Landscape influences on the natural and artificially manipulated movements of bearded capuchin monkeys

Howard, Allison; Nibbelink, Nathan P.; Madden, Marguerite; Young, Leigh Anna; Bernardes, Sérgio; Fragaszy, Dorothy M.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.003

Cited by 14 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Chimpanzees demonstrated remarkable spatial accuracy in planning least-cost routes, even for long (>1 km) movement segments when the number of potential alternative routes increases considerably. These results differ to previous studies which found no relationship between predicted leastcost and actual travel routes in non-human primates (Gregory, 2011, Howard et al, 2015. However, these findings are likely due to the use of unrealistic isotropic models (Etherington, 2016) and lack of model calibration to pathway data (Zeller et al, 2012) and not a reflection of the animals' cognitive abilities.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The NRMSE was calculated following Howard et al (2015) to measure how accurately each model predicted actual travel costs and sinuosity. The strength of the relationship between actual travel costs and the least-cost and straight-line models was examined using a linear mixed effects model (LMM) with a Gaussian error structure and identity link function.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on spatial cognition of naturally ranging animals has generally focused on the abilities of animals to remember the location, type and seasonality of food resources and plan distance-minimising routes between them (Janson andByrne, 2007, Zuberbühler and. However, it is not known whether animals can remember the physical landscape of their natural environment and use this knowledge to plan energy-minimising routes (Howard et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Physical features of the landscape such as steep slopes or dense vegetation, can significantly increase energy expenditure during foraging (Halsey, 2016) and recent studies have shown that animals will alter their ranging patterns in response to landscape features (Dickson et al, 2005, Wall et al, 2006, Sapir et al, 2011, Newmark and Rickart, 2012, Howard et al, 2015. This landscape driven variation in movement costs is termed the 'energy landscape' (Wilson et al, 2012, Shepard et al, 2013 and it follows that animals living in more variable energy landscapes would gain fitness benefits from remembering the landscape of their home range and planning efficient routes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chimpanzees use advanced spatial cognition to plan least-cost routes

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Boruff

Grueter

2019

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While the ability of naturally ranging animals to recall the location of food resources and use straight-line routes between them has been demonstrated in several studies, it is not known whether animals can use knowledge of their physical landscape to plan least-cost routes. This ability is likely to be particularly important for animals living in highly variable energy landscapes, where movement costs are exacerbated. Here, we used least-cost modelling to investigate whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) living in a rugged, montane environment use advanced cognitive skills to plan energy efficient routes. We used a subset of chimpanzee movement segments together with the available laboratory measurements of chimpanzee energy expenditure to assign movement 'costs' which were incorporated in an anisotropic least-cost model and straight-line null model. The least-cost model performed better than the straight-line model across all parameters, and linear mixed modelling showed a strong relationship between the cost of observed chimpanzee travel and predicted least-cost routes. To our knowledge, our study provides the first example of spatial memory for landscape and the ability to plan least-cost routes in non-human animals. These cognitive abilities may be a key trait that have enabled chimpanzees to maintain their energy balance in a low-resource environment. Our findings provide a further example of how the advanced cognitive complexity of hominids have facilitated their adaptation to a variety of environmental conditions and lead us to hypothesise that landscape complexity may play a role in shaping cognition.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chimpanzees use advanced spatial cognition to plan least-cost routes

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Boruff

Grueter

2019

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“…With recent improvements in tracking technologies, the collection and analysis of animal movement data in spatial cognition studies is growing (Janson and Byrne, 2007, Fagan et al, 2013, Garber and Dolins, 2014. However, few studies consider how landscape driven variation in movement costs, termed the energy landscape , Wilson et al, 2012a, influences the choices animals make when moving about their environment (Leblond et al, 2010, Howard et al, 2015, Strandburg-Peshkin et al, 2017. For example, linearity is a commonly used measure for travel efficiency (Valero and Byrne, 2007, Cunningham and Janson, 2007, Asensio et al, 2011, Janmaat et al, 2013; however, this approach does not take into account landscape factors, such as topographic variability, which may result in more energy efficient sinuous routes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From ridge tops to ravines: landscape drivers of chimpanzee ranging patterns

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Boruff

Grueter

2019

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Recent improvements in tracking technologies have resulted in a growing number of fine-scale animal movement studies in a variety of fields from wildlife management to animal cognition. Most studies assume that an animal's "optimal" foraging route is linear, ignoring the role the energy landscape can play in influencing movement efficiency. Our objective was to investigate whether landscape features that affect movement costs; topographic variation, and super and substrate, influence the movement of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a rugged, montane environment. We tested for route re-use and preferential use of human-made trails and ridge tops using 14 months of focal follow data from 14 individuals and maps of established chimpanzee trails. Chimpanzees travelled on human-made trails significantly more than expected and showed weak preference for use of ridge tops for travel. Line density analysis demonstrated route re-use in chimpanzees and uncovered a network of high-use routes across their range. To our knowledge, this is the first study to empirically demonstrate route re-use and preferential use of human-made trails for travel by chimpanzees. We discuss the energetic and cognitive benefits of trail use and the implications for chimpanzee sociality. By applying the latest GIS analytical techniques to fine-scale movement data, this study demonstrates the importance of incorporating landscape features in predictive animal movement models.

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