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Filippo Aureli - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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There is no other monkey in the mirror for spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2020Co-Authors: Lindsay Murray, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo Aureli, Federica AmiciAbstract:Mirror self-recognition (MSR), usually considered a marker of self-awareness, occurs in several species and may reflect a capacity that has evolved in small incremental steps. In line with research on human development and building on previous research adopting a gradualist framework, we categorized the initial mirror responses of naive spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) according to four levels. We compared social, exploratory, contingent and self-exploratory responses to a mirror and faux mirror during three short trials. If spider monkeys respond as most monkey species, we predicted they would perform at level 0, mainly showing social behavior toward their mirror-image. However, because spider monkeys show enhancement of certain cognitive skills comparable to those of great ape species, we predicted that they would perform at level 1a (showing exploratory behavior) or 1b (showing contingent behavior). GLMMs revealed that monkeys looked behind and visually inspected the mirror significantly more in the mirror than the faux mirror condition. Although the monkeys engaged in contingent body movements at the mirror, this trend was not significant. Strikingly, they showed no social behaviors toward their mirror-image. We also measured self-scratching as an indicator of anxiety and found no differences in frequencies of self-scratching between conditions. Therefore, in contrast to most findings on other species, spider monkeys did not treat their image as another monkey during their initial exposure to the mirror. In fact, they reached at least level 1a within minutes of mirror exposure. These responses recommend spider monkeys as good candidates for further explorations into monkey self-recognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Predation Attacks on Wild Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2018Co-Authors: Laura Busia, Filippo Aureli, Sandra E. Smith-aguilar, Colleen M. Schaffner, Gabriel Ramos-fernándezAbstract:We report 2 cases of predation on an adult and a subadult spider monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi) by a puma (Puma concolor) and an unidentified terrestrial predator at the natural protected area of Otoch Ma'ax yetel Kooh, in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Although spider monkeys are believed to experience overall low predation pressure compared to other primate species, our observations show that predation occurs in the study area and therefore behavioral strategies are likely to be in place to reduce predation risk. Our observations are further evidence that terrestrial predators are a threat for both young and full-grown spider monkeys.
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How Survey Design Affects Monkey Counts: A Case Study on Individually Recognized Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2017Co-Authors: Denise Spaan, Gabriel Ramos-fernández, Colleen M. Schaffner, Braulio Pinacho-guendulain, Filippo AureliAbstract:The fast movement and high degree of fission-fusion dynamics of spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) make them notoriously difficult to survey. We examined which aspects of survey design affect spider monkey sightings along transects in a group of individually recognized spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico. We calculated the number of monkeys and subgroups sighted per transect walk. Using generalized linear models, we found no effect of the number of observers, transect type (new vs. existing), walking speed, or time of day on individual monkey counts or subgroup counts. Recounting of individuals was relatively rare and occurred when transects were walked relatively slowly. We missed more young than adult monkeys. The group composition based on survey data was similar to the known group composition. Based on our findings we recommend that surveys performed on relatively flat terrain be conducted at speeds similar to or faster than the moving speed of spider monkeys to minimize recounting of individuals and that young:adult female ratios based on survey data be interpreted as conservative indicators of population health. The novel methods presented to determine sources of bias in population estimates are applicable to a wide range of primates that are difficult to survey.
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You are Not Welcome: Social Exchanges between Female Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
International Journal of Primatology, 2017Co-Authors: Juan Carlos Riveros, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo AureliAbstract:Group living leads to competition for food between group members. Two types of intragroup food competition may occur: scramble competition, in which all group members use the same resource, such that feeding opportunities are equal for everyone; and contest competition, in which some group members monopolize resources through aggression and dominance. In species in which females disperse from the natal group and immigrate into other groups, immigrant females increase group size and thus possibly food competition. Under these circumstances, other females may use aggression to discourage new females from joining the group. We assessed the distribution of aggression, embraces, and kisses among female spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in relation to group tenure. We recorded social interactions during 1688 10-min focal animal samples on 11 females in Santa Rosa, Costa Rica. We found that aggression was rare between long-term resident females and aggression rates were not higher during feeding than in other contexts, suggesting there was little contest competition. Long-term residents and less recently immigrant females showed higher aggression rates toward the most recent immigrants than toward other females, especially during the first months after a female immigrated, which coincided with the dry season. We did not find similar patterns for embrace and kiss. These results suggest that other females target aggression toward the most recent immigrants to reduce scramble competition. This finding suggests that group tenure should be included in socioecological models for species with female dispersal.
