There are 122 mammal species in Japan, and 37 of them are bats. Especially, the species of genus Pteropus have big body size and the ability to fly hundreds of kilometers and have important roles in pollination and seed dispersal. The Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) is one of the Pteropus species in Japan, distributed in the Ryukyu archipelago, Taiwan, and possibly the Philippines, and is divided into 5 subspecies. Although they are listed as VU (vulnerable) in IUCN Red List, few genetic analyses have been conducted for their conservation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate genetic diversity and investigate the genetic structure of Yaeyama flying fox, one of the subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox. We conducted mtDNA haplotype analysis and microsatellite analysis with the 18 markers we developed.mtDNA analysis was conducted with the samples collected in 8 islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Kuroshima, Hateruma, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni) We identified 39 haplotypes in 526bp of the control region of 142 samples. 14 haplotypes were shared between some islands, and haplotype network for the 8 islands did not show any clear genetic structure. However, haplotype diversity was higher in Ishigaki and Iriomote compared to other islands, and some haplotypes were only found in particular islands, so there might be some genetic structure which could not be revealed by mtDNA analysis.Therefore, we also conducted microsatellite analysis with 155 samples collected in 6 islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni). As a result of genetic diversity analysis, PCoA, STRUCTURE, and calculation of Fst, Yonaguni (the west end of the distribution area) population showed clear genetic differentiation from other populations, low genetic diversity, and a high inbreeding level. Ishigaki, Kohama, Taketomi, and Iriomote (the center of the distribution area) populations had gene flow between them and high genetic diversity. Miyako (the east end of the distribution area) population showed slight genetic differentiation and had the middle level of genetic diversity. Gene flow between Ishigaki and Miyako through islands between them might be preventing inbreeding of Miyako population.We revealed genetic diversity, and genetic differentiation and gene flow between islands of Yaeyama flying fox for the first time. These results will be useful for setting

The Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) is distributed throughout the island chain spanning across southern Japan, Taiwan, and possibly the Philippines. Although P. dasymallus is listed as VU (vulnerable) in the IUCN Red List, only few genetic works have been conducted to support its conservation. In this study we analyzed 19 markers (mtDNA haplotypes and 18 microsatellite markers) to evaluate genetic diversity and investigate the genetic structure of this species. mtDNA analysis was conducted with 142 DNA remote samples, mostly from faeces, and wing tissues collected on eight islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Kuroshima, Hateruma, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni). 39 haplotypes were identified in 526bp of the control region, and haplotype network showed no clear genetic structure. Microsatellite analysis was also conducted with 155 samples collected on six islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni). It showed that the Yonaguni population exhibits low genetic diversity, high inbreeding, and clear genetic differentiation from other populations. Gene flow between Ishigaki and Miyako through small stepstone islands might be preventing inbreeding of the Miyako population. We provide for the first time indirect proof of long-distance inter-island dispersal in the Ryukyu flying fox and revealed genetic diversity, gene flow and genetic differentiation among the archipelago’s populations. These results will be useful for delineating conservation units and designing specific conservation policies for each island based on metapopulation genetic structure.

The field of environmental enrichment has grown considerably, but most enrichment is still focused on tasks where highly valued food rewards are directly visible. We designed a device which would instead make use of knowledge states, motivational structure, and physical reasoning skills and could use hidden, low‐quality food items while remaining low in cost. Food items were hidden in small cardboard tubes and placed snugly inside another, larger, tube such that they were difficult to extract and presented a challenging dexterity and physical reasoning task. Rare favored food items were distributed so animals would be rewarded at irregular intervals. The devices were then presented to two groups of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who either had experience extracting food from identical small cardboard tubes or had no such experience. We found that the chimpanzees with no prior experience with the small tubes used the device very little until one individual removed a small tube, revealing the food inside, at which point use time significantly increased. In the knowledgeable group, no change was observed after the first tube retrieval. Individuals in both groups used the devices for over 20 min each on average over a 1‐h observation period, and in both facilities at least one device still contained all inner tubes. Our study suggests that enrichment can make use of animals' prior knowledge, that enrichment devices can thus be layered into one another, and reiterates the importance of considering animals' psychology in designing enrichment.