1
|
Falótico T, Valença T, Verderane MP, Santana BC, Sirianni G. Mapping nut-cracking in a new population of wild capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) at Ubajara National Park, Brazil. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23595. [PMID: 38224002 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23595] [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: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Populations of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) vary in their tool use behaviors, with some of this divergence regarded as culturally determined. The use of stone tools, primarily to crack open encased foods, is widespread among bearded capuchins living in dry habitats (Caatinga and Cerrado). Significant diversity in targets, processed foods, material, and size of tools is observed across populations. However, so far, only a few sites have been systematically studied, and we are still distant from a representative picture of the range of variation in capuchins' culture. In this study, we did a systematic assessment of stone tool use sites in the Ubajara National Park (UNP), in the Caatinga region of Ceará, Brazil, recording and measuring stone tools, processed foods, and available lithic resources as part of an extensive comparative research, the CapCult project. We found indirect and direct evidence that capuchin monkeys at UNP customarily use hammerstones and anvils to process at least two species of palm nuts, macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) and the harder babaçu (Attalea speciosa). Most of the anvils were rock surfaces and had leftovers of only one palm nut species. The hammerstones used to process both palm nuts were not significantly different in weight, although the ones used for Ac. aculeata were longer. We found a higher frequency of nut-cracking sites in the drier lowland area of the park, reflecting differences in the density of the most common palm species, Ac. aculeata, and availability of raw stone material. The stone tool use observed in UNP is within the scope of previously reported in savannah capuchin populations. Our study widens the knowledge of stone tool-use diversity in wild capuchin monkeys, which could contribute to shaping conservation policy, including cultural traits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Falótico
- School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Capcult Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tatiane Valença
- School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Capcult Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Michele P Verderane
- Capcult Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Beatriz C Santana
- School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Giulia Sirianni
- Department of Ancient World Studies, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (ISTC, CNR), Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
|
3
|
Truppa V, Sabbatini G, Izar P, Fragaszy DM, Visalberghi E. Anticipating future actions: Motor planning improves with age in wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13077. [PMID: 33342007 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Self-directed object manipulation tasks illuminate development of motor planning. Grasping strategies that lead to good object control to perform the following action(s) reveal second-order motor planning. Motor planning for efficient grips develops slowly in children. Age-related differences in other primates have been poorly investigated. Here, we investigated anticipatory motor planning of infant, juvenile and adult wild capuchin monkeys grasping a horizontally positioned stick baited to the left or right side (a version of the elevated spoon task). We recorded the grasps capuchins used to bring the baited end of the stick to the mouth. The percentage of efficient radial grips positively correlated with age and adults used efficient grips significantly more frequently than infants. Adult wild capuchins' use of radial grips was higher than that reported for adult captive capuchins in similar tasks, suggesting that experience throughout life may influence motor anticipation. Self-directed object manipulation tasks will be useful to compare this aspect of cognition across primates. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/a1Zbr_AQkb8.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Truppa
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Gloria Sabbatini
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Patricia Izar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Elisabetta Visalberghi
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Visalberghi E, Barca V, Izar P, Fragaszy D, Truppa V. Optional tool use: The case of wild bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus) cracking cashew nuts by biting or by using percussors. Am J Primatol 2020; 83:e23221. [PMID: 33300618 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Tool use in humans can be optional, that is, the same person can use different tools or no tool to achieve a given goal. Strategies to reach the same goal may differ across individuals and cultures and at the intra-individual level. This is the first experimental study at the intra-individual level on the optional use of a tool in wild nonhuman primates. We investigated optional tool use by wild bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus) of Fazenda Boa Vista (FBV; Piauí, Brazil). These monkeys habitually succeed in cracking open the mesocarp of dry cashew nuts (Anacardium spp.) by pounding them with stones and/or by biting. We assessed whether availability of a stone and resistance of the nut affected capuchins' choice to pound or to bite the nuts and their rates of success. Sixteen capuchins (1-16 years) received small and large dry cashew nuts by an anvil together with a stone (Stone condition) or without a stone (No-Stone condition). In the Stone conditions, subjects used it to crack the nut in 89.1% (large nuts) and 90.1% (small nut) of the trials. Nut size significantly affected the number of strikes used to open it. Availability of the stone significantly increased the average percent of success. In the No-Stone conditions, monkeys searched for and used other percussors to crack the nuts in 54% of trials. In all conditions, age affects percentage of success and number of strikes to reach success. We argue that exclusive use of stones in other sites may be due to the higher abundance of stones at these sites compared with FBV. Since capuchins opened cashews with a tool 1-2 years earlier than they succeed at cracking more resistant palm nuts, we suggest that success at opening cashew nuts with percussors may support the monkeys' persistent efforts to crack palm nuts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Visalberghi
