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Pal A, Mahato S, Leca JB, Sinha A. Blowing the lid off! Bottle-directed, extractive foraging strategies in synurbic bonnet macaques Macaca radiata in southern India. Front Psychol 2023; 13:973566. [PMID: 36755978 PMCID: PMC9900441 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.973566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Nonhuman individuals and groups, living in anthropogenic landscapes, often adopt adaptive foraging strategies, mediated by their day-to-day interactions with humans and their artefacts. Exploring such novel behavioral manifestations, especially in the Anthropocene, offers us insights into behavioral innovations and their transmission in such rapidly changing ecologies. In this study, employing field experiments, we investigated an example of human-induced, extractive foraging behavior - the extraction of liquid contents from plastic bottles - in a synurbic bonnet macaque Macaca radiata population. The main aims of the study were to examine the distribution, diversity, inter-individual variability and intra-individual flexibility of bottle-directed manipulative behaviors, and to explore the social and environmental factors driving this behavioral practice. We video-recorded the manipulation of partially filled plastic bottles and the extraction of liquid across four groups of bonnet macaques in southern India. Two socio-demographic factors - age class and group membership - and one environmental factor - food provisioning - were identified as major determinants of inter-individual variation in the performance of sophisticated manipulative techniques and in bottle-opening success. Our results also suggest that age-related physical maturation, experiential trial-and-error learning, and possibly social learning contributed to the acquisition of foraging competence in this task. These findings illuminate the mechanisms underlying inter-individual behavioral variability and intra-individual behavioral flexibility amongst free-ranging individuals of a cercopithecine primate species, traditionally known for its ecological adaptability and behavioral plasticity. Finally, this study documents how the presence of humans, their artefacts and their activities facilitate the development of certain behavioral traditions in free-ranging nonhuman populations, thus providing valuable insights into how human-alloprimate relations can be restructured within the increasingly resource-competitive environments of the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Pal
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
| | - Santanu Mahato
- Biopsychology Laboratory and Institution of Excellence, University of Mysore, Mysore, India
| | - Jean-Baptiste Leca
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.,Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Anindya Sinha
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.,Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.,College of Humanities, Exeter University, Exeter, United Kingdom
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2
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Dhawale AK, Kumar MA, Sinha A. Changing ecologies, shifting behaviours: Behavioural responses of a rainforest primate, the lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus, to a matrix of anthropogenic habitats in southern India. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238695. [PMID: 32966281 PMCID: PMC7511024 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With the uncontrolled expansion of anthropogenic modifications of the environment, wildlife species are forced to interact with humans, often leading to conflict situations that have detrimental effects for both wildlife and humans. Such interactions are escalating globally, making it crucial for us to devise strategies for both, the management of conflict and the conservation of these often-threatened species. We studied a case of potentially detrimental human-wildlife interactions between an endemic, habitat-specialist primate, the lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus and resident human communities that has developed in recent years in the Western Ghats mountains of southern India. Primates provide useful model systems to understand the extent and nature of behavioural changes exhibited by wildlife in response to anthropogenic habitats with varying degrees of human influence. We documented behaviours, including foraging and intra-species social interactions, to examine the decisions made by the macaques as they exploited four human-modified habitats, which, for the purpose of this study, have been qualitatively characterised to include structural features of the habitat, type of food resources available and the presence of humans. Access to human-origin food, either cooked or packaged, acquired directly from homes or garbage pits, in the human-dominated habitat appeared to significantly reduce active foraging and searching for food, allowing them to engage in other behavioural activities, such as resting. Furthermore, patterns of reciprocated affiliation dissipated in certain human-dominated habitats, with individuals seeming to have adopted novel behavioural strategies, leading to altered social dynamics in the troop, possibly in response to provisioning. This study thus highlights the importance of understanding behavioural changes displayed by animals in response to human interactions; such knowledge could be crucial for the planning and implementation of management and conservation strategies for endangered species such as the lion-tailed macaque and possibly other wildlife in the increasingly anthropogenic landscapes of the tropical world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashni Kumar Dhawale
- Wildlife Biology and Conservation, WCS-NCBS Programme, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India
- School of Natural and Engineering Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, India
