. Since each daughter had a high rank in her early years, rebelling against their mother is discouraged.[18] Juvenile male macaques also exist in matrilineal lines but once they reach 4-5 years of age they are driven out of their natal groups by the dominant male. Thus adult males gain dominance by age and experience.[13]

In the group, macaques position themselves based on rank. The Central Male Sub-group contains the 2-3 oldest and most dominant males who are co-dominant, along with females, their infants and juveniles. This sub-group occupies the center of the group and determines the movements, foraging and other routines.[13] The females of this sub-group are also the most dominant of the entire group. The farther to the periphery a sub-group is, the less dominant it is. Sub-groups on the periphery of the central group are run by one dominant male who ranks lower than the central males, and who maintain order in the group and communicate messages between the central and peripheral males. A sub-group of subordinate, often sub-adult males occupy the very edge of the groups and have the responsibility of communicating with other macaque groups and make alarm calls.[19]

Reproduction

Adult male macaques try to maximize their reproductive success by entering into consort pairs with females, both in and outside the breeding period. Females prefer to mate with males that will increase the survival of their young. Thus a consort male provides resources for his female and protects her from predators. Larger, more dominant males are more likely to provide for the females. The breeding period can last up to 11 days, and a female usually mates with four males during that time. Male rhesus macaques have not been observed to fight for access to sexually receptive females, although they suffer more wounds during the mating season.[20] Female macaques first breed when they are four years old. Male macaques generally play no role in raising the young but do have peaceful relationships with the offspring of their consort pairs.[13] Mothers with one or more immature daughters in addition to their infants are in contact with their infants less than those with no older immature daughters. This is because the mothers may pass the parenting responsibilities to her daughters. High-ranking mothers with older immature daughters also reject their infants significantly more than those without older daughters, and tend to begin mating earlier in the mating season than expected based on their dates of parturition the preceding birth season.[21] Infants farther from the center of the groups are more vulnerable to infanticide from outside groups.[13] Some mothers abuse their infants which is believed to be the result of controlling parenting styles.[22]

In science

Project Mercury rocket Little Joe 1B, launched in 1960, carried Miss Sam to 9.3 statute miles (15 kilometres) in altitude.

The Rhesus macaque is well known to science owing to its relatively easy upkeep in captivity, and has been used extensively in medical and biological research. It has given its name to the

Alexander Wiener. The Rhesus macaque was also used in the well-known experiments on maternal deprivation carried out in the 1950s by controversial comparative psychologist Harry Harlow
.

The

on a suborbital spaceflight
in 1959 was one of the two first living beings (along with "Miss Baker" on the same mission) to travel in space and return alive.

In January 2000, the Rhesus macaque became the first

transgenic primate; ANDi carries foreign genes originally from a jellyfish
.

Though most studies of the Rhesus macaque are from various locations in northern India, some knowledge of the natural behavior of the species comes from studies carried out on a colony established by the

Fig Newtons, and are particularly keen on "pouching" large quantities of marshmallow
.

Sequencing the genome

Work on the

common ancestor roughly 25 million years ago.[24]

Comparison of Rhesus macaques, chimpanzees and humans revealed the structure of ancestral primate genomes, positive selection pressure and lineage-specific expansions and contractions of gene families.

"The goal is to reconstruct the history of every gene in the human genome," said

Evan Eichler, University of Washington, Seattle. DNA from different branches of the primate tree will allow us "to trace back the evolutionary changes that occurred at various time points, leading from the common ancestors of the primate clade to Homo sapiens," said Bruce Lahn, University of Chicago.[25]

After the human and chimpanzee genomes were sequenced and compared, it was usually impossible to tell whether differences were the result of the human or chimpanzee gene changing from the common ancestor. After the Rhesus macaque genome was sequenced, 3 genes could be compared. If 2 genes were the same, they are presumed to be the original gene.[26]

The chimpanzee and human genome diverged 6 million years ago. They have 98% identity and many conserved regulatory regions. Comparing the macaque and human genome, which diverged 25 million years ago and had 93% identity, further identified evolutionary pressure and gene function.

Like the chimpanzee, changes were on the level of gene rearrangements rather than single mutations. There were frequent insertions, deletions, changes in the order and number of genes, and segmental duplications near gaps, centromeres and telomeres. So macaque, chimpanzee and human chromosomes are mosaics of each other.

Surprisingly, some normal gene sequences in healthy macaques and chimpanzees cause profound disease in humans. For example, the normal sequence of phenylalanine hydroxylase in macaques and chimpanzees is the mutated sequence responsible for phenylketonuria in humans. So humans must have been under evolutionary pressure to adopt a different mechanism.

Some gene families are conserved or under evolutionary pressure and expansion in all 3 primate species, while some are under expansion uniquely in human, chimpanzee or macaque.

For example, cholesterol pathways are conserved in all 3 species (and other primate species). In all 3 species, immune response genes are under positive selection, and genes of T cell-mediated immunity, signal transduction, cell adhesion, and membrane proteins generally. Genes for keratin, which produce hair shafts, were rapidly evolving in all 3 species, possibly because of climate change or mate selection. The X chromosome has 3 times more rearrangements than other chromosomes. The macaque gained 1,358 genes by duplication.

Triangulation of human, chimpanzee and macaque sequences showed expansion of gene families in each species.

The PKFP gene, important in sugar (fructose) metabolism, is expanded in macaques, possibly because of their high-fruit diet. So are genes for the olfactory receptor, cytochrome P450 (which degrades toxins), and CCL3L1-CCL4 (associated in humans with HIV susceptibility).

