1
|
Leca JB. Towards a three-level neo-Tinbergenian approach to object play: Structure, causes and consequences of a behavioral puzzle. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105290. [PMID: 37348665 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
My main goal in this paper is to propose a reformulation of foundational models in behavioral research, including Tinbergen's (1963) well-known four levels of analysis (namely, ontogenetic, mechanistic, functional, and evolutionary questions) and Mayr's (1961) dichotomy between proximate and ultimate causations. After critically evaluating these influential but problematic models, I present a three-level neo-Tinbergenian approach to behavior that considers the triadic integration of behavioral causes, structure, and consequences along a single temporal continuum. I then argue that object-directed play is a good candidate behavior to apply this new paradigm by presenting significant examples of the combined analysis of at least two of these three levels. Finally, I show how stone handling, a form of culturally-transmitted object play in macaques, is perfectly amenable to this unified three-level explanatory framework. My proposed approach fits recent theoretical and empirical advances in behavioral biology, has a heuristic value, and may provide numerous benefits to a range of behavioral scientists.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, AB, Canada; School of Natural and Engineering Sciences National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sciaky L, Gunst N, Wandia IN, Leca JB. Dyadic response facilitation of object play in Balinese long-tailed macaques. Behav Processes 2022; 203:104765. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
3
|
Do bumble bees play? Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
4
|
Mechanisms of expression of object play: A comparative study of stone handling in two captive groups of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis). Behav Processes 2022; 203:104774. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
|
5
|
Cenni C, Christie JBA, Van der Pant Y, Gunst N, Vasey PL, Wandia IN, Leca J. Do monkeys use sex toys? Evidence of stone tool‐assisted masturbation in free‐ranging long‐tailed macaques. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Cenni
- Department of Psychology University of Lethbridge Lethbridge Alberta Canada
| | | | - Yanni Van der Pant
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience University of St. Andrews St. Andrews UK
| | - Noëlle Gunst
- Department of Psychology University of Lethbridge Lethbridge Alberta Canada
| | - Paul L. Vasey
- Department of Psychology University of Lethbridge Lethbridge Alberta Canada
| | - I Nengah Wandia
- Primate Research Center Udayana University Denpasar Bali Indonesia
| | - Jean‐Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology University of Lethbridge Lethbridge Alberta Canada
- School of Natural and Engineering Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies Bangalore India
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gunst N, Leca JB, Vasey PL. When males have females on their backs: Male's tolerance, solicitation, and use of female-male mounting in Japanese macaques. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23395. [PMID: 35612539 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23395] [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: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Previous research on Japanese macaques has shown that female-to-male mounting (FMM) is performed by some females as an exaggerated form of sexual solicitation that may occur in the context of high female competition for male mates. This supernormal courtship behavior functions to prompt subsequent male-to-female mounting. In this report, we focused on the male consort partners' responses to FMM. We studied a free-ranging population of Japanese macaques at Arashiyama, Japan, in which FMM is frequent and prevalent. We analyzed 240 consortships involving 31 females and 19 males. We tested three hypotheses regarding male's tolerance, solicitation, and use of FMM. First, we found that FMM was tolerated by male mountees who were no more likely to aggress their female partners during a short time window around a FMM than they were during the rest of the consortship period. Second, we showed that FMM could be triggered by male recipients, via explicit male-to-female sexual solicitations. Third, we found that some males may utilize FMM in a quest for their own sexual stimulation, which sometimes culminated in masturbation by the male during FMM. Our findings indicate that male partners facilitate the expression of FMM both passively (via their tolerance) and actively (via their solicitation). In addition, FMM appears to enhance the sexual arousal of male partners during consortships. We argued that, for females to have expanded their repertoire of sexual solicitations by adopting FMM, male mates must have played a role in the evolutionary origins and maintenance of this nonconceptive but intense and powerful female mating tactic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noëlle Gunst
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.,School of Natural and Engineering Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
| | - Paul L Vasey
