Nelson Ting

University of Oregon | UO · Department of Anthropology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution

The gut microbiome is structured by social groups in a variety of host taxa. Whether this pattern is driven by relatedness, similar diets or shared social environments is under debate because few studies have had access to the data necessary to disentangle these factors in wild populations. We investigated whether diet, relatedness or the 1 m proxi...

Population monitoring is critical to effective conservation, but forest living taxa can be difficult to directly observe. This has been true of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), for which we have limited information regarding population size and social behavior despite their threatened conservation status. In this study, we estimated d...

Hepatocystis is a genus of single-celled parasites infecting, amongst other hosts, monkeys, bats and squirrels. Although thought to have descended from malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.), Hepatocystis spp. are thought not to undergo replication in the blood–the part of the Plasmodium life cycle which causes the symptoms of malaria. Furthermore, He...

Ranging from forests in Senegal to the Zanzibar Archipelago, red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus spp.) are the most threatened group of African monkeys. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM in 2020, every form of red colobus monkey is threatened with extinction, and 14 of the 18 taxa (>75%) are listed as Critically Endangered or End...

As deforestation progresses in the tropics, wildlife populations are increasingly restricted to forest fragments. Here we study genetic population structure in the endangered Ashy red colobus (Piliocolobus tephrosceles) population in the forest fragments surrounding Kibale National Park, Uganda. Subsequently, we use landscape features (elevation, r...

Primates exhibit diverse social systems that are intricately linked to their biology, behavior, and evolution, all of which influence the acquisition and maintenance of their gut microbiomes (GMs). However, most studies of wild primate populations focus on taxa with relatively large group sizes, and few consider pair‐living species. To address this...

The gut microbiota of group-living animals is strongly influenced by their social interactions, but it is unclear how it responds to social instability. We investigated whether social instability associated with the arrival of new males and challenges to the alpha male position could explain differences in the gut microbiota in adult female Colobus...

Forest loss and overhunting are eroding African tropical biodiversity and threatening local human food security, livelihoods, and health. Emblematic of this ecological crisis is Africa's most endangered group of monkeys, the red colobus (genus Piliocolobus). All 17 species, found in forests from Senegal in the west to the Zanzibar archipelago in th...

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity...

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity...

The gut microbiota of group-living animals is strongly influenced by their social interactions, but it is unclear how it responds to social instability. We investigated whether social instability associated with the immigration of new males and challenges to the alpha male position could explain differences in the gut microbiota in adult female Col...

Sex, age, diet, stress and social environment have all been shown to influence the gut microbiota. In several mammals, including humans, increased stress is related to decreasing gut microbial diversity and may differentially impact specific taxa. Recent evidence from gorillas shows faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentration (FGMC) did not sign...

Aim: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroeco...

Host sex, age, diet, stress, and social environment have all been found to influence the gut microbiota. In non-human primates (NHP), recent evidence from gorillas found fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentration (FGMC) had no significant role in structuring their gut microbiota, but there was a significant differential abundance between family...

The composition of the human gut microbiome is highly variable, and this variation has been repeatedly tied to variation in human health. However, the sources of microbial variation remain unclear, especially early in life. It is particularly important to understand sources of early life variation in the microbiome because the state of the microbio...

Two modes of positive selection have been recognized: 1) hard sweeps that result in the rapid fixation of a beneficial allele typically from a de novo mutation and 2) soft sweeps that are characterized by intermediate frequencies of at least two haplotypes that stem from standing genetic variation or recurrent de novo mutations. While many populati...

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020. PDF not yet available, but web page here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18262/96192471 e.T18252A92659769

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020 PDF not yet available, but web page here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18262/96192471 Page: e.T18262A96192471

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020 PDF not yet available, but web page here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/92657343/92657454 Page e.T92657343A92657454

IUCN red list entry and assessment for Piliocolobus tephrosceles

Hepatocystis is a genus of single-celled parasites infecting monkeys, bats and squirrels. Although thought to descend from malaria parasites ( Plasmodium spp. ), Hepatocystis spp. are thought not to undergo replication in the blood – the part of the Plasmodium life cycle which causes the symptoms of malaria. Furthermore, Hepatocystis is transmitted...

The noninvasive monitoring of population size and demography is critical to effective conservation, but forest living taxa can be difficult to directly observe due to elusiveness and/or inaccessible habitat. This has been true of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), for which we have limited information regarding population size and socia...

The gut microbiome is structured by social groups in a variety of host taxa. Whether this pattern is driven by relatedness, similar diets, or shared social environments is under debate because few studies have had access to the data necessary to disentangle these factors. We investigated whether diet, relatedness, or 1-meter proximity networks best...

