Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) find food sources from cues conveyed by group-mates

Abstract

It is possible that non-specialised cues transmitted by conspecifics guide animals' food search provided they have the cognitive abilities needed to read these cues. Macaques often check the mouth of their group-mates by olfactory and/or visual inspection. We investigated whether Tonkean macaques ( Macaca tonkeana) can find the location of distant food on the basis of cues conveyed by group-mates. The subjects of the study were two 6-year-old males, who belonged to a social group of Tonkean macaques raised in semi-free-ranging conditions. In a first experiment, we tested whether the subject can choose between two sites after having sniffed a partner who has just eaten food corresponding to one of the sites. We found that both subjects were able to choose the matching site significantly above the chance level. This demonstrated that Tonkean macaques are capable of delayed olfactory matching. They could associate a food location with an odour conveyed by a partner. In a second experiment, the same subjects were allowed to see their partner through a Plexiglas window. Both subjects were still able to choose the matching site, demonstrating they could rely on visual cues alone. Passive recruitment of partners appears possible in macaques. They can improve their foraging performances by finding the location of environmental resources from olfactory or visual cues conveyed by group-mates.

Offshore diplomacy or how seabirds mitigate intra-specific competition: a case study based on GPS tracking of Cape gannets from neighbouring colonies

“…Such line or V-formations can gather up to 100 birds (Nelson 1978) saving energy when flying long distances (Weimerskirch et al 2001). Group members might also capitalise on a leading individual, on its capacities to locate prey patches and to relay this information to conspecifics (Barta & Giraldeau 1998, Drapier et al 2002. In practice, if one formation leader from Malgas chooses to fly south when leaving Saldanha Bay, this might influence the foraging decision of 100 conspecifics.…”

The evolution of hyperactivity, impulsivity and cognitive diversity

“…It is not known how these relate to discrete individual exploratory roles for wild rats, but such individual differences necessarily confine certain risks to subpopulations. Macaques probably have individual differences in foraging methods (Drapier et al 2002). Mantled howling monkeys track the changing seasonal availability of foods, with a single adult 'sampling' new trees before other monkeys join in (Glander 1981, p. 247).…”

“…Rats, for example, minimize both risks by using social learning as well as individual observations (Dewar 2004). Macaques appear to alternate between searching by themselves and monitoring the discoveries of their neighbours (Drapier et al 2002). In the current simulation, individual observations are immediately distributed through the group.…”

Comparative analysis of the role of olfaction and the neocortex in primate intrasexual competition

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