PREMISE OF THE STUDY Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed for Aster savatieri (Asteraceae) and the serpentine variety A. savatieri var. pygmaeus to re-evaluate their taxonomic status. METHODS AND RESULTS Using RNA-Seq data, 22 expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSR markers were developed. Polymorphisms were assessed in A. savatieri and in A. savatieri var. pygmaeus. The average numbe...

A study of orangutans' daily energy expenditure confirmed exceptionally slow metabolism. It suggests they evolved a lifestyle designed to minimize energy use. If so, shifting to a higher energy-use strategy may help explain how humans evolved.

An accurate estimate for orangutan nest decay time is a crucial factor in commonly used methods for estimating orangutan population size. Decay rates are known to vary, but the decay process and, thus, the temporal and spatial variation in decay time are poorly understood. We used established line-transect methodology to survey orangutan nests in a lowland forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, ...

In the present paper we introduce three new species of the genus Corymbitodes Buysson, 1904 from Nepal and from Northern India and provide the description of the male of C. kambaitiana Fleutiaux, 1942. No species of Corymbitodes was recorded from Nepal or India previously. The new species are C. bengalensis sp. nov. (India), C. chassaini sp. nov. (India), C. nepalensis sp. nov. (Nepal). C. kamb...

We assessed the ability of present-day environmental factors to explain the nonoverlapping range boundaries of Skistodiaptomus copepods in the northeastern USA. Variance partitioning using partial canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) attributed 21% of the variance in species occurrences to spatial location, 20% to spatially structured environmental variation, and 12% to environmental factors...

A captive juvenile Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) died from an unknown disseminated parasitic infection. Deep sequencing of DNA from infected tissues, followed by gene-specific PCR and sequencing, revealed a divergent species within the newly proposed genus Versteria (Cestoda: Taeniidae). Versteria may represent a previously unrecognized risk to primate health.

Information about meat-eating behavior by wild orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) is scant. The first article about such a case dates from 1981. Since 1989, seven incidents of adult female Sumatran orangutans eating slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) have been witnessed. Three females from two study sites were involved. In three cases the females were seen catching the prey. There are too few cases to ...