Flexibility in food extraction techniques in urban free-ranging bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata - PubMed (original) (raw)

Flexibility in food extraction techniques in urban free-ranging bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata

Madhur Mangalam et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Erratum in

Abstract

Non-human primate populations, other than responding appropriately to naturally occurring challenges, also need to cope with anthropogenic factors such as environmental pollution, resource depletion, and habitat destruction. Populations and individuals are likely to show considerable variations in food extraction abilities, with some populations and individuals more efficient than others at exploiting a set of resources. In this study, we examined among urban free-ranging bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata (a) local differences in food extraction abilities, (b) between-individual variation and within-individual consistency in problem-solving success and the underlying problem-solving characteristics, and (c) behavioral patterns associated with higher efficiency in food extraction. When presented with novel food extraction tasks, the urban macaques having more frequent exposure to novel physical objects in their surroundings, extracted food material from PET bottles and also solved another food extraction task (i.e., extracting an orange from a wire mesh box), more often than those living under more natural conditions. Adults solved the tasks more frequently than juveniles, and females more frequently than males. Both solution-technique and problem-solving characteristics varied across individuals but remained consistent within each individual across the successive presentations of PET bottles. The macaques that solved the tasks showed lesser within-individual variation in their food extraction behavior as compared to those that failed to solve the tasks. A few macaques appropriately modified their problem-solving behavior in accordance with the task requirements and solved the modified versions of the tasks without trial-and-error learning. These observations are ecologically relevant - they demonstrate considerable local differences in food extraction abilities, between-individual variation and within-individual consistency in food extraction techniques among free-ranging bonnet macaques, possibly affecting the species' local adaptability and resilience to environmental changes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1. Proportion of Macaques in the Roadside Group (n = 18) and the Temple Group (n = 14) that Explored, Attempted, and Solved the Food Extraction Tasks.

(A) Task-1. (B) Task-2. White: ignored grey: explored; dark grey: explored and attempted; patterned dark grey: explored, attempted and solved the task.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Problem-solving Characteristics of the Temple Group Macaques (n = 14) Across the Six Presentations of Task-1.

Mean ± se work-time (A). Number of bouts (B). Duration of bouts (C). Proportion of work-time spent on major problem-solving technique (D). Proportion of work-time spent on exploration (E). Closed black circles: successful; closed grey circles: partially successful; open circles: unsuccessful.

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This study was supported by a Department of Science and Technology (DST), India Ramanna fellowship to MS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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