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Whishaw IQ, Burke CJ, Pellis SM. Does play shape hand use skill in rats? Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:1895-1909. [PMID: 33870438 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06097-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Hand use is a widespread act in many vertebrate lineages and subserves behaviors including locomotion, predation, feeding, nest construction, and grooming. In order to determine whether hand use is similarly used in social behavior, the present paper describes hand use in the social play of rats. In the course of rough and tumble play sessions, rats are found to make as many as twenty different movements a minute with each hand for the purposes of manipulating a partner into a subordinate position or defending against a partner's attack. The hand movements comprise signaling movements of touching, offensive manipulating of a partner to control a play engagement, and defensive hand movements directed toward blocking, pushing and pulling to parry an attack. For signaling, attack and defense, hand movements have a structure that is similar to the structure of hand movements used for other purposes including eating, but in their contact points on an opponent, they are tailored for partner control. Given the time devoted to play by rats, play likely features the social rat behavior with the most extensive use of hand movements. This extensive use of hand movements for social play is discussed in relation to the ubiquity of hand use in adaptive behavior, the evolution of hand use in the play of mammals, and in relation to extending the multifunctional theory of the purposes of play to include the education of skilled hand movements for various adult functions including as feeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian Q Whishaw
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Research, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
| | - Candace J Burke
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Research, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
| | - Sergio M Pellis
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Research, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ishizuka S. Do dominant monkeys gain more warmth? Number of physical contacts and spatial positions in huddles for male Japanese macaques in relation to dominance rank. Behav Processes 2021; 185:104317. [PMID: 33417930 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals show various forms of behavioral thermoregulation to minimize cold stress. Given that higher dominance rank is often associated with increased fitness in group-living animals, higher-ranking individuals may also benefit from better access to thermally optimal spatial positions within huddles. This study examined the association between dominance rank and the potential thermoregulatory benefits of huddling behavior in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) inhabiting Shodoshima Island, which form exceptionally large huddles. I photographed monkey huddles, and analyzed the number of individuals that males were in contact with and males' spatial positons in huddles. Higher-ranking males were significantly more likely to be in contact with larger numbers of individuals in huddles. Higher-ranking males occupied non-peripheral positions in huddles more often than lower-ranking males, which put them in contact with larger numbers of individuals. These results suggest that high dominance rank may confer potential thermal advantages on male Japanese macaques. The mechanism for this is likely that the highest-ranking male often intrude in already-formed huddles, although such behaviors of males were not quantitatively assessed. This study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cold adaptation in relation to dominance rank in group-living animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shintaro Ishizuka
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan; Japan Society for Promotion of Science, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Learning to play: A review and theoretical investigation of the developmental mechanisms and functions of cetacean play. Learn Behav 2017; 45:335-354. [DOI: 10.3758/s13420-017-0291-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
10
|
Brotcorne F, Giraud G, Gunst N, Fuentes A, Wandia IN, Beudels-Jamar RC, Poncin P, Huynen MC, Leca JB. Intergroup variation in robbing and bartering by long-tailed macaques at Uluwatu Temple (Bali, Indonesia). Primates 2017; 58:505-516. [PMID: 28516338 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-017-0611-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Robbing and bartering (RB) is a behavioral practice anecdotally reported in free-ranging commensal macaques. It usually occurs in two steps: after taking inedible objects (e.g., glasses) from humans, the macaques appear to use them as tokens, returning them to humans in exchange for food. While extensively studied in captivity, our research is the first to investigate the object/food exchange between humans and primates in a natural setting. During a 4-month study in 2010, we used both focal and event sampling to record 201 RB events in a population of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), including four neighboring groups ranging freely around Uluwatu Temple, Bali (Indonesia). In each group, we documented the RB frequency, prevalence and outcome, and tested the underpinning anthropogenic and demographic determinants. In line with the environmental opportunity hypothesis, we found a positive qualitative relation at the group level between time spent in tourist zones and RB frequency or prevalence. For two of the four groups, RB events were significantly more frequent when humans were more present in the environment. We also found qualitative partial support for the male-biased sex ratio hypothesis [i.e., RB was more frequent and prevalent in groups with higher ratios of (sub)adult males], whereas the group density hypothesis was not supported. This preliminary study showed that RB is a spontaneous, customary (in some groups), and enduring population-specific practice characterized by intergroup variation in Balinese macaques. As such, RB is a candidate for a new behavioral tradition in this species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fany Brotcorne
- Behavioural Biology Unit, University of Liège, 22 Quai Van Beneden, 4020, Liège, Belgium. .,Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K3M4, Canada. .,Conservation Biology Unit, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, 1000, Belgium.
