Article
Zoology
Allegra N. DePasquale, Alice C. Poirier, Megan A. Mah, Cinthia Villalobos Suarez, Adrian Guadamuz, Saul Cheves Hernandez, Ronald Lopez Navarro, Jeremy D. Hogan, Jessica M. Rothman, Omer Nevo, Amanda D. Melin
Summary: Understanding why and when primates consume different food resources is important for studying their nutritional ecology and adaptations to food scarcity. In this study, researchers investigated why a frugivorous-omnivorous primate species eats the spongy interior of plant stems (plant pith), and found that pith consumption is most common during seasonal transitions. The dietary pith species had higher pith quantity, softer outer branches and pith, and contained more terpenoids, indicating species selectivity. This study provides insights into how climatic seasonality affects primate behavior and food choice.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Philosophy
Massimiliano Lorenzo Cappuccio, Katsunori Miyahara, Jesus Ilundain-Agurruza
Summary: The study examines the role of habit formation in the development of sport skills, suggesting that motor habits are necessary for skill acquisition and involve a non-cognitive form of intentionality known as motor intentionality. Contrary to intellectualist views on skills, the study argues that skilful actions are primarily driven by motor intentional behaviors rather than cognitive deliberation or goal representation.
TOPOI-AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaro, Camila Ortiz, Caroline Stolz, Stephanie Musgrave, Crickette M. Sanz, David B. Morgan, Dorothy M. Fragaszy
Summary: The study on chimpanzees' termite fishing behavior reveals individual differences in the use of probes, with variations in hand preference and action frequency. A new termite capturing technique - sliding the probe between digits of one stