Social influences on the development of ringtailed lemur feeding ecology

O’Mara, M. Teague; Hickey, Cathriona M.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.09.032

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…In species that only rely on vertical social learning, new skills mainly spread from parent to their offspring. However, in species that also acquire new skills horizontally through peer learning, new skills can spread more quickly (Claidière et al 2013;O'Mara & Hickey 2012), such as the famous food-washing behaviour of Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata (Kawai 1965). Moreover, the social setting that promotes social skill learning has been suggested to facilitate the cognitive abilities of species .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship modulates the attention of naïve individuals to the mobbing behaviour of role models

Griesser

Suzuki

2016

Animal Behaviour

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(M. Griesser). 2The social acquisition of life skills is essential in a wide range of species. Field experiments have demonstrated that naïve young learn particularly from their parents how to deal with predators or how to find suitable food. However, it remains unclear whether the response of young differs in a novel situation when together with related (i.e. parents) or unrelated role models. We addressed this question in a group-living bird species, the Siberian jay, Perisoreus infaustus, groups of which can contain both related and unrelated juveniles.Groups are formed around a breeding pair which engages in prolonged parental care, facilitating delayed dispersal of offspring for up to 5 years. About 25% of juveniles are killed by predators during their first year of life, suggesting that predator avoidance is a crucial life skill for juveniles. Exposing groups to perched predator models showed that kinship influenced how juveniles responded to the mobbing behaviour of breeders. Upon exposure to a predator model, related juveniles immediately paid attention to the behaviour of breeders and copied most of their movements. In contrast, unrelated juveniles copied the behaviour of breeders less frequently, but regularly foraged in the presence of a predator model. These results show that juveniles respond differently to parents and unrelated role models, potentially affecting the acquisition of vital life skills. Parental care creates a close social bond, predisposing juveniles to pay attention especially to novel behaviours shown by their care-givers. Furthermore, parents have a fitness benefit from facilitating the skill acquisition of their offspring. Thus, a prolonged parent-offspring association is likely to enhance skill acquisition and influence cognitive evolution across species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship modulates the attention of naïve individuals to the mobbing behaviour of role models

Griesser

Suzuki

2016

Animal Behaviour

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“…We analysed the data using t-tests to identify the effect of sex on forearm length, mass, and body condition. [31]…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape

et al. 2016

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Within the large order of bats, sexual size dimorphism measured by forearm length and body mass is often female-biased. Several studies have explained this through the effects on load carrying during pregnancy, intrasexual competition, as well as the fecundity and thermoregulation advantages of increased female body size. We hypothesized that wing shape should differ along with size and be under variable selection pressure in a species where there are large differences in flight behaviour. We tested whether load carrying, sex differential migration, or reproductive advantages of large females affect size and wing shape dimorphism in the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), in which females are typically larger than males and only females migrate long distances each year. We tested for univariate and multivariate size and shape dimorphism using data sets derived from wing photos and biometric data collected during pre-migratory spring captures in Switzerland. Females had forearms that are on average 1% longer than males and are 1% heavier than males after emerging from hibernation, but we found no sex differences in other size, shape, or other functional characters in any wing parameters during this pre-migratory period. Female-biased size dimorphism without wing shape differences indicates that reproductive advantages of big mothers are most likely responsible for sexual dimorphism in this species, not load compensation or shape differences favouring aerodynamic efficiency during pregnancy or migration. Despite large behavioural and ecological sex differences, morphology associated with a specialized feeding niche may limit potential dimorphism in narrow-winged bats such as common noctules and the dramatic differences in migratory behaviour may then be accomplished through plasticity in wing kinematics.

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“…prey on infant ring-tailed lemurs twice from ambush positions on the ground. Alternatively, foraging in the same area as adults and not necessarily foraging closer to them is enough to limit predation attempts through dilution effects and may present the best options when trying to maximize social learning opportunities [O'Mara and Hickey, 2012]. This may be particularly true for juvenile ring-tailed lemurs that are balancing increased aggression rates against access to food and predator exposure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Risk Aversion and Juvenile Ring-Tailed Lemur Feeding and Foraging

O’Mara¹

2015

IJFP

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The extended primate juvenile period has been linked to interactions between feeding ecology and sociality. However, accumulating field data on juvenile primates suggest variation in the linkages between foraging efficiency, group foraging and social behaviour. In many non-human primates, juvenile ability (strength, coordination and motor skills) does not limit foraging success. If predicted limitations in feeding are not found in juvenile monkeys, it is possible that the gregarious strepsirrhines may show foraging patterns similar to those implicated in the evolution of a life history where long juvenile periods are advantageous. To test these behavioural predictions, I present a mixed longitudinal sample of observations on feeding and foraging behaviour from ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. Like several platyrrhine species, close proximity during foraging, low feeding efficiency and low dietary diversity are not typical of ring-tailed lemurs. The lack of ecological trade-offs in these species may indicate stronger common roles of sociality and social complexity in structuring the elongation of the primate juvenile period.

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Social influences on the development of ringtailed lemur feeding ecology

Cited by 25 publications

References 78 publications

Kinship modulates the attention of naïve individuals to the mobbing behaviour of role models

Kinship modulates the attention of naïve individuals to the mobbing behaviour of role models

Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape

Ecological Risk Aversion and Juvenile Ring-Tailed Lemur Feeding and Foraging

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