Biomedical subjects

Shiro Kohshima

Publications and source records attributed to Shiro Kohshima.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Sleep behaviour: sleep in continuously active dolphins.

Sleep has been assumed to be necessary for development and to be a vital function in mammals and other animals. However, Lyamin et al. claim that in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and killer whales (Orcinus orca), neonates and their mothers show almost no sleep behaviour for the first month after birth; this conclusion is based on their observation that the cetaceans keep swimming, avoid obstacles and rarely close their eyes for 24 hours a day throughout that period. Here we analyse the behaviour and eye closure of three neonate-mother pairs of bottlenose dolphins and find that, although the animals tend to open both eyes when surfacing to breathe, one or both eyes are closed during 'swim rest', an underwater sleeping behaviour that is associated with continuous activity. This observation calls into question the conclusions of Lyamin et al., who overlooked this type of sleep by analysing the animals' eye state only when they surfaced to breathe.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Laterality of flipper rubbing behaviour in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus): caused by asymmetry of eye use?

To determine whether wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) at Mikura Island, Japan, show asymmetry of eye or flipper use during a social behaviour, we investigated the laterality of flipper-to-body (F-B) rubbing, in which one dolphin ("rubber") rubs the body of another ("rubbee") with its flipper. We analysed 382 episodes of video-recorded F-B rubbings performed by identified individuals (N=111 rubbers). F-B rubbing was conducted significantly more frequently with the left flipper than with the right flipper. The duration of F-B rubbings was also significantly longer with the left flipper than with the right flipper. Of 20 dolphins, nine individuals showed significant left-side bias as the rubber in this behaviour, whereas no dolphins showed significant right-side bias. The results indicate a population-level left-side bias of the rubber in F-B rubbing. An analysis of the swimming configurations during this behaviour suggests that the asymmetry in F-B rubbing was caused not only by the laterality of the rubber, but by a preference for use of the left eye in both dolphins during this behaviour. Dolphins used the left eye significantly more frequently than the right eye during the inquisitive behaviour, while they showed no significant bias in flipper use during the object-carrying behaviour. These facts also suggest that the asymmetry of F-B rubbing is caused by the preference for using the left eye. Significant left-side bias was observed only in F-B rubbings initiated by the rubbee, in which the rubbee determined its position during this behaviour. This suggests that this behavioural asymmetry was enhanced by the rubbees choosing the left side of the rubber to ensure better and longer rubs.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Developmental changes in the facial morphology of the Borneo orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus): possible signals in visual communication.

Orangutans display remarkable developmental changes and sexual differences in facial morphology, such as the flanges or cheek-pads that develop only on the face of dominant adult males. These changes suggest that facial morphology is an important factor in visual communication. However, developmental changes in facial morphology have not been examined in detail. We studied developmental changes in the facial morphology of the Borneo orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) by observing 79 individuals of various ages living in the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC) in Malaysia and in Japanese zoos. We also analyzed photographs of one captive male that were taken over a period of more than 16 years. There were clear morphological changes that occurred with growth, and we identified previously unreported sexual and developmental differences in facial morphology. Light-colored skin around the eyes and mouth is most prominent in animals younger than 3 years, and rapidly decreases in area through the age of approximately 7 years. At the same time, the scattered, erect hairs on the head (infant hair) become thick, dense hairs lying on the head (adult hair) in both sexes. The results suggest that these features are infant signals, and that adult signals may include darkened face color, adult hair, whiskers, and a beard, which begin to develop after the age of approximately 7 years in both sexes. In females, the eyelids remain white even after 10 years, and turn black at around the age of 20; in males, the eyelids turn black before the age of 10. The whiskers and beards of adults are thicker in males than in females, and are fully developed before the age of 10 in males, while they begin to develop in females only after approximately 20 years. White eyelids and undeveloped whiskers and beards may be visual signals that are indicative of young adult females. Our results also show that the facial morphology of the unflanged male is similar to that of the adult female, although it has also been pointed out that unflanged males resemble younger individuals.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Seasonal change in bacterial flora and biomass in mountain snow from the Tateyama Mountains, Japan, analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and real-time PCR.

The bacterial flora and biomass in mountain snow from the Tateyama Mountains, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, one of the heaviest snowfall regions in the world, were analyzed by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and DNA quantification by real-time PCR. Samples of surface snow collected in various months during the melting season contained a psychrophilic bacterium, Cryobacterium psychrophilum, and two psychrotrophic bacteria, Variovorax paradoxus and Janthinobacterium lividum. Bacterial colonies that developed in an in situ meltwater medium at 4 degrees C were revealed to be V. paradoxus. The biomasses of C. psychrophilum, J. lividum, and V. paradoxus, as estimated by real-time PCR, showed large increases during the melting season from March to October (2.0 x 10(5)-fold, 1.5 x 10(5)-fold, and 1.0 x 10(4)-fold increases, respectively), suggesting their rapid growth in the surface snow. The biomasses of C. psychrophilum and J. lividum increased significantly from March to April, reached a maximum in August, and dropped at the end of the melting season. In contrast, the biomass of V. paradoxus did not increase as rapidly during the early melting season but continued to increase from June until October. The differences in development observed among these bacterial species suggest that their growth was promoted by different nutrients and/or environmental conditions in the snow. Since these three types of bacteria have also been reported to be present in a glacier in Antarctica and a Greenland ice core, they seem to be specialized members of the snow biota that are distributed in snow and ice environments in various parts of the world.

Bacteria↗

PubMed2003

Resting behaviors of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

In order to specify the resting behaviors in captive bottlenose dolphin, we quantitatively analyzed behavior of 16 dolphins in three aquariums in Japan. We observed their behaviors in the low-activity time (0 a.m.-3 a.m.), assuming that the resting behaviors would be most prominent and abundant at this time. We analyzed these behaviors based on the data of their diurnal activity rhythm that we have clarified by measuring swimming speed and breath frequency. The behavior patterns characteristic to the low-activity time could be categorized into the following three types: "bottom-rest" characterized by long immobile stay on the tank bottom, "surface-rest" characterized by long immobile stay at the water surface, and "swim-rest" characterized by slow circle-swim near the bottom along a fixed trajectory. During these behaviors, breath frequency was significantly lower than the daily mean and at least one eye tended to be closed. These three behaviors accounted for 86.6% of the total observation time in the low-activity time. The resting behaviors were often observed even in the high-activity time (0 p.m.-4 p.m.); these three behaviors accounted for 38.5% of the total observation time in the high-activity time. In swim-rest, frequency of sound emission was significantly lower than that of other behaviors with high-speed swimming, and both eyes or one eye, especially the eye facing the inner side of the swimming circle tended to be closed. The eye condition and the periodical change of circle-swim direction or position-exchange observed during swim-rest suggest a relation between this behavior and unihemispheric sleep. The change in the resting behavior observed in the dolphins under nervous situations suggests that the dolphins flexibly change the type and the quantity of the resting behaviors according to the situation.

Activity Cycles↗