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Whitehouse J, Clark PR, Robinson RL, Rees K, O’Callaghan O, Kimock CM, Witham CL, Waller BM. Facial expressivity in dominant macaques is linked to group cohesion. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240984. [PMID: 39013427 PMCID: PMC11251757 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0984] [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: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Social living affords primates (including humans) many benefits. Communication has been proposed to be the key mechanism used to bond social connections, which could explain why primates have evolved such expressive faces. We assessed whether the facial expressivity of the dominant male (quantified from the coding of anatomically based facial movement) was related to social network properties (based on social proximity and grooming) in nine groups of captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) housed in uniform physical and social environments. More facially expressive dominant male macaques were more socially connected and had more cohesive social groups. These findings show that inter-individual differences in facial expressivity are related to differential social outcomes at both an individual and group level. More expressive individuals occupy more beneficial social positions, which could help explain the selection for complex facial communication in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Whitehouse
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
| | - P. R. Clark
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, LincolnLN6 7TS, UK
| | - R. L. Robinson
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
| | - K. Rees
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
| | - O. O’Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
| | - C. M. Kimock
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
| | - C. L. Witham
- Centre for Macaques, Medical Research Council, SalisburySP4 0JQ, UK
| | - B. M. Waller
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, NottinghamNG1 4FQ, UK
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2
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Delaunay A, Cossu-Doye O, Roura-Torres B, Sauvadet L, Ngoubangoye B, Huchard E, Charpentier MJE. An early-life challenge: becoming an older sibling in wild mandrills. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240597. [PMID: 39050716 PMCID: PMC11265912 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
In monotocous mammals, most individuals experience the birth of a younger sibling. This period may induce losses in maternal care and can be physiologically, energetically and emotionally challenging for the older sibling, yet has rarely been studied in wild primates. We used behavioural data collected from a natural population of mandrills to investigate changes in maternal care and mother-juvenile relationship throughout the transition to siblinghood (TTS), by comparing juveniles who recently experienced the birth of a younger sibling, to juveniles who did not. We found that the TTS was associated with an abrupt cessation of the weaning process for the juvenile, and to a decrease in maternal affiliation. Juveniles' reactions were sex-specific, as males associated less with their mother, while females tended to groom their mother more often after the birth of their sibling. Despite the substantial loss of maternal care, juveniles did not show an increase in conflict or anxiety-related behaviours. This study contributes to explain why short interbirth intervals often pose a risk to juveniles' survival in monotocous primates. Our results contrast existing studies and further highlight the importance of examining the TTS in species and populations with various life histories and ecologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axelle Delaunay
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Océane Cossu-Doye
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Berta Roura-Torres
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute of Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenback, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Elise Huchard
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Marie J. E. Charpentier
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestrasse 5, Konstanz78467, Germany
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King AG, Rissling T, Cote S, Sicotte P. All together now: Assessing variation in maternal and nonmaternal handling of wild Colobus vellerosus infants. Am J Primatol 2024:e23629. [PMID: 38654439 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23629] [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: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Primatologists have a long-standing interest in the study of maternal care and nonmaternal handling (NH) of infants stemming from recognition that early social relationships can have enduring consequences. Though maternal care and NH often include expression of similar behaviors, they are regularly studied in isolation from each other with nonoverlapping terminology, thereby overlooking possible interplay between them and obfuscating potential developmental ramifications that ensue from trade-offs made between maternal (MH) and NH during infancy. To that end, identifying how MH and NH patterns interact and contribute to the total handling (TH) infants receive is a critical first step. We present durational handling data collected from 25 wild Colobus vellerosus infants from 2016 to 2017 and assess the relationships between TH, MH, and NH. Patterns of social affiliation are shaped in part by surrounding context, and therefore, we also assess whether NH and TH differ in their responsivity to various infant and social group characteristics. Ninety-four percent of observed handling was MH, while just 5.5% was NH. Young infants who received more MH (excluding nursing) also received more NH; there was no relationship between the two in older infants. Infants in larger groups participated in more handling of all types. Additionally, NH time was associated with infant sex and group stability. Non-nursing TH time was associated with group stability and infant cohort size. Though NH variation likely confers social-networking advantage, in this population NH is not a major contributor to TH and would not effectively replace reduced MH. The positive association between MH and NH during early infancy suggests that colobus mothers may play a mediating role in shaping infant socialization. This is a first step in elucidating how different forms of handling relate to one another in wild primates and in identifying the impact of handling on infant socialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyson G King
