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1.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38676546

ABSTRACT

Forty years ago, Gallup proposed that theory of mind presupposes self-awareness. Following Humphrey, his hypothesis was that individuals can infer the mental states of others thanks to the ability to monitor their own mental states in similar circumstances. Since then, advances in several disciplines, such as comparative and developmental psychology, have provided empirical evidence to test Gallup's hypothesis. Herein, we review and discuss this evidence.

2.
iScience ; 26(11): 108176, 2023 Nov 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37915605

ABSTRACT

Conflict management entails preventing and repairing damages resulting from social conflicts. While previous research has emphasized post-conflict actions like reconciliation, the understanding of how primates weigh the costs and benefits of conflict remains limited. Uncovering this hidden but fundamental aspect of conflict management requires addressing actively avoided social conflicts. In a study involving semi-free ranging Tonkean macaques, individuals were presented with social dilemmas: displacing a peer to access a preferred juice reward or opting for a peer-free but less preferred one to avoid conflict. The results showed that subjects attributed a cost to the social conflict and did not demonstrate a systematic drive to dominate. Decision modeling revealed integration of peer hierarchy and reward subjective value, with subjects' own social rank impacting the balance between these social and economic dimensions. Overall, this research highlights how primates strategically address group cohesion and peacekeeping, sometimes at the expense of personal preferences.

3.
Anim Cogn ; 26(6): 1945-1958, 2023 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37855842

ABSTRACT

Detecting and identifying predators quickly is key to survival. According to the Snake Detection Theory (SDT), snakes have been a substantive threat to primates for millions of years, so that dedicated visual skills were tuned to detect snakes in early primates. Past experiments confronted the SDT by measuring how fast primate subjects detected snake pictures among non-dangerous distractors (e.g., flowers), but did not include pictures of primates' other predators, such as carnivorans, raptors, and crocodilians. Here, we examined the detection abilities of N = 19 Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) and N = 6 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to spot different predators. By implementing an oddity task protocol, we recorded success rates and reaction times to locate a deviant picture among four pictures over more than 400,000 test trials. Pictures depicted a predator, a non-predator animal, or a simple geometric shape. The first task consisted of detecting a deviant picture among identical distractor pictures (discrimination) and the second task was designed to evaluate detection abilities of a deviant picture among different distractor pictures (categorization). The macaques detected pictures of geometric shapes better and faster than pictures of animals, and were better and faster at discriminating than categorizing. The macaques did not detect snakes better or faster than other animal categories. Overall, these results suggest that pictures of snakes do not capture visual attention more than other predators, questioning previous findings in favor of the SDT.


Subject(s)
Snakes , Humans , Animals , Macaca mulatta , Reaction Time
4.
Sci Adv ; 9(22): eadd3580, 2023 06 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37262187

ABSTRACT

Although species can arise through hybridization, compelling evidence for hybrid speciation has been reported only rarely in animals. Here, we present phylogenomic analyses on genomes from 12 macaque species and show that the fascicularis group originated from an ancient hybridization between the sinica and silenus groups ~3.45 to 3.56 million years ago. The X chromosomes and low-recombination regions exhibited equal contributions from each parental lineage, suggesting that they were less affected by subsequent backcrossing and hence could have played an important role in maintaining hybrid integrity. We identified many reproduction-associated genes that could have contributed to the development of the mixed sexual phenotypes characteristic of the fascicularis group. The phylogeny within the silenus group was also resolved, and functional experimentation confirmed that all extant Western silenus species are susceptible to HIV-1 infection. Our study provides novel insights into macaque evolution and reveals a hybrid speciation event that has occurred only very rarely in primates.


Subject(s)
Genomics , Macaca , Animals , Macaca/genetics , Phylogeny , Genome , Hybridization, Genetic
5.
Anim Cogn ; 26(5): 1453-1466, 2023 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37245190

ABSTRACT

Inhibitory control, the inhibition of impulsive behaviours, is believed to be key in navigating a complex social environment. Species characterised by higher social tolerance, living in more complex groups, with more diverse relationships, face higher uncertainty regarding the outcome of social interactions and, therefore, would benefit from employing more inhibitory strategies. To date, little is known about the selective forces that favour the evolution of inhibitory control. In this study, we compared inhibitory control skills in three closely related macaque species which differ in their social tolerance style. We tested 66 macaques from two institutions (Macaca mulatta, low tolerance; M. fascicularis, medium tolerance; and M. tonkeana, high tolerance) using a battery of validated inhibitory control touchscreen tasks. Higher social tolerance was associated with enhanced inhibitory control performances. More tolerant species were less impulsive and less distracted by pictures of unknown conspecifics. Interestingly, we did not find evidence that social tolerance degree was associated with performance in reversal learning. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that evolution has promoted the development of socio-cognitive skills to cope with the demands related to the complexity of the social environment.


