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Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.

ABSTRACT: Nest-building orangutans must daily build safe and comfortable nest structures in the forest canopy and do this quickly and effectively using the branches that surround them. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical design and architecture of orangutan nests and determine the degree of technical sophistication used in their construction. We measured the whole nest compliance and the thickness of the branches used and recorded the ways in which the branches were fractured. Branch samples were also collected from the nests and subjected to three-point bending tests to determine their mechanical properties. We demonstrated that the center of the nest is more compliant than the edges; this may add extra comfort and safety to the structure. During construction orangutans use the fact that branches only break half-way across in "greenstick" fracture to weave the main nest structure. They choose thicker branches with greater rigidity and strength to build the main structure in this way. They then detach thinner branches by following greenstick fracture with a twisting action to make the lining. These results suggest that orangutans exhibit a degree of technical knowledge and choice in the construction of nests.

SUBMITTER: van Casteren A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3344992 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.

van Casteren Adam A Sellers William I WI Thorpe Susannah K S SK Coward Sam S Crompton Robin H RH Myatt Julia P JP Ennos A Roland AR

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20120416 18

Nest-building orangutans must daily build safe and comfortable nest structures in the forest canopy and do this quickly and effectively using the branches that surround them. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical design and architecture of orangutan nests and determine the degree of technical sophistication used in their construction. We measured the whole nest compliance and the thickness of the branches used and recorded the ways in which the branches were fractured. Branch samples we ...[more]

PMID: 22509022

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Project description:In bi-parentally built nests, there is evidence to suggest that nests are extended phenotypic signals that accurately indicate the quality of the building parent/s. Raptors often use a variety of materials to build their nests (natural, such as branches, but also non-natural objects), presumably due to their insulating properties, their suitability to advertise occupancy of the nest, and to decrease pathogen and parasite loads. However, in raptors where both sexes collaborate in nest construction, it is unclear whether nest building (taking the amount of material carried to the nest as the potential predictor) is an indicator of parental quality, and whether the effort expended by both sexes could constitute an honest signal of parental quality to their partners. Between 2011 and 2016, we monitored 16 nests of Bonelli's Eagles (Aquila fasciata), and we examined data on sex, type of material brought to the nest, breeding experience, nest quality, timing, and nest-building investment prior to egg-laying from 32 identifiable Bonelli's Eagles during the pre-laying period to investigate the relative contribution of the sexes to the amount of nest material gathered. Our results indicate that sex is not a determining factor in nest-building effort, and that females did not increase their parental effort in response to the male's contribution, and supply of materials did not increase during the pre-laying period. In contrast, our models showed that: (1) the type of material supplied to the nest by both sexes varied significantly throughout the pre-laying period and (2) nest-building effort was determined by individual experience and nest quality. Therefore, our study suggests that male nest-building behaviour and investment by Bonelli's Eagles cannot be considered as an extended phenotypic signal. The differential use of hard and green material by both sexes in the early and late stages of nest-building period, and the fact that the more experienced individuals contributed a larger amount of material on low quality nests, are discussed in the contexts of signaling nest occupancy to conspecifics and competitors and the decrease of ectoparasite loads during the pre-laying period.

Project description:BackgroundNon-intubated thoracoscopic surgery can be performed under sedation using adjuvant regional anesthesia, however, the benefits of non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery under sedation have not yet been completely verified. In this study, we compare the perioperative safety and pain complaints of sedation without intubation in thoracoscopic bullectomy with that of conventional general anesthesia with double-lumen intubation and mechanical ventilation.MethodsForty-one patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax who were scheduled for thoracoscopic bullectomy were enrolled in this study. Twenty-one patients were under sedation anesthesia (SA group) and 20 patients were under general anesthesia (GA group). In SA group, sedation was done with dexmedetomidine (a loading dose of 1 µg/kg for 10 min and then maintained in dosages of 0.3-1 µg/kg/h) and ketamine (2-4 mg/kg/h intraoperatively). Meanwhile, in GA group, induction with propofol and rocuronium, intubation with double lumen endotracheal tube and maintenance with 1.0-2.5% sevoflurane was done. In both groups, thoracoscopic bullectomy was performed in the same manner and all operations were conducted by single surgeon. Time for anesthesia [including emergence time and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) recovery time] and operation, postoperative pain, sore throat, hoarseness, adverse events (nausea, vomiting, hypotension and bradycardia), dose of rescue analgesic drug used for 24 hours post-operatively and perioperative arterial blood gas analysis were recorded.ResultsThe times for anesthesia, operation and emergence were significantly shorter in SA than GA. Incidence of sore throat were significantly lower in SA. The difference of other adverse events in the two groups was not significant.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that compared to double-lumen intubation with general anesthesia, non-intubation with sedation for bullectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax was safe and efficient to reduce perioperative time.

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Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.

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Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.

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