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Tianna Rissling
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susanne Cote
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Pascale Sicotte
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Amici F, Liebal K, Ersson-Lembeck M, Holodynski M. A longitudinal comparison of maternal behaviour in German urban humans (Homo sapiens) and captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Sci Rep 2024; 14:1517. [PMID: 38233560 PMCID: PMC10794219 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51999-4] [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: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Comparative perspectives are crucial in the study of human development, yet longitudinal comparisons of humans and other primates are still relatively uncommon. Here, we combined theoretical frameworks from cross-cultural and comparative psychology, to study maternal style in 10 mother-infant pairs of German urban humans (Homo sapiens) and 10 mother-infant pairs of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), during the first year of infants' development. We conducted focal observations of different behaviours (i.e. nursing, carrying, body contact, touching, grooming, restraining, approaching, leaving, rejection, aggression, mutual gaze, object stimulation), during natural interactions. Analyses revealed a more distal maternal style in WEIRD humans than in captive chimpanzees, with different behaviours being generally more common in one of the two species throughout development. For other behaviours (i.e. nursing), developmental trajectories differed between WEIRD humans and captive chimpanzees, although differences generally decreased through infants' development. Overall, our study confirms functional approaches as a valid tool for comparative longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Amici
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Human Biology & Primate Cognition, Leipzig University, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Katja Liebal
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Human Biology & Primate Cognition, Leipzig University, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Education and Psychology, Comparative Developmental Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Manuela Ersson-Lembeck
- Department of Education and Psychology, Comparative Developmental Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Manfred Holodynski
- Faculty of Psychology/Sport and Exercise Studies, Institute for Psychology in Education, University of Münster, Fliednerstrasse 21, 48149, Münster, Germany
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5
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Lange EC, Griffin M, Fogel AS, Archie EA, Tung J, Alberts SC. Environmental, sex-specific and genetic determinants of infant social behaviour in a wild primate. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231597. [PMID: 37964524 PMCID: PMC10646456 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1597] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Affiliative social bonds are linked to fitness components in many social mammals. However, despite their importance, little is known about how the tendency to form social bonds develops in young animals, or if the timing of development is heritable and thus can evolve. Using four decades of longitudinal observational data from a wild baboon population, we assessed the environmental determinants of an important social developmental milestone in baboons-the age at which a young animal first grooms a conspecific-and we assessed how the rates at which offspring groom their mothers develops during the juvenile period. We found that grooming development differs between the sexes: female infants groom at an earlier age and reach equal rates of grooming with their mother earlier than males. We also found that age at first grooming for both sexes is weakly heritable (h2 = 0.043, 95% CI: 0.002-0.110). These results show that sex differences in grooming emerge at a young age; that strong, equitable social relationships between mothers and daughters begin very early in life; and that age at first grooming is heritable and therefore can be shaped by natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C. Lange
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY, USA
| | | | - Arielle S. Fogel
- University Program in Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Archie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susan C. Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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6
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Patterson SK, Andonov E, Arre AM, Martínez MI, Negron-Del Valle JE, Petersen RM, Phillips D, Rahman A, Ruiz-Lambides A, Villanueva I, Lea AJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJ, Higham JP. Early life adversity has sex-dependent effects on survival across the lifespan in rhesus macaques. