The Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project: Two Decades of Research on Cebus capucinus

Perry, Seymour; Godoy, Irene; Lammers, Wiebke

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-22514-7_7

Cited by 49 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The study was performed at Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, a tropical dry forest described in the work by Frankie et al (49). This population of C. capucinus has been the subject of longterm study by Perry et al (50) since 1990, starting with a single social group. The number of regularly monitored groups has since expanded by both fission of research groups and habituation of new groups to include 10 groups by the end of 2011.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older, sociable capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

Perry

Barrett

Godoy

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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An important extension to our understanding of evolutionary processes has been the discovery of the roles that individual and social learning play in creating recurring phenotypes on which selection can act. Cultural change occurs chiefly through invention of new behavioral variants combined with social transmission of the novel behaviors to new practitioners. Therefore, understanding what makes some individuals more likely to innovate and/or transmit new behaviors is critical for creating realistic models of culture change. The difficulty in identifying what behaviors qualify as new in wild animal populations has inhibited researchers from understanding the characteristics of behavioral innovations and innovators. Here, we present the findings of a long-term, systematic study of innovation (10 y, 10 groups, and 234 individuals) in wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica. Our methodology explicitly seeks novel behaviors, requiring their absence during the first 5 y of the study to qualify as novel in the second 5 y of the study. Only about 20% of 187 innovations identified were retained in innovators' individual behavioral repertoires, and 22% were subsequently seen in other group members. Older, more social monkeys were more likely to invent new forms of social interaction, whereas younger monkeys were more likely to innovate in other behavioral domains (foraging, investigative, and self-directed behaviors). Sex and rank had little effect on innovative tendencies. Relative to apes, capuchins devote more of their innovations repertoire to investigative behaviors and social bonding behaviors and less to foraging and comfort behaviors.innovation | Cebus capucinus | cultural evolution | phenotypic plasticity | learning B ehavioral innovation has long been a topic of interest for researchers dedicated to studying the evolution of culture, because it is a driver of cultural change (1, 2). The types of behavioral traditions that are of greatest interest to evolutionary modelers are those starting with an innovation that then spreads via social learning. Understanding the characteristics of (i) behavioral innovations (which are roughly analogous to genetic mutations) and (ii) the individuals who invent these behaviors is critical to understanding cultural evolution and its relationship to genetic evolution. Innovation is also of interest to evolutionary biologists who study the role that learning plays in macroevolution, because it is a type of phenotypic plasticity that can affect the direction of natural selection (3). Ability to innovate can enhance reproductive success (for example, by enabling individuals to exploit new resources) (4-6). Innovation can generate the Baldwin effect, in which learned traits create recurring phenotypes that select for morphological adaptations, eventually leading to speciation (3, 7). Innovation is also of interest as a correlate of intelligence more generally, and the ability to solve novel cognitive problems presented by experimenters can be positively ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older, sociable capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

Perry

Barrett

Godoy

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…This (Perry 2012;Perry et al 2012). Behavioral data were available from 11 study groups: four groups were originally habituated, and seven additional groups formed by fissions (Fig.…”

Section: Field Site and Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some immigrant males that were assigned as nonkin of females may in fact have been paternal uncles (or more distant kin) of females residing in groups with their alpha father, since male white-faced capuchins typically emigrate with natal kin (Jack and Fedigan 2004a,b;Perry et al 2008Perry et al , 2012Perry 2012;Wikberg et al 2014).…”

Section: Estimating Degrees Of Relatedness Using Pedigreesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inbreeding risk, avoidance and costs in a group-living primate, Cebus capucinus

