The direct observational method and possibilities for Neotropical Carnivores: an invitation for the rescue of a classical method spread over the Primatology

Aguiar, Lucas M.; Moro-Rios, Rodrigo F.

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702009000400001

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Habituation is a key tool for studying the behaviour of a wide range of wild animals in their natural habitat. Arboreal and/or group-living animals seem to respond particularly well to habituation efforts, whereas attempts to habituate terrestrial and/or solitary species have been slower and less successful (Aguiar & Moro-Rios 2009). Given their lifestyle, protection from hunting pressure and the frequency with which they encounter human researchers, it is perhaps not surprising that the capuchin monkeys on Barro Colorado Island, Panama do not respond strongly to the presence of human observers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rattenborg et al 2008). However, wild animals often react strongly to humans, either fleeing, or producing threats or alarm calls in response to observer presence (Williamson & Feistner 2003;Blom et al 2004;Bertolani & Boesch 2008;Aguiar & Moro-Rios 2009). These negative reactions present a problem for researchers trying to study animal behaviour under natural conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One solution to this problem has been to hide researchers from view using natural or constructed blinds, or to remove researchers entirely and use radiotelemetry, camera traps or other remote data collection methods (Martin & Bateson 1986;Lehner 1996;Setchell & Curtis 2003). The first of these approaches limits observers to a fixed location, decreasing the range of behaviours that can be observed, while the second, although quite effective for certain types of studies, cannot provide the detailed behavioural data gained through direct observation (Aguiar & Moro-Rios 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been widely used in field studies of species ranging from primates (Williamson & Feistner 2003;Aguiar & Moro-Rios 2009) Walker et al 2006), and has played a crucial role in elucidating the socio-ecology of many of these species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does watching a monkey change its behaviour? Quantifying observer effects in habituated wild primates using automated radiotelemetry

et al. 2010

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In studies of animal behaviour, researchers have long been concerned that their presence may change the conduct of their study subjects. To minimize observer effects, researchers often habituate their study animals. The premise of this method is that, with sufficient neutral exposure, animals will stop reacting to humans. While numerous studies demonstrate that negative responses to humans decrease over time, the fact that an animal does not flee from or behave aggressively towards observers cannot be taken as evidence that it is not altering its behaviour in other, more subtle ways. Because remotely monitoring the behaviour of wild animals is difficult, it has not been possible to answer the critical question: do habituated animals change their behaviour when researchers are present? Here, we use data from an automated radiotelemetry system that remotely monitored the movement and activity of radiocollared animals to test whether observers affected the behaviour of seven habituated white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus. We found no evidence that observers influenced the ranging behaviour or activity patterns of their study subjects. Capuchins did not move faster, stop to rest less frequently, or display higher levels of activity when they were being followed compared to when they were alone. It has been suggested that researchers may embolden habituated study subjects, artificially increasing their relative dominance, but we found no relationship between observer presence and proximity to neighbouring social groups. Although it remains possible that observer effects existed but were too subtle to be detected with the remote sensing technology we used, the results of this study nevertheless provide reassuring evidence that humans can observe habituated wild animals without overly influencing the animals' activity and movement patterns. Ó

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Does watching a monkey change its behaviour? Quantifying observer effects in habituated wild primates using automated radiotelemetry

et al. 2010

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“…Nevertheless, a record of animal locations or a depth profile tells where the animal was and how long it stayed there, but the behavioral context is absent and must either be inferred or demands a return to direct observation methods [17]. These issues underscore the need for remote measurement of animal behavior to reduce or eliminate the potential effects of observer presence while maintaining a high level of detail in data recording that is comparable to direct observation [18]. Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of research on remote monitoring of animal behavior using measurements of acceleration ( Figure 1) [19,20].…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing the unwatchable through acceleration logging of animal behavior

Brown

Kays

Wikelski

et al. 2013

Animal Biotelemetry

407

460

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Behavior is an important mechanism of evolution and it is paid for through energy expenditure. Nevertheless, field biologists can rarely observe animals for more than a fraction of their daily activities and attempts to quantify behavior for modeling ecological processes often exclude cryptic yet important behavioral events. Over the past few years, an explosion of research on remote monitoring of animal behavior using acceleration sensors has smashed the decades-old limits of observational studies. Animal-attached accelerometers measure the change in velocity of the body over time and can quantify fine-scale movements and body postures unlimited by visibility, observer bias, or the scale of space use. Pioneered more than a decade ago, application of accelerometers as a remote monitoring tool has recently surged thanks to the development of more accessible hardware and software. It has been applied to more than 120 species of animals to date. Accelerometer measurements are typically collected in three dimensions of movement at very high resolution (>10 Hz), and have so far been applied towards two main objectives. First, the patterns of accelerometer waveforms can be used to deduce specific behaviors through animal movement and body posture. Second, the variation in accelerometer waveform measurements has been shown to correlate with energy expenditure, opening up a suite of scientific questions in species notoriously difficult to observe in the wild. To date, studies of wild aquatic species outnumber wild terrestrial species and analyses of social behaviors are particularly few in number. Researchers of domestic and captive species also tend to report methodology more thoroughly than those studying species in the wild. There are substantial challenges to getting the most out of accelerometers, including validation, calibration, and the management and analysis of large quantities of data. In this review, we illustrate how accelerometers work, provide an overview of the ecological questions that have employed accelerometry, and highlight the emerging best practices for data acquisition and analysis. This tool offers a level of detail in behavioral studies of free-ranging wild animals that has previously been impossible to achieve and, across scientific disciplines, it improves understanding of the role of behavioral mechanisms in ecological and evolutionary processes. AbstractResumen: El comportamiento es un mecanismo importante de la evolución y que se paga a través del gasto de energía. Sin embargo, los biólogos de campo raramente observan los animales durante más de una fracción de sus actividades y los intentos de cuantificar el comportamiento para el modelado de los procesos ecológicos a menudo excluyen eventos crípticos pero importantes. En los últimos años se produjeron avances importantes en el monitoreo remoto del comportamiento de los animales, utilizando sensores de telemétro de aceleración (acelerómetros) que empujan los límites tradicionales de los estudios observacionales. Acelerómetros uni...

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On the way to systematize habituation: a protocol to minimize the effects of observer presence on wild groups of Leontocebus lagonotus

2021

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The direct observational method and possibilities for Neotropical Carnivores: an invitation for the rescue of a classical method spread over the Primatology

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Does watching a monkey change its behaviour? Quantifying observer effects in habituated wild primates using automated radiotelemetry

Does watching a monkey change its behaviour? Quantifying observer effects in habituated wild primates using automated radiotelemetry

Observing the unwatchable through acceleration logging of animal behavior

On the way to systematize habituation: a protocol to minimize the effects of observer presence on wild groups of Leontocebus lagonotus

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