2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
霊長類の社会進化に対する選択圧としての寄生虫の役割
| Project/Area Number |
24770232
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
MACINTOSH Andrew 京都大学, 野生動物研究センター, 特定助教 (30623136)
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| Keywords | primate behavior / social systems evolution / social networks / parasite transmission / international team |
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| Research Abstract |
The main activity of FY2013 was collecting fecal samples and behavioral data, and anthelmintic treatment of target macaques on Koshima islet, Miyazaki. I have done 5 treatments and collected 1188 fecal samples, with over 500 hours of focal observation and over 2500 proximity scans for social network analysis. Initial analyses show high drug efficacy against nematodes. These data will therefore facilitate testing of the two main hypotheses of this project. Early results show strong relationships between treatment and macaque body mass and reproductive output, the first of their kind in a primate-parasite study system.
Related work with internship students has also yielded interesting results. First, contrary to predictions, stress hormones are not related to parasite infection. Second, simulation work (based on empirical data collected during this project) shows that social networks in macaques at Koshima can strongly impact parasite transmission dynamics, even more so than networks in Yakushima macaques.
I also visited Sabah, Malaysia in September 2013 to build collaborations with local institutions/organizations and to present my work and proposal to the Sabah Wildlife Department in Kota Kinabalu. Together with the Sabah Wildlife Department, Cardiff University and the Danau Girang Field Center, the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme HUTAN (a French NGO), we developed a proposal for research which was later accepted by the Sabah Biodiversity Center in March 2014.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
This project originally proposed 3 streams of research: (1) field experiments at Koshima, (2) field work in Sabah, and (3) theoretical and modeling work. I will describe my progress in each of these areas separately here.
(1) Field-experimental work at Koshima, which is the most important aspect of this project, is moving along schedule. This project has already produced various sets of publishable data (see next section).
(2) Because the original plan could not be conducted in Sabah, this part of the project is behind schedule. It also took quite a long time to get permission to conduct this work because of long communications with collaborators and infrequent council meetings of the Sabah Biodiversity Center which grants such permission. Furthermore, I am now waiting for permission to export biological samples to Japan, where we will conduct microscopic and molecular work on primate parasites from non-invasively collected fecal samples. However, I expect this part of the project to produce publishable results within FY2014.
(3) During FY2012, the third stream had not yet begun. However, work in this area began in FY2013 and the initial results are already providing publishable results after including empirical data collected during this project (see simulation modeling of parasite transmission in previous section). Therefore, this part of the project is now only slightly delayed.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The main focus of FY2014 will be on the field-experimental work at Koshima islet. I will also visit Sabah to collect fecal samples from at least 6 primate species in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. Microscopic and molecular identification will determine to what degree intestinal parasites are shared between these hosts, and whether patterns of sympatry (through primate censusing in the field) are related to patterns of parasite abundance in the host community. Laboratory work will be conducted at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University. Furthermore, I will finally begin compiling articles on parasite transmission in primates using the Global Mammal Parasite Database (www.mammalparasites.org) to test theoretical aspects of parasite transmission through single-host primate social groups and multiple-host primate communities. This work will be related to my current field work at Koshima and Sabah for a broader perspective on primate-parasite interactions.
I also plan to produce various manuscripts for publication, including: i) the efficacy of treatment; ii) the effects of parasite removal on body mass and reproduction; iii) the lack of effect of parasite removal on fecal cortisol; iv) the relationship between social networks and parasite reinfection following treatment; and v) comparing Yakushima and Koshima macaque social networks and their influences on disease transmission.
I will continue to support research assistants working on this project; Julie Dubosq, Valeria Romano de Paula, Cecile Sarabian, Marcio de Morais Jr., Liesbeth Villaroel.
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| Expenditure Plans for the Next FY Research Funding |
The remaining amount is very small, and occurred because an item I ordered near the end of the fiscal year to clear the remaining balance of the budget could not be delivered in time.
The remaining amount is very small, and will go toward laboratory supplies in FY2014 for the many new samples collected in the field.
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Research Products
(10 results)
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[Presentation] A field-experimental approach to primate-parasite interactions: filling in the knowledge-gaps2013
Author(s)
MacIntosh AJJ, Sarabian C, Thomas E, Suzumura T, Kaneko A, Takeshita S, Mouri K, Itoh M, Shimizu K, Okamoto M
Organizer
29th Congress of the Primate Society of Japan
Place of Presentation
Okayama University of Science, Okayama, Japan
Year and Date
20130906-20130909
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