Godoy

Vigilant

Perry

2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Documenting inbreeding and its potential costs in wild populations is a complicated matter. Early infant death before genetic samples can be collected limits the ability of researchers to measure fitness costs, and pedigree information is necessary to accurately estimate relatedness between breeding individuals. Using data from 25 years of research from the Lomas Barbudal Capuchin Monkey Project, and a sample of 109 females that have given birth, we find that despite frequent co-residency of adult opposite-sexed individuals, capuchins produce offspring with close kin (i.e. related at the half sibling level or higher) less often than would be expected in the absence of inbreeding avoidance. We do not find support for alternative, non-behavioral explanations for this pattern and thus argue for mate choice. Furthermore, we find evidence for fitness costs among inbred animals in the form of delayed female age at first birth, but not significantly higher juvenile mortality. Further research is necessary in order to determine the mechanisms by which individuals develop sexual aversion to close kin. Significance Statement: Through a combination of demographic records, maternal pedigrees, and genetically determined paternity, this study provides a detailed study of inbreeding and inbreeding avoidance in a well-studied mammal population. This study provides (1) evidence that capuchin monkeys avoid mating with close kin at both the level of daughter-father and half sibling, and (2) evidence of fitness costs to inbreeding in the form of delayed first age at reproduction.

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“…Groups at Lomas range in size from 5 to 40 individuals . The Lomas population has been observed since 1990, with continuous monitoring since January 2002 as part of an infant development project (see Perry, 2012 andPerry et al, 2012 for more detailed information).…”

Section: Study Site and Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cues to kinship and close relatedness during infancy in white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus

2016

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The ability to recognize kin has important impacts on fitness because it can allow for kinbiased affiliative behaviors and for avoidance of mating with close kin. While the presence and effects of kin biases have been widely studied, less is known about the process by which animals recognize close kin. Here we investigate potential cues that white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) may use to detect half-siblings and closer kin. We focus on the first year of life in a sample of 130 infant (n=65 infant females) wild capuchins from the Lomas Barbudal population in Costa Rica. We show that (1) infant relatedness to juvenile and adult males at the level of half-sibling and higher can be predicted by male alpha status, spatial proximity, and age proximity, and that (2) infant relatedness to juvenile and adult females at the level of half-sibling or higher can be predicted by spatial proximity (but not age proximity). Furthermore, (1) the identities of infants' fathers can also be predicted by male alpha status and the spatial proximity between infants and adult males, and (2) age proximity (but not spatial proximity) is predictive of paternal sibship. These results suggest that infant capuchins have access to multiple cues to close relatedness and paternal kinship, though whether infants use these cues later in life remains to be explored in future research.Keywords: kin recognition, age proximity, early social familiarity, male dominance, The ability to recognize kin has many adaptive benefits. It can help organisms increase their inclusive fitness by allowing them to allot a disproportionate amount of affiliative behaviors and coalitionary support toward individuals with which they share a larger proportion of their genes (Hamilton, 1964). Furthermore, by allowing individuals to recognize kin and discriminate against them in a mating context, kin recognition mechanisms can facilitate avoidance of the deleterious effects of close inbreeding (Charlesworth & Charlesworth, 1987).We define kin recognition as the ability to identify and distinguish kin from non-kin, or more closely related kin from more distant kin, regardless of the mechanism or mechanisms through which it is accomplished, and regardless of whether it actually leads to differential treatment of individuals (i.e. kin discrimination). In this sense, we take on a broad as opposed to narrow definition of kin recognition (see Penn & Frommen, 2010). We consider the related term kin bias to be the differential treatment of kin versus non-kin (or close kin from distant kin), though not exclusively as the result of kin recognition.Kin recognition has been documented in a wide array of animal taxa, including, to name only a few: Artic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) (Winberg & Olsén, 1992;Olsén & Winberg, 1996), spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus bombifrons) (Pfennig et al., 1993), Golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) (Mateo & Johnston, 2000), and Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) and Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) (Holmes & S...

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The Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project: Two Decades of Research on Cebus capucinus

Cited by 49 publications

References 41 publications

Older, sociable capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

Older, sociable capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

Inbreeding risk, avoidance and costs in a group-living primate, Cebus capucinus

Cues to kinship and close relatedness during infancy in white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus

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