Skip to main content
Kyoto University » Primate Research Institute

Search form

CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

  • About CICASP
  • Program
    • Course Details
    • Application
    • FAQ
    • Other Programs
    • Funding
    • Testimonials
    Stay
  • Departments

    Departments and Staff

    • Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior (EHUB)
    • CICASP
    • Kyoto University Museum
    • The Center for Ecological Research
    • Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research
    • Wildlife Research Center
    Stay
  • CICASP Staff
    • CICASP
    • Administration
    • Students
    • Alumni
    Stay
  • Education

    View: Education

    • Fundamental Lectures
    • Inuyama Nerds
    • Other Educational Events
    • Sci Comm Workshops
    Stay
  • News & Media
    • Announcements
    • Articles
    • Events
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
    • Publications
    Stay
  • Campus Life
    • Around Inuyama
    • Around Nagoya
    • Festivals
    • On Campus
    Stay
  • Contact
HomeNewsPublications
  • December 21st 2022

    The PrimateCast 76: Dr. Elaine Guevara on Primate Eponyms

    Listen
  • December 9th 2022

    The PrimateCast Origins (75): Professor Mewa Singh on his half-century journey into primatology and wildlife biology

    Listen
  • November 17th 2022

    The PrimateCast (74): Dr. Briana Pobiner on what makes us human, paleontological time machines and bigging up science education

    Listen
  • November 1st 2022

    The PrimateCast Origins (73): Dr. John Mitani on his life among the apes

    Listen
  • October 19th 2022

    The PrimateCast 72: Dr. Charles (Chuck) Snowdon on what music means to us, and monkeys!

    Listen
  • October 12th 2022

    The PrimateCast 71: Dr. Pamela Asquith on language, anthropomorphism, and metaphor in science, and translating Kinji Imanishi and the flow of Japanese primatology

    Listen
  • August 21st 2022

    The PrimateCast #70: Dr. Karen Strier on weaving between theory and practice in behavioral ecology and conservation

    Listen
  • July 27th 2022
    Takeshi Furuichi with local kids at Wamba Village in the DRC

    The PrimateCast #69: Dr. Takeshi Furuichi on bonobos, Wamba Village in the DRC, and building theories of human behavioral evolution

    Listen
  • July 1st 2022
    Dr. Elisabetta Visalberghi on the PrimateCast

    The PrimateCast #68: Dr. Elisabetta Visalberghi on Being a Primate, Becoming a Primatologist

    Listen
  • June 17th 2022
    Susumu Tomiya descends into Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming

    The PrimateCast #67: Dr. Susumu Tomiya on paleontology, the past, present and future of biodiversity, beardogs, and doing and communicating science

    Listen
  • May 8th 2022

    The PrimateCast #66: Dr. Robin Dunbar on how the social brain evolved

    Listen
  • April 22nd 2022

    The PrimateCast #65: Dr. Ikuma Adachi on Comparative Cognition and Managing a Chimpanzee Research Program

    Listen

The PrimateCast

The PrimateCast - Podcast
Catch interviews from the world of primatology, wildlife science and beyond with The PrimateCast. Available here or on iTunes. Subscribe to our rss feed, add us on iTunes and follow us on social media at Facebook and Twitter @ThePrimateCast. View all Podcasts
Subscribe to The PrimateCast
 
 
iTunes Channel
 

Topics

  • Announcements (23)
  • Articles (3)
  • Events (24)
  • Interviews (1)
  • Podcasts (78)
  • Publications (28)

Recent News

International Primatology Lecture 19: Prof. Patrícia Izar
February 10th 2023
Read More >
In Remembrance: Charles T. (Chuck) Snowdon, 1941–2023
February 8th 2023
Read More >
International Primatology Lecture 18: Prof. Frans de Waal
January 12th 2023
Read More >
View all News ›

Monthly Archive

  • February 2023 (2)
  • January 2023 (1)
  • December 2022 (2)
  • November 2022 (3)
  • October 2022 (3)
  • August 2022 (3)

Follow Us

  • CICASP on Facebook
  • Follow CICASP on Twitter
  • CICASP on LinkedIn
  • CICASP on YouTube
  • CICASP RSS

Japanese macaque adaptations to environmental changes

May 20th 2014
Publications
Takeshita et al 2014 - American Journal of Primatology

A new study published in the American Journal of Primatology has shown that hormonal responses in Japanese macaques can be related to their adaptation to stressful conditions.

The study, led by PhD student Rafaela S. C. Takeshita, with affiliations to the Section of Social Systems Evolution, the Leading Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science and CICASP, involves the use of non-invasive methods to measure glucocorticoids (GC) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) – two important adrenal steroids – from fecal extracts. This technique allows researchers to investigate stress in captive and wild animals without restraint or anesthesia that would otherwise confound the results.

Previously, Takeshita and collaborators found that DHEAS decreases with age in Japanese macaques living in an outdoor enclosed social group. In this new study, they further showed that this association is more evident in individuals living in single cages, which might indicate that the environment can also influence adrenal hormones. Furthermore, the Japanese macaques living in a solitary, small indoor cage had higher levels of both GC and DHEAS than those living in an outdoor social group, suggesting a response to the stressful conditions in the indoor single cages. This is highlighted poignantly by a special case in which a female that was moved from her social group to an individual cage exhibited a peak of both adrenal hormones 10 days after relocation, and gradually showed a decreased in these levels thereafter.

The study also revealed that Japanese macaques living in the outdoor group had higher GC concentrations during the winter mating season than the spring birth season. A negative association between GC levels and temperature suggests that GC increases during winter months as an adaptation to “cold stress”. These findings can be one of the keys to understanding how Japanese macaques can survive in such a harsh, cold environment. Furthermore, this information can be used to improve the management and welfare of captive groups, and to monitor stress levels in wild and free ranging populations.

The study was conducted at the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University in Japan, and it was financially supported by Nippon Zaidan and institutional funds from the Primate Research Institute.

For more information, the article can be found at DOI 10.1002/ajp.22295.

  • Kyoto University

Navigation

  • About CICASP
  • Program
  • People
  • News & Media
  • Campus Life
  • Contact

Follow Us

  • CICASP on Facebook
  • Follow CICASP on Twitter
  • CICASP on LinkedIn
  • CICASP on YouTube
  • CICASP RSS
^Top

Contact Information

CICASP, 41-2, Kanrin,
Inuyama, Aichi,
484-8506 Japan
Phone: +81 (0)568-63-0284
Fax: +81 (0)568-61-1050
Email: cicasp [at] mail2 [dot] adm [dot] kyoto-u [dot] ac [dot] jp

© 2023 Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University