- University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bangalore, India
| | | | - Anindya Sinha
- School of Natural and Engineering Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, India
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, India
- Cotton University, Guwahati, India
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3
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Schino G, Lasio F. Competition for grooming partners and interference in affiliation among female mandrills. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Rome Italy
| | - Francesca Lasio
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
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Deshpande A, Gupta S, Sinha A. Intentional communication between wild bonnet macaques and humans. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5147. [PMID: 29650972 PMCID: PMC5897542 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22928-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Comparative studies of nonhuman communication systems could provide insights into the origins and evolution of a distinct dimension of human language: intentionality. Recent studies have provided evidence for intentional communication in different species but generally in captive settings. We report here a novel behaviour of food requesting from humans displayed by wild bonnet macaques Macaca radiata, an Old World cercopithecine primate, in the Bandipur National Park of southern India. Using both natural observations and field experiments, we examined four different behavioural components—coo-calls, hand-extension gesture, orientation, and monitoring behaviour—of food requesting for their conformity with the established criteria of intentional communication. Our results suggest that food requesting by bonnet macaques is potentially an intentionally produced behavioural strategy as all the food requesting behaviours except coo-calls qualify the criteria for intentionality. We comment on plausible hypotheses for the origin and spread of this novel behavioural strategy in the study macaque population and speculate that the cognitive precursors for language production may be manifest in the usage of combination of signals of different modalities in communication, which could have emerged in simians earlier than in the anthropoid apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adwait Deshpande
- Consciousness Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.
| | - Shreejata Gupta
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
| | - Anindya Sinha
- Consciousness Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.,Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India.,Primate Programme, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India.,Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.,Dhole's Den Research Foundation, Bandipur National Park, Karnataka, India
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5
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6
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Mielke A, Samuni L, Preis A, Gogarten JF, Crockford C, Wittig RM. Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:171296. [PMID: 29291114 PMCID: PMC5717689 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Grooming interactions benefit groomers, but may have negative consequences for bystanders. Grooming limits bystanders' grooming access and ensuing alliances could threaten the bystander's hierarchy rank or their previous investment in the groomers. To gain a competitive advantage, bystanders could intervene into a grooming bout to increase their own grooming access or to prevent the negative impact of others' grooming. We tested the impact of dominance rank and social relationships on grooming intervention likelihood and outcome in two sympatric primate species, Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys). In both species, rather than increasing their own access to preferred partners, bystanders intervened mainly when an alliance between groomers could have a negative impact on them: when the lower-ranking groomer was close to the bystander in rank, when either groomer was an affiliation partner whose services they could lose, or the groomers were not yet strongly affiliated with each other. Thus, bystanders in both species appear to monitor grooming interactions and intervene based on their own dominance rank and social relationships, as well as triadic awareness of the relationship between groomers. While the motivation to intervene did not differ between species, mangabeys appeared to be more constrained by dominance rank than chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Jan F. Gogarten
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- P3: “Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms”, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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7
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Loretto MC, Fraser ON, Bugnyar T. Ontogeny of Social Relations and Coalition Formation in Common Ravens ( Corvus corax). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 25:180-194. [PMID: 25892846 PMCID: PMC4398861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The social intelligence hypothesis, originally developed for primates to explain their high intelligence and large relative brain size, assumes that challenges posed by social life in complex societies with many group members lead to the evolution of advanced cognitive abilities. In birds, pair-bonded species have larger brains than non-pair bonded species, indicating that the quality of social relationships better predicts social complexity than group size. Ravens are a long-term monogamous and territorial species, renowned for their sophisticated socio-cognitive skills and complex social relationships. Notably, during their early years they live in fission-fusion-like non-breeder societies in which social relationships could be of particular