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.30.555589. [PMID: 37693423 PMCID: PMC10491187 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.555589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to adversity during early life is linked to lasting detrimental effects on evolutionary fitness across many taxa. However, due to the challenges of collecting longitudinal data, especially in species where one sex disperses, direct evidence from long-lived species remains relatively scarce. Here we test the effects of early life adversity on male and female longevity in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. We leveraged six decades of data to quantify the relative importance of ten forms of early life adversity for 6,599 macaques (3,230 male, 3,369 female), with a smaller sample size (N=299) for one form of adversity (maternal social isolation) which required high-resolution behavioral data. We found that individuals who experienced more early life adversity died earlier than those who experienced less adversity. Mortality risk was highest during early life, defined as birth to four years old, suggesting acute survival effects of adversity, but heightened mortality risk was also present in macaques who survived to adulthood. Females and males were affected differently by some forms of adversity, and these differences might be driven by varying energetic demands, female philopatry, and male dispersal. By leveraging data on thousands of macaques collected over decades, our results show that the fitness consequences of early life adversity are not uniform across individuals but vary as a function of the type of adversity, timing, and social context, and thus contribute to our limited but growing understanding of the evolution of early life sensitivities in long-lived species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ella Andonov
- High School of American Studies at Lehman College, New York City
| | - Alyssa M. Arre
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | - Melween I. Martínez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | | | | | | | | | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico
| | | | - Amanda J. Lea
- Department of Biological Science, Vanderbilt University
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Study, Toronto, Canada
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University
- School of Life Sciences and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University
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7
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Soben C, Llorente M, Villariezo P, Liebal K, Amici F. Maternal Investment Fosters Male but Not Female Social Interactions with Other Group Members in Immature Wild Spider Monkeys ( Ateles geoffroyi). Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1802. [PMID: 37889718 PMCID: PMC10251948 DOI: 10.3390/ani13111802] [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: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In several species, individuals form long-lasting social relationships with other group members, which provide them with important fitness benefits. In primates, patterns of social relationships are known to differ between sexes, but little is known about how these differences emerge through development or the role that mothers might have in this process. Here, we investigated how sex differences in social behaviour emerge during the first six years of primate life and how sex-biased maternal investment can foster immatures' social development and social interaction with other group members. For this purpose, we observed 20 males and females aged between zero and six years in a wild group of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) that was male-philopatric and, therefore, expected to show sex-biased maternal investment. Our results showed no sex difference in the social development of offspring with regards to body contact and grooming, but the probability of play was rather constant throughout age for females, whereas, for males, it became higher than females around two years of age, peaking between three and four years of age. Moreover, we found differences between female and male immatures in the importance of maternal investment (which included the time mothers spent nursing, carrying, grooming, touching and playing with their offspring) for their social integration in the natal group. In particular, maternal investment increased the probability of playing with other group members for sons, but not for daughters. Our findings suggest that mothers, through sex-biased maternal investment, might have a crucial function in the social development of spider monkeys, fostering the abilities that young offspring need to thrive as adults. By shedding light on maternal investment and social development in a still understudied primate species, these findings contribute to understanding the evolutionary roots of human maternal care and social development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Soben
- Fundació UdG: Innovació i Formació, Universitat de Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Miquel Llorente
- Fundació UdG: Innovació i Formació, Universitat de Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain
- Departament de Psicologia, Facultat d’Educació i Psicologia, Universitat de Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Paula Villariezo
- Fundació UdG: Innovació i Formació, Universitat de Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Katja Liebal
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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8
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Roatti V, Cowlishaw G, Huchard E, Carter A. Social network inheritance and differentiation in wild baboons. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230219. [PMID: 37234491 PMCID: PMC10206475 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Immatures' social development may be fundamental to understand important biological processes, such as social information transmission through groups, that can vary with age and sex. Our aim was to determine how social networks change with age and differ between sexes in wild immature baboons, group-living primates that readily learn socially. Our results show that immature baboons inherited their mothers' networks and differentiated from them as they aged, increasing their association with partners of similar age and the same sex. Males were less bonded to their matriline and became more peripheral with age compared to females. Our results may pave the way to further studies testing a new hypothetical framework: in female-philopatric societies, social information transmission may be constrained at the matrilineal level by age- and sex-driven social clustering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Roatti
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Elise Huchard