Over 40 species of nonhuman primates host simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs). In natural hosts, infection is generally assumed to be nonpathogenic due to a long coevolutionary history between host and virus, although pathogenicity is difficult to study in wild nonhuman primates. We used whole-blood RNA-seq and SIV prevalence from 29 wild Uganda...

Host behavior and social factors have increasingly been implicated in structuring the composition of gut microbial communities. In social animals, distinct microbial communities characterize different social groups across a variety of taxa, although little longitudinal research has been conducted that demonstrates how this divergence occurs. Our st...

Host behavior and social factors have increasingly been implicated in structuring the composition of gut microbial communities. In social animals, distinct microbial communities characterize different social groups across a variety of taxa, although little longitudinal research has been conducted that demonstrates how this divergence occurs. Our st...

Among mammalian phylogenies, those characterized by rapid radiations are particularly problematic. The New World monkeys (NWMs, Platyrrhini) comprise three families and seven subfamilies, which radiated within a relatively short time period. Accordingly, their phylogenetic relationships are still largely disputed. In the present study, 56 nuclear n...

Since the completion of the human genome project, numerous nonhuman primate genomes have been sequenced and assembled. As a result, we are beginning to understand how primate genome content, structure, and function differ across species, and how these genomic differences relate to morphological, physiological, and behavioral differences among taxa...

Over 40 species of nonhuman primates host simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs). In natural hosts, infection is generally assumed to be nonpathogenic due to a long coevolutionary history between host and virus, although pathogenicity is difficult to study in wild nonhuman primates. We used whole-blood RNA-seq and SIV prevalence from 29 wild Uganda...

Few studies have combined genetic association analyses with functional characterization of infection-associated SNPs in natural populations of non-human primates. Here, we investigate the relationship between host genetic variation, parasitism, and natural selection in a population of red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) in Kibale Nat...

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, numerous nonhuman primate genomes have been sequenced and assembled. As a result, we are beginning to understand how primate genome content, structure, and function differ across species, and how these genomic differences relate to morphological, physiological, and behavioral differences among taxa...

Research on wild apes is not only fundamental for elucidating human origins but for their conservation as well. Despite their relative size, apes are difficult to observe in the wild prior to habituation, limiting our ability to accurately assess demography and kin relations. Non-invasive genetic sampling provides an indirect source of this informa...

Accurate estimates of population sizes are essential to effective biomonitoring and conservation strategies. Genetic capture-recapture methods have been used to confidently assess abundance in African apes without having to completely habituate communities. The objective of this study was to use this method on a semi-habituated bonobo community at...

Syndromic surveillance, the collection of symptom data from individuals prior to or in the absence of diagnosis, is used throughout the developed world to provide rapid indications of outbreaks and unusual patterns of disease. However, the low cost of syndromic surveillance also makes it highly attractive for the developing world. We present a case...

Research on wild apes is not only fundamental to elucidating human origins but to their conservation as well. Despite their relative size, apes are difficult to observe in the wild prior to habituation, limiting our ability to infer demography, relatedness, and kinship. Non-invasive genetic sampling provides an indirect source of this information....

Immunogenetic data from wild primate populations have been difficult to obtain, due to logistic and methodological constraints. We applied a well-characterized deep sequencing method for MHC I typing, developed for macaques, to a population of wild red colobus to assess the feasibility of identifying MHC I-A/B haplotypes. Ten individuals produced s...

Revealing immune processes that underlie genotype-phenotype associations will provide a better understanding of complex host-pathogen adaptation in non-human primates. While research in this area has primarily focused on protein-coding regions of the genome, the role of regulatory genetic variation in controlling an organism’s immune response to in...

Studies of wild apes are critical to understanding the behavior of early humans. Chimpanzees and bonobos are good models as they are our closest relatives and equally related to humans. However, relatively few studies on wild bonobo populations have been conducted, and even fewer have used genetics to inform behavioral observations. We seek to use...

Infanticide is only a successful male reproductive strategy if males do not kill their own offspring, resulting in a conflict of interest with females over the disclosure of paternity information to males. Females should mate polyandrously to dilute paternity certainty among potentially infanticidal males. In contrast, males would benefit by develo...

The Ugandan red colobus monkey (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) is among the most endangered primates in the world due mainly to habitat loss, particularly outside of the protected areas. As a result, the populations are very fragmented and the movement of individuals between forests can be limited. The goal of this study was to optimize a pa...

This article documents the public availability of (i) transcriptome sequence data and assembly for the rostrum dace (Leuciscus burdigalensis) naturally infected by a copepod ectoparasite (Tracheliastes polycolpus) and (ii) SNPs identified and validated from RAD sequencing for the Ugandan red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) using RAD...