importance. Here we observed the development of dominance and affiliative relationships in 12 hand-raised captive ravens, examining the influence of age, sex and kinship on social interactions. Furthermore, we investigated at which developmental step a stable hierarchy emerged, whether third-party interventions played a role and how selectively birds intervened in others' conflicts. At 4-5 months post-fledging, we found an increase in socio-positive behaviour and a decrease in aggression, along with the establishment of a linear dominance rank hierarchy. In line with kin selection theory, siblings exhibited a greater degree of tolerance and engaged in more socio-positive behaviour. In their first few months, ravens frequently intervened in others' conflicts but supported mainly the aggressor; later on, their support became more selective towards kin and close social partners. These findings indicate that ravens engage in sophisticated social behaviours and form stable relationships already in their first year of life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Bugnyar
- University of Vienna, Austria; Konrad Lorenz Forschungstelle, Austria
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8
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Chancellor RL, Isbell LA. Female grooming markets in a population of gray-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena). Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arn117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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9
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Holekamp KE, Sakai ST, Lundrigan BL. Social intelligence in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2007; 362:523-38. [PMID: 17289649 PMCID: PMC2346515 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
If the large brains and great intelligence characteristic of primates were favoured by selection pressures associated with life in complex societies, then cognitive abilities and nervous systems with primate-like attributes should have evolved convergently in non-primate mammals living in large, elaborate societies in which social dexterity enhances individual fitness. The societies of spotted hyenas are remarkably like those of cercopithecine primates with respect to size, structure and patterns of competition and cooperation. These similarities set an ideal stage for comparative analysis of social intelligence and nervous system organization. As in cercopithecine primates, spotted hyenas use multiple sensory modalities to recognize their kin and other conspecifics as individuals, they recognize third-party kin and rank relationships among their clan mates, and they use this knowledge adaptively during social decision making. However, hyenas appear to rely more intensively than primates on social facilitation and simple rules of thumb in social decision making. No evidence to date suggests that hyenas are capable of true imitation. Finally, it appears that the gross anatomy of the brain in spotted hyenas might resemble that in primates with respect to expansion of frontal cortex, presumed to be involved in the mediation of social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay E Holekamp
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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10
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Peter Henzi S, Barrett L. Coexistence in Female‐Bonded Primate Groups. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3454(07)37002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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11
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Can simple rules account for the pattern of triadic interactions in juvenile and adult female sooty mangabeys? Anim Behav 2005. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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12
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Sinha A. Not in their genes: Phenotypic flexibility, behavioural traditions and cultural evolution in wild bonnet macaques. J Biosci 2005; 30:51-64. [PMID: 15824441 DOI: 10.1007/bf02705150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic flexibility, or the within-genotype, context-dependent, variation in behaviour expressed by single reproductively mature individuals during their lifetimes, often impart a selective advantage to organisms and profoundly influence their survival and reproduction. Another phenomenon apparently not under direct genetic control is behavioural inheritance whereby higher animals are able to acquire information from the behaviour of others by social learning, and, through their own modified behaviour, transmit such information between individuals and across generations. Behavioural information transfer of this nature thus represents another form of inheritance that operates in many animals in tandem with the more basic genetic system. This paper examines the impact that phenotypic flexibility, behavioural inheritance and socially transmitted cultural traditions may have in shaping the structure and dynamics of a primate society--that of the bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata), a primate species endemic to peninsular India. Three principal issues are considered: the role of phenotypic flexibility in shaping social behaviour, the occurrence of individual behavioural traits leading to the establishment of social traditions, and the appearance of cultural evolution amidst such social traditions. Although more prolonged observations are required, these initial findings suggest that phenotypic plasticity, behavioural inheritance and cultural traditions may be much more widespread among primates than have previously been assumed but may have escaped attention due to a preoccupation with genetic inheritance in zoological thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anindya Sinha
- National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore 560 012, India.
