The effect of individual and food characteristics on food retrieval and food sharing in captive Guinea baboons (Papio papio)

Abstract

Access to food is of major importance to the fitness and survival of every individual, particularly in group‐living animals, in which individual characteristics and food distribution can affect food intake. Additionally, several species of primates are known to share food under certain conditions. Such unresisted transfer of food from one individual to another appears to be adaptive, for instance as a tool to maintain and reinforce social bonds. In this study, we aimed to test how food retrieval and food sharing varies depending on the social relationship between individuals, and on the characteristics of the food. In six different test conditions, we provided a captive group of Guinea baboons (Papio papio, N = 23) with multiple food items, differing in quality, quantity, density, monopolizability, and effort required to obtain it. We further used behavioral observations to assess individual relationships and possible variations in grooming exchanges linked to food sharing events. Out of 424 events in which food items were retrieved by the subjects, we detected no instances of active food sharing and only 17 of passive food sharing. The way food was retrieved was affected by individual and food characteristics (i.e., quantity, quality, and monopolizability of food): Males and central individuals (i.e., those connected to many partners, and/or having partners with many connections in the social network) were more likely to retrieve food during test conditions. In particular, events of passive food sharing mostly happened when the quality of food was low, and between individuals belonging to the same community (i.e., having close relationships). No other food characteristics affected the probability to share food, and the occurrence of food sharing had no immediate effect on grooming exchanges. Overall, our findings suggest that food sharing is relatively rare in Guinea baboons unless the food has a low quality and individuals form close social bonds.

Intra-specific Variation in the Social Behavior of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

“…In a previous study comparing the Gibraltar group to other three wild groups of macaques with different dominance styles (i.e., Japanese macaques, long-tailed macaques, Macaca fascicularis, and moor macaques, M. maura), for instance, we found that more central individuals had a higher probability of retrieving food in all species (Amici et al, 2020). Such link between sociality and access to food has also been found in other species (Guinea baboons, Papio papio: Dell' Anna et al, 2019) and suggests that social integration, by affecting individuals' ability to access resources, might have a strong direct impact on their fitness and well-being (Dell' Anna et al, 2019;Amici et al, 2020). These results are also in line with previous studies showing a link between sociality and fitness in both human (Smith and Christakis, 2008;Holt-Lunstad et al, 2010) and non-human primates (e.g., baboons: Silk et al, 2003Silk et al, , 2009Silk et al, , 2010Archie et al, 2014; Assamese macaques, Macaca assamensis: Schülke et al, 2010), including Barbary macaques (McFarland and Majolo, 2013;Lehmann et al, 2016).…”

Neophobia in 10 ungulate species—a comparative approach

“…Less central individuals had a lower latency to approach the novel side (as compared to the familiar one), suggesting that individuals being less integrated in their social group are also less neophobic, or perhaps more likely to overcome neophobia to increase their food intake. These results are in line with recent studies on primates showing that less central individuals have a lower probability of retrieving food (Amici et al 2020 ; Dell'Anna et al 2020 ) and are also more likely to overcome neophobia when access to food is uneven across group members (Amici et al 2020 ). Across species, less central individuals may more often have to rely on novel food sources to get a share of resources so that lower neophobia might be selected for.…”

“…Alternatively, it is possible that different personalities may have complementary functions at the group level, with more neophobic individuals contributing to the maintenance of group cohesion (thus also being more central) and less neophobic individuals contributing to the exploration of novel resources and the spread of the group (see Michelena et al 2009 ). In both cases, social integration in the group appears to have a complex encompassing effect on individual fitness, in line with other studies in human (Smith and Christakis 2008 ; Holt-Lunstad et al 2010 ) and nonhuman primates (Silk et al 2003 , 2009 , 2010 ; Schülke et al 2010 ; Archie et al 2014 ; Dell'Anna et al 2020 ).…”

“…Similarly, social integration in the group might be linked to differences in neophobia. Strong social bonds, for instance, enhance individual fitness (e.g., Silk et al 2003 , 2009 , 2010 ; Cameron et al 2009 ; Schülke et al 2010 ; Archie et al 2014 ), and integration in the social group increases others’ tolerance over food (Amici et al 2020 ; Dell'Anna et al 2020 ). Therefore, individuals that are better integrated in the social network might also gain lower potential payoffs from novelty (as compared to less integrated group members) and thus be more risk-aversive and less prone to explore novelty (see Wolf et al 2007 ).…”

Dominance style only partially predicts differences in neophobia and social tolerance over food in four macaque species

“…The results of our study confirm that, beyond dominance rank, other individual characteristics like social integration (measured as Eigenvector centrality in the social network) may have a crucial effect on individuals' ability to access resources. Although the role of social integration in access to food has rarely been investigated, these results are in line with a recent study on captive Guinea baboons (Papio papio 22 ) and support a clear link between social integration and fitness in both human 77,78 and non-human primates [50][51][52]54,55 .…”