Many carnivorous mammals consume fruits and disperse the intact seeds to specific sites. Few studies have attempted to quantify this seed dispersal or evaluate its effectiveness, despite its potential importance and functional uniqueness. In the study reported here, we found that a frugivorous carnivore, the common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), generated seed shadows that are distinct from those of the sympatric frugivore, the pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), and played a unique and important role in the regeneration of Leea aculeata (Leeaceae). We found that macaques dispersed the seeds randomly, while civets dispersed them non-randomly to sites such as the banks of small rivers, rain-flow paths, abandoned trails, and treefall gaps, which are characterized by low stem density and canopy cover. Seeds of L. aculeata that were dispersed by civets to the banks of rivers and gaps had significantly higher survival and growth rates than those dispersed to rain-flow paths or abandoned trails. Seeds dispersed by macaques or to random locations also had low survival. Although the effects of the civets on seed fate were not straightforward, compared with macaques and random dispersal, civets significantly enhanced the survival and growth of L. aculeata seeds after 1 year. These results indicate that non-random dispersal by civets is important for the persistence of L. aculeata. Civets may disperse other plant species and thus could have profound effects on forest dynamics.
Out of a group of 12 M. nemestrina (originating from Malaysia), 9 adults had shown clinical signs induced by ILS at 25 c/sec. Six of them (3 males, 3 females) were very photosensitive; however, only 2 presented eyelid and/or head jerks after the end of ILS (level 4), but never a generalized seizure. Tactile periorbital stimuli favoured myoclonus. In all but the two of level 4, the intensity of clinical signs varied from one day to the next. In all implanted adult macaques, spontaneous paroxysmal EEG activities were seen during slow sleep in mostly anterior areas, but also during waking and REM sleep in some of them; however, their occurrence depended upon the individual and were not in all cases related to their level of photosensitivity. During ILS, paroxysmal discharges (spikes and waves and/or polyspikes and waves), isolated or in bursts at 3-4/sec were bilateral and symmetrical. They started in fronto-rolandic regions, then became generalized. This observation constitutes a new fact since the discovery, in 1966, of the photomyoclonic syndrome of Papio papio, Macaca nemestrina being another species of subhuman primates with a marked predisposition to photosensitive epilepsy.
Medetomidine (0.02-0.06 mg/kg) in combination with zolazepam-tiletamine (0.8-2.3 mg/kg) were evaluated for reversible anesthesia in four species of Southeast Asian primates: Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus), Bornean gibbon (Hylobates muelleri), long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis), and pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina). Twenty-three anesthetic procedures of captive-held and free-ranging primates were studied in Sabah, Malaysia. The induction was smooth and rapid. Respiratory and heart rates were stable throughout anesthesia, whereas body temperature and systolic arterial blood pressure decreased significantly. Atipamezole at five times the medetomidine dose effectively reversed anesthesia, with first signs of recovery within 3-27 min.