| | - Gwennan Giraud
- Behavioural Biology Unit, University of Liège, 22 Quai Van Beneden, 4020, Liège, Belgium
| | - Noëlle Gunst
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K3M4, Canada
| | - Agustín Fuentes
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 46556, IN, USA
| | - I Nengah Wandia
- Primate Research Center, Universitas Udayana, Denpasar, 80361, Bali, Indonesia
| | | | - Pascal Poncin
- Behavioural Biology Unit, University of Liège, 22 Quai Van Beneden, 4020, Liège, Belgium
| | - Marie-Claude Huynen
- Behavioural Biology Unit, University of Liège, 22 Quai Van Beneden, 4020, Liège, Belgium
| | - Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K3M4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Leca JB, Gunst N, Pelletier AN, Vasey PL, Nahallage CAD, Watanabe K, Huffman MA. A multidisciplinary view on cultural primatology: behavioral innovations and traditions in Japanese macaques. Primates 2016; 57:333-8. [PMID: 26860933 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0518-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Cultural primatology (i.e., the study of behavioral traditions in nonhuman primates as a window into the evolution of human cultural capacities) was founded in Japan by Kinji Imanishi in the early 1950s. This relatively new research area straddles different disciplines and now benefits from collaborations between Japanese and Western primatologists. In this paper, we return to the cradle of cultural primatology by revisiting our original articles on behavioral innovations and traditions in Japanese macaques. For the past 35 years, our international team of biologists, psychologists and anthropologists from Japan, France, Sri Lanka, the USA and Canada, has been taking an integrative approach to addressing the influence of environmental, sociodemographic, developmental, cognitive and behavioral constraints on the appearance, diffusion, and maintenance of behavioral traditions in Macaca fuscata across various domains; namely, feeding innovation, tool use, object play, and non-conceptive sex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada.
| | - Noëlle Gunst
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada
| | - Amanda N Pelletier
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada
| | - Paul L Vasey
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada
| | - Charmalie A D Nahallage
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
| | - Kunio Watanabe
- Department of Ecology and Social Behavior, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Michael A Huffman
- Department of Ecology and Social Behavior, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Nahallage CA, Leca JB, Huffman MA. Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition. BEHAVIOUR 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Object play in primates is viewed as generally having no immediate functional purpose, limited for the most part to immature individuals. At the proximate level, the occurrence of object play in immatures is regarded as being intrinsically self-rewarding, with the ultimate function of supporting motoneuronal development and the acquisition of skills necessary to prepare them for survival as adults. Stone handling (SH), a solitary object play behaviour occurs, and has been studied, in multiple free-ranging and captive troops of provisioned Japanese macaques, as well as rhesus and long-tailed macaques for over 35 years now. A review of our combined findings from these observations reveal that infants acquire SH in the first 3-4 months of life and exhibit increasingly more complex and varied behavioural patterns with age. The longitudinal data shows that many individuals maintain this activity throughout life, practicing it under relaxed ecological and social conditions. The ultimate function may be bimodal, promoting motor development in young and neural maintenance and regeneration in adult and aging individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charmalie A.D. Nahallage
- aDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
| | - Jean-Baptiste Leca
- bDepartment of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive W, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1K 6T5
| | - Michael A. Huffman
- cDepartment of Ecology and Social Behavior, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi 484, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Brown SM, Klaffenböck M, Nevison IM, Lawrence AB. Evidence for litter differences in play behaviour in pre-weaned pigs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2015; 172:17-25. [PMID: 26937060 PMCID: PMC4768079 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2015.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyse spontaneous play behaviour in litters of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) for sources of variation at individual and litter levels and to relate variation in play to measures of pre and postnatal development. Seven litters of commercially bred piglets (n = 70) were born (farrowed) within a penning system (PigSAFE) that provided opportunities for the performance of spontaneous play behaviours. Individual behaviour was scored based on an established play ethogram for 2 days per week over the 3 week study period. We found strong evidence of litter differences in play behaviour (F(6,63) = 27.30, p < 0.001). Of the variance in total play, 50% was attributable to differences between litters with a lesser proportion (11%) to between piglets within litters. We found similar evidence of litter differences when we analysed the separate play categories (e.g. for locomotor play: F(6,63) = 27.50, p < 0.001). For social and locomotor play the variance was partitioned in a broadly similar way to total play; however for object play the variance was distributed with a more even balance across and within litters. In terms of explanatory factors we found little evidence that at the litter level differences in play were associated with differences in general activity. Of the prenatal factors measured, we found that birth weight was positively associated with total play and the play categories (e.g. with total play: F(1,64) = 12.8, p < 0.001). We also found that postnatal piglet growth up to weaning (as a percentage of birth weight) had a significant positive association with total play and the play categories (e.g. with object play: F(1,66) = 20.55, p < 0.001). As found in other studies, on average males engaged in more social play (e.g. non-injurious play fighting: F(1,63) = 39.8, p < 0.001). Males also initiated more play bouts on average than females (F(1,62) = 4.41, p = 0.040). We conclude that the study of differences between litters and individuals provides a robust approach to understanding factors potentially influencing play behaviour in the pig. This work also provides support for the use of play as a welfare indicator in pre-weaned piglets as the litter differences in play we observed were associated positively with physical development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Mills Brown
- Division of Neurobiology, The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, United Kingdom,Corresponding author.
