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Law CJ, Tinker MT, Fujii JA, Nicholson T, Staedler M, Tomoleoni JA, Young C, Mehta RS. Tool use increases mechanical foraging success and tooth health in southern sea otters ( Enhydra lutris nereis). Science 2024; 384:798-802. [PMID: 38753790 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Although tool use may enhance resource utilization, its fitness benefits are difficult to measure. By examining longitudinal data from 196 radio-tagged southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), we found that tool-using individuals, particularly females, gained access to larger and/or harder-shelled prey. These mechanical advantages translated to reduced tooth damage during food processing. We also found that tool use diminishes trade-offs between access to different prey, tooth condition, and energy intake, all of which are dependent on the relative prey availability in the environment. Tool use allowed individuals to maintain energetic requirements through the processing of alternative prey that are typically inaccessible with biting alone, suggesting that this behavior is a necessity for the survival of some otters in environments where preferred prey are depleted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris J Law
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - M Tim Tinker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Nhydra Ecological Consulting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Joseph A Tomoleoni
- US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Colleen Young
- Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Rita S Mehta
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Pascual-Garrido A, Carvalho S, Almeida-Warren K. Primate archaeology 3.0. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24835. [PMID: 37671610 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
The new field of primate archaeology investigates the technological behavior and material record of nonhuman primates, providing valuable comparative data on our understanding of human technological evolution. Yet, paralleling hominin archaeology, the field is largely biased toward the analysis of lithic artifacts. While valuable comparative data have been gained through an examination of extant nonhuman primate tool use and its archaeological record, focusing on this one single aspect provides limited insights. It is therefore necessary to explore to what extent other non-technological activities, such as non-tool aided feeding, traveling, social behaviors or ritual displays, leave traces that could be detected in the archaeological record. Here we propose four new areas of investigation which we believe have been largely overlooked by primate archaeology and that are crucial to uncovering the full archaeological potential of the primate behavioral repertoire, including that of our own: (1) Plant technology; (2) Archaeology beyond technology; (3) Landscape archaeology; and (4) Primate cultural heritage. We discuss each theme in the context of the latest developments and challenges, as well as propose future directions. Developing a more "inclusive" primate archaeology will not only benefit the study of primate evolution in its own right but will aid conservation efforts by increasing our understanding of changes in primate-environment interactions over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Pascual-Garrido
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
| | - Katarina Almeida-Warren
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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Raubenheimer D, Hou R, Dong Y, Ren C, Cui Z. Towards an integrated understanding of dietary phenotypes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220545. [PMID: 37839453 PMCID: PMC10577033 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0545] [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: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Diet and nutrition comprise a complex, multi-faceted interface between animal biology and food environments. With accumulating information on the many facets of this association arises a need for systems-based approaches that integrate dietary components and their links with ecology, feeding, post-ingestive processes and the functional and ecological consequences of these interactions. We briefly show how a modelling approach, nutritional geometry, has used the experimental control afforded in laboratory studies to begin to unravel these links. Laboratory studies, however, have limited ability to establish whether and how the feeding and physiological mechanisms interface with realistic ecological environments. We next provide an overview of observational field studies of free-ranging primates that have examined this, producing largely correlative data suggesting that similar feeding mechanisms operate in the wild as in the laboratory. Significant challenges remain, however, in establishing causal links between feeding, resource variation and physiological processes in the wild. We end with a more detailed account of two studies of temperate primates that have capitalized on the discrete variation provided by seasonal environments to strengthen causal inference in field studies and link patterns of intake to dynamics of nutrient processing. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- Centre for Nutritional Ecology, Centre for Sport Nutrition and Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, People's Republic of China
| | - Rong Hou
- Shanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710069, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunlong Dong
- Centre for Nutritional Ecology, Centre for Sport Nutrition and Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, People's Republic of China
| | - Cuiru Ren
- Centre for Nutritional Ecology, Centre for Sport Nutrition and Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenwei Cui
- Centre for Nutritional Ecology, Centre for Sport Nutrition and Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, People's Republic of China
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Goldsborough Z, Crofoot MC, Alavi SE, Del Rosario-Vargas E, Garza SF, Tiedeman K, Barrett BJ. Coupling of coastal activity with tidal cycles is stronger in tool-using capuchins ( Cebus capucinus imitator). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230355. [PMID: 37736530 PMCID: PMC10509577 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial mammals exploiting coastal resources must cope with the challenge that resource availability and accessibility fluctuate with tidal cycles. Tool use can improve foraging efficiency and provide access to structurally protected resources that are otherwise unavailable (e.g. molluscs and fruits). To understand how variable accessibility of valuable resources shapes behavioural patterns, and whether tool use aids in the efficient exploitation of intertidal resources, we compared the relationship between tidal cycles and activity patterns of tool-using versus non-tool-using groups of white-faced capuchin monkeys on Jicarón Island in Coiba National Park, Panama. Although tool use on Jicarón is localized to a small stretch of coast (approx. 1 km), all coastal groups forage on intertidal resources. Using more than 5 years of camera trap data at varying distances from the coast, we found that capuchins on Jicarón showed increased coastal activity during specific parts of the tidal cycle, and that this relationship differed between tool-using and non-tool-using groups, as well as between seasons. Activity patterns of tool-using capuchins were more strongly and consistently tied to tidal cycles compared with non-tool-users, indicating that tool use might allow for more efficient exploitation of tidal resources. Our findings highlight the potential of tool use to aid niche expansion.
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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
| | - Shauhin E. Alavi
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | - Sylvia F. Garza
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kate Tiedeman
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - 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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Fragaszy DM, Aiempichitkijkarn N, Eshchar Y, Mangalam M, Izar P, Resende B, Visalberghi E. The development of expertise at cracking palm nuts by wild bearded capuchin monkeys, Sapajus libidinosus. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Koops K. Animal behavior: Monkeys use tools for diet quality, not quantity. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1037-R1039. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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