of the Zoological Society of San Diego ap- pointed a Research Director for the newly formed Institute for Comparative Biology. By way of a National Science Foundation Special Facilities Grant, laboratory furniture and in- struments have been purchased and installed for four major laboratories in the fields of: I. General physiology and pathology; 2. Com- parative neurophysiology ; 3 . Toxicology; and, 4. Biochemistry. At the time of writing (June 1963) the physical unit is complete, and can house twenty scientists. Formal investi- gations are now starting for the most part supported by grants,

Any and all exhibits of the San Diego Zoological Carden are being made available for research.

At first, papers resulting from investigations at the new htitute wdl appear in appropriate scientific journals and references will be placed in subsequent papers published in the Inter- national Zoo Yearbook.

What contributions to our knowledge of comparative biology can we expect to come out of these unique laboratories in zoological gardens? What special animal adaptations can we discover, the outcome of the unusual en- vironments of the 2,000 or more species com- monly exhibited in zoological gardens - fish, reptiles and amphbians, birds and mammals? The fields of investigation are well defined - anatomy and histology, gross and microscopic pathology, physiology, morphology, bio- chemistry, genetics and behaviour, together with their many divisions. It would be pre- sumptuous to attempt to forecast the many special problems within these disciplines. However, various examples come to mind: New hosts for known viruses and vice versa; blind carriers of pathogens for domestic animals and man - protozoa, rickettsiae, viruses and bacteria; discovery of species of animals suitable for laboratory research in domestic animal and human disease; the prob- lem why some lands in Africa support fat zebra and antelope on which domestic cattle starve; the question of what phenomena are involved in the initiation and maintenance of hiberna- tion and what brings about the re-institution of normal active life processes after extended periods of quiescence; and many others.

Although much stress will be placed on

molecular and theoretical biology, as suggested by Lawrence Penner, PhD, a Scripps Foun- dation Fellow at San Diego 1940-50-60. research must include continuing studies in natural history to pave the way.

The following titles of research projects indicate areas whch San Diego’s Institute for Comparative Biology will explore initially :

Comparative Biochemistry of milk. Biochemical Changes Associated with

Cellular Excitation. Comparative Neurovascular Reactions to

Injury. Comparative Study of Blood Coagulation

and Fibrinolysis. We look forward with high hope and great anticipation to the findings of the dedicated scientists who will staff the newly formed research units in comparative biology through- out the world.

RESEARCH I N T O ANIMAL REPRODUCTION AT L O N D O N

AS reported in previous volumes of the Year- book, the Zoological Society of London received a large grant from the Ford Founda- tion to endow Research Fellowships and Studentships, in order that a systematic pro- gramme of research in animal breedmg could be undertaken. Laboratories for this and other research work sponsored by the Society will become available in 1964 when the Wellcome Institute of Comparative Physiology, now being built beside the animal hospital, will be completed. In the meantime it has been ar- ranged that the Research Fellows and Students who were appointed in 1961 should work in the laboratories of other institutions.

The Senior Research Fellow, Dr I. W. Rowlands, has worked throughout the year at the Agricultural Research Council Institute of Animal Physiology at Babraham, Cambridge and at the Royal Veterinary College, London. In collaboration with Drs R. M. C. Dawson and T. W. Scott at Babraham, Dr Rowlands has investigated the concentration of various phospholipids in exudates from different portions ofthe epdidymis ofthe rat to discover whether any biochemical change can be de- tected in the spermatozoa during the time

they acquire their fertilizing capacity, which takes place during their passage through this organ. He has also investigated the mechanism underlying the regulation of luted activity in guinea-pigs (Cavia porcella) in collaboration with Dr J. S. Perry. The results have indicated that the growth and maintenance of the corpus luteum is not dependent on a pituitary Fteo- trophin. This work will be continued at Babraham.

Further surveys have been made of the population of the Bank vole, (Clethrioriomys glareolus) and the Long-tailed field mouse (Apademus sylvatictrs) on Skomer Island by Dr P. A. Jewel1 and Mr P. Fullagar, and a start has been made on the histological study of the material collected on Skomer during 1961-2. A small colony of laboratory-bred Skomer voles has been established at Babraham. This colony will eventually be brought to London to be studied alongside colonies of Long-tailed field mice and the Yellow-necked moiise (A.$avicollis) which are now being maintained by Dr Jewel1 at the Royal Veterinary College. A number of regional varieties, includmg island forms of A. syl twt inrs, have been cross- bred and full records are being kept in order to provide material for comparative stu&es on growth and breedq.

Dr Jewel1 has also continued with his studies into the biology of Soay sheep on St IGlda. in addition, he has visited several African game reserves to observe large mammals in their natural environment.

Dr D. R. S. Kirby’s work at the Department of Zoology, Oxford, on the invasive capacity of the mammalian trophoblast has led to attempts to determine the way in whch t h ~ s structure destroys various inter-uterine host tissues, and the factors which control the rate and extent of the invasive processes associated with the implantation of the embryo. Dr Kirby has also been observing the growth of extra-embryonic membranes, especially the yolk-sac, of conceptuses transplanted to the abdominal cavity. He has shown that the yo&-sac continued to grow and expand in the absence of a li’ving embryo or placenta. Pre- liminary experiments have indicated that the yolk-sac grown in this way is able to carry out the active transport of ions. Ions are trans- ported across this membrane.