| | - Michael Klaffenböck
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Straβe 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ian Macleod Nevison
- Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, United Kingdom
| | - Alistair Burnett Lawrence
- Division of Neurobiology, The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, United Kingdom,Animal & Veterinary Sciences, SRUC, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Tan A, Tan SH, Vyas D, Malaivijitnond S, Gumert MD. There Is More than One Way to Crack an Oyster: Identifying Variation in Burmese Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis aurea) Stone-Tool Use. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124733. [PMID: 25970286 PMCID: PMC4430286 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We explored variation in patterns of percussive stone-tool use on coastal foods by Burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) from two islands in Laem Son National Park, Ranong, Thailand. We catalogued variation into three hammering classes and 17 action patterns, after examining 638 tool-use bouts across 90 individuals. Hammering class was based on the stone surface used for striking food, being face, point, and edge hammering. Action patterns were discriminated by tool material, hand use, posture, and striking motion. Hammering class was analyzed for associations with material and behavioural elements of tool use. Action patterns were not, owing to insufficient instances of most patterns. We collected 3077 scan samples from 109 macaques on Piak Nam Yai Island's coasts, to determine the proportion of individuals using each hammering class and action pattern. Point hammering was significantly more associated with sessile foods, smaller tools, faster striking rates, smoother recoil, unimanual use, and more varied striking direction, than were face and edge hammering, while both point and edge hammering were significantly more associated with precision gripping than face hammering. Edge hammering also showed distinct differences depending on whether such hammering was applied to sessile or unattached foods, resembling point hammering for sessile foods and face hammering for unattached foods. Point hammering and sessile edge hammering compared to prior descriptions of axe hammering, while face and unattached edge hammering compared to pound hammering. Analysis of scans showed that 80% of individuals used tools, each employing one to four different action patterns. The most common patterns were unimanual point hammering (58%), symmetrical-bimanual face hammering (47%) and unimanual face hammering (37%). Unimanual edge hammering was relatively frequent (13%), compared to the other thirteen rare action patterns (<5%). We compare our study to other stone-using primates, and discuss implications for further research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Tan
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637322, Singapore
| | - Say Hoon Tan
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637322, Singapore
| | - Dhaval Vyas
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, United States of America
| | - Suchinda Malaivijitnond
- National Primate Research Centre of Thailand and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Michael D. Gumert
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637322, Singapore
- National Primate Research Centre of Thailand and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Compete to play: trade-off with social contact in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). PLoS One 2014; 9:e115965. [PMID: 25551755 PMCID: PMC4281089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 12/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animal species engage in various forms of solitary object play, but this activity seems to be of particular importance in primates. If playing objects constitute a valuable resource, and access to such objects is limited, a competitive context may arise. We inserted a unique toy within a mini-colony of long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) and compared their behaviors to sessions without playing object. An automatic color-based 3D video device was used to track the positions of each animal and the toy, and this data was categorized into 5 exclusive behaviors (resting, locomotion, foraging, social contact and object play). As expected, the delay to first access to the object reflected the hierarchy of the colony, indicating that a competition took place to own this unique resource of entertainment. In addition, we found that the amount of object play was not correlated with social or foraging behavior, suggesting independent motivational mechanisms. Conversely, object playing time was negatively correlated with idling time, thus indicating its relation to pastime activities. Interestingly, the amount of social contacts in the group was significantly reduced by the heightened competitive context, suggesting that competitors are more likely to be perceived as potential threat requiring caution, as shown in humans. Experimental manipulation of competitive contexts in primates reveals common mental processes involved in social judgment, and shows that access to valuable resources can be a sufficient cause for variations in group cohesion.