Subject(s)
Social Behavior , Animals , Macaca mulatta , Macaca fascicularis
6.
Primates ; 64(4): 421-427, 2023 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37071255

ABSTRACT

Despite half a century of research, few species have exhibited convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Several methodological objections to Gallup's mark test have been raised, but empirical studies have shown that methodology does not adequately explain why most species fail to recognize themselves in mirrors. However, a potential issue was constantly overlooked: mirror ecological relevance. Although reflective surfaces in nature are horizontal, previous studies indeed used vertical mirrors. The present study revisited the mark test to address this issue in an experiment with capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). Additionally, a new procedure based on sticker exchange was designed to maximize mark attractiveness. Subjects were first trained to exchange stickers, habituated to being head-touched, and exposed to a horizontal mirror. Then, their mirror self-recognition was tested by surreptitiously placing a sticker on their forehead before requesting them to exchange stickers. None of the monkeys removed the sticker from their forehead in the presence of the mirror. In line with previous studies, this result suggests that capuchin monkeys lack the ability to recognize themselves in mirrors. Nonetheless, this modified mark test could prove useful in future studies, including investigation of interindividual variability of mirror self-recognition in self-recognizing species.


Subject(s)
Behavior, Animal , Visual Perception , Animals , Recognition, Psychology , Cebus
7.
Front Pediatr ; 10: 961556, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36204665

ABSTRACT

Context: Developing brain imaging is a critical subject for infants born preterm. Impaired brain growth is correlated with poor neurological outcomes, regardless of overt brain lesions, such as hemorrhage or leukomalacia. As magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains a research tool for assessing regional brain volumes, two-dimensional metrics (2D metrics) provide a reliable estimation of brain structures. In neonatal intensive care, cerebral ultrasound (cUS) is routinely performed to assess brain integrity. This prospective work has compared US and MRI accuracy for the measurement of 2D brain metrics and identification of overt injuries. Methods: MRI and cUS were performed at term equivalent age (TEA) in infants born before 32 weeks of gestation (GW). Demographical data and results of serial cUS (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit [NICU]-US) performed during hospitalization were gathered from medical charts. Blinded, experienced senior doctors reviewed the scans for both standard analysis and standardized, 2D measurements. The correlation of 2D metrics and inter-/intraobserver agreements were evaluated using Pearson's coefficient, Bland-Altman plots, and intraclass coefficient (ICC), respectively. Results: In total, 102 infants born preterm were included. The performance of "TEA-cUS and NICU-cUS" when compared to "TEA-MRI and NICU-cUS" was identical for the detection of high-grade hemorrhages and close for low-grade ones. However, TEA-MRI only detected nodular lesions of the white matter (WM). No infant presented a cerebellar infarct on imaging. Intra- and inter-observer agreements were excellent for all 2D metrics except for the corpus callosum width (CCW) and anteroposterior vermis diameter. MRI and cUS showed good to excellent correlation for brain and bones biparietal diameters, corpus callosum length (CCL), transcerebellar diameters (TCDs), and lateral ventricle diameters. Measures of CCW and vermis dimensions were poorly correlated. Conclusion and perspective: The cUS is a reliable tool to assess selected 2D measurements in the developing brain. Repetition of these metrics by serial cUS during NICU stay would allow the completion of growth charts for several brain structures. Further studies will assess whether these charts are relevant markers of neurological outcome.

8.
Anim Cogn ; 25(6): 1399-1415, 2022 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35508572

ABSTRACT

Behavioral coordination is involved in many forms of primate interactions. Co-representation is the simultaneous mental representation of one's own and the partner's task and actions. It often underlies behavioral coordination and cooperation success. In humans, the dyadic social context can modulate co-representation. Here, we first investigated whether individual differences in co-representation in the joint Simon task in capuchin monkeys and Tonkean macaques can be explained by social factors, namely dyadic grooming and sociality index, rank difference and eigenvector centrality. These factors did not predict variation in co-representation. However, in this specific task, co-representation reduces rather than facilitates joint performance. Automatic co-representation therefore needs to be inhibited or suppressed to maximize cooperation success. We therefore also investigated whether general inhibitory control (detour-reaching) would predict co-representation in the joint Simon task in Tonkean macaques, brown capuchin and marmoset monkeys. Inhibitory control did neither explain individual differences nor species differences, since marmosets were most successful in their joint performance despite scoring lowest on inhibitory control. These results suggest that the animals' ability to resolve conflicts between self and other representation to increase cooperation success in this task is gradually learned due to frequent exposure during shared infant care, rather than determined by strong general inhibitory control. Further, we conclude that the joint Simon task, while useful to detect co-representation non-invasively, is less suitable for identifying the factors explaining individual differences and thus a more fruitful approach to identify these factors is to design tasks in which co-representation favors, rather than hinders cooperation success.


