Using techniques established by E. M. Brannon and H. S. Terrace (2000) with rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), the authors tested the ability of brown capuchins (Cebus apella) to order arrays of items ranging in quantity from 1 to 9. Three monkeys were trained on a touch screen to select the quantities 1-4 in ascending order. The monkeys exhibited successful transfer of this ability to novel representations of the quantities 1-4 and to pairs of the novel quantities 5-9. Patterns of responding with respect to numeric distance and magnitude were similar to those seen in human subjects, suggesting the use of similar psychological processes. The capuchins demonstrated an ordinal representation of quantity equivalent to that shown in Old World monkeys.

We explored variation in patterns of percussive stone-tool use on coastal foods by Burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) from two islands in Laem Son National Park, Ranong, Thailand. We catalogued variation into three hammering classes and 17 action patterns, after examining 638 tool-use bouts across 90 individuals. Hammering class was based on the stone surface used for striking food, being face, point, and edge hammering. Action patterns were discriminated by tool material, hand use, posture, and striking motion. Hammering class was analyzed for associations with material and behavioural elements of tool use. Action patterns were not, owing to insufficient instances of most patterns. We collected 3077 scan samples from 109 macaques on Piak Nam Yai Island’s coasts, to determine the proportion of individuals using each hammering class and action pattern. Point hammering was significantly more associated with sessile foods, smaller tools, faster striking rates, smoother recoil, unimanual use, and more varied striking direction, than were face and edge hammering, while both point and edge hammering were significantly more associated with precision gripping than face hammering. Edge hammering also showed distinct differences depending on whether such hammering was applied to sessile or unattached foods, resembling point hammering for sessile foods and face hammering for unattached foods. Point hammering and sessile edge hammering compared to prior descriptions of axe hammering, while face and unattached edge hammering compared to pound hammering. Analysis of scans showed that 80% of individuals used tools, each employing one to four different action patterns. The most common patterns were unimanual point hammering (58%), symmetrical-bimanual face hammering (47%) and unimanual face hammering (37%). Unimanual edge hammering was relatively frequent (13%), compared to the other thirteen rare action patterns (<5%). We compare our study to other stone-using primates, and discuss implications for further research.

The diverse ecology of parasitoids is shaped by extrinsic competition, i.e., exploitative or interference competition among adult females and males for hosts and mates. Adult females use an array of morphological, chemical, and behavioral mechanisms to engage in competition that may be either intra- or interspecific. Weaker competitors are often excluded or, if they persist, use alternate host habitats, host developmental stages, or host species. Competition among adult males for mates is almost exclusively intraspecific and involves visual displays, chemical signals, and even physical combat. Extrinsic competition influences community structure through its role in competitive displacement and apparent competition. Finally, anthropogenic changes such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pollutants, and climate change result in phenological mismatches and range expansions within host–parasitoid communities with consequent changes to the strength of competitive interactions. Such changes have important ramifications not only for the success of managed agroecosystems, but also for natural ecosystem functioning. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology, Volume 67 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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Invasions in urban settings have been understudied in terms of how invasions are impacted by uniquely urban stressors, such as streetlights. Plant physiology and phenology are impacted by artificial light at night (ALAN), but no studies have yet examined if light pollution differentially affects native versus invasive plant species. We tested the hypothesis that ALAN affects plant traits important to plant fitness and susceptibility to herbivory and whether they differ between invasive versus native grass species. We found that aboveground production of invasive cheatgrass was [5 9 greater under ALAN than any other species in any treatment, and ALAN also altered plant traits important to herbivory. This suggests that ALAN may influence the outcomes of interspecific interactions. As urbanization increases, its role in invasion biology becomes more important, especially when an urban disturbance such as ALAN benefits the growth of invasive species.

Escalation of drug resistant microbes (bacteria) had forced researchers to search new and improved therapeutic compounds from different possible sources, including metabolites secreted by the actinomycetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of antimicrobial actinomycetes from physiologically distinct soil of different geographical locations. Forty five soil samples were collected from 5 districts of Gujarat including two sanctuaries as source of survey for bioactive actinomycetes. Crowded plate technique was used for isolation and Agar cylinder method was employed for the antimicrobial screening. A total of 171 actinomycetes were isolated and screened against eighteen pathogens responsible for causing diseases in plants and humans. Results indicate that 79% of the isolates were active against at least one of the eighteen tested pathogens. Some of the actinomycetes strain had shown strong antibacterial and antifungal activity which may be a good source of obtaining novel antimicrobials.

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