- National Research Council, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Rome, Italy
| | - Virginia Barca
- National Research Council, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Rome, Italy.,Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Università di Roma Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Patricia Izar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Dorothy Fragaszy
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Valentina Truppa
- National Research Council, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Shimelmitz R, Groman-Yaroslavski I, Weinstein-Evron M, Rosenberg D. A Middle Pleistocene abrading tool from Tabun Cave, Israel: A search for the roots of abrading technology in human evolution. J Hum Evol 2020; 150:102909. [PMID: 33276308 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
During the reanalysis of the finds from Jelinek's and Ronen's excavations at Tabun Cave, Israel, we encountered a cobble bearing traces of mechanical alterations similar to those recorded on grinding tools. However, the artifact derives from the early layers of the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex of the late Lower Paleolithic (ca. 350 ka), a time with no evidence for grinding or abrasion. Accordingly, we sought to determine whether the traces on the artifact can be attributed to purposeful human action. We conducted a detailed use-wear analysis of the cobble and implemented an experimental program, gaining positive results for the hypothesis of purposeful human practice. We argue that the significance and novelty of early abrading technology is that it marks a new mode of raw material manipulation-one that is categorically different from other modes of tool use observed among earlier hominins or other primates and animals. Throughout the Early Pleistocene, use of stone tools was associated with vertical motions (battering, pounding, striking) or with the application of a thin or narrow working edge, leveled at cutting or scraping. Conversely, abrading consists in applying a wide working surface in a continuous sequence of horizontal motions, geared to modify or reduce the surfaces of a targeted material. The emergence of this technology joins additional behavioral changes recently identified and attributed to the Middle Pleistocene, illustrating the growing and diversifying capabilities of early hominins to harness technology to shape their environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ron Shimelmitz
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Research, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498838, Israel.
| | - Iris Groman-Yaroslavski
- The Use-Wear Analysis Laboratory, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Mina Weinstein-Evron
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Research, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Danny Rosenberg
- Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, 199 Abba Khousy Ave. Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498898, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Das S, David RC, Anand A, Harikumar S, Rajan R, Singh M. Use of an embedded fruit by Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis umbrosus: II. Demographic influences on choices of coconuts Cocos nucifera and pattern of forays to palm plantations. JOURNAL OF THREATENED TAXA 2020. [DOI: 10.11609/jott.6510.12.11.16407-16423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive pressures of human-induced rapid environmental changes and insular ecological conditions have led to behavioral innovations among behaviorally flexible nonhuman primates. Documenting long-term responses of threatened populations is vital for our understanding of species and location-specific adaptive capacities under fluctuating equilibrium. The Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis umbrosus, an insular sub-species uses coconuts Cocos nucifera, an embedded cultivar as a food resource and is speculated to have enhanced its dependence as a result of anthropogenic and environmental alterations. We explored demographic patterns of use and abandonment of different phenophases of fresh coconuts. To study crop foraging strategies, we recorded daily entry and duration of forays into coconut plantations. We divided age-classes into early juvenile (13–36 months), late juvenile (37–72 months), and adults (>72 months) and classified phenophase of coconuts into six types. Consistent with the theory of life history strategies, late juveniles were found to use a greater number of coconuts, which was considerably higher in an urban troop but marginally higher in a forest-plantation dwelling group. Except in late juveniles, males consumed a higher number of coconuts than females in the remaining age-classes. Owing to developmental constraints, juveniles of both types used higher proportion of immature coconuts though adults showed equitable distribution across phenophases. Pattern of entries to plantations and duration of forays were uniform through the day in the urban troop but modulatory in the forest-plantation group, perhaps due to frequent and hostile human interferences. Observations corroborating adaptations to anthropogenic disturbances are described.
