Vertebrate gut microbiota form a key component of immunity and a dynamic link between an individual and the ecosystem. Microbiota might play a role in social systems as well, because microbes are transmitted during social contact and can affect host behaviour. Combining methods from behavioural and molecular research, we describe the relationship between social dynamics and gut microbiota of a group-living cooperative species of primate, the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer). Specifically, we ask whether patterns of social contact (group membership, group size, position in social network, individual sociality) are associated with patterns of gut microbial composition (diversity and similarity) between individuals and across time. Red-bellied lemurs were found to have gut microbiota with slight temporal fluctuations and strong social group-specific composition. Contrary to expectations, individual sociality was negatively associated with gut microbial diversity. However, position within the social network predicted gut microbial composition. These results emphasize the role of the social environment in determining the microbiota of adult animals. Since social transmission of gut microbiota has the potential to enhance immunity, microbiota might have played an escalating role in the evolution of sociality.

Objectives: Evolution of human maternal investment strategies is hypothesized to be tied to biological constraints and environmental cues. It is likely, however, that the socioecological context in which mothers' decisions are made is equally important. Yet, a lack of studies examining maternal investment from a cross-cultural, holistic approach has hindered our ability to investigate the evolution of maternal investment strategies. Here, we take a systems-level approach to study how human life history characteristics, environments, and socioecology influence maternal investment in their children. Materials and methods: We test how infant age and sex, maternal age, parity, and child loss, and the composition of a child's cooperative breeding network are associated with maternal investment across three small-scale (hunter-gatherer, horticultural, and agropastoral), sub-Saharan populations (N = 212). Naturalistic behavioral observations also enable us to illustrate the breadth and depth of the human cooperative breeding system. Results: Results indicate that infant age, maternal age and parity, and an infant's cooperative childcare network are significantly associated with maternal investment, controlling for population. We also find that human allomaternal care is conducted by a range of caregivers, occupying different relational, sex, and age categories. Moreover, investment by allomothers is widely distributed. Discussion: Our findings illustrate the social context in which children are reared in contemporary small-scale populations, and in which they were likely reared throughout our evolutionary history. The diversity of the caregiving network, coupled with life history characteristics, is predictive of maternal investment strategies, demonstrating the importance of cooperation in the evolution of human ontogeny. K E Y W O R D S allomothers, cooperative breeding, human evolution, parental investment 1 | INTRODUCTION Bounded by menarche and menopause, women's reproductive windows are narrow, particularly considering the long-life spans of humans (Alberts et al., 2013; Hawkes & Smith, 2010). Human offspring are altricial, requiring extensive investment from pregnancy through weaning. Additionally, human mothers "stack" dependents, giving birth to additional children prior to earlier offspring becoming independent (Kramer, 2010). Consequently, maternal investment strategies are comprised of energetic tradeoffs between mating and parenting efforts (Trivers, 1972). Energy is finite; effort allocated to one category cannot be directed to another (Charnov, 1993;

Objectives: Establishment and development of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome (GIM) varies cross-culturally and is thought to be influenced by factors such as gestational age, birth mode, diet, and antibiotic exposure. However, there is little data as to how the composition of infants' households may play a role, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. Here, we examined relationships between infant fecal microbiome (IFM) diversity/composition and infants' household size, number of siblings, and number of other household members. Materials and methods:We analyzed 377 fecal samples from healthy, breastfeeding infants across 11 sites in eight different countries (Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Spain, Sweden, and the United States). Fecal microbial community structure was determined by amplifying, sequencing, and classifying (to the genus level) the V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Surveys administered to infants' mothers identified household members and composition.Results: Our results indicated that household composition (represented by the number of cohabitating siblings and other household members) did not have a measurable impact on the bacterial diversity, evenness, or richness of the IFM. However, we observed that variation in household composition categories did correspond to differential relative abundances of specific taxa, namely: Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella.Discussion: This study, to our knowledge, is the largest cross-cultural study to date examining the association between household composition and the IFM. Our results indicate that the social environment of infants (represented here by the proxy of household composition) may influence the bacterial composition of the infant GIM, although the mechanism is unknown. A higher number and diversity of cohabitants and potential caregivers may facilitate social transmission of beneficial bacteria to the infant gastrointestinal tract, by way of shared environment or through direct

This chapter discusses genetic reserve location, including taxonomic and demographic information; genetic variation; and ecological information of crop wild relatives. Other topics discussed are: policy and socio-economic information; reserve site selection for single target taxa; reserve site selection for multiple target taxa; reserve design; optimum reserve design; reserve size; population size; corridors, networks and stepping stones; reserve shape; and political and economic factors affecting genetic reserve location.