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Alecia Carter
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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9
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Ishizuka S, Inoue E. Sex-Specific Effects of Juvenile Offspring on their Mothers’ Social Relationships with Other Females in Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Shodoshima Island. INT J PRIMATOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-023-00355-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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10
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Castellano-Navarro A, Beltrán Francés V, Albiach-Serrano A, MacIntosh AJJ, Illa Maulany R, Ngakan PO, Liebal K, Amici F. Maternal and offspring behavior in free-ranging Japanese and moor macaques: A comparative approach. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23461. [PMID: 36575833 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Female primates represent the most important social partner for their developing offspring. However, mothers may strongly differ in the way they relate to their offspring (e.g., in terms of two different dimensions: protectiveness and rejection). In this study, we aimed to assess how dominance style predicts (i) changes in maternal behavior through offspring development, and (ii) the link between maternal behavior and offspring behavior. We conducted behavioral observations on 34 free-ranging immatures of two species of macaques with different dominance styles: less tolerant Japanese macaques (JM; Macaca fuscata) and more tolerant moor macaques (MM; Macaca maura). Our results showed that maternal behavior differed between JM and MM: maternal proximity and grooming decreased through offspring development more quickly in MM than in JM, whereas maternal rejection and aggression, which were generally more frequent in JM, decreased with offspring age similarly in both species. In contrast, maternal restraint of offspring decreased similarly with offspring age in both species. Furthermore, dominance style was differentially associated with the link between maternal and offspring behavior: in MM only, maternal grooming predicted an increase of the probability that offspring interacted with partners other than their mothers and engaged in solitary play, whereas maternal rejection predicted a decrease in the occurrence of solitary play. Overall, these results suggest interspecific variation in maternal behavior during offspring's first years of life, and point to the possibility that these differences may have an important role in shaping their behavioral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Castellano-Navarro
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,Ethology and Animal Welfare Section, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Valencia, Spain
| | - Víctor Beltrán Francés
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,Fundació UdG: Innovació i Formació, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Anna Albiach-Serrano
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Section, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Valencia, Spain
| | - Andrew J J MacIntosh
- Department of Ecology and Social Behavior, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan.,Department of Conservation and Animal Welfare Science, Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Risma Illa Maulany
- Department of Forestry, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Putu O Ngakan
- Department of Forestry, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Katja Liebal
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Malalaharivony HS, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. Infant Development and Maternal Care in Wild Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00255-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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12
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Invasive Research on Non-Human Primates-Time to Turn the Page. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11102999. [PMID: 34680019 PMCID: PMC8532895 DOI: 10.3390/ani11102999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Despite increasing ethical concerns, primates are still often used in invasive research (i.e., laboratory research that causes body manipulations causing them pain or distress and not aimed at directly improving their well-being). Here, we will review previous studies showing that primates have complex behaviour and cognition, and that they suffer long-term consequences after being used in invasive research. We will discuss the ethical problems that invasive research on primates posit, the legal protection that they are, to date, granted in different countries, and summarize the past and current attempts to ban this kind of research on primates. We will conclude why, in our opinion, invasive research on primates should be banned, and non-invasive methods should be considered the only possible approach to the study of primates. Abstract Invasive research on primates (i.e., laboratory research that implies body manipulations causing pain or distress that is not aimed to directly improve the individuals’ well-being) has a long history. Although some invasive studies have allowed answering research questions that we could not have addressed with other methods (or at least not as quickly), the use of primates in invasive research also raises ethical concerns. In this review, we will discuss (i) recent advances in the study of primates that show evidence of complex behaviour and cognition, (ii) welfare issues that might arise when using primates in invasive research, (iii) the main ethical issues that have been raised about invasive research on primates, (iv) the legal protection that primates are granted in several countries, with a special focus on the principle of the 3Rs, and (v) previous and current attempts to ban the use of primates in invasive research. Based on this analysis, we suggest that the importance of a research question cannot justify the costs of invasive research on primates, and that non-invasive methods should be considered the only possible approach in the study of primates.