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Relationship quality affects fission decisions in wild spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
Ethology, 2017Co-Authors: Laura Busia, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo AureliAbstract:Fission-fusion dynamics are thought to be mainly a response to differential availability of food resources. However, social factors may also play a role. Here, we examined whether the quality of social relationships between group members affects fission decisions. During 21 months, we collected data on social interactions and fission events of 22 spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) living in a community in the protected area of Otoch Ma'ax Yetel Kooh, Yucatan, Mexico. By entering seven indexes of social interactions into a principal component analysis, we obtained three components of relationship quality, which we labelled "compatibility," "value" and "insecurity" given the relative loadings of the indexes. Our results showed that individuals were more likely to fission into the same subgroup with community members with whom they shared higher levels of compatibility and value and lower levels of insecurity. In addition, individuals preferred to fission into the same subgroup with same-sex group members, as expected based on what is known for the species. Our findings highlight the role of social factors in fission decisions. Adjustments in subgroup size are based on multifaceted social preferences, incorporating previously unexamined aspects of relationship quality, which are independent from overall levels of affiliative interactions. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Gabriel Ramos-fernández - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Predation Attacks on Wild Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2018Co-Authors: Laura Busia, Filippo Aureli, Sandra E. Smith-aguilar, Colleen M. Schaffner, Gabriel Ramos-fernándezAbstract:We report 2 cases of predation on an adult and a subadult spider monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi) by a puma (Puma concolor) and an unidentified terrestrial predator at the natural protected area of Otoch Ma'ax yetel Kooh, in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Although spider monkeys are believed to experience overall low predation pressure compared to other primate species, our observations show that predation occurs in the study area and therefore behavioral strategies are likely to be in place to reduce predation risk. Our observations are further evidence that terrestrial predators are a threat for both young and full-grown spider monkeys.
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How Survey Design Affects Monkey Counts: A Case Study on Individually Recognized Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2017Co-Authors: Denise Spaan, Gabriel Ramos-fernández, Colleen M. Schaffner, Braulio Pinacho-guendulain, Filippo AureliAbstract:The fast movement and high degree of fission-fusion dynamics of spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) make them notoriously difficult to survey. We examined which aspects of survey design affect spider monkey sightings along transects in a group of individually recognized spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico. We calculated the number of monkeys and subgroups sighted per transect walk. Using generalized linear models, we found no effect of the number of observers, transect type (new vs. existing), walking speed, or time of day on individual monkey counts or subgroup counts. Recounting of individuals was relatively rare and occurred when transects were walked relatively slowly. We missed more young than adult monkeys. The group composition based on survey data was similar to the known group composition. Based on our findings we recommend that surveys performed on relatively flat terrain be conducted at speeds similar to or faster than the moving speed of spider monkeys to minimize recounting of individuals and that young:adult female ratios based on survey data be interpreted as conservative indicators of population health. The novel methods presented to determine sources of bias in population estimates are applicable to a wide range of primates that are difficult to survey.
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Influence of Fruit Availability on the Fission–Fusion Dynamics of Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
International Journal of Primatology, 2017Co-Authors: Braulio Pinacho-guendulain, Gabriel Ramos-fernándezAbstract:Socioecological theory proposes that the flexibility in grouping patterns afforded by fission–fusion dynamics allows animals to cope with spatiotemporal variability in food abundance. We investigate the influence of fruit tree abundance and foraging environment heterogeneity on fission–fusion dynamics in a group of spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. We collected 1300 h of behavioral data and 23 samples of biweekly ecological data from August 2009 to July 2010. We measured fission–fusion dynamics through the temporal variation in the size and composition of subgroups, the spatial dispersion within and between subgroups, and the frequency of fissions and fusions. We measured habitat-wide food abundance of preferred species, including two that differ greatly in their relative abundance: Brosimum alicastrum (a hyperabundant resource) and Ficus spp. (a not so abundant resource but often represented by large trees). We evaluated the foraging environment heterogeneity through the variance in the number of trees with fruit between species. Our results show that, although habitat-wide food abundance is important, the availability of key resources strongly influences the spider monkeys’ fission–fusion dynamics. When there was a high abundance of fruit of Brosimum, subgroups tended to be more stable, smaller, and mixed sex, and their members remained close. In contrast, when Brosimum trees with fruit were scarce, females often formed large, more fluid and dispersed subgroups. Foraging environment heterogeneity had a positive effect on within-subgroup spatial dispersion and rates of fission and fusion. The complex relationships we have uncovered suggest that the flexibility afforded by fission–fusion dynamics is an adaptation to highly variable foraging environments.