Immune genes are expanded in macaques, relative to all 4 great ape species. The macaque genome has 33 major histocompatibility genes, 3 times that of human. This has clinical significance because the macaque is used as an experimental model of the human immune system.

In humans, the PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma) gene family is expanded. It is actively expressed in cancers but normally testis-specific, possibly involved in spermatogenesis. The PRAME family has 26 members on human chromosome 1. In the macaque, it has 8, and has been very simple and stable for millions of years. The PRAME family arose in translocations in the common mouse-primate ancestor 85 million years ago, and is expanded on mouse chromosome 4.

Agilent and Affymetrix have macaque DNA microarrays with 20,000 gene sequences, and they are used in macaque research. For example, Michael Katze of University of Washington, Seattle, infected macaques with 1918 and modern influenza. The DNA microarray showed the macaque genomic response to human influenza on a cellular level in each tissue. Both viruses stimulated innate immune system inflammation, but the 1918 flu stimulated stronger and more persistent inflammation, causing extensive tissue damage, and it did not stimulate the interferon-1 pathway. The DNA response showed a transition from innate to adaptive immune response over 7 days.

See also

References

  1. OCLC 62265494
    .
  2. ^ a b Template:IUCN
  3. ^ Ciani, A. C. (1986). Intertroop Agonistic Behavior of a Feral Rhesus Macaque Troop in Ranging in Town and Forest Areas in India (PDF). Aggressive Behavior, Volume 12: 433-439.
  4. ^ Jaeger, E. 1972. A source-book of biological names and terms. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Brandon-Jones, D., Eudey, A. A., Geissmann, T., Groves, C. P., Melnick, D. J., Morales, J. C., Shekelle, M., Stewart, C.-B. (February 2004: 97-164). Asian Primate Classification (PDF). Vol. 25, No. 1. International Journal of Primatology. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e Shilai, JXWYM 1991. Taxonomic revision and distribution of subspecies of Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta) in China. Zoological Research, 1991-03 Abstract
  7. ^ Zhang,Y., Shi, L. 1993. Phylogeny of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) as revealed by mitochondrial DNA restriction enzyme analysis. International Journal of Primatology, Volume 14, Number 4: 587-605. doi 10.1007/BF02215449
  8. ^ Wolfe, Linda, Cambridge University Press (2002). "Primates Face to Face": 320. ISBN 052179109X. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Bilger, B. (April 20, 2009). "The Natural World, Swamp Things". The New Yorker. p. 80. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  10. ^ Taub, D.M., Mehlman, P.T. (1989). "Development of the Morgan Island rhesus monkey colony". Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal 1989 April 8 (1): 159-69.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Makwana, S. (1979). "Field Ecology and Behavior of the rhesus macaque. Food, Feeding and Drinking in Dehra Dun Forests." Indian Journal of Forestry 2(3): 242–253
  12. ^ Lindburg, D.G. (1971) The rhesus monkeys in north India: an ecological and behavioural study. In: Rosenblum, LA (ed.) Primate Behaviour: Developments in the field and laboratory research. Academic Press, New York, vol.1, pp. 83–104.
  13. ^ a b c d e Southwick, C., Beg, M., and R. Siddiqi (1965) "Rhesus Monkeys in North India." Primate Behavior: Field Studies of monkeys and apes. DeVore, I. San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
  14. ^ Couchman, J. J.; et al. (2010). "Beyond Stimulus Cues and Reinforcement Signals: A New Approach to Animal Metacognition" (PDF). Journal of Comparative Psychology. 124 (4): 356–368. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  15. ^ Teas, J., Richie, T., Taylor, H., and C. Southwick. "Population Patterns and Behavioral Ecology of Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta) in Nepal." The Macaques: Studies in ecology, behavior, and evolution. Lindenburg, D. San Francisco: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1980
  16. ^ Judge, P. and F. Waal (1997). "Rhesus monkey behaviour under diverse population densities: coping with long-term crowding." Animal Behavior 54: 643–662.
  17. ^ Waal , F. "Codevelopment of dominance relations and affiliative bonds in rhesus monkeys." Juvenile Primates: Life History, Development, and Behavior. Pereira, M., and L. Fairbanks. New York: Oxford Oxford University Press, 1993.
  18. ^ Hill, D., Okayasu, N. (1996) "Determinants of dominance among female macaques: nepotism, demography and danger." Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies. Fa, J. and D. Lindburg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  19. ^ Gouzoules, H., Gouzoules, S., and M. Tomaszycki. (1998) "Agonistic screams and the classification of dominance relationships: are rhesus monkeys fuzzy logicians?" Animal Behaviour 55: 51–60
  20. ^ Bercovitch, F. (1997) "Reproductive Strategies of Rhesus Macaques." Primates 38(3): 247–263.
  21. ^ Berman, C. (1992) "Immature siblings and mother-infant relationships among free-ranging rhesus monkeys on Cayo Santiago." Animal Behavior 44: 247–258.
  22. ^ Maestripieri, D. (1998) "Parenting Styles of Abusive Mothers in group-living Rhesus Macaques." Animal Behaviour 55: 1–11.
  23. doi:10.1126/science.316.5822.215.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  24. ^ "DNA sequence of Rhesus macaque has evolutionary, medical implications" (Press release). Human Genome Sequencing Center. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
  25. ^ Rhesus Macaque Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium (2007) The rhesus macaque genome. Science, 2007, vol. 316, no. 5822: 235-237
  26. ^ Rhesus Macaque Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium (2007) Evolutionary and biomedical insights from the rhesus macaque genome Science, Vol. 316, No. 5822. (13 April 2007): 222-234

External links

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