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  1. Parallel-laser photogrammetry is growing in popularity as a way to collect non-invasive body size data from wild mammals. Despite its many appeals, this method requires researchers to hand-measure (i) the pixel distance between the parallel laser spots (inter-laser distance) to produce a scale within the image, and (ii) the pixel distance between the study subject’s body landmarks (inter-landmark distance). This manual effort is time-consuming and introduces human error: a researcher measuring the same image twice will rarely return the same values both times (resulting in within-observer error), as is also the case when two researchers measure the same image (resulting in between-observer error). Here, we present two independent methods that automate the inter-laser distance measurement of parallel-laser photogrammetry images. One method uses machine learning and image processing techniques in Python, and the other uses image processing techniques in ImageJ. Both of these methods reduce labor and increase precision without sacrificing accuracy. We first introduce the workflow of the two methods. Then, using two parallel-laser datasets of wild mountain gorilla and wild savannah baboon images, we validate the precision of these two automated methods relative to manual measurements and to each other. We also estimate the reduction of variation in final body size estimates in centimeters when adopting these automated methods, as these methods have no human error. Finally, we highlight the strengths of each method, suggest best practices for adopting either of them, and propose future directions for the automation of parallel-laser photogrammetry data. 
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  2. Objectives

    Ecological factors, but also tooth‐to‐tooth contact over time, have a dramatic effect on tooth wear in primates. The aim of this study is to test whether incisor tooth wear changes predictably with age and can thus be used as an age estimation method in a wild population of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

    Materials and methods

    In mountain gorillas of confidently known chronological age (N = 24), we measured the crown height of all permanent maxillary and mandibular incisors (I1, I1, I2, I2) as a proxy for incisal macrowear. Linear and quadratic regressions for each incisor were used to test whether age can be predicted by crown height. Using these models, we then predicted age at death of two individual mountain gorillas of probable identifications, based on their incisor crown height.

    Results

    Age decreased significantly with incisor height for all teeth, but the upper first incisors (I1) provided the best results, with the lowest Akaike's Information Criterion corrected for small sample size (AICc) and lowest Standard Error of the Estimate (SEE). When the best age equations for each sex were applied to gorillas with probable identifications, the predicted ages differed 1.58 and 3.33 years from the probable ages of these individuals.

    Conclusions

    Our findings corroborate that incisor crown height, a proxy for incisal wear, varies predictably with age. This relationship can be used to estimate age at death of unknown gorillas in the skeletal collection, and in some cases, to corroborate the identity of individual gorillas recovered from the forest postmortem at an advanced state of decomposition. Such identifications help fill gaps in the demographic database and support research that requires individual‐level data.

     
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  3. Abstract Objectives

    Existing data on bonobo and chimpanzee dental eruption timing are derived predominantly from captive individuals or deceased wild individuals. However, recent advances in noninvasive photographic monitoring of living, wild apes have enabled researchers to characterize dental eruption in relatively healthy individuals under naturalistic conditions. At present, such data are available for only one population of wild chimpanzees. We report data for an additional population of wild chimpanzees and the first dental eruption data for wild bonobos.

    Materials and Methods

    We collected photographs and video footage of teeth from the open mouths of wild bonobos and East African chimpanzees of known age from LuiKotale, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gombe National Park, Tanzania, respectively. We scored the presence and absence of deciduous teeth from photographs and video footage to characterize deciduous dental eruption timing in these two populations.

    Results

    Deciduous dental eruption ages in our sample fall within the range of variation previously documented for captive chimpanzees, but eruption ages are later in wild than in captive contexts. We found substantial variation in deciduous canine eruption timing, particularly among bonobos. One bonobo had a deciduous canine present by 227 days old while another did not have a deciduous canine present at 477 days old.

    Discussion

    Our data indicate that deciduous teeth erupt later in wild individuals than in captive individuals. We also found that deciduous dental eruption timing varies considerably between individuals within our study populations, a pattern that is consistent with previous studies. Future studies should consider sources of variation in deciduous canine eruption timing and relationships with other aspects of life history as additional data become available.

     
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  4. Abstract Objectives

    The effects of phylogeny and locomotor behavior on long bone structural proportions are assessed through comparisons between adult and ontogenetic samples of extant gorillas.