Dr G. H. Manley has been working in Regent‘s Park on reproductive behaviour in the lower primates. Despite difficulties in ob- taining a supply of animals for this work, and also of keeping some of them alive and healthy, pro ress has been made in the comparative stu P y of reproductive and allied behaviour in this group. Attention has been concentratcd upon the Lorisoidea and Tupaia ‘qlis, with additional material collected from lemur species. The sexual and social behaviour pat- terns, urination and agonistic responses pro- vide considerable evidence of a more or less close relationship between lorisoid species. Copulation has been observed in several species and changes in the external genitalia and behaviour associated with oestrous cycles are being closely followed.

Dr A. D. Woodhead at the Fisheries Laboratory, Lowestoft, has been studying various aspects of reproduction in fishes and, in particular, the cod. She has also extended her studies to include the relation of the thyroid gland to reproduction in some elasmo- branchs, particularly the Spurdog. In these animals, in contrast to teleosts, the thyroid is a discrete gland and its weight provides a good measure of its activity. A marked fall in weight of the gland occurred in December to January, when the pups are shed. Quantitative histo- logical studies of the gland showed that at h s time the thyroid appears exhausted. The thyroids of pregnant Spurdogs were also examincd. Gestation in this species lasts two years and, in general, the thyroid of Spurdogs in their second year of pregnancy was more active, suggesting a link between this gland and the process of reproduction. A marked seasonal cycle, which did not appear to be directly related to reproduction, also occurred in the thyroids in all females. It is thought that part of &IS cycle of activity is related to migration, as has been found in the Arctic cod (Cadus morrhua). Initial studies on the foetal thyroids indicate that they do not reflect the changes occurring in the thyroid of a pregnant female.

Previous observations made by Dr Wood- head on the growth and reproductive capacity in Siamese fighting fish (Betla splendens) have been analysed and used to compare with new data.

Dr G. Clough h a s c h g e d the subject ofhis dissertation at Cambridge to a study of repro- duction of the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amph ibius) .

Mr D. B. A. Symons, working at the Royal Veterinary College, has been unable to obtain a regular supply of semen to carry out his ori- ginal programme ofwork on the morphology of cat spermatozoa; the project was aban- doned after four months. An investigation of the location of hyaluronidase in mammalian spermatozoausing Coon's fluorescent antibody techque was substituted.

Dr Lorna Kellas has resigned her Fellow- ship to take up a lectureship in histology at the University of Liverpool.

BLOOD GROUPS IN ANTHROPOID APES

by J. Schmitt Scientific Assistant,

Zoologischen Garten Frankfurt/Main, G-Y

W I T H I N thelast two years we have carried out in co-operation with Spielmann and Weber some serological investigations on wild mam- mals in captivity, especially on primates. First we have examined the question of whether human blood is transfusible into anthropoid apesl, and in addition the question of sero- logical relationship between the Lesser chim- panzee (Pan paniscus Schwarz 1929) and other hominoideaz. Recently we have investigated the blood group distribution in anthropoid apesa.4,6. Now we can report the results of our present work on anthropoid ape blood groups based on the papers published up to now and OUT own investigations in thirty-five anthro- poid apes.

A B O B L O O D G R O U P D I S T R I B U T I O N

A survey is given in the table below. Among the anthropoid apes, the chimpan-

zee is by far the most frequently examined for A B O groups. There are 163 cases, ofwhich 143 are acceptable. The serological group A was found in 123 individuals (= 86 per cent) and o in the remaining 20 ( = 1 4 per cent). The Receptor B has not yet been established.

In the Lesser chimpanzees we only know six results. Butts (1953) examining one individual gave an A diagnosis. We 2.6 have found in four of five individuals the antigen A , while the fifth was 0. So the blood group reactions ofthe Lesser chimpanzee observed so far are corres- ponding to those of the chimpanzee.

The results of serological investigations in thirty-three Lowland gorillas also give only a narrow basis for a valid judgement; ten results are not acceptable on account of the incom- plete methods of investigations. In all of the acceptable twenty-three cases a d i k e antigen was found, in eight cases by examining blood and in the remaining fifteen by urine-in- hibition tests.

In the Mountain gorilla only two results are present to our knowledge (Candela, 1940) . The author examined urine and claimed to have found blood group substance A.

In the thirty-four orangutans examined so far the serological group A, B +d A B have been found, each in a third of cases. The receptor o has not yet been established. Should this recep- tor be totally lacking in this species, a fact which cannot be concluded because of the small number of investigations, then one would expect a higher percentage of A B indi- viduals (ca. 50 per cent).

MN-FACTORS

h the chimpanzee and Lesser chimpanzee an

Species

Pan satyrus Pan paniscus Gorilla g . gorilfa Corilla 2. bm'ngei Pongo pygmaeus

Results Blood group distribution Total acceptabfe AB

- - - -

I2 I1 34 I I I I