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Individual Variation of Whinnies Reflects Differences in Membership Between Spider Monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi) Communities
International Journal of Primatology, 2013Co-Authors: Claire J. Santorelli, Gabriel Ramos-fernández, Filippo Aureli, Colleen M. SchaffnerAbstract:Contact calls, which function to coordinate group movement and maintain contact between conspecifics, are predicted to show high levels of acoustic variability and individual distinctiveness. We investigated interindividual variation in whinnies, a contact call, between two geographically distinct communities of wild Geoffroyi’s spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi), which were experiencing different degrees of stability in membership due to immigration. We recorded whinnies from 18 subjects, including 9 females ranging within the Otoch Ma’ax Yetal Kooh Reserve, Punta Laguna, Mexico, and 9 females ranging within the Santa Rosa Sector, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We examined 13 acoustic parameters of female whinnies using principal component analysis and discriminant function analysis. Individual acoustic variability was significantly different between the two communities. A higher percentage of the whinnies of females were assigned to the correct caller in the community with only 3 individuals immigrating within 36 mo before and during data collection than in the community with 15 immigrant individuals during the same period. We suggest that the variation in interindividual distinctiveness for each community was influenced by the stability of the vocal environment, which was quantitatively different between communities because of changes in membership.
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Association networks in spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2009Co-Authors: Gabriel Ramos-fernández, Filippo Aureli, Denis Boyer, Laura G. VickAbstract:We use two novel techniques to analyze association patterns in a group of wild spider monkeys ( Ateles Geoffroyi ) studied continuously for 8 years. Permutation tests identified association rates higher or lower than chance expectation, indicating active processes of companionship and avoidance as opposed to passive aggregation. Network graphs represented individual adults as nodes and their association rates as weighted edges. Strength and eigenvector centrality (a measure of how strongly linked an individual is to other strongly linked individuals) were used to quantify the particular role of individuals in determining the network's structure. Female–female dyads showed higher association rates than any other type of dyad, but permutation tests revealed that these associations cannot be distinguished from random aggregation. Females formed tightly linked clusters that were stable over time, with the exception of immigrant females who showed little association with any adult in the group. Eigenvector centrality was higher for females than for males. Adult males were associated mostly among them, and although their strength of association with others was lower than that of females, their association rates revealed a process of active companionship. Female–male bonds were weaker than those between same-sex pairs, with the exception of those involving young male adults, who by virtue of their strong connections both with female and male adults, appear as temporary brokers between the female and male clusters of the network. This analytical framework can serve to develop a more complete explanation of social structure in species with high levels of fission–fusion dynamics.
Shoji Kawamura - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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color vision polymorphism in wild capuchins cebus capucinus and spider monkeys Ateles Geoffroyi in costa rica
American Journal of Primatology, 2005Co-Authors: Chihiro Hiramatsu, Toko Tsutsui, Linda Marie Fedigan, Yoshifumi Matsumoto, Filippo Aureli, Shoji KawamuraAbstract:New World monkeys are unique in exhibiting a color vision polymorphism due to an allelic variation of the red-green visual pigment gene. This makes these monkeys excellent subjects for studying the adaptive evolution of the visual system from both molecular and ecological viewpoints. However, the allele frequencies of the pigments within a natural population have not been well investigated. As a first step toward understanding the relationship between vision and behavior, we conducted color vision typing by analyzing fecal DNA from two wild groups of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) and one group of black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) inhabiting Santa Rosa National Park of Costa Rica. All color-typed monkeys were individually identified. In C. capucinus and A. Geoffroyi we found three and two pigment types, respectively, and the spectral mechanism that created one of the two Ateles pigments was found to be novel. In one Cebus group and the Ateles group, all alleles were present, whereas in the other Cebus group only two alleles were found, with one allele predominating. This was likely due to the effect of close inbreeding, indicating that wild populations can exhibit a variety of allele compositions. This result also suggests that the color vision polymorphism can be easily distorted by natural factors, such as inbreeding, skewing the population structure.