Collapse
|
7
|
Truppa V, Marino LA, Izar P, Fragaszy DM, Visalberghi E. Manual skills for processing plant underground storage organs by wild bearded capuchins. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 170:48-64. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Truppa
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and TechnologiesNational Research Council (CNR) Rome Italy
| | - Luca A. Marino
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and TechnologiesNational Research Council (CNR) Rome Italy
- Department of SciencesRoma Tre University Rome Italy
| | - Patricia Izar
- Department of Experimental PsychologyUniversity of São Paulo São Paulo Brazil
| | | | - Elisabetta Visalberghi
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and TechnologiesNational Research Council (CNR) Rome Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Howard A, Mainali K, Fagan WF, Visalberghi E, Izar P, Jones C, Fragaszy D. Foraging and inter‐individual distances of bearded capuchin monkeys. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22900. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Allison Howard
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgia
- Department of BiologyUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMaryland
| | - Kumar Mainali
- Department of BiologyUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMaryland
| | | | | | - Patrícia Izar
- Department of Experimental PsychologyUniversity of São PauloSão PauloBrazil
| | - Caroline Jones
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgia
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Falótico T, Coutinho PHM, Bueno CQ, Rufo HP, Ottoni EB. Stone tool use by wild capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) at Serra das Confusões National Park, Brazil. Primates 2018; 59:385-394. [PMID: 29550951 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0660-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) are proficient tool users, and the use of stone tools occurs in several populations, mostly to crack open encased foods. Two well-studied Brazilian populations of Sapajus libidinosus inhabit Fazenda Boa Vista and Serra da Capivara National Park and present different behavioral sets regarding tool use. Serra das Confusões National Park (SCoNP) lies between those sites, but little is known about the capuchin monkey population that lives there. To begin unraveling the capuchin behavior in this area, we conducted a brief survey for tool use sites. We found indirect evidence that capuchin monkeys at SCoNP use stone hammers to crack open at least four species of seeds and fruits. Plant reproductive parts there are processed with stone tools in a similar pattern to the other sites. Further study is needed to directly observe tool use by capuchin monkeys at SCoNP, verify the occurrence of other possible types of tool use in this population, and thus fully compare their tool use repertoire to that of other populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Falótico
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721, Bloco F, Sala 2, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil.
- Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Paulo Henrique M Coutinho
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721, Bloco F, Sala 2, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil
| | - Carolina Q Bueno
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721, Bloco F, Sala 2, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil
| | - Henrique P Rufo
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721, Bloco F, Sala 2, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil
| | - Eduardo B Ottoni
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721, Bloco F, Sala 2, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
|
11
|
Carducci P, Schwing R, Huber L, Truppa V. Tactile information improves visual object discrimination in kea, Nestor notabilis, and capuchin monkeys, Sapajus spp. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
12
|
Abstract
Stone tools reveal worldwide innovations in human behaviour over the past three million years [1]. However, the only archaeological report of pre-modern non-human animal tool use comes from three Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) sites in Côte d'Ivoire, aged between 4.3 and 1.3 thousand years ago (kya) [2]. This anthropocentrism limits our comparative insight into the emergence and development of technology, weakening our evolutionary models [3]. Here, we apply archaeological techniques to a distinctive stone tool assemblage created by a non-human animal in the New World, the Brazilian bearded capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus). Wild capuchins at Serra da Capivara National Park (SCNP) use stones to pound open defended food, including locally indigenous cashew nuts [4], and we demonstrate that this activity dates back at least 600 to 700 years. Capuchin stone hammers and anvils are therefore the oldest non-human tools known outside of Africa, opening up to scientific scrutiny questions on the origins and spread of tool use in New World monkeys, and the mechanisms - social, ecological and cognitive - that support primate technological evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Haslam
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
| | - Lydia V Luncz
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Richard A Staff
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Fiona Bradshaw
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Eduardo B Ottoni
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-030, Brazil
| | - Tiago Falótico
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK; Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-030, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Falótico T, Luncz LV, Svensson MS, Haslam M. Cashew Nut Positioning during Stone Tool Use by Wild Bearded Capuchin Monkeys ( Sapajus libidinosus). Folia Primatol (Basel) 2017; 87:392-397. [DOI: 10.1159/000459621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
14
|
Falótico T, Spagnoletti N, Haslam M, Luncz LV, Malaivijitnond S, Gumert M. Analysis of sea almond (Terminalia catappa
) cracking sites used by wild Burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea
). Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Revised: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Falótico
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; University of Oxford; Oxford United Kingdom
- Institute of Psychology; University of São Paulo; São Paulo Brazil
| | - Noemi Spagnoletti
- Institute of Psychology; University of São Paulo; São Paulo Brazil
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Rome Italy
| | - Michael Haslam
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; University of Oxford; Oxford United Kingdom
| | - Lydia V. Luncz
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; University of Oxford; Oxford United Kingdom
| | - Suchinda Malaivijitnond
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok Thailand
- National Primate Research Center of Thailand; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok Thailand
| | - Michael Gumert
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art; University of Oxford; Oxford United Kingdom
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok Thailand
- Division of Psychology; School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Nanyang Technological University; Singapore Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
|
16
|
Wild capuchin monkeys adjust stone tools according to changing nut properties. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33089. [PMID: 27624672 PMCID: PMC5021971 DOI: 10.1038/srep33089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals foraging in their natural environments need to be proficient at recognizing and responding to changes in food targets that affect accessibility or pose a risk. Wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) use stone tools to access a variety of nut species, including otherwise inaccessible foods. This study tests whether wild capuchins from Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil adjust their tool selection when processing cashew (Anacardium spp.) nuts. During the ripening process of cashew nuts, the amount of caustic defensive substance in the nut mesocarp decreases. We conducted field experiments to test whether capuchins adapt their stone hammer selection to changing properties of the target nut, using stones of different weights and two maturation stages of cashew nuts. The results show that although fresh nuts are easier to crack, capuchin monkeys used larger stone tools to open them, which may help the monkeys avoid contact with the caustic hazard in fresh nuts. We demonstrate that capuchin monkeys are actively able to distinguish between the maturation stages within one nut species, and to adapt their foraging behaviour accordingly.
