Observation and publication of infrequently observed behavior

Nakagawa, Naofumi

doi:10.1007/s10329-021-00923-9

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…While calls for short reports have increased in some high impact primatological journals recently, and short anecdotal reports continue to be considered important in some schools of thought, for example in Japanese primatology [ 27 ], the results of our survey suggest that many mammologists are still wary of publishing anecdotes on SSSB and question the usefulness of such information. Anecdotal reports allow us to compare trends and variability in behaviour across species [ 105 ], which improves phylogenetic analyses [ 106 , 107 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Finally, most of what is known about SSSB comes from opportunistic, anecdotal evidence, rather than systematic study [1,15]. Anecdotes, which are narrative accounts of animal behaviour, have largely been replaced by quantitative and systematic data collection in animal behaviour research [with some exceptions, see 27,28]. While calls for anecdotes have increased recently in some primatological journals, decades of bias against anecdotes could be influencing our current understandings of some behaviours that are perceived to be rare, such as SSSB [1,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey

Anderson,

Teichroeb,

Ramsay

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSSB) occurs in most animal clades, but published reports are largely concentrated in a few taxa. Thus, there remains a paucity of published reports for most mammalian species. We conducted a cross-sectional expert survey to better understand the underlying reasons for the lack of publications on this topic. Most respondents researched Primates (83.6%, N = 61), while the rest studied Carnivora (6.9%, N = 5), Rodentia (4.1%, N = 3), Artiodactyla (2.7%, N = 2), and Proboscidea (2.7%, N = 2). Most respondents (76.7%, N = 56) had observed SSSB in their study species, but only 48.2% (N = 27) collected data on SSSB, and few (18.5%, N = 5) had published papers on SSSB. Of the unique species identified as engaging in SSSB in the survey, 38.6% (N = 17) have no existing reports of SSSB to the knowledge of the authors. In both the survey questions and freeform responses, most respondents indicated that their lack of data collection or publication on SSSB was because the behaviours were rare, or because it was not a research priority of their lab. No respondents reported discomfort or sociopolitical concerns at their university or field site as a reason for why they did not collect data or publish on SSSB. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to assess whether taxa studied, education level, or identification within the LGBTQ+ community predicted observing, collecting data on, or publishing on SSSB, but none of these variables were significant predictors. These results provide preliminary evidence that SSSB occurs more frequently than what is available in the published record and suggest that this may be due to a publishing bias against anecdotal evidence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey

Anderson,

Teichroeb,

Ramsay

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…Notable in the case reported here the baby was not in good health at birth, it died after few days, and it was consumed exclusively by the mother. Although we cannot draw any firm conclusions about motivation or potential benefits of the mother’s behaviors, publication of these types of events are important for both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the wide range of reported post-mortem behaviors (Nakagawa 2021 ; Freire Filho et al 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus)

2023

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Comparative thanatology includes the scientific study of death in non-human animals, which involves emotional, social, and exploratory responses of individuals and groups towards corpses. Stillborn babies and dead infants often elicit maternal and alloparental care that can persist for days, weeks, or even months, especially in primates. After this period, cannibalistic acts can occur not only by groupmates but also by the mother. Such cannibalism has been reported both in captive and wild primate groups, suggesting that the phenomenon is evolutionary adaptive. Here, we report a case in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus), a largely unstudied monkey species. We collected data from the birth to the death of the infant on maternal and alloparental care towards the newborn across three phases: pre-mortem, post-mortem, and post-mortem cannibalism. The mother maintained high levels of grooming after the infant’s death. Both the mother and other group members interacted with the dead baby by trying to engage its gaze. Two days after the death, the mother started to eat the corpse until it was almost completely consumed; there was no sharing with other group members. Although we cannot draw firm conclusions about potential benefits of the mother’s behavior, this observation on drills adds a piece to the puzzle of thanatological behaviors and cannibalism in primates.

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“…Japanese macaques from various local groups have been targeted for behavioral and ecological studies and have been tracked by many researchers, but previously no behavior has been confirmed demonstrating Japanese macaques catching swimming fish 19 , 20 (the Japanese macaques of the Koshima Island population (Kyushu), introduced by humans, are known to eat dead fish that have become beached 21 ). The Japanese macaque techniques of catching active swimming trout and/or charr in flowing streams observed in this study is the first observation documented in literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior of snow monkeys hunting fish to survive winter

Takenaka

Hayashi²,

Yamada³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, of Kamikochi in the Japanese Alps endure one of the coldest and harshest environments during winter when scarcity of food puts them at risk. However, various behaviors have evolved to mitigate potential mortality. These macaques typically eat bamboo leaves and the bark of woody plants in winter, but our previous study using the feces of Japanese macaques collected in the winter and DNA metabarcoding analysis revealed conclusively for the first time consumption of riverine benthos and brown trout. In this paper, we investigate how Japanese macaques hunt fish and collect these riverine biota by extensively observing their behavior, including the use of infrared sensor cameras. Many researchers have tracked Japanese macaques as part of behavioral and ecological studies, but previously the techniques by which Japanese macaques capture swimming fish has not been documented. Herein, for the first time we consider how novel macaque foraging behavior traits have evolved to secure valuable animal protein for winter survival when food resources are scarce.

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Observation and publication of infrequently observed behavior

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey

Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey

Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus)

Behavior of snow monkeys hunting fish to survive winter

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