Impact of Captivity and Domestication on our Perspectives of Primate Anatomy and Behavior

Do domestication and captivity have different implications or are they simply parts of a spectrum related to extraction from natural habitats? While the former is traditionally associated with “directed” character development through selected breeding, such approaches have permeated much of captive animal husbandry.Should captive animals be excluded from phylogenetic, morphological or behavior studies as they are “atypical” and do not represent the natural state? Domestication has been associated with paedomorphosis, withalterations of appearance including facial “simplification,” subcutaneous fataccumulation.Brain and body size and character are altered. Genetic variability is reduced.

A protected environment reduces the need for skills and behavior related to predator recognition, response and related defensive behavior. Animals become more responsive to human contact and may even initiateit. Alterations are not limited to behavior but may also have physiologic effects. Litter size also is increased in captive callitrichids. Ability of Leontopitheus rosalia, the golden lion tamarin, raised in captivity to orient to new environments (e.g., in captive-release programs) was compromised.

Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) DNA Variation in Millepora

For centuries, biologists have attempted to group organisms based on shared characteristics in order to understand the evolutionary relationships of the tremendous diversity of life. Phylogenicrelationships are estimated using morphological, behavioral, and otherphenotypic characters. However, these characters may not accurately represent evolutionary relationships because evolution is not always divergent. Two species can independently evolve the same features due to similar habitats and favored adaptations. Therefore, two species that are not closely related may end up more phenotypically similar to each other than to their closest relatives.

The problem of understanding evolutionary relationships between organisms is particularly acute in reef-building coral assemblages thatserve as the foundation of complex reef ecosystems. The evolutionary history and current speciation in this diverse class of animals remain paradoxical.

Overlapping Leaves Prevent Reproductive Organ from Overheating in an Alpine Plant

The alpine subnival belt (4300-5000 m a.s.l.) of Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM) experiences a summer monsoonal climate, with heavy rain fall interrupted by short periods of intense solar radiance in the growing period. Low temperature caused by rain (or cloud) slows the development of flowers and seeds; there has been an extensive interest in study how low temperature drives the evolution ofhighly-specialized morphological features in alpine plants. For example, the densely pubescent inflorescences of Saussurea medusa (known as ‘Himalayan woolly plant’) have a key role in temperature control and water repellence in cool and humid summer. On the other hand, the overlapping large semi-translucent bracts covering racemes of Rheum nobile (known as ‘Himalayan glasshouse plant’) function to warm floral tissues and have protective effects against UV-B radiation and rain. 

However, none of the research has ever focused on the selective pressure of high temperature caused by transient strong solar radiation (particularly in the midday) in alpine plant. High temperaturereduces pollen viability and some species have evolved cooling mechanisms(evaporation and self-shading) in tropical environments. In a recent study, we used Eriophyton wallichii Bentham (Lamiaceae), an alpine perennial herb with woolly structures (particularly in leaves, corolla and calyxes) and overlapping leaves covering reproductive organs, to explore the specialized morphology of an alpine plant adapted to growth and reproduce in sites characterized by transient heavy rainfall and strong solar radiation.