Collapse
|
17
|
Growing up tough: Comparing the effects of food toughness on juvenile feeding in Sapajus libidinosus and Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus. J Hum Evol 2016; 98:76-89. [PMID: 27544691 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2014] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Studies of primate feeding ontogeny provide equivocal support for reduced juvenile proficiency. When immatures exhibit decreased feeding competency, these differences are attributed to a spectrum of experience- and strength-related constraints and are often linked to qualitative assessments of food difficulty. However, few have investigated age-related differences in feeding ability relative to mechanical property variation across the diet, both within and among food types. In this study, we combined dietary toughness and feeding behavior data collected in the wild from cross-sectional samples of two primate taxa, Sapajus libidinosus and Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus, to test the prediction that small-bodied juveniles are less efficient at processing tough foods than adults. We defined feeding efficiency as the time spent to ingest and masticate one food item (item bout length) and quantified the toughness and size of foods processed during those feeding bouts. To make the datasets comparable, we limited the dataset to foods processed by more than one age class and opened without tools. The overall toughness of foods processed by both species overlapped considerably, and juveniles and adults in both taxa processed foods of comparable toughness. Feeding efficiency decreased in response to increasing food toughness in leaf monkeys and in response to food size in both taxa. Age was found to be a significant predictor of bout length in leaf monkeys, but not in bearded capuchins. Juvenile S. libidinosus processed smaller fruits than adults, suggesting they employ behavioral strategies to mitigate the effect of consuming large (and occasionally large and tough) foods. We suggest future intra- and interspecific research of juvenile feeding competency utilize intake rates scaled by food size and geometry, as well as by detailed measures of feeding time (e.g., ingestion vs. mastication), in addition to food mechanical properties to facilitate comparisons across diverse food types and feeding behaviors.
Collapse
|
18
|
Falótico T, Inaba A, McGrew WC, Ottoni EB. Vertical bipedal locomotion in wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). Primates 2016; 57:533-40. [PMID: 27153820 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0542-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 04/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
When carrying objects, nonhuman primates often show bipedal locomotion. Studies of primate bipedality, however, in both nature and captivity, have concentrated on locomotion on horizontal substrates, either terrestrially or arboreally. No observational or experimental study seems to have looked at non-horizontal bipedality, yet we show here that it occurs often in nature in Sapajus libidinosus, the bearded capuchin monkey. The context is transport of small food items from source to site of consumption, in which the monkeys usually carry handfuls of maize kernels over several meters' distance, both on the ground and in the trees. Most impressively, over a fifth of such bouts are done vertically, when the tree trunk is fully upright. Such vertical bipedality, with or without transport, apparently has not been reported before.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Falótico
- Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721 - Bloco F - Sala 2, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil. .,RLAHA, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
| | - Agumi Inaba
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK
| | - William C McGrew
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK
| | - Eduardo B Ottoni
- Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 1721 - Bloco F - Sala 2, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Visalberghi E, Sirianni G, Fragaszy D, Boesch C. Percussive tool use by Taï Western chimpanzees and Fazenda Boa Vista bearded capuchin monkeys: a comparison. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140351. [PMID: 26483529 PMCID: PMC4614714 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Percussive tool use holds special interest for scientists concerned with human origins. We summarize the findings from two field sites, Taï and Fazenda Boa Vista, where percussive tool use by chimpanzees and bearded capuchins, respectively, has been extensively investigated. We describe the ecological settings in which nut-cracking occurs and focus on four aspects of nut-cracking that have important cognitive implications, namely selection of tools, tool transport, tool modification and modulation of actions to reach the goal of cracking the nut. We comment on similarities and differences in behaviour and consider whether the observed differences reflect ecological, morphological, social and/or cognitive factors. Both species are sensitive to physical properties of tools, adjust their selection of hammers conditionally to the resistance of the nuts and to transport distance, and modulate the energy of their strikes under some conditions. However, chimpanzees transport hammers more frequently and for longer distances, take into account a higher number of combinations of variables and occasionally intentionally modify tools. A parsimonious interpretation of our findings is that morphological, ecological and social factors account for the observed differences. Confirmation of plausible cognitive differences in nut-cracking requires data not yet available.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Visalberghi
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 00197 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Sirianni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dorothy Fragaszy
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| |
Collapse
|