    Materials and Methods

    A total of 281 wild‐collected individuals were included in the study, divided into four groups that vary taxonomically and ecologically: western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla), lowland and highland grauer gorillas(G. b. graueri), and Virunga mountain gorillas (G. b. beringei). Lengths and articular breadths of the major long bones (except the fibula) were measured, and diaphyseal cross‐sectional geometric properties determined using computed tomography. Ages of immature specimens (n = 145) were known or estimated from dental development. Differences between groups in hind limb to forelimb proportions were assessed in both adults and during development.

    Results

    Diaphyseal strength proportions among adults vary in parallel with behavioral/ecological differences, and not phylogeny. The more arboreal western lowland and lowland grauer gorillas have relatively stronger forelimbs than the more terrestrial Virunga mountain gorillas, while the behaviorally intermediate highland grauer gorillas have intermediate proportions. Diaphyseal strength proportions are similar in young infants but diverge after 2 years of age in western lowland and mountain gorillas, at the same time that changes in locomotor behavior occur. There are no differences between groups in length or articular proportions among either adults or immature individuals.

    Conclusion

    Long bone diaphyseal strength proportions in gorillas are developmentally plastic, reflecting behavior, while length and articular proportions are much more genetically canalized. These findings have implications for interpreting morphological variation among fossil taxa.

     
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  5. Abstract Objectives

    Gorillas, along with chimpanzees and bonobos, are ubiquitously described as ‘knuckle‐walkers.’ Consequently, knuckle‐walking (KW) has been featured pre‐eminently in hypotheses of the pre‐bipedal locomotor behavior of hominins and in the evolution of locomotor behavior in apes. However, anecdotal and behavioral accounts suggest that mountain gorillas may utilize a more complex repertoire of hand postures, which could alter current interpretations of African ape locomotion and its role in the emergence of human bipedalism. Here we documented hand postures during terrestrial locomotion in wild mountain gorillas to investigate the frequency with which KW and other hand postures are utilized in the wild.

    Materials and methods

    Multiple high‐speed cameras were used to record bouts of terrestrial locomotion of 77 habituated mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda) and Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda).

    Results

    We captured high‐speed video of hand contacts in 8% of the world's population of mountain gorillas. Our results reveal that nearly 40% of these gorillas used “non‐KW” hand postures, and these hand postures constituted 15% of all hand contacts. Some of these “non‐KW” hand postures have never been documented in gorillas, yet match hand postures previously identified in orangutans.

    Discussion

    These results highlight a previously unrecognized level of hand postural diversity in gorillas, and perhaps great apes generally. Although present at lower frequencies than KW, we suggest that the possession of multiple, versatile hand postures present in wild mountain gorillas may represent a shared feature of the African ape and human clade (or even great ape clade) rather than KWper se.

     
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  6. Abstract Objective

    Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a condition marked by localized reductions in enamel thickness, resulting from growth disruptions during dental development. We use quantitative criteria to characterize the depth of LEH defects and “normal” perikymata in great apes. We test the hypothesis that mountain gorillas have shallow defects compared to other taxa, which may have led to their underestimation in previous studies.

    Materials and Methods

    Previous attempts to characterize LEH morphology quantitatively have been limited in sample size and scope. We generated digital elevation models using optical profilometry (Sensofar PLu Neox) and extracted 2D coordinates using ImageJ to quantify depths in canines from three great ape genera (N = 75 perikymata; 255 defects).

    Results

    All defect depths fall outside the distribution of perikymata depths. Mountain gorilla defects are significantly shallower than those of other great ape taxa examined, including western lowland gorillas. Females have significantly deeper defects than males in all taxa. The deepest defect belongs to a wild‐captured zoo gorilla. Virunga mountain gorilla specimens collected by Dian Fossey exhibit deeper defects than those collected recently.

    Discussion

    Shallow defect morphology in mountain gorillas may have led to an underestimation of LEH prevalence in past studies. Defect depth is used as a proxy for insult severity, but depth might be influenced by inter‐ and intra‐specific variation in enamel growth. Future studies should test whether severe insults are associated with deeper defects, as might be the case with Haloko, a wild‐captured gorilla. Ongoing histologic studies incorporating associated behavioral records will test possible factors that underlie differences in defect morphology.

     
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