Collapse
|
16
|
O'Mara MT, Dechmann DKN, Page RA. Frugivorous bats evaluate the quality of social information when choosing novel foods. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
17
|
Leca JB, Gunst N, Vasey PL. Male homosexual behavior in a free-ranging all-male group of Japanese macaques at minoo, Japan. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2014; 43:853-861. [PMID: 24867180 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0310-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2013] [Revised: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 04/19/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We documented nine male homosexual consortships within three different male-male dyads in a free-ranging all-male group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), at Minoo, Japan. A total of 63 male-male mounts were observed during these consortships. Male homosexual interactions shared most of the behavioral components that have been reported to characterize heterosexual and female homosexual consortships in this species. Convergent behavioral data, including analysis of male-male solicitations, mounting postures, body orientations, inter-mount activities, and third-party male intrusions supported the conclusion that male-male consortships are a sexual phenomenon. We discussed a series of proximate and ultimate hypotheses that purport to account for the occurrence of male homosexual behavior in all-male groups of primates, including humans. This first report of male homosexual interactions in an all-male group of Japanese macaques contributes to the growing database used to provide insights into the developmental processes, causal mechanisms, adaptive significance, and phylogenetic pathways of same-sex sexual behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Nahallage CAD, Huffman MA. Stone handling behavior in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a behavioral propensity for solitary object play shared with Japanese macaques. Primates 2011; 53:71-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-011-0279-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2011] [Accepted: 10/11/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
19
|
Gumert MD, Hoong LK, Malaivijitnond S. Sex differences in the stone tool-use behavior of a wild population of burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea). Am J Primatol 2011; 73:1239-49. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
|
20
|
|
21
|
The first case of dental flossing by a Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata): implications for the determinants of behavioral innovation and the constraints on social transmission. Primates 2010; 51:13-22. [PMID: 19590935 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-009-0159-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2009] [Accepted: 06/20/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
We report the first case of dental flossing behavior by a Japanese macaque. We used cross-sectional data to assess the presence of this novel tool-use behavior at the group-level. Although this behavior was performed frequently by a central middle-ranking middle-aged female during her grooming interactions, and appeared at least four years ago, it remained idiosyncratic to its innovator, and until now has not spread to other group members. We examined the factors that may have favored this innovation, including the environmental context, the individual characteristics of the innovator, and the structural and functional aspects of the behavior. Group size, kinship, and dominance are socio-demographic factors that are likely to limit the opportunities for any group member to observe the innovator, and thus constrain the diffusion of this potential candidate as a new behavioral tradition. This is one of the rare studies to document the spontaneous appearance of tool-use behavior in primates under natural conditions. Identifying the determinants of innovations and the constraints on their diffusion within social groups of non-human primates is of special interest to understanding cultural evolution.
Collapse
|
22
|
Principles and levels of laterality in unimanual and bimanual stone handling patterns by Japanese macaques. J Hum Evol 2010; 58:155-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2009] [Revised: 09/04/2009] [Accepted: 09/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
23
|
Cultured Japanese Macaques: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Stone Handling Behavior and Its Implications for the Evolution of Behavioral Tradition in Nonhuman Primates. THE JAPANESE MACAQUES 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-53886-8_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
|
24
|
Leca JB, Gunst N, Huffman MA. Indirect social influence in the maintenance of the stone-handling tradition in Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
25
|
Abstract
Sixty years ago, the notion that animals could have culture was unthinkable to most behavioral scientists. Today, evidence for innovation, transmission, acquisition, long-term maintenance, and intergroup variation of behavior exists throughout the animal kingdom. What can the longitudinal and comparative study of monkeys handling stones tell us about how culture evolved in humans? Now in its 30th year, the systematic study of stone-handling behavior in multiple troops of Japanese macaques has shown that socially mediated learning is essential to explain the spread, persistence, and transformation of individual behavioral innovations among group members. The integrative research paradigm presented here can be applied to the study of various candidate behavioral traditions in other species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Huffman
- Section of Social Systems Evolution, Primate
Research Institute, Kyoto University
| | | | - Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Section of Social Systems Evolution, Primate
Research Institute, Kyoto University
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Leca JB, Nahallage CA, Gunst N, Huffman MA. Stone-throwing by Japanese macaques: form and functional aspects of a group-specific behavioral tradition. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:989-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2007] [Revised: 04/15/2008] [Accepted: 06/04/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
27
|
Nahallage CAD, Huffman MA. Comparison of stone handling behavior in two macaque species: implications for the role of phylogeny and environment in primate cultural variation. Am J Primatol 2008; 70:1124-32. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
28
|
Leca J, Gunst N, Huffman MA. Food provisioning and stone handling tradition in Japanese macaques: a comparative study of ten troops. Am J Primatol 2008; 70:803-13. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
|