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Rufo HP, Ferreira LG, Ottoni EB, Falótico T. Toxic tasting: how capuchin monkeys avoid grasshoppers' chemical defenses. Primates 2024:10.1007/s10329-024-01133-9. [PMID: 38795206 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-024-01133-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/27/2024]
Abstract
Platyrrhines consume many species of arthropods in the order Orthoptera. Some species of orthopterans can produce chemical defenses that render them toxic or unpalatable and thus act as predator deterrents. These species include the stick grasshoppers (family Proscopiidae), which are widely distributed in the Caatinga biome in northeastern Brazil, which comprises part of the distribution of capuchin monkeys. Capuchin monkeys are omnivores and consume a wide variety of foods, including unpleasant-tasting, potentially toxic items, which they need to learn how to process. We describe the processing of stick grasshoppers (Stiphra sp.) by wild capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) that live in Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil, and compare how individuals of different age classes handle these potentially toxic food items. S. libidinosus predominantly avoided consuming the digestive tract, which contains toxic compounds, when feeding on stick grasshoppers. Immatures took longer than adults to process the stick grasshoppers, indicating that capuchins need to learn how to process the toxic digestive tract of these prey to avoid consuming it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrique P Rufo
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luiza G Ferreira
- School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Eduardo B Ottoni
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tiago Falótico
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil.
- School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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Valença T, Oliveira Affonço G, Falótico T. Wild capuchin monkeys use stones and sticks to access underground food. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10415. [PMID: 38710945 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Primates employ different tools and techniques to overcome the challenges of obtaining underground food resources. Humans and chimpanzees are known to tackle this problem with stick tools and one population of capuchin monkeys habitually uses stone tools. Although early hominids could have used stones as digging tools, we know little about when and how these could be useful. Here, we report a second primate population observed using stone tools and the first capuchin monkey population to habitually use the 'stick-probing' technique for obtaining underground resources. The bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) from Ubajara National Park, Brazil, use 'hands-only' and 'stone-digging' techniques for extracting underground storage organs and trapdoor spiders. Males also use 'stick-probing' and 'stone-stick' techniques for capturing trapdoor spiders. Tool use does not increase success in obtaining these resources. Stone-digging is less frequent in this population than in the only other known population that uses this technique. Females use stones in a lower proportion of their digging episodes than males in both populations. Ecological and cultural factors potentially influence technique choice and sex differences within and between populations. This population has a different pattern of underground food exploration using tools. Comparing this population with others and exploring the ecological and cultural factors under which capuchin monkeys employ different tools and techniques will allow us to better understand the pressures that may have shaped the evolution of those behaviors in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiane Valença
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Gabriela Oliveira Affonço
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tiago Falótico
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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3
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Haslam M. Primate archaeology 3.1. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24919. [PMID: 38400816 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
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Goldsborough Z, Crofoot MC, Barrett BJ. Male-biased stone tool use by wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator). Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23594. [PMID: 38196199 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Tool-using primates often show sex differences in both the frequency and efficiency of tool use. In species with sex-biased dispersal, such within-group variation likely shapes patterns of cultural transmission of tool-use traditions between groups. On the Panamanian islands of Jicarón and Coiba, a population of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator)-some of which engage in habitual stone tool use-provide an opportunity to test hypotheses about why such sex-biases arise. On Jicarón, we have only observed males engaging in stone tool use, whereas on Coiba, both sexes are known to use tools. Using 5 years of camera trap data, we provide evidence that this variation likely reflects a sex difference in tool use rather than a sampling artifact, and then test hypotheses about the factors driving this pattern. Differences in physical ability or risk-aversion, and competition over access to anvils do not account for the sex-differences in tool-use we observe. Our data show that adult females are physically capable of stone tool use: adult females on Coiba and juveniles on Jicarón smaller than adult females regularly engage in tool use. Females also have ample opportunity to use tools: the sexes are equally terrestrial, and competition over anvils is low. Finally, females rarely scrounge on left-over food items either during or after tool-using events, suggesting they are not being provisioned by males. Although it remains unclear why adult white-faced capuchin females on Jicarón do not use stone-tools, our results illustrate that such sex biases in socially learned behaviors can arise even in the absence of obvious physical, environmental, and social constraints. This suggests that a much more nuanced understanding of the differences in social structure, diet, and dispersal patterns are needed to explain why sex-biases in tool use arise in some populations but not in others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Goldsborough
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Margaret C Crofoot
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Brendan J Barrett
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
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Salmi R, Le K, Silva JM, Conceição DP, Presotto A, Rodrigues Dos Santos R. Hand preference in wild crab-eating capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in the coastal area of Northest Brazil. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23546. [PMID: 37635447 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Handedness is a fundamental human trait, although recent research, especially on nonhuman primates, has shown that it is displayed by other animals as well (e.g., chimpanzees, gorillas). In this study, we explore hand preference in wild crab-eating tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) inhabiting a mangrove forest located on the coastal area of Northeast Brazil (Maranhão State). Tufted capuchin monkeys at our site use facultatively wooden tools to crack open crabs. We observed hand preference in 12 subjects who spontaneously participated in experiment sessions, in which we provided crabs and tools on wooden platforms. We recorded (using events and bouts) two unimanual tasks, (tool or crab) grabbing and (tool or crab) pounding, and one bimanual task, crab pulling, where one hand kept the crab in place while the other pulled off parts of the crab. Hand preference increased with greater strength needed to perform the task and its complexity. While only 17%-25% of capuchins showed hand preference during grabbing, 44%-64% showed hand preference during pounding, and most subjects 64%-80% displayed a right-hand preference when performing the bimanual task, for which all lateralized individuals were right-handed. Hand preference did not vary between adults and juvenile individuals and was not consistent across tasks. Group-level hand preference was found only for the bimanual task, for which all lateralized individuals were right-handed. Our findings are in concordance with those of other primate studies showing the emergence of hemispheric specialization for bimanual actions, highlight the importance of conducting such studies on diverse type of tasks, and show the feasibility to conduct experimental manipulation under natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Mangrove Primate Center, Maranhão State, Brazil
