Body temperature and thermal environment in a generalized arboreal anthropoid, wild mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata).
Abstract
Free-ranging primates are confronted with the challenge of maintaining an optimal
range of body temperatures within a thermally dynamic environment that changes daily,
seasonally, and annually. While many laboratory studies have been conducted on primate
thermoregulation, we know comparatively little about the thermal pressures primates
face in their natural, evolutionarily relevant environment. Such knowledge is critical
to understanding the evolution of thermal adaptations in primates and for comparative
evaluation of humans' unique thermal adaptations. We examined temperature and thermal
environment in free-ranging, mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in a tropical
dry forest in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We recorded subcutaneous (Tsc ) and near-animal
ambient temperatures (Ta ) from 11 animals over 1586.5 sample hours during wet and
dry seasons. Howlers displayed considerable variation in Tsc , which was largely attributable
to circadian effects. Despite significant seasonal changes in the ambient thermal
environment, howlers showed relatively little evidence for seasonal changes in Tsc
. Howlers experienced warm thermal conditions which led to body cooling relative to
the environment, and plateaus in Tsc at increasingly warm Ta . They also frequently
faced cool thermal conditions (Ta < Tsc ) in which Tsc was markedly elevated compared
with Ta . These data add to a growing body of evidence that non-human primates have
more labile body temperatures than humans. Our data additionally support a hypothesis
that, despite inhabiting a dry tropical environment, howling monkeys experience both
warm and cool thermal pressures. This suggests that thermal challenges may be more
prevalent for primates than previously thought, even for species living in nonextreme
thermal environments.
Type
Journal articleSubject
cold stressheat stress
human adaptations
temperature variability
thermoregulation
Alouatta
Animals
Anthropology, Physical
Body Temperature Regulation
Circadian Rhythm
Environment
Female
Male
Seasons
Sex Factors
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16152Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1002/ajpa.22505Publication Info
Thompson, Cynthia L; Williams, Susan H; Glander, Kenneth E; Teaford, Mark F; & Vinyard,
Christopher J (2014). Body temperature and thermal environment in a generalized arboreal anthropoid, wild
mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Am J Phys Anthropol, 154(1). pp. 1-10. 10.1002/ajpa.22505. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16152.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kenneth Earl Glander
Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology
Primate ecology and social organization: the interaction between feeding patterns
and social structure; evolutionary development of optimal group size and composition;
factors affecting short and long-term demographic changes in stable groups; primate
use of regenerating forests.
Mark Franklyn Teaford
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
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