Leif
Thu, Jul-18-02, 01:17
Hi,
Macaque's seems to be a reasonable species of primates to
study cold- adaption. It's not possible to do this in
Homonidae, since all species in this family live in Africa,
and none are cold-adapted.
Japanese Macaque:
http://members.tripod.com/uakari/macaca_fuscata.html
Excerpts:
"The Japanese macaque is found in the country of Japan"
"During the winter the Japanese macaque will conserve heat by
sunning itself during the day and also will move less
frequently"
"One female Japanese macaque named Imo invented how to wash
sweet potatoes in a brook and to separate wheat from sand by
throwing the mixture into a brook, letting the sand sink to
the bottom, and scooping up the wheat that is floating at the
surface (Nishida, 1987). This knowledge was passed on to other
members of the troop, where playmates of Imo learnt the
behavior first, then mothers would pass it on to their
offspring (Nishida, 1987). This shows an example of culture in
nonhuman primates."
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/macaca/m._fu-
scata.html
Excerpts:
"Nutritious food sources can be so scarce in the winter that
Japanese macaques may need to rely on stores of fat to make it
through the winter"
"Japanese macaques are seldom aggressive, and display social
interactions such as grooming one another and sharing the jobs
of bringing up the young. Not only are infants raised by
adults other than their parents, but males and females have
nearly equal roles in caring for the young"
"Japanese macaques reach sexual maturity at approximately 3
years of age, and peak birth periods fall in the months of May
- September and April - July. Gestation lasts about 5 - 6
months, and each female has one infant at a time"
"The mating system of Japanese macaques is promiscuous,
meaning that males and females have multiple partners within
the same breeding season. Mate selection is not only dependent
on male rank and choice, but also on female mate preference.
Some factors that can affect female mate choice include rank
and the length of tenure in the troop for males. Female
japanese macaques tend to avoid mating with males that they
have done so with in the past 4-5 years. Therefore, the longer
a male is in a troop, the less mating chances he will have.
This mating strategy not only increases genetic diversity, but
can also lessen the chances of inbreeding by offspring."
Rhesus Macaque:
http://members.tripod.com/uakari/macaca_mulatta.html
"This is a sexually dimorphic species"
"There is intergroup dominance, meaning that one group of
rhesus macaques may be dominant to another group of rhesus
macaques for such things as food resources (Lindburg, 1971;
1977). Males and females are both aggressive during intergroup
encounters (Lindburg, 1971; 1977). "
http://www.szgdocent.org/pp/p-mcrhes.htm
Excerpts:
"raiding cultivated areas and rubbish dumps. They often in
fact become so fearless of humans that they can be a pest or
even danger to humans."
"While males often fight each other, females rarely quarrel
and usually live in harmony"
"One young born. Gestation 135-194 days. No specific breeding
season. Females mature in 3 years, males in 4"
In fact, there are incredible similarities between Japanese
Macaque / Neanderthals and Rhesus Macaque / AMH. Most
importantly, since Rhesus Macaque and Japanese Macaque are
closely related species, it confirms that cold-adaption do
indeed mean major changes in behaviour.
What does this mean for mtDNA analysis? Lets suppose
Neanderthals evolved on a similar course as Japanese Macaque.
1. Seasonal breeding. This will mean much lower chance for a
AMH male to mate with a Neanderthal female.
2. Neanderthals would only mate within group. This would not
be compelling for an AMH male either. He wouldn't want to
spend his time there only because he sometimes in the
distant future might get a chance to mate.
3. Strong social bonds within group. This will reduce the
chance of rape-like mating by AMH males.
4. A Neanderthal male would be quite compelling for a AMH
female. He could mate via causal contact or even rape.
This is one of many possible explainations (that indeed would
apply to interbreeding between Japanese Macaque and Rhesus
Macaque), that will give unidirectional mtDNA gene flow.
Also observe the differences in aggressiveness.
Leif
Macaque's seems to be a reasonable species of primates to
study cold- adaption. It's not possible to do this in
Homonidae, since all species in this family live in Africa,
and none are cold-adapted.
Japanese Macaque:
http://members.tripod.com/uakari/macaca_fuscata.html
Excerpts:
"The Japanese macaque is found in the country of Japan"
"During the winter the Japanese macaque will conserve heat by
sunning itself during the day and also will move less
frequently"
"One female Japanese macaque named Imo invented how to wash
sweet potatoes in a brook and to separate wheat from sand by
throwing the mixture into a brook, letting the sand sink to
the bottom, and scooping up the wheat that is floating at the
surface (Nishida, 1987). This knowledge was passed on to other
members of the troop, where playmates of Imo learnt the
behavior first, then mothers would pass it on to their
offspring (Nishida, 1987). This shows an example of culture in
nonhuman primates."
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/macaca/m._fu-
scata.html
Excerpts:
"Nutritious food sources can be so scarce in the winter that
Japanese macaques may need to rely on stores of fat to make it
through the winter"
"Japanese macaques are seldom aggressive, and display social
interactions such as grooming one another and sharing the jobs
of bringing up the young. Not only are infants raised by
adults other than their parents, but males and females have
nearly equal roles in caring for the young"
"Japanese macaques reach sexual maturity at approximately 3
years of age, and peak birth periods fall in the months of May
- September and April - July. Gestation lasts about 5 - 6
months, and each female has one infant at a time"
"The mating system of Japanese macaques is promiscuous,
meaning that males and females have multiple partners within
the same breeding season. Mate selection is not only dependent
on male rank and choice, but also on female mate preference.
Some factors that can affect female mate choice include rank
and the length of tenure in the troop for males. Female
japanese macaques tend to avoid mating with males that they
have done so with in the past 4-5 years. Therefore, the longer
a male is in a troop, the less mating chances he will have.
This mating strategy not only increases genetic diversity, but
can also lessen the chances of inbreeding by offspring."
Rhesus Macaque:
http://members.tripod.com/uakari/macaca_mulatta.html
"This is a sexually dimorphic species"
"There is intergroup dominance, meaning that one group of
rhesus macaques may be dominant to another group of rhesus
macaques for such things as food resources (Lindburg, 1971;
1977). Males and females are both aggressive during intergroup
encounters (Lindburg, 1971; 1977). "
http://www.szgdocent.org/pp/p-mcrhes.htm
Excerpts:
"raiding cultivated areas and rubbish dumps. They often in
fact become so fearless of humans that they can be a pest or
even danger to humans."
"While males often fight each other, females rarely quarrel
and usually live in harmony"
"One young born. Gestation 135-194 days. No specific breeding
season. Females mature in 3 years, males in 4"
In fact, there are incredible similarities between Japanese
Macaque / Neanderthals and Rhesus Macaque / AMH. Most
importantly, since Rhesus Macaque and Japanese Macaque are
closely related species, it confirms that cold-adaption do
indeed mean major changes in behaviour.
What does this mean for mtDNA analysis? Lets suppose
Neanderthals evolved on a similar course as Japanese Macaque.
1. Seasonal breeding. This will mean much lower chance for a
AMH male to mate with a Neanderthal female.
2. Neanderthals would only mate within group. This would not
be compelling for an AMH male either. He wouldn't want to
spend his time there only because he sometimes in the
distant future might get a chance to mate.
3. Strong social bonds within group. This will reduce the
chance of rape-like mating by AMH males.
4. A Neanderthal male would be quite compelling for a AMH
female. He could mate via causal contact or even rape.
This is one of many possible explainations (that indeed would
apply to interbreeding between Japanese Macaque and Rhesus
Macaque), that will give unidirectional mtDNA gene flow.
Also observe the differences in aggressiveness.
Leif