| Records |
| Author |
Spagnoletti, N.; Visalberghi, E.; Verderane, M.P.; Ottoni, E.; Izar, P.; Fragaszy, D. |
| Title |
Stone tool use in wild bearded capuchin monkeys, Cebus libidinosus. Is it a strategy to overcome food scarcity? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
83 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1285-1294 |
| Keywords |
bearded capuchin; Cebus libidinosus; fallback food; necessity hypothesis; nut cracking; opportunity hypothesis; tool use |
| Abstract |
To determine whether tool use varied in relation to food availability in bearded capuchin monkeys, we recorded anvil and stone hammer use in two sympatric wild groups, one of which was provisioned daily, and assessed climatic variables and availability of fruits, invertebrates and palm nuts. Capuchins used tools to crack open encased fruits, mostly palm nuts, throughout the year. Significant differences between wet and dry seasons were found in rainfall, abundance of invertebrates and palm nuts, but not in fruit abundance. Catulè nuts were more abundant in the dry season. We tested the predictions of the necessity hypothesis (according to which tool use is maintained by sustenance needs during resource scarcity) and of the opportunity hypothesis (according to which tool use is maintained by repeated exposure to appropriate ecological conditions, such as preferred food resources necessitating the use of tools). Our findings support only the opportunity hypothesis. The rate of tool use was not affected by provisioning, and the monthly rate of tool use was not correlated with the availability of fruits and invertebrates. Conversely, all capuchins cracked food items other than palm nuts (e.g. cashew nuts) when available, and adult males cracked nuts more in the dry season when catulè nuts (the most common and exploited nut) are especially abundant. Hence, in our field site capuchins use tools opportunistically. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5855 |
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| Author |
Visalberghi E; Trinca L |
| Title |
Tool use in capuchin monkeys: distinguishing between performing and understanding |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1989 |
Publication |
Primates |
Abbreviated Journal |
Primates |
| Volume |
30 |
Issue |
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Pages |
511 |
| Keywords |
Tool use – Cebus apella – Mental representation |
| Abstract |
A horizontal plexiglas tube containing a food-reward was presented to four naive tufted capuchins and suitable sticks were provided to push the reward out. Three monkeys out of four spontaneously used the tools and showed very different styles of solving the task. In more complex conditions, in which the sticks needed to be combined or actively modified in order to become effective, the monkeys were always successful; however, their performance was loaded with errors which did not disappear throughout the trials. Evidence of a difference between success in solving the problem and its understanding was found. This suggests that although capuchins can discover new means through active experimentation, they do not mentally represent the characteristics necessary for a tool to be effective, nor do they modify the tool appropriately beforehand. At this level, a major difference with chimpanzees emerges. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3047 |
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Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. |
| Title |
A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
317-334 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; *Crows; Female; Learning; *Motor Skills; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior |
| Abstract |
Previous observations of a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) spontaneously bending wire and using it as a hook [Weir et al. (2002) Science 297:981] have prompted questions about the extent to which these animals 'understand' the physical causality involved in how hooks work and how to make them. To approach this issue we examine how the same subject (“Betty”) performed in three experiments with novel material, which needed to be either bent or unbent in order to function to retrieve food. These tasks exclude the possibility of success by repetition of patterns of movement similar to those employed before. Betty quickly developed novel techniques to bend the material, and appropriately modified it on four of five trials when unbending was required. She did not mechanically apply a previously learned set of movements to the new situations, and instead sought new solutions to each problem. However, the details of her behaviour preclude concluding definitely that she understood and planned her actions: in some cases she probed with the unmodified tools before modifying them, or attempted to use the unmodified (unsuitable) end of the tool after modification. Gauging New Caledonian crows' level of understanding is not yet possible, but the observed behaviour is consistent with a partial understanding of physical tasks at a level that exceeds that previously attained by any other non-human subject, including apes. |
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Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. alex.weir@magdalen.oxon.org |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17024509 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2436 |
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