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Color‐vision polymorphism in wild capuchins (Cebus capucinus) and spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in Costa Rica
American Journal of Primatology, 2005Co-Authors: Chihiro Hiramatsu, Toko Tsutsui, Linda Marie Fedigan, Yoshifumi Matsumoto, Filippo Aureli, Shoji KawamuraAbstract:New World monkeys are unique in exhibiting a color vision polymorphism due to an allelic variation of the red-green visual pigment gene. This makes these monkeys excellent subjects for studying the adaptive evolution of the visual system from both molecular and ecological viewpoints. However, the allele frequencies of the pigments within a natural population have not been well investigated. As a first step toward understanding the relationship between vision and behavior, we conducted color vision typing by analyzing fecal DNA from two wild groups of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) and one group of black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) inhabiting Santa Rosa National Park of Costa Rica. All color-typed monkeys were individually identified. In C. capucinus and A. Geoffroyi we found three and two pigment types, respectively, and the spectral mechanism that created one of the two Ateles pigments was found to be novel. In one Cebus group and the Ateles group, all alleles were present, whereas in the other Cebus group only two alleles were found, with one allele predominating. This was likely due to the effect of close inbreeding, indicating that wild populations can exhibit a variety of allele compositions. This result also suggests that the color vision polymorphism can be easily distorted by natural factors, such as inbreeding, skewing the population structure.
Colleen M. Schaffner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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There is no other monkey in the mirror for spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2020Co-Authors: Lindsay Murray, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo Aureli, Federica AmiciAbstract:Mirror self-recognition (MSR), usually considered a marker of self-awareness, occurs in several species and may reflect a capacity that has evolved in small incremental steps. In line with research on human development and building on previous research adopting a gradualist framework, we categorized the initial mirror responses of naive spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) according to four levels. We compared social, exploratory, contingent and self-exploratory responses to a mirror and faux mirror during three short trials. If spider monkeys respond as most monkey species, we predicted they would perform at level 0, mainly showing social behavior toward their mirror-image. However, because spider monkeys show enhancement of certain cognitive skills comparable to those of great ape species, we predicted that they would perform at level 1a (showing exploratory behavior) or 1b (showing contingent behavior). GLMMs revealed that monkeys looked behind and visually inspected the mirror significantly more in the mirror than the faux mirror condition. Although the monkeys engaged in contingent body movements at the mirror, this trend was not significant. Strikingly, they showed no social behaviors toward their mirror-image. We also measured self-scratching as an indicator of anxiety and found no differences in frequencies of self-scratching between conditions. Therefore, in contrast to most findings on other species, spider monkeys did not treat their image as another monkey during their initial exposure to the mirror. In fact, they reached at least level 1a within minutes of mirror exposure. These responses recommend spider monkeys as good candidates for further explorations into monkey self-recognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Predation Attacks on Wild Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2018Co-Authors: Laura Busia, Filippo Aureli, Sandra E. Smith-aguilar, Colleen M. Schaffner, Gabriel Ramos-fernándezAbstract:We report 2 cases of predation on an adult and a subadult spider monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi) by a puma (Puma concolor) and an unidentified terrestrial predator at the natural protected area of Otoch Ma'ax yetel Kooh, in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Although spider monkeys are believed to experience overall low predation pressure compared to other primate species, our observations show that predation occurs in the study area and therefore behavioral strategies are likely to be in place to reduce predation risk. Our observations are further evidence that terrestrial predators are a threat for both young and full-grown spider monkeys.
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How Survey Design Affects Monkey Counts: A Case Study on Individually Recognized Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi).
Folia Primatologica, 2017Co-Authors: Denise Spaan, Gabriel Ramos-fernández, Colleen M. Schaffner, Braulio Pinacho-guendulain, Filippo AureliAbstract:The fast movement and high degree of fission-fusion dynamics of spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) make them notoriously difficult to survey. We examined which aspects of survey design affect spider monkey sightings along transects in a group of individually recognized spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico. We calculated the number of monkeys and subgroups sighted per transect walk. Using generalized linear models, we found no effect of the number of observers, transect type (new vs. existing), walking speed, or time of day on individual monkey counts or subgroup counts. Recounting of individuals was relatively rare and occurred when transects were walked relatively slowly. We missed more young than adult monkeys. The group composition based on survey data was similar to the known group composition. Based on our findings we recommend that surveys performed on relatively flat terrain be conducted at speeds similar to or faster than the moving speed of spider monkeys to minimize recounting of individuals and that young:adult female ratios based on survey data be interpreted as conservative indicators of population health. The novel methods presented to determine sources of bias in population estimates are applicable to a wide range of primates that are difficult to survey.
