1,720,991 research outputs found
The impact of food provisioning on parasite infection in wild black capuchin monkeys: a network approach
No full textNon-human primates host a variety of gastrointestinal parasites that infect individuals through different transmission routes. Social contact among group members (e.g., body contact, grooming) brings the risk of parasite infection, especially when pathogen infection is directly transmitted. Along with this, accidental provisioning (i.e., food provisioning occurring during close tourist-wildlife interactions) is also regarded to increase risk of infection as aggregation during feeding can cause higher exposure to parasite infective stages. However, while there has been some attention toward social behaviour and parasite, the link between accidental food provisioning and characteristics of parasite infection in primates has thus far received less attention. This study examines the potential effect of accidental provisioning on patterns of inter-individual spatial association, and in turn on parasite infection risk in a wild group of black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus) in Iguazú National Park, Argentina. To do so, we simulated events of accidental provisioning via researcher-managed provisioning experiments, and tested whether experimental provisioning affects inter-individual spatial distribution within groups. In addition, we determined whether patterns of parasite infection were better predicted by naturally occurring spatial networks (i.e., spatial association during natural observations) or by provisioning spatial networks (i.e., spatial interactions during experimental provisioning). We found a significant increase in network centrality potentially associated with an overall increment in individual connections with other group members during experimental trials. However, when assessing the effect of natural and provisioning network metrics on parasite characteristics, we did not observe a significant effect of centrality measures (i.e., closeness and betweenness) on both parasite richness and single infection by Filariopsis sp. Taken together, our findings suggest that alterations of within-group spatial networks due to accidental provisioning may have a limited influence in determining characteristics of parasite infections in black capuchin monkeys.Fil: Tiddi, Barbara. German Primate Center. Cognitive Ethology Laboratory; Alemania. Georg August Universität Göttingen; AlemaniaFil: Pfoh, Romina Vanesa. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico; Argentin
Male resource-control and female mate choice in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus)
No full textFeeding competition and stress in wild tufted capuchin monkeys: implications for the evolution of deceptive alarm calls
No full textFemale Sexual Signalling in Wild Tufted Capuchin Monkeys: Implications for the Graded-Signal Hypothesis in a New World Primate
No full textFemale behavioral proceptivity functions as a probabilistic signal of fertility, not female quality, in a New World primate
Get PDFThe interests of males and females in mating contexts often conflict, and identifying the information conveyed by sexual signals is central to understanding how signalers manage such conflicts. Research into the information provided by female primate sexual signals has focused on exaggerated anogenital swellings as either reliable-indicators of reproductive quality (reliable-indicator hypothesis) or probabilistic signals of fertility (graded-signal hypothesis). While these morphological signals are mostly confined to catarrhine primates, these hypotheses are potentially widely applicable across primates, but have not been tested in taxa that lack such morphological signals. Here, we tested these hypotheses in wild black capuchins (Sapajus nigritus), a species in which females lack morphological sexual signals but produce conspicuous behavioral estrous displays. Specifically, we examined the proportion of time different females spent producing these signals with respect to measures of female quality (dominance rank, parity, age-related fecundity and cycle type) and in relation to the timing of fertility, as determined by analysis of fecal progesterone. Time spent displaying did not vary across females based on measures of female quality, but increased with the approach of ovulation. Further, male mating effort varied according to the timing of female fertility. Proceptive behaviors in this species thus meet predictions of the graded-signal hypothesis, providing the first support for this hypothesis based solely on behavioral signals
Female Sexual Signalling in Wild Tufted Capuchin Monkeys: Implications for the Graded-Signal Hypothesis in a New World Primate
No full text
Feeding competition and stress in wild tufted capuchin monkeys: implications for the evolution of deceptive alarm calls
No full textGrooming Up the Hierarchy: The Exchange of Grooming and Rank-Related Benefits in a New World Primate
Get PDFSeyfarth\u27s model assumes that female primates derive rank-related benefits from higher-ranking females in exchange for grooming. As a consequence, the model predicts females prefer high-ranking females as grooming partners and compete for the opportunity to groom them. Therefore, allogrooming is expected to be directed up the dominance hierarchy and to occur more often between females with adjacent ranks. Although data from Old World primates generally support the model, studies on the relation between grooming and dominance rank in the New World genus Cebus have found conflicting results, showing considerable variability across groups and species. In this study, we investigated the pattern of grooming in wild tufted capuchin females (Cebus apella nigritus) in Iguazu ́ National Park, Argentina by testing both the assumption (i.e., that females gain rank-related return benefits from grooming) and predictions (i.e., that females direct grooming up the dominance hierarchy and the majority of grooming occurs between females with adjacent ranks) of Seyfarth\u27s model. Study subjects were 9 adult females belonging to a single group. Results showed that grooming was given in return for tolerance during naturally occurring feeding, a benefit that higher-ranking females can more easily grant. Female grooming was directed up the hierarchy and was given more often to partners with similar rank. These findings provide supporting evidence for both the assumption and predictions of Seyfarth\u27s model and represent, more generally, the first evidence of reciprocal behavioural interchanges driven by rank-related benefits in New World female primates
Experimental Evidence for Heterospecific Alarm Signal Recognition via Associative Learning in Wild Capuchin Monkeys
Get PDFMany vertebrate taxa respond to heterospecific alarm calls with anti-predator behaviours. While it is unclear how apparent recognition is achieved, learned associations between the occurrence of the call and the presence of a predator are considered the most likely explanation. Conclusive evidence that this behaviour is indeed underpinned by learning, however, is scarce. This study tested whether wild black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus) learn to associate novel sounds with predators through a two-phase field experiment. During an initial training phase, three study groups were each presented with a playback of one of the three novel sounds together with a simulated felid predator on four occasions over an 8- to 12-week period. This was followed by a test phase, wherein each of the three sounds was played back to individuals in all three groups, allowing each sound to serve as both a test stimulus for individuals trained with that sound, and a control stimulus for individuals trained with another sound. Antipredator responses were significantly stronger in response to test sounds than to controls. Limited observations suggest that antipredator responses persisted for at least 2 years without reinforcement of the predator–sound link. Additionally, responses to noisier sounds were typically stronger than were those to more tonal sounds, although the effect of sound type cannot be disentangled from potential effects of group. This study provides the strongest evidence to date that learning affects the responses of primates to sounds such as heterospecific alarm calls, and supports the contention that signals provide receivers with information
- …