Subject(s)
Callithrix , Individuality , Humans , Animals , Sapajus apella , Social Factors , Macaca , Cebus
9.
BMC Ophthalmol ; 22(1): 180, 2022 Apr 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35439959

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Amblyopia is a major public health concern. Its screening and management require reliable methods of visual acuity assessment. New technologies offer nowadays many tests available on different app stores for smartphone or tablet but most of them often lack of scientific validation for a medical use. The aim of our study was to attempt validating a tablet-based near visual acuity test adapted to the pediatric population: the eMOVA test (electronic Measurement Of Visual Acuity) by comparing visual acuity measured with more conventional test. METHODS: A cohort of 100 children aged 3 to 8 attending the ophthalmic-pediatric for eye examination between September 2016 and June 2017 were included in the study. Near visual acuity was assessed on participants using both the eMOVA test and a Standard test (Rossano-Weiss test). Duration of each test, its comprehension, its acceptability and the attention of the child during the test was also investigated. RESULTS: The eMOVA test overestimated near visual acuity by 0.06 logMAR. This difference, statistically significant, was not clinically relevant. The duration of the eMOVA test was longer than the reference test, but less discomfort and preferred by children and their parents compared to standard tests. CONCLUSION: The eMOVA test appears as a reliable test to assess near visual acuity in children. By its portability and efficiency, this application proved to be a relevant tool to be used for children eye examination in daily routine at the hospital.


Subject(s)
Amblyopia , Amblyopia/diagnosis , Child , Humans , Visual Acuity
10.
J Comp Psychol ; 136(2): 140-150, 2022 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35389712

ABSTRACT

Economic risk proneness is displayed by human children and some nonhuman primate species. To explore the role of attraction toward the unknown and the unexpected in economic choices, 2.5-year-old children and capuchin monkeys were presented in Experiment 1 with a gambling task in which participants had to choose between 2 options, a secure option and a risky option characterized by an unexpected event. In contrast to capuchins, toddlers showed a strong preference for the risky option over the safe option. In Experiment 2, toddlers maintained their risky choices despite the increased salience of the safe option. In contrast to toddlers, capuchins preferentially chose the safe option in this second experiment. We argue that capuchins' risk aversion reflects an exploitation strategy of known and safe options. In human children, the attractiveness of uncertain reward appears to be linked to their novelty seeking. We argue that toddlers' risk proneness in the gain domain reflects an exploratory search strategy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Subject(s)
Cebus , Gambling , Animals , Child, Preschool , Exploratory Behavior , Humans , Reward , Sapajus apella
11.
J Comp Psychol ; 136(3): 199-212, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35389713

ABSTRACT

Human joint action is generally facilitated by the tendency to represent not only one's own task and behavior but also the partner's. Yet, under some conditions, such as in the joint Simon task, corepresentation can cause interference and hampers, rather than facilitates, joint performance. A competent cooperator should thus also be able to flexibly inhibit corepresentation if that is conducive to cooperation success. To investigate the evolutionary origin of corepresentation, as well as the cooperative flexibility to inhibit it when necessary, we tested brown capuchins and Tonkean macaques in the joint Simon task and compared them with the previously tested marmosets. Corepresentation was present in all 3 species, but its strength and the cooperation success varied substantially. The cooperatively breeding marmosets showed the weakest corepresentation effect and, therefore, highest cooperation success, and they were the only ones to use mutual gaze when coordination with the partner was necessary. Cooperative flexibility was therefore not correlated with brain size but with the prevalence of cooperation in nature. This conclusion was corroborated by species differences in gazing patterns and suggests that the drivers of cooperative flexibility in humans were not solely cognitive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Subject(s)
Callithrix , Sapajus apella , Animals , Cebus , Humans , Macaca
12.
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) ; 75(2): 232-244, 2022 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33084504