Intergroup variation in social networks can have important implications for inferring the evolution of primate social relationships, but the underpinnings of this variation remain poorly understood. To further our understanding of this topic, we investigated whether intergroup variation in colobus grooming networks was associated with group size, t...

A comprehensive understanding of how human disturbance affects tropical forest ecosystems is critical for the mitigation of future losses in global biodiversity. Although many genetic studies of tropical forest fragmentation have been conducted to provide insight into this issue, relatively few have incorporated landscape data to explicitly test th...

Primate females often inspect, touch and groom others' infants (natal attraction) and they may hold and carry these infants in a manner resembling maternal care (infant handling). While natal attraction and infant handling occur in most wild colobines, little is known about the factors influencing the expression of these behaviors. We examined the...

Background Whipworms (Trichuris sp.) are a globally distributed genus of parasitic helminths that infect a diversity of mammalian hosts. Molecular methods have successfully resolved porcine whipworm, Trichuris suis, from primate whipworm, T. trichiura. However, it remains unclear whether T. trichiura is a multi-host parasite capable of infecting a...

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 and 2, the causative agents of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), emerged from African non-human primates (NHPs) through zoonotic transmission of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV). Among African NHPs, the Cercopithecus genus contains the largest number of species known to harbor SIV....

Zoonotic pathogens cause an estimated 70% of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in humans. In sub-Saharan Africa, bushmeat hunting and butchering is considered the primary risk factor for human-wildlife contact and zoonotic disease transmission, particularly for the transmission of simian retroviruses. However, hunting is only one of many...

Male Colobus vellerosus compete intensely for access to females, which sometimes leads to mortal wounding. Yet, males often form cooperative relationships to overtake prime-aged males and immigrate into bisexual groups. We investigated the factors that predicted the presence of coalitions and affiliative relationships among males in this species. I...

Kinship shapes female social networks in many primate populations in which females remain in their natal group to breed. In contrast, it is unclear to which extent kinship affects the social networks in populations with female dispersal. Female Colobus vellerosus show routine facultative dispersal (i.e., some females remain philopatric and others d...

African non-human primates (NHPs) are natural hosts for simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV), the zoonotic transmission of which led to the emergence of HIV-1 and HIV-2. However, our understanding of SIV diversity and evolution is limited by incomplete taxonomic and geographic sampling of NHPs, particularly in East Africa. In this study, we screen...

Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) is an arterivirus that causes severe disease in captive macaques. We describe two new SHFV variants subclinically infecting wild African red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius). Both variants are highly divergent from the prototype virus and variants infecting sympatric red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus)...

A growing body of evidence shows within-population variation in natal dispersal, but the effects of such variation on social relationships and the kin composition of groups remain poorly understood. We investigate the link between dispersal, the kin composition of groups, and proximity patterns in a population of black-and-white colobus (Colobus ve...

Methods. Methods for 1) determining dispersal status based on demographic data, 2) laboratory protocols, and 3) determination of allele sizes, computation of R-values, and kinship classification. (DOCX)

VBA code for within-population simulations. VBA code and sample data in Microsoft Excel for within-population simulations. (XLSM)

VBA code for within-group simulations. VBA code and sample data in Microsoft Excel for within-group simulations. (XLSM)

A primary objective of molecular phylogenetics is to use molecular data to elucidate the evolutionary history of living organisms. Dr. Morris Goodman founded the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution as a forum where scientists could further our knowledge about the tree of life, and he recognized that the inference of species trees is a fir...

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##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: CLC Genomics Workbench v. 5.5 Sequencing Technology :: Illumina ##Assembly-Data-END##

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##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: CLC Genomics Workbench v. 5.5 Sequencing Technology :: Illumina ##Assembly-Data-END##

Phylogenetic relationships among Asian and African colobine genera have been disputed and are not yet well established. In the present study, we revisit the contentious relationships within the Asian and African Colobinae by analyzing 44 nuclear non-coding genes (>23 kb) and mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences from 14 colobine and 4 non-colobine pr...

Bayesian trees of the individual nuclear non-coding genes. PPs are presented above nodes. (TIF)

Detailed information of the 44 non-coding genes used in the present study. (DOC)

Comparison of phylogenetic performance of mt genes between our study and previous studies. (DOC)

Bayesian trees of the mt datasets (1)–(4). PPs are shown above nodes. Since the resulting tree topologies for the 13 combined protein-coding gene data set differ among the MP/Bayesian/PhyloBayes/ML analyses, trees from all four reconstructions are shown. BS values are shown above nodes. (TIF)

Bayesian trees of the individual mt genes. PPs are shown above nodes. (TIF)

The universal long-range PCR primer information used for mt genome amplif