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13
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Male care in a free-ranging group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Primates 2021; 62:971-980. [PMID: 34546459 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00948-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Among the Macaca species, adult male Japanese macaques are the least likely to perform male care (i.e., affiliative interactions between adult males and immatures, including holding, carrying, and grooming); however, they perform male care for infants, albeit infrequently. We examined 17 cases of male care observed for the first time when the immature was younger than 1 year of age. Eleven of the 31 adult males who remained as central males during the 30-year observation period performed male care. Their age and dominance rank did not influence the occurrence of male care. Most cases were first recorded between the last part of the mating season and the first part of the birth season (January-March), whereas male care was rarely observed during the mating season (October-December). In 12 of the 17 cases, male care ceased within 6 months after the first observation, whereas in the remaining cases, it continued for at least 1 year. In 15 of the 17 cases, males tended to perform male care for matrilineally unrelated female infants of low-ranking mothers. In some cases, the male and infant mother showed grooming interactions for 6 months both before and after the start of male care, whereas such grooming interactions were never recorded either before or after the start of male care in other cases. We also examined some hypotheses on male-immature associations and the probable benefits that males and infants might acquire through male care.
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Holzner A, Balasubramaniam KN, Weiß BM, Ruppert N, Widdig A. Oil palm cultivation critically affects sociality in a threatened Malaysian primate. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10353. [PMID: 33990658 PMCID: PMC8121792 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89783-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Human-induced habitat alterations globally threaten animal populations, often evoking complex behavioural responses in wildlife. This may be particularly dramatic when negatively affecting social behaviour, which fundamentally determines individual fitness and offspring survival in group-living animals. Here, we provide first evidence for significant behavioural modifications in sociality of southern pig-tailed macaques visiting Malaysian oil palm plantations in search of food despite elevated predation risk. Specifically, we found critical reductions of key positive social interactions but higher rates of aggression in the plantation interior compared to the plantation edge (i.e. plantation areas bordering the forest) and the forest. At the plantation edge, affiliation even increased compared to the forest, while central positions in the macaques' social network structure shifted from high-ranking adult females and immatures to low-ranking individuals. Further, plantations also affected mother-infant relationships, with macaque mothers being more protective in the open plantation environment. We suggest that although primates can temporarily persist in human-altered habitats, their ability to permanently adapt requires the presence of close-by forest and comes with a trade-off in sociality, potentially hampering individual fitness and infant survival. Studies like ours remain critical for understanding species' adaptability to anthropogenic landscapes, which may ultimately contribute to facilitating their coexistence with humans and preserving biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Holzner
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Krishna N Balasubramaniam
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Brigitte M Weiß
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nadine Ruppert
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
- Malaysian Primatological Society, 09000, Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia.
