Navigation strategies in three nocturnal lemur species: diet predicts heuristic use and degree of exploratory behavior

Teichroeb, Julie A.; Vining, Alexander Q.

doi:10.1007/s10071-019-01247-4

Cited by 18 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The habitat generalist bank vole, for instance, showed increased spatial memory compared to the more specialised root vole (Pleskacheva et al 2000). In lemurs, the species with greater habitat specialisation performed better in the spatial memory task due to more efficient use of navigational heuristics (Teichroeb and Vining 2019). In bats, Saussure's long-nosed bats, a relative habitat generalist, exhibited more efficient feeder exploitation than the sympatric but more specialised longtongued bats (Henry and Stoner 2011).…”

Section: Habitat Exploration and The Degree Of Habitat Specialisationmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In primates, the more frugivorous Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) exhibited more goal-directed search strategies while foraging than the less frugivorous long-tailed macaques (M. fascicularis) or capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella; Trapanese et al 2019). The mobility of food items also influenced search strategies in three lemur species (Teichroeb and Vining 2019). Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius), which are specialised on stationary fruits, performed best in a multi-destination array with several feeding platforms.…”

Section: Habitat Exploration While Searching and Finding Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interspecific differences in cognitive performance have been reported as a function of variation in ranging behaviour and search strategies (Teichroeb and Vining 2019;Trapanese et al 2019), foraging activity (Day et al 1999a;Day et al 2003;Jones et al 2017), foraging techniques (Day et al 2003), characteristics of preferred dietary items (Pleskacheva et al 2000;Henry and Stoner 2011;Teichroeb and Vining 2019), adaptations to habitat complexity (Pleskacheva et al 2000;Clarin et al 2013;White and Brown 2015a) or adaptations to seasonality (Cristol et al 2003; Barkley and Jacobs 2007;Henry and Stoner 2011) (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Flexible Foraging Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

Malsburg

Kappeler

Fichtel

2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Variation in cognitive abilities is thought to be linked to variation in brain size, which varies across species with either social factors (Social Intelligence Hypothesis) or ecological challenges (Ecological Intelligence Hypothesis). However, the nature of the ecological processes invoked by the Ecological Intelligence Hypothesis, like adaptations to certain habitat characteristics or dietary requirements, remains relatively poorly known. Here, we review comparative studies that experimentally investigated interspecific variation in cognitive performance in relation to a species’ degree of ecological specialisation. Overall, the relevant literature was biased towards studies of mammals and birds as well as studies focusing on ecological challenges related to diet. We separated ecological challenges into those related to searching for food, accessing a food item and memorising food locations. We found interspecific variation in cognitive performance that can be explained by adaptations to different foraging styles. Species-specific adaptations to certain ecological conditions, like food patch distribution, characteristics of food items or seasonality also broadly predicted variation in cognitive abilities. A species’ innovative problem-solving and spatial processing ability, for example, could be explained by its use of specific foraging techniques or search strategies, respectively. Further, habitat generalists were more likely to outperform habitat specialists. Hence, we found evidence that ecological adaptations and cognitive performance are linked and that the classification concept of ecological specialisation can explain variation in cognitive performance only with regard to habitat, but not dietary specialisation.

show abstract

Section: Habitat Exploration and The Degree Of Habitat Specialisationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Habitat Exploration While Searching and Finding Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Flexible Foraging Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

Malsburg

Kappeler

Fichtel

2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…insects) thus revisiting potential feeding sites may be more profitable for them. Similarly, more frugivorous lemurs showed more goal-directed travels while more insectivorous lemurs showed a more exploratory behaviour [79]. Moreover, the probability that individuals adopted such an ‘opportunistic behaviour’ (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where and what? Frugivory is associated with more efficient foraging in three semi-free ranging primate species

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foraging in seasonal environments can be cognitively challenging. Comparative studies have associated brain size with a frugivorous diet. We investigated how fruit distribution ( where ) and preference ( what ) affect foraging decisions in three semi-free ranging primate species with different degrees of frugivory: Macaca tonkeana ( N indiv = 5; N trials = 430), M. fascicularis ( N indiv = 3; N trials = 168) and Sapajus apella ( N indiv = 6; N trials = 288). We used 36 boxes fixed on trees and filled with highly and less preferred fruits with different (weekly) spatio-temporal distributions. Individuals were tested in two conditions: (1) same fruit provided concurrently in the same quantity but in a scattered and in a clumped distribution, (2) highly preferred fruit was scattered while the less preferred was clumped. Generally, primates preferred feeding first on the boxes of the clumped distribution in both conditions, with the more frugivorous species at a higher degree than the less frugivorous species in condition (1), but not (2). Therefore, what fruit was available changed the foraging decisions of the more frugivorous species who also engaged more in goal-directed travel. When feeding on preferred fruit, primates probably maximized foraging efficiency regardless of their degree of frugivory. Our findings emphasize that the food type and distribution may be a preponderant driver in cognitive evolution.

show abstract

“…While the cofounders of the DLC, Dr. John Buettner-Janusch and Dr. Peter Klopfer, ran research programs focused on genetics and behaviour respectively, the DLC's unique resources have provided data for a wide variety of scientific fields, including anatomy and physiology [e.g., [3][4][5][6], social ecology [e.g., [7][8], cognition [e.g., 9-10, biomechanics [e.g., [11][12], molecular biology [e.g., [13][14], and palaeontology [e.g., [15][16][17][18]. The importance and rarity of the animals housed at the DLC necessitates thorough and effective use in educational and research initiatives, and this spirit of efficiency extends to treatment of deceased individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A digital collection of rare and endangered lemurs and other primates from the Duke Lemur Center

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scientific study of lemurs, a group of primates found only on Madagascar, is crucial for understanding primate evolution. Unfortunately, lemurs are among the most endangered animals in the world, so there is a strong impetus to maximize as much scientific data as possible from available physical specimens. MicroCT scanning efforts at Duke University have resulted in scans of more than 100 strepsirrhine cadavers representing 18 species from the Duke Lemur Center. An error study of the microCT scanner recovered less than 0.3% error at multiple resolution levels. Scans include specimen overviews and focused, high-resolution selections of complex anatomical regions (e.g., cranium, hands, feet). Scans have been uploaded to MorphoSource, an online digital repository for 3D data. As captive (but free ranging) individuals, these specimens have a wealth of associated information that is largely unavailable for wild populations, including detailed life history data. This digital collection maximizes the information obtained from rare and endangered animals with minimal degradation of the original specimens.

show abstract

Navigation strategies in three nocturnal lemur species: diet predicts heuristic use and degree of exploratory behavior

Cited by 18 publications

References 44 publications

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

Where and what? Frugivory is associated with more efficient foraging in three semi-free ranging primate species

A digital collection of rare and endangered lemurs and other primates from the Duke Lemur Center

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About