. 24/7 Space News .
TECH SPACE
Clever monkeys plan their food trips to avoid stronger rivals
by Staff Writers
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Apr 26, 2022

Vervet handling the box to retrieve the half banana.

Vervet monkeys are quick and clever planners of the best route to follow on foraging trips, shows a new study. When dominant group mates are too far away to interfere, vervets tend to choose the shortest route along successive food sites, snacking on each at leisure. But when dominants group mates are nearby, they seem to assess the time before these can approach and displace them at the feeding site. They then choose the route that maximizes their food intake and minimizes travel distance before the competitors' arrival.

These results, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, mean that vervets have excellent cognitive skills for quickly appraising the social context and planning their route accordingly. These skills allow them to choose foraging strategies that we would call rational if shown by humans.

Dr Julie A Teichroeb, associate professor at the Department of Anthropology of the University of Toronto Scarborough and the study's corresponding author, said: "Here we show that vervet monkeys make foraging decisions that minimize travel time and distance, but also ensure they get access to their preferred food rewards when competitors are present."

Bananas: a skillful prize
Teichroeb and colleagues study wild vervets (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in central Uganda. In the present experimental study, done in early 2019, they presented vervets in one social group - used to the presence of researchers - with two types of food: less tasty corn (maize) kernels, and the vervets' favorite, half a banana in a box with a hole. These foods were laid out on platforms arranged in the shape of a pentagon, where each platform was five meters away from its two nearest neighbors. Unlike corn, bananas required skill and time to retrieve: vervets had to learn through trial and error to shake, roll, or tip over the box - a process which took between one and 69 seconds, depending on the vervet's experience and skill.

Before each of the 1028 trials, the researchers provisioned one platform chosen at random with banana, and the other four with corn. A trial started when vervets began to forage. The researchers could recognize each of the 44 vervets in the group individually from their distinctive faces, fur color, and other natural markings.

Teichroeb said: "In previous work we have shown that vervets faced with a similar foraging problem immediately rush for preferred food sites when a competitor is present, but take the route that minimizes travel distance between food sites when foraging alone. In this feeding array, that would be to start at the nearest platform, then move along the outside of the array and only take the banana when it was encountered."

"However, the large sample size in the present study allowed us to show that vervet foraging decisions were much more complex than the above simple dichotomy."

Rather, the vervet's planning proved to depend on "complex, multifactor decisions that consider a great deal of contextual information," the authors wrote. For example, vervets still took the route that minimized travel distance when no group mates were near. But if there were, they quickly assessed the risk of competition and modified their route accordingly. Key factors included the focal vervet's individual skill in handling the banana box, its rank relative to any nearby competitors, and the latter's distance to the feeding array.

Clever monkeys
First author Dr Jean Arseneau-Robar, a postdoctoral researcher at same institute, said: "When the competitor was at the array with them at the onset of the trial, the vervets took the hurried solution and immediately rushed to the banana, retrieving and eating it quickly. They also made a beeline for the banana when there was a high risk of competition."

"This was the case if the dominant had short travel distance to travel time, or if the focal vervet was unskilled at retrieving the banana. But if the latter had a bit more time, he or she would stop to eat from a corn platform en route to the banana."

But not all individuals made such complex decisions. Adult males, who outrank all other group members, don't have to worry about losing food to dominant competitors. Arseneau-Robar said: "The adult males only needed to decide which food patches they wanted, and which patches they would let other group members have."

Teichroeb said: "Our findings show how incredibly complex foraging decisions can be in vervet monkeys. Decision-makers are taking in a lot of ecological and social information, while also considering their own current food-handling skill, and synthesizing this all very quickly before executing their route decision. And they are very good at making the best decisions, as they manage to get their preferred food in the vast majority of cases, even when under pressure."

Research Report:Think fast! Vervet monkeys assess the risk of being displaced by a dominant competitor when making foraging decisions


Related Links
University of Toronto
Space Technology News - Applications and Research


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


TECH SPACE
Making 3D printing truly 3D
Boston MA (SPX) Apr 25, 2022
Don't be fooled by the name. While 3D printers do print tangible objects (and quite well), how they do the job doesn't actually happen in 3D, but rather in regular old 2D. Working to change that is a group of former and current researchers from the Rowland Institute at Harvard. First, here's how 3D printing works: The printers lay down flat layers of resin, which will harden into plastic after being exposed to laser light, on top of each other, again and again from the bottom to the top. Eve ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TECH SPACE
NASA extends exploration for 8 planetary science missions

Report identifies priority planetary science mission and planetary defense efforts as strategic investments

Venice readies day-trip booking system to ease crowds

Safe ISS operation should remain priority, Space Foundation says

TECH SPACE
IHI AEROSPACE received its first commercial launch service order

Crew of first private flight to ISS head back to Earth

Crew of first private flight to ISS return to Earth

SpaceX launches another 53 Starlink satellites into space

TECH SPACE
Solar beats nuclear at many potential settlement sites on Mars

Using bacteria to build settlements on Mars

Mars rover searches for evidence of past life at ancient river delta

Sols 3449-3450: Comin' Down the Mountain

TECH SPACE
Tianzhou-3 docks with Tianhe's front docking port

China reveals missions of Shenzhou-14, Shenzhou-15 space crews

Core module of China's space station achieves anticipated goal

Shenzhou XIII mission a success in testing tech for space station

TECH SPACE
CGI supports creation of the European satellite constellation UN:IO

Planet unveils details about Pelican Constellation

European Space Agency stops cooperation with Russian lunar missions

Intelsat supports programmers with cloud connect media

TECH SPACE
Clever monkeys plan their food trips to avoid stronger rivals

Researchers create exotic magnetic structures with laser light

Stanford engineers develop new kind of 3D printing

Fault-tolerant quantum computer memory in diamond

TECH SPACE
Origin of complex cells started without oxygen

Hydrothermal catering

Scientists study microorganisms on Earth to gain insight into life on other planets

Diverse life forms may have evolved earlier than previously thought

TECH SPACE
Abundant features on Europa bodes well for search for extraterrestrial life

Jupiter's moon has splendid dunes

Water on Jupiter's moon closer to surface than thought: study

Four billion-year-old relic from early solar system heading our way









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.