| | - Anja Widdig
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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Ryan AM, Murai T, Lau AR, Hogrefe CE, McAllister AK, Carter CS, Bauman MD. New approaches to quantify social development in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): Integrating eye tracking with traditional assessments of social behavior. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:950-962. [PMID: 32666534 PMCID: PMC8754470 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The nonhuman primate provides a sophisticated animal model system both to explore neurobiological mechanisms underlying complex behaviors and to facilitate preclinical research for neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disease. A better understanding of evolutionarily conserved behaviors and brain processes between humans and nonhuman primates will be needed to successfully apply recently released NIMH guidelines (NOT-MH-19-053) for conducting rigorous nonhuman primate neurobehavioral research. Here, we explore the relationship between two measures of social behavior that can be used in both humans and nonhuman primates-traditional observations of social interactions with conspecifics and eye gaze detection in response to social stimuli. Infant male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) serving as controls (N = 14) for an ongoing study were observed in their social rearing groups and participated in a noninvasive, longitudinal eye-tracking study. We found significant positive relationships between time spent viewing eyes of faces in an eye tracker and number of initiations made for social interactions with peers that is consistent with similar observations in human populations. Although future studies are needed to determine if this relationship represents species-typical social developmental processes, these preliminary results provide a novel framework to explore the relationship between social interactions and social attention in nonhuman primate models for neurobehavioral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy M. Ryan
- The UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
- California National Primate Research Center, Osaka, Japan
| | | | - Allison R. Lau
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
- California National Primate Research Center, Osaka, Japan
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis
| | | | | | - Cameron S. Carter
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
| | - Melissa D. Bauman
- The UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
- California National Primate Research Center, Osaka, Japan
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Beltrán Francés V, Castellano-Navarro A, Illa Maulany R, Ngakan PO, MacIntosh AJJ, Llorente M, Amici F. Play behavior in immature moor macaques (Macaca maura) and Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23192. [PMID: 32882065 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Play is widespread across mammalian taxa, but species strongly vary in the ways they play. In less despotic primate species (i.e., with less steep dominance hierarchies, less severe conflicts, and more reconciliation), play has been described as being more frequent, cooperative, and freely expressed. To study the link between social play and dominance style, we compared play behavior in free-ranging infants, juveniles and subadults of more despotic Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata, N = 24) and less despotic moor macaques (Macaca maura, N = 17). We found interspecific differences in play behavior that corresponded with the contrasting dominance styles of the study species, largely confirming our predictions. In particular, moor macaques spent a larger proportion of time in solitary and social play than Japanese macaques, while Japanese macaques spent a larger proportion of time in grooming interactions. In moor macaques, play sessions included more players, a larger variety of play behaviors, greater play face rates, a greater proportion of time in contact play, and a higher rate of reciprocal play-biting than in Japanese macaques. Aggressive escalations were not common, but more frequent in Japanese macaques. Finally, a higher frequency of play faces during play sessions predicted the occurrence of more reciprocal play-bites, but not the proportion of time spent in contact play behaviors. Additional studies on other groups and species will allow a better understanding of the link between dominance style and social play.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alba Castellano-Navarro
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Section, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Valencia, Spain
| | - Risma Illa Maulany
- Forestry Department, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Putu O Ngakan
- Forestry Department, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | | | - Miquel Llorente
- Facultat d'Educació i Psicologia, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain.,Unitat de Recerca i Etologia, Fundació Mona, Riudellots de la Selva, Spain.,Institut de Recerca i Estudis en Primatologia (IPRIM), Girona, Spain
| | - Federica Amici
- Research Group Primate Behavioral Ecology, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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17
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Sandel AA, Langergraber KE, Mitani JC. Adolescent male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) form social bonds with their brothers and others during the transition to adulthood. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23091. [PMID: 31903634 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Social relationships play an important role in animal behavior. Bonds with kin provide indirect fitness benefits, and those with nonkin may furnish direct benefits. Adult male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) exhibit social bonds with maternal brothers as well as unrelated adult males, facilitating cooperative behavior, but it is unclear when these bonds develop. Prior studies suggest that social bonds emerge during adolescence. Alternatively, bonds may develop during adulthood when male chimpanzees can gain fitness benefits through alliances used to compete for dominance status. To investigate these possibilities and to determine who formed bonds, we studied the social relationships of adolescent and young adult male chimpanzees (N = 18) at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Adolescent male chimpanzees displayed social bonds with other males, and they did so as often as did young adult males. Adolescent and young adult males frequently joined subgroups with old males. They spent time in proximity to and grooming with old males, although they also did so with their age peers. Controlling for age and age difference, males formed strong association and proximity relationships with their maternal brothers and grooming relationships with their fathers. Grooming bonds between chimpanzee fathers and their adolescent and young adult sons have not been documented before and are unexpected because female chimpanzees mate with multiple males. How fathers recognize their sons and vice versa remains unclear but may be due to familiarity created by relationships earlier in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron A Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.,Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Kevin E Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - John C Mitani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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