| | - Kristie Le
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Jardeani M Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brazil
| | - Daiana P Conceição
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brazil
| | - Andrea Presotto
- Mangrove Primate Center, Maranhão State, Brazil
- Department of Geography and Geosciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
| | - Ricardo Rodrigues Dos Santos
- Mangrove Primate Center, Maranhão State, Brazil
- Centro de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Sao Luis, Brazil
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6
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Testing artificial nestbox designs for in-situ conservation of tamarins. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Falótico T. Vertebrate Predation and Tool-Aided Capture of Prey by Savannah Wild Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00320-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Nagano A. Training of Motion Control May Not Improve Tool-Manipulation Ability in Rats (Rattus norvegicus). Front Psychol 2022; 13:931957. [PMID: 35911044 PMCID: PMC9326322 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.931957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent times, previous studies have reported the manipulation of tools by rats and degus in controlled experimental settings. However, a previous study reported that only one out of eight experimentally naïve rats could manipulate a rake-shaped tool according to the position of a food reward without prior experience of obtaining the reward with the tool before the test. The present study aimed to improve the training of rats and investigate rodents’ ability to manipulate tools according to food position. Stricter criteria were employed when training the rats to promote the rats’ monitoring of their own tool manipulation. Additional training was introduced to give them the opportunity to learn that the reward moved closer to them by pulling an object connected to the reward. The present study showed that only one of eight rats could manipulate a tool according to the position of the reward without prior experience of obtaining the reward with the tool or perceiving that part of the tool came in contact with the reward, as the previous study showed. The change in training did not enhance the rats’ tool-manipulation ability according to the food position. These procedures should be conducted in a wider variety of animals to investigate whether the training in motion control can promote the subjects’ effective tool-use behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akane Nagano
- Laboratory for Imagination and Executive Functions, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Japan
- *Correspondence: Akane Nagano,
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Harrison RA, van de Waal E. The unique potential of field research to understand primate social learning and cognition. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Motes-Rodrigo A, Tennie C. Captive great apes tend to innovate simple tool behaviors quickly. Am J Primatol 2021; 84:e23311. [PMID: 34339543 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have highlighted the important role that individual learning mechanisms and different forms of enhancenment play in the acquisition of novel behaviors by naïve individuals. A considerable subset of these studies has focused on tool innovation by our closest living relatives, the great apes, to better undestand the evolution of technology in our own lineage. To be able to isolate the role that individual learning plays in great ape tool innovation, researchers usually employ what are known as baseline tests. Although these baselines are commonly used in behavioral studies in captivity, the length of these tests in terms of number of trials and duration remains unstandarized across studies. To address this methodological issue, we conducted a literature review of great ape tool innovation studies conducted in zoological institutions and compiled various methodological data including the timing of innovation. Our literature review revealed an early innovation tendency in great apes, which was particularly pronounced when simple forms of tool use were investigated. In the majority of experiments where tool innovation took place, this occurred within the first trial and/or the first hour of testing. We discuss different possible sources of variation in the latency to innovate such as testing setup, species and task. We hope that our literature review helps researchers design more data-informed, resource-efficient experiments on tool innovation in our closest living relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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11
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Wild robust capuchin monkey interactions with sympatric primates. Primates 2021; 62:659-666. [PMID: 33948760 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00913-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Examining interactions among sympatric primate species can provide interesting information about competition, cooperation, and avoidance between those species. Those interactions can be neutral, positive, or negative for the species involved. Capuchin monkeys are medium-sized primates that can encounter both larger and smaller primates in their varied habitats. Gracile capuchins (Cebus) are reported to present different types of interactions with other primates. Interactions with howler monkeys frequently include physical aggression, while interactions with spider monkeys are mostly threats and chases. Moreover, interaction types are not consistent across populations. Among robust capuchins (Sapajus spp.), however, no reports have been published. Here we describe and classify encounters of Sapajus libidinosus and S. nigritus with Alouatta caraya, A. guariba, Brachyteles arachnoides, and Callithrix jacchus in three sites in the environments of Cerrado, Caatinga (savannah-like), and Atlantic forest, and compare the interaction patterns among sites and different group sizes. The latter is a factor that can influence the outcome, and we expected capuchins in larger groups to be more aggressive toward other primates. Our results of 8421 h of total contact with the capuchin groups show that, indeed, capuchins in sites with larger groups presented aggressive interactions with higher frequency. However, the other species' body size also seems important as smaller primates apparently avoided capuchins, and interactions with the larger muriquis were mostly neutral for the capuchin. Capuchins showed neutral or aggressive behaviors toward howler monkeys, with differences between the rainforest and savannah groups. We found that robust capuchins can present aggressive interactions even to primates larger than themselves and that aggressive behavior was the most common response in populations living in larger groups and drier environments.
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