ABSTRACT

Foraging in seasonal environments can be cognitively demanding. Comparative studies have associated large brain size with a frugivorous diet. We investigated the ability of three semi-free-ranging primate species with different degrees of frugivory (Ntrials: Macaca tonkeana = 419, Macaca fascicularis = 197, Sapajus apella = 346) in developing a mental representation of the spatio-temporal distribution of food using foraging experiments. Forty-two boxes were fixed on trees, and each week ("season"), some of them were filled with fruits which were either highly preferred, or less preferred. Spatial (geometrical panels) and temporal (peel skin of the available fruit) cues were present at each season to indicate where (food location), what (which food) was available, and when. To test the flexible use of the cues in primate foraging behaviour, we first removed the spatial and temporal cues one at a time, and then, we manipulated the "seasonal" order of the available fruit. We compared the foraging performances in the absence and the presence of the cues and during the usual and unusual seasonal order. The average proportion of baited boxes chosen by the subjects in presence of both cues was high (between 73% and 98%) for all species. The primates seemed to remember the spatio-temporal food availability (or used other cues) because no difference was found between trials with or without our spatial and temporal cues. When the usual seasonal pattern was changed, they flexibly adjusted the feeding choice by using the provided temporal cues. We discuss these results also in view of a possible experimental bias.


Subject(s)
Cues , Feeding Behavior , Animals , Diet , Fruit , Primates
13.
Stress ; 24(6): 1033-1041, 2021 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34756152

ABSTRACT

Group living is a source of stress and an individuals' social environment has been shown to have a significant effect on its health and well-being. However, little is known about how different social organizations affect the stress levels of their members. Is living in a hierarchical society more or less stressful than living in a more tolerant structure? Here, we assess cortisol concentrations in the hair of two macaque species with radically different dominance styles: the egalitarian Tonkean macaque (Macaca Tonkeana) and the despotic long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Hair was sampled in winter and again in late spring in two mixed-sex groups of 22 Tonkean macaques and 9 long-tailed macaques; Hair cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in the egalitarian Tonkean macaques than in the despotic long-tailed macaques, ranging from 161.13 to 938.8 pg/mg (mean ± SD 349.67 ± 126.22) and from 134.46 to 339.86 pg/mg (mean ± SD 231.2 ± 44.24), respectively. There was no difference between male and female cortisol concentrations, but hair cortisol increased with age in males. Dominance rank certainty was lower among female Tonkean macaques compared to long-tailed macaques. Our results suggest that species differences in dominance styles may translate into differences in long-term cortisol concentrations. We suggest that the higher cortisol concentrations in Tonkean macaques could be linked to the instability and lack of predictability and control around social relationships.


LAY SUMMARYBeing part of a social group can be very stressful, depending on the social structure of this group. We found that the more socially tolerant Tonkean macaques exhibited on average higher hair cortisol concentrations than more despotic long-tailed macaques. Males and females exhibited similar concentrations of hair cortisol in both species, but in male Tonkean macaques concentrations increased with age. The finding that overall cortisol levels were higher in the more tolerant species suggests that psychological arousal due to unpredictable social relations and mating competition may be an important driver of cortisol release in this species despite its overall tolerant social organization.


Subject(s)
Hydrocortisone , Stress, Psychological , Animals , Female , Hair , Macaca , Macaca fascicularis , Male , Social Dominance
14.
Primates ; 62(4): 595-607, 2021 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33847852

ABSTRACT

Among animal societies, dominance is an important social factor that influences inter-individual relationships. However, assessing dominance hierarchy can be a time-consuming activity which is potentially impeded by environmental factors, difficulties in the recognition of animals, or disturbance of animals during data collection. Here we took advantage of novel devices, machines for automated learning and testing (MALT), designed primarily to study non-human primate cognition, to additionally measure the dominance hierarchy of a semi-free-ranging primate group. When working on a MALT, an animal can be replaced by another, which could reflect an asymmetric dominance relationship. To assess the reliability of our method, we analysed a sample of the automated conflicts with video scoring and found that 74% of these replacements included genuine forms of social displacements. In 10% of the cases, we did not identify social interactions and in the remaining 16% we observed affiliative contacts between the monkeys. We analysed months of daily use of MALT by up to 26 semi-free-ranging Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) and found that dominance relationships inferred from these interactions strongly correlated with the ones derived from observations of spontaneous agonistic interactions collected during the same time period. An optional filtering procedure designed to exclude chance-driven displacements or affiliative contacts suggests that the presence of 26% of these interactions in data sets did not impair the reliability of this new method. We demonstrate that this method can be used to assess the dynamics of both individual social status, and group-wide hierarchical stability longitudinally with minimal research labour. Further, it facilitates a continuous assessment of dominance hierarchies in captive groups, even during unpredictable environmental or challenging social events, which underlines the usefulness of this method for group management purposes. Altogether, this study supports the use of MALT as a reliable tool to automatically and dynamically assess dominance hierarchy within captive groups of non-human primates, including juveniles, under conditions in which such technology can be used.


