Influence of food dispersion on feeding activity and social interactions in captive Lophocebus albigena and Cercocebus torquatus torquatus

Abstract

We analysed the impact of the distribution of food items on feeding activity and social interactions in captive red-capped and grey-cheeked mangabeys. Three different feeding situations were presented: food items were either placed in a single heap or dispersed in several smaller heaps on the ground or in space. Social interactions were estimated by the frequency of positive, as well as of negative social interactions and by the structure of visual social attention. Feeding activity was estimated by proximity to food and feeding frequency. When food items were presented in single heaps, the adult males monopolized the food and monitoring of conspecifics increased. Social interactions and social gazes decreased in numbers when food items were dispersed in 3D. Gazes were directed more frequently towards the adult males when food items were presented in a single heap. Juveniles and some nonreproductive adult monkeys were the most affected by food competition situations. Inter-group variations, within a given species, of the behavioural responses observed in relation to the distribution of food items were evidenced. This suggests that social context, i.e., individual histories and relationship between group members, plays an important part in the expression of the activities of each member in a group.

Long-Term Spatial Restriction Generates Deferred Limited Space Use in a Zoo-Housed Chimpanzee Group

“…The scattering of food randomly throughout the enclosure appears to have successfully encouraged the chimpanzees to move throughout the available space. Scatter feeding is a relatively common, easy and effective environmental enrichment strategy employed for captive primates [ 62 , 63 , 64 ]. However, satiety and fooddepletion are pitfalls of feeding-based enrichment [ 65 ] and it appears that the effect of scatter feeding on the space use of the chimpanzees in our study lasts only as long as the food does, as evidenced by the more even space use in the morning when food is available and the more biased space use throughout the rest of the day.…”