Papers by naruki morimura
Challenging Cognitive Enrichment: Examples from Caring for the Chimpanzees in the Kumamoto Sanctuary, Japan and Bossou, Guinea
Springer eBooks, 2023
Primate Research Supplement International Primatological Society, 2010
Pan Africa news, Jun 1, 2011
Pan Africa news, Dec 1, 1998
A group of chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea, has been studied by Sugiyama and hi.s colleagues since ... more A group of chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea, has been studied by Sugiyama and hi.s colleagues since 1976. Research has been fruitful, with results focusing on behavior, ecology, and a variety of tool-using skills unique to this group. • However, environmental conditions for the chimpanzees themselves are considerably less than favorable at Bossou. The area surrounding their habitat has been transformed into savanna. as a result of cultivation. More than a thousand Liberian refugees have been streamirig into the village of Bossou since 1990. Japanese researchers of the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, in cooperation with local villagers and supported by the Japanese government, the Guinean government and the Japanese embassy in Guinea, launched two projects aimed at protecting the chimpanzees.
Pan Africa news, Dec 1, 2014
Molecular Behavioral Research in Great Apes
Primate Research Supplement International Primatological Society, 2010
Drones
The social structure of animal populations is a fundamental component of their biology, influenci... more The social structure of animal populations is a fundamental component of their biology, influencing gene flow, habitat use, competition and co-operation around resources, and communication. However, ecological and social relationships can be challenging to describe in most marine mammals, who spend the majority of their lives underwater. The finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) is one such cetacean species with a largely unknown social structure. Recent advances in drone technology enable more systematic surveys, photogrammetry, and photo-identification for diverse animal species. The present study aimed to validate new survey methods and provide a preliminary description of the spatiotemporal distribution of free-ranging finless porpoises in the coastal open-sea area of Ariake Sound, Japan. A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone equipped with an action camera yielded GPS ___location datasets through line and area surveys, covering a total sea area of 120 km2. The resul...
Polymorphisms in bitter taste receptor genes among west African chimpanzees
Folia Primatologica
Observations of drawing behaviour in chimpanzees have often focused on the completed drawings. He... more Observations of drawing behaviour in chimpanzees have often focused on the completed drawings. Here, we compared drawing behaviour using fingers or tools on a touch-sensitive monitor between five chimpanzees from the Kumamoto Sanctuary (KS) and two from the Primate Research Institute (PRI), both located at Kyoto University, Japan. Regarding drawing duration, both PRI females drew relatively longer than the other, with the exception of one KS female. However, a long drawing duration did not correspond with a decrease in the number of pauses, which can be interpreted as a lack of concentration or interest. Therefore, to better understand the engagement of individuals, we recorded the time spent looking at the touchscreen. Pan, one of the two PRI females, had the longest drawing periods and spent the most time looking at the screen. We compared her with Ai, the other PRI female, to better understand their individual marking techniques and behaviours. By adapting to each one’s specific ...
Testing the effect of oxytocin on social grooming in bonobos
American Journal of Primatology
An experimental study of cooperation in a chimpanzee paired with a human partner
Behavior Genetics, 2016
Polymorphisms of the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a) gene have been linked to various m... more Polymorphisms of the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a) gene have been linked to various measures related to human social behavior, including sibling conflict and agreeableness. In chimpanzees, AVPR1a polymorphisms have been associated with traits important for social interactions, including sociability, joint attention, dominance, conscientiousness, and hierarchical personality dimensions named low alpha/stability, disinhibition, and negative emotionality/low dominance. We examined associations between AVPR1a and six personality domains and hierarchical personality dimensions in 129 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) living in Japan or in a sanctuary in Guinea. We fit three linear and three animal models. The first model included genotype, the second included sex and genotype, and the third included genotype, sex, and sex 9 genotype. All personality phenotypes were heritable. Chimpanzees possessing the long form of the allele were higher in conscientiousness, but only in models that did not include the other predictors; however, additional analyses suggested that this may have been a consequence of study design. In animal models that included sex and sex 9 genotype, chimpanzees homozygous for the short form of the allele were higher in extraversion. Taken with the findings of previous studies of chimpanzees and humans, the findings related to conscientiousness suggest that AVPR1a may be related to lower levels of impulsive aggression. The direction of the association between AVPR1a genotype and extraversion ran counter to what one would expect if AVPR1a was related to social behaviors. These results help us further understand the genetic basis of personality in chimpanzees.
9: The Establishment of Sanctuaries for Former Laboratory Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees in Context
ギニア・ボッソウのチンパンジー群の保全状況と将来像：持続可能性をどう定義するか
Short communication Note on effects of a daylong feeding enrichment program for Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
For captive chimpanzees, daylong feeding enrichment, offering longer feeding times as comparable ... more For captive chimpanzees, daylong feeding enrichment, offering longer feeding times as comparable to those of their wild counterparts, is expected to alleviate undesirable behavior. This study is designed to determine whether longer feeding opportunities over the course of a day would directly engender longer feeding times. A liquid dispenser was presented for 8 h/day to five chimpanzees. The daily feeding duration was increased to a maximum of 16.1% of the 8-h experimental time. Expanding food availability increased the number of feeding bouts. Attractive-tasting beverages elicited longer feeding bout durations. Results suggested that chimpanzees’ preferences regarding food characteristics as well as food availability were influential factors favoring the prolongation of feeding time. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Polymorphism of the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and arginine vasopressin receptor gene (AVPR1a) is associated with chimpanzee Conscientiousness
Primatology Monographs, 2011
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2010
In mammals, bitter taste is mediated by T2R genes, which belong to the large family of seven tran... more In mammals, bitter taste is mediated by T2R genes, which belong to the large family of seven transmembrane G proteincoupled receptors. Because T2Rs are directly involved in the interaction between mammals and their dietary sources, it is likely that these genes evolved to reflect species' specific diets during mammalian evolution. Here, we investigated the sequences of all 28 putative functional chimpanzee T2R genes (cT2Rs) in 46 western chimpanzees to compare the intraspecies variations in chimpanzees to those already known for all 25 human functional T2R genes (hT2Rs). The numbers of functional genes varied among individuals in western chimpanzees, and most chimpanzees had two or three more functional genes than humans. Similarly to hT2Rs, cT2Rs showed high nucleotide diversity along with a large number of amino acid substitutions. Comparison of the nucleotide substitution patterns in cT2Rs with those in five cT2R pseudogenes and 14 autosomal intergenic noncoding regions among the same individuals revealed that the evolution of cT2R genes was almost identical to that of putative neutral regions with slight but significantly positive Tajima's D values, suggesting that selective constraint on these genes was relaxed with weak balancing selection. These trends have resulted in the occurrence of various divergent alleles of T2Rs within the western chimpanzee populations and in heterozygous individuals who might have the ability to taste a broader range of substances.
Uploads
Papers by naruki morimura