Subject(s)
Behavior, Animal/physiology , Primates/physiology , Social Behavior , Social Dominance , Animals , Female , Male , Primates/psychology , Reproducibility of Results
15.
Int J Ophthalmol ; 13(9): 1436-1442, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32953584

ABSTRACT

AIM: To validate a visual acuity (VA) test application on touchpad in the screening of pediatric population by comparing VA results obtained with conventional tests. METHODS: A cohort of 101 patients, 44 girls and 57 boys with a median of 6.5 years old (3-10 years of age), presenting for eye examinations in Ophthalmology Department (Strasbourg, France) between November 1st, 2018, and February 1st, 2019 were enrolled. Monocular and binocular VA testing was performed on the subject using both a standard test and the touchpad application (Monoyer, "E" or, Pigassou depending of children's capacities). Patients were excluded if they were physically or mentally unable to use the touchpad. The duration of each tests, the painfulness, the comprehension, the attention of children during the test and test's preferences were also evaluated. RESULTS: There was a good linear correlation and intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC=0.50 (0.34, 0.64) for binocular acuity, 0.74 (0.64, 0.82) for right eyes and 0.525 (0.37, 0.66) for left eye]. The standard errors of measurement were very low (0.08, 0.05, 0.08 for binocular VA, right eyes VA and left eyes VA, respectively). There was no difference between two tests for right eye (P=0.126), left eye (P=0.098) and binocular acuity (P=0.085). Non inferiority was proved for all binocular [-0.06 (-0.09, -0.03)], right eye [-0.04 (-0.07, -0.01)] and left eye [-0.06 (-0.09, -0.02)] VA. The sensitivity and specificity, which correspond to the ability for our app to detect amblyopia, were 92% and 80% respectively. CONCLUSION: Our touchpad application represents an efficient and valid test of VA in children with a high specificity to detect visual impairment.

16.
Sci Rep ; 10(1): 9777, 2020 06 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32555440

ABSTRACT

Complex societies are shaped by social relationships between multiple individuals. The pressure to track these relationships has driven the evolution of social cognition in primates. Importantly, it can be adaptive to track not only personal relationships, but also those established between third-parties. Primates have knowledge about others' dominance hierarchies and kinship, but we do not know to what extent they also understand friendships. In a playback experiment, Tonkean macaques were presented with simulated conflicts involving third-party female dyads who were established friends or non-friends. Hearing a conflict between friends elicited a stronger behavioural response in listeners (i.e. an increase in looking time) compared to hearing a conflict between non-friends. Conflicts between friends are likely to represent a greater disruption of the social group and structure of the network, and therefore this difference in response may represent an adaptive strategy employed by the macaques to selectively monitor important social interactions in the group. These findings provide evidence that Tonkean macaques (and potentially other primates) can classify the relationships of others based on their degree of friendship and additionally, confirms the important role friendships have within the societies of social primates.


Subject(s)
Aggression , Behavior, Animal/physiology , Macaca/psychology , Social Behavior , Social Dominance , Social Interaction , Vocalization, Animal , Animals , Female , Male
17.
Comput Biol Med ; 120: 103755, 2020 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32421654

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: One of the main issues in the analysis of clinical neonatal brain MRI is the low anisotropic resolution of the data. In most MRI analysis pipelines, data are first re-sampled using interpolation or single image super-resolution techniques and then segmented using (semi-)automated approaches. In other words, image reconstruction and segmentation are then performed separately. In this article, we propose a methodology and a software solution for carrying out simultaneously high-resolution reconstruction and segmentation of brain MRI data. METHODS: Our strategy mainly relies on generative adversarial networks. The network architecture is described in detail. We provide information about its implementation, focusing on the most crucial technical points (whereas complementary details are given in a dedicated GitHub repository). We illustrate the behavior of the proposed method for cortex analysis from neonatal MR images. RESULTS: The results of the method, evaluated quantitatively (Dice, peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity, number of connected components) and qualitatively on a research dataset (dHCP) and a clinical one (Epirmex), emphasize the relevance of the approach, and its ability to take advantage of data-augmentation strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the potential of our proposed method/software with respect to practical medical applications. The method is provided as a freely available software tool, which allows one to carry out his/her own experiments, and involve the method for the super-resolution reconstruction and segmentation of arbitrary cerebral structures from any MR image dataset.