BackgroundWith an estimated 80% of species remaining undescribed (but see Brewer et al. 2012), millipede taxonomy offers the opportunity to discover new species and explore biodiversity. The lack of basic alpha taxonomic information regarding millipedes belies their significant ecological role and potential as premier models in ecological and evolutionary studies. The group possesses many fascinating biological properties (e.g., bioluminescence, mimicry, and complex chemical secretions) that have been the focus of several recent studies and are emerging avenues of future investigation.New informationHere we summarize a methodology for large-bodied millipede collection, curation, and preservation for genetic analyses with the hope that sharing these techniques will stimulate interest in these charismatic detritivores.

Udder capacity and udder shape were scored on 3- to 10-yr-old cows from a large Hereford herd. Udder capacity was scored from 1 (small) and 5 (large) and udder shape was scored from 1 (balanced, udder level with ground) to 5 (unbalanced, funnel-shaped udder). Data were analyzed within age of cow for udder capacity scores from 1 to 4 and for udder shape scores from 1 to 3 because of the limited number of observations in other categories. Year of birth of cow was a significant source of variation in both udder capacity and udder shape. Days in lactation (ranging from 81 +/- 23 d in 3-yr-old cows to 71 +/- 25 d in 4-yr-old cows) was an important source of variation for udder capacity; as lactation progressed udder capacity score declined. Body condition of the cow was an important source of variation for udder capacity in 3- and 4-yr-old cows; cows with more external body condition had larger udder capacity scores. The heritability estimates of udder capacity and udder shape for 3-yr-old cows were .12 +/- .14 and .15 +/- .16, respectively; the repeatability estimates of scores over years were .14 +/- .02 and .16 +/- .03, respectively. Residual correlations between udder capacity and udder shape were low, ranging from -.10 in 3-yr-old cows to .10 in 6-yr-old cows. Neither udder characteristic affected the number of years a cow remained in the herd, but cows with unbalanced udders had more udder defects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The human milk microbiome (HMM) is hypothesized to be seeded by multiple factors, including the infant oral microbiome during breastfeeding. However, it is not known whether breastfeeding patterns (e.g., frequency or total time) impact the composition of the HMM. As part of the Mother-Infant Microbiomes, Behavior, and Ecology Study (MIMBES), we analyzed data from naturalistic observations of 46 mother-infant dyads living in the US Pacific Northwest and analyzed milk produced by the mothers for its bacterial diversity and composition. DNA was extracted from milk and the V1-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. We hypothesized that number of breastfeeding bouts (breastfeeding sessions separated by >30 seconds) and total time breastfeeding would be associated with HMM α-diversity (richness, diversity, or evenness) and differential abundance of HMM bacterial genera. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between HMM α-diversity and the number of breastfeeding bouts or total time breastfeeding and selected covariates (infant age, maternal work outside the home, frequency of allomother physical contact with the infant, non-household caregiving network). HMM richness was inversely associated with number of breastfeeding bouts and frequency of allomother physical contact, but not total time breastfeeding. Infants’ non-household caregiving network was positively associated with HMM evenness. In two ANCOM-BC analyses, abundances of 5 of the 35 most abundant genera were differentially associated with frequency of breastfeeding bouts (Bifidobacterium, Micrococcus, Pedobacter, Acidocella, Achromobacter); 5 genera (Bifidobacterium, Agreia, Pedobacter, Rugamonas, Stenotrophomonas) were associated with total time breastfeeding. These results indicate that breastfeeding patterns and infant caregiving ecology may play a role in influencing HMM composition. Future research is needed to identify whether these relationships are consistent in other populations and if they are associated with variation in the infant’s gastrointestinal (including oral) microbiome.