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You are Not Welcome: Social Exchanges between Female Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
International Journal of Primatology, 2017Co-Authors: Juan Carlos Riveros, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo AureliAbstract:Group living leads to competition for food between group members. Two types of intragroup food competition may occur: scramble competition, in which all group members use the same resource, such that feeding opportunities are equal for everyone; and contest competition, in which some group members monopolize resources through aggression and dominance. In species in which females disperse from the natal group and immigrate into other groups, immigrant females increase group size and thus possibly food competition. Under these circumstances, other females may use aggression to discourage new females from joining the group. We assessed the distribution of aggression, embraces, and kisses among female spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in relation to group tenure. We recorded social interactions during 1688 10-min focal animal samples on 11 females in Santa Rosa, Costa Rica. We found that aggression was rare between long-term resident females and aggression rates were not higher during feeding than in other contexts, suggesting there was little contest competition. Long-term residents and less recently immigrant females showed higher aggression rates toward the most recent immigrants than toward other females, especially during the first months after a female immigrated, which coincided with the dry season. We did not find similar patterns for embrace and kiss. These results suggest that other females target aggression toward the most recent immigrants to reduce scramble competition. This finding suggests that group tenure should be included in socioecological models for species with female dispersal.
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Relationship quality affects fission decisions in wild spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi)
Ethology, 2017Co-Authors: Laura Busia, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo AureliAbstract:Fission-fusion dynamics are thought to be mainly a response to differential availability of food resources. However, social factors may also play a role. Here, we examined whether the quality of social relationships between group members affects fission decisions. During 21 months, we collected data on social interactions and fission events of 22 spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) living in a community in the protected area of Otoch Ma'ax Yetel Kooh, Yucatan, Mexico. By entering seven indexes of social interactions into a principal component analysis, we obtained three components of relationship quality, which we labelled "compatibility," "value" and "insecurity" given the relative loadings of the indexes. Our results showed that individuals were more likely to fission into the same subgroup with community members with whom they shared higher levels of compatibility and value and lower levels of insecurity. In addition, individuals preferred to fission into the same subgroup with same-sex group members, as expected based on what is known for the species. Our findings highlight the role of social factors in fission decisions. Adjustments in subgroup size are based on multifaceted social preferences, incorporating previously unexamined aspects of relationship quality, which are independent from overall levels of affiliative interactions. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Kathy Y Slater - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sex differences in the social behavior of wild spider monkeys Ateles Geoffroyi yucatanensis
American Journal of Primatology, 2009Co-Authors: Kathy Y Slater, Colleen M. Schaffner, Filippo AureliAbstract:Competition for resources and the need for cooperation are reported to affect patterns of social interactions and thus the quality of social relationships in primates. Relationships may be described as high quality when both individuals behave in a way that benefits their partner. We investigated the distribution of a wide range of social behaviors across sex partner combinations of adult spider monkeys with specific reference to contested resources. Data were collected from two communities of wild spider monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi yucatanensis) in the Otoch Ma'ax Yetel Kooh reserve in Yucatan, Mexico. Affiliative behavior was exchanged most frequently between males, and as male–male aggression was rare, male–male social relationships were characterized as high quality. Female–female social relationships were best described as low quality as females showed no preference to be in proximity with other females and female–female affiliative behavior was rare. Relationships between the sexes generally were characterized by high rates of female-directed male aggression, although additional investigation into the effects of kinship and female reproductive state on male–female relationships is required before further conclusions can be drawn. Dyadic and coalitionary female–female aggression was significantly higher than expected in a feeding context, confirming that female spider monkeys primarily compete for access to food. Male–male aggression did not increase significantly when in the presence of females, but males embraced at higher rates when in mixed-sex subgroups. As embraces serve to reduce the likelihood of aggression during tense situations, high rates of male–male embraces in mixed-sex subgroups may mitigate male conflicts over access to females. Am. J. Primatol. 71:21–29, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