Subject(s)
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Neuroimaging , Signal-To-Noise Ratio
18.
Primates ; 61(3): 507-518, 2020 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32095910

ABSTRACT

Geophagy is the intentional consumption of soil and has been observed in various animal taxa including human and nonhuman primates. Among the numerous adaptive hypotheses proposed to explain this behavior, two of them stand out: soil either protects the gastrointestinal tract from secondary plant compounds, parasites and pathogens, and/or supplements micronutrients in the diet. Few studies have characterized the physical and chemical characteristics of soils consumed by nonhuman primates. Here, we describe the composition of soils consumed by yellow-tailed woolly monkeys (Lagothrix flavicauda) in comparison with soils taken from surrounding areas. We also studied the physical aspects of geophagy sites in terms of accessibility, dimensions and vegetation density. This study took place at the La Esperanza field site, in northern Peru, between 2016 and 2018. We conducted focal follows, placed camera traps at geophagy sites and sampled soils. In total, we recorded 77 geophagy events. Our results highlight some aspects of soil and site selection in these arboreal primates, who face an increased predation risk when descending to the ground. Animals preferred smaller sites with denser surrounding vegetation. Composition of consumed soils was similar between geophagy sites. Soils were poor in micronutrients, but contained around 20% clay. High clay content, coupled with the fact that geophagy was performed significantly more in the dry season, when leaf consumption is highest, lends support to geophagy as a mechanism for protection of the gastrointestinal tract in L. flavicauda.


Subject(s)
Atelinae/physiology , Feeding Behavior , Soil/chemistry , Animals , Female , Male , Peru
19.
Primates ; 61(1): 41-47, 2020 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31482322

ABSTRACT

Cannibalism is a quite common behaviour in animals that can have survival value when food is scarce or in the case of overpopulation. Conversely, cannibalism can also increase pathogen transmission and reduce fitness. In primates, some cases of cannibalism are associated with infanticide or are performed by mothers after their newborn has died (filial cannibalism). We report here the first observation of cannibalism, specifically infant cannibalism, in a semi-free-ranging group of brown capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). The baby was likely stillborn, as parts of the cranial bones were missing and no fresh injuries were visible. After half a day of taking care of the dead infant, the mother ate part of the corpse's skin and the highly nutritional viscera, possibly thereby compensating for the physiological costs of pregnancy. After attentively watching his mother's behaviour, the older brother of the dead newborn similarly ate parts of the corpse. Although we cannot rule out idiosyncrasy and vertical social transmission, it is possible that cannibalism is a normal-albeit rare-part of the behavioural repertoire of capuchin monkeys.


Subject(s)
Cannibalism , Maternal Behavior , Sapajus apella/psychology , Animals , Animals, Zoo/psychology , Cadaver , Female , France , Male , Mothers/psychology
20.
Cognition ; 196: 104123, 2020 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31835097

ABSTRACT

The understanding that the perceptual appearance of the environment can differ in several ways from the reality underlies the ability to discriminate appearance from reality. Being able to realize when a misperception can lead us to behave in inappropriate ways confers an evolutionary advantage and may be a prerequisite to develop a Theory of Mind. Understanding that our own perception can differ from reality seems indeed necessary to attribute to others perceptions or beliefs different than ours. This appearance-reality discrimination ability has recently been demonstrated in great apes but no information is currently available regarding this ability in other nonhuman species. In a comparative study, we tested Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana), an Old World primate species, and brown capuchins (Sapajus apella), a New World primate species. We provided monkeys with two experiments using visual illusions of size and quantity to test their ability to discriminate appearance from reality, with an experimental setup similar to the one developed by Krachun et al. (2016) on chimpanzees. A large number of brown capuchins, from different ages and both sexes, as well as two Tonkean macaques succeeded in the two experiments. By ruling out all alternative explanations (i.e. visual tracking or associative learning), our study brings the first evidence that some Old World and New World monkeys are able to discriminate appearance from reality. Our results suggest moving the evolutionary apparition of this cognitive ability earlier in time. Finally, it suggests that humans could share more Theory of Mind components with more nonhuman species than we previously thought.


Subject(s)
Illusions , Pan troglodytes , Animals , Cebus , Female , Haplorhini , Male , Psychomotor Performance
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