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13
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Kitchen DM, Cheney DL, Seyfarth RM. Male chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) discriminate loud call contests between rivals of different relative ranks. Anim Cogn 2004; 8:1-6. [PMID: 15164259 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-004-0222-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2003] [Revised: 04/07/2004] [Accepted: 04/13/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Males in multi-male groups of chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) in Botswana compete for positions in a linear dominance hierarchy. Previous research suggests that males treat different categories of rivals differently; competitive displays between males of similar rank are more frequent and intense than those between disparately ranked males. Here we test whether males also respond differently to male-male interactions in which they are not directly involved, using playbacks of the loud 'wahoo' calls exchanged between competing males in aggressive displays. We played paired sequences of vocal contests between two adjacently ranked and two disparately ranked males to ten subjects, half ranking below the signalers in the call sequences and half above. Subjects who ranked above the two signalers showed stronger responses than lower-ranking subjects. Higher-ranking subjects also responded more strongly to sequences involving disparately ranked, as opposed to adjacently ranked opponents, suggesting that they recognized those individuals' relative ranks. Strong responses to sequences between disparately ranked opponents might have occurred either because such contests typically involve resources of high fitness value (defense of meat, estrous females or infants vulnerable to infanticide) or because they indicate a sudden change in one contestant's condition. In contrast, subjects who ranked lower than the signalers responded equally strongly to both types of sequences. These subjects may have been able to distinguish between the two categories of opponents but did not respond differently to them because they had little to lose or gain by a rank reversal between males that already ranked higher than they did.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn M Kitchen
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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14
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Bergman TJ, Beehner JC, Cheney DL, Seyfarth RM. Hierarchical Classification by Rank and Kinship in Baboons. Science 2003; 302:1234-6. [PMID: 14615544 DOI: 10.1126/science.1087513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 295] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Humans routinely classify others according to both their individual attributes, such as social status or wealth, and membership in higher order groups, such as families or castes. They also recognize that people's individual attributes may be influenced and regulated by their group affiliations. It is not known whether such rule-governed, hierarchical classifications are specific to humans or might also occur in nonlinguistic species. Here we show that baboons recognize that a dominance hierarchy can be subdivided into family groups. In playback experiments, baboons respond more strongly to call sequences mimicking dominance rank reversals between families than within families, indicating that they classify others simultaneously according to both individual rank and kinship. The selective pressures imposed by complex societies may therefore have favored cognitive skills that constitute an evolutionary precursor to some components of human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thore J Bergman
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Holekamp KE, Boydston EE, Szykman M, Graham I, Nutt KJ, Birch S, Piskiel A, Singh M. Vocal recognition in the spotted hyaena and its possible implications regarding the evolution of intelligence. Anim Behav 1999; 58:383-395. [PMID: 10458890 DOI: 10.1006/anbe.1999.1157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta, are gregarious carnivores whose social lives share much in common with those of cercopithecine primates. We conducted playback experiments to determine whether free-living hyaenas are capable of identifying individual conspecifics on the basis of their long-distance vocalization, the 'whoop'. When prerecorded cub whoops were played to mothers and other breeding females (controls), mothers responded significantly more vigorously to whoops of their own cubs than did controls. We also tested the hypothesis that specific vocal recognition abilities are based on kinship in this species. Listeners that were related to the whooping cub responded more vigorously to recorded vocalizations than did unrelated individuals, with response intensity in some cases increasing directly with the size of the coefficient of relatedness (r). Our final goal was to determine whether control animals in these experiments can recognize third-party social relationships among other group members, an ability demonstrated by vervet monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops, in similar playback experiments conducted by earlier investigators. In contrast to vervets, control females in the present experiments were no more likely to look at the mother of the whooping cub than at other control females after playback. This suggests that hyaenas may accomplish many of the same social feats as do vervets without possessing the ability to recognize third-party relationships. If confirmed in other domains of hyaena social life, our findings have important implications regarding selection pressures favouring the evolution of intelligence. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- KE Holekamp
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University
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