Abstract
We recorded the responses of the members of a captive group of wedge-capped capuchins to novel and familiar objects placed in different parts of their cage in a study of the spatial dependency of activity with objects. We focused on behavioral pattern variability across subjects and across object location. Results show that, according to the location of the object, a great deal of within-subject response variability exists. The dominant male was slow to interact physically with objects and presented social-like behaviors—essentially grooming—towards objects in only one site. Implicit to the ethological approach is the assumption that consistent spatial location is irrelevant or, at best, of little importance to the definition of stimuli. Nevertheless, stimuli would be best considered as perturbations insofar as the significance of an object or event depends on where and when it is encountered. In order to evaluate how monkey cognition operates, it seems essential to investigate the role of the primate's own spatial structure. As a working hypothesis, we introduce the processes of spatial facilitation and inhibition and suggest that they affect how an individual interacts with objects and events.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Altmann, J. (1974). Observation study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behaviour 49: 337-367.
Anderson, J. (1990). Use of objects as hammers to open nuts by capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Folia Primatol. 54: 138-145.
Antinucci, F., and Visalberghi, E. (1986). Tool use in Cebus apella: A case study. Int. J. Primatol. 7: 351-363.
Benzecri, J. P. (1973). L'Analyse des Donne´es: II. L'Analyse des Correspondances, Dunod, Paris.
Byrne, G., and Suomi, S. J. (1996). Individual differences in object manipulation in a colony of tufted capuchins. J. Hum. Evol. 31: 259-267.
Chalmeau, R., and Gallo, A. (1996). Cooperation in primates: Critical analysis of behavioural criteria. Behav. Proc. 35: 101-111.
Cheney, D. L., and Seyfarth, R. M. (1990). How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Chevalier-Skolnikoff, S. (1989). Spontaneous tool use and sensorimotor intelligence in Cebus compared with other monkeys and apes. Behav. Brain Sci. 12: 561-588.
Chevalier-Skolnikoff, S. (1990). Tool use by wild Cebus monkeys at Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. Primates 31: 375-383
Cochran, W. G. (1954). Some methods for strengthening the common x2 tests. Biometrics 10: 417-451.
Dubois, M., Gerard, J. F., Sampaio, E., and Muniz, J. (in preparation). Probing in Cebus olivaceus: Hand preference and spatial facilitation.
Dubois, M., Khazraýë, K., Guilhem, C., Maublanc M. L., and Le Pendu, Y. (1996). Philopatry in mouflon rams during the rutting season: Psychoethological determinism and functional consequences. Behav. Pro. 35: 93-100.
Dubois, M., Le Pendu, Y., Siciliano G., and Moinard, C. (1997). L'autre de l'animal dans le cadre d'une approche phénoménologique. In Theraulaz, G., and Spitz, F. (eds.), Auto-Organisation et Comportement, Editions Herme` s, Paris, pp. 49-60.
Fernandes, M. (1991). Tool use and predation of oysters by the tufted capuchin in brackish water mangrove swamp. Primates 32: 529-531.
Fragaszy, D. M., and Adams-Curtis, L. (1991). Generative aspects of manipulation in tufted capuchin monkeys. J. Comp. Psychol. 105: 387-397.
Fragaszy, D. M., and Visalberghi, E. (1990). Social processes affecting the appearance of innovative behaviors in capuchin monkeys. Folia Primatol. 54: 155-164.
Fragaszy, D. M., Visalberghi E., and Robinson, J. G. (1990). Variability and adaptability in the genus Cebus. Folia Primatol. 54: 114-118.
Fragaszy, D. M., Vitale, A. F., and Ritchie, B. (1994). Variation among juvenile capuchins in social influences on exploration. Am. J. Primatol. 32: 249-260.
Glickman, S. E., and Sroges, R. W. (1966). Curiosity in zoo animals. Behaviour 26: 151-188.
Hediger, H. (1950). Wild Animals in Captivity, Butterworths, London.
Hill, M. O. (1974). Correspondence analysis: A neglected multivariate method. J. R. Stat. Soc. 23: 340-354.
Izawa, K., and Mizuno, A. (1977). Palm-fruit cracking behavior of wild black-capped capuchin (Cebus apella). Primates 18: 773-792.
Menzel, E. W., and Menzel, C. R. (1979). Cognitive, developmental, and social aspects of responsiveness to novel objects in a family group of marmosets (Saguinus fuscicollis). Behaviour 70: 251-279.
Parker, S. T., and Gibson, K. R. (1977). Object manipulation, tool use, and sensorimotor intelligence as feeding adaptations in Cebus monkeys and great apes. J. Hum. Evol. 6: 623-641.
Potý, P. (1996). Spatial aspects of spontaneous object grouping by young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Int. J. Primatol. 17: 101-116.
Povinelli, D. J., and Eddy, T. J. (1996). What young chimpanzees know about seeing. 61(3, Serial No. 247).
Rice, W. R. (1989). Analysing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43: 223-225.
Samuels, M. L., Casella, G., and McCabe, G. P. (1991). Interpreting blocks and random factors. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 86: 798-808.
Terborgh, J. W. (1983). Five New World Primates: A Study in Comparative Ecology, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Thierry, B., Wunderlich, D., and Gueth, C. (1989). Possession and transfer of objects in a group of brown capuchins (Cebus apella). Behaviour 110: 294-305.
Tinbergen, N. (1951). The Study of Instinct, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Vauclair, J. (1990). Processus cognitifsé laboré s: Etude des représentations mentales chez le babouin. In Roeder, J. J., and Anderson, J. R. (eds.), Primates-Recherches Actuelles, Masson, Paris, pp. 170-180.
Visalberghi, E. (1988). Responsiveness to objects in two social groups of tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Am. J. Primatol. 15: 349-360.
Visalberghi, E. (1990). Tool use in Cebus. Folia Primatol. 54: 146-154.
Visalberghi, E., and Limongelli, L. (1994). Lack of comprehension of cause-effects relations in tool-using capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). J. Comp. Psychol. 108: 15-22.
Visalberghi, E., and Trinca, L. (1989). Tool use in capuchin monkeys: Distinguishing between performing and understanding. Primates 30: 511-521.
Whitten, A. J. (1982). Home range use by Kloss gibbons (Hylobates klossii) on Sibirut island, Indonesia. Anim. Behav. 30: 182-198.
Zar, J. H. (1996). Biostatistical Analysis, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New-Jersey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dubois, M., Sampaio, E., Gerard, J.F. et al. Location-specific Responsiveness to Environmental Perturbations in Wedge-capped Capuchins (Cebus olivaceus). International Journal of Primatology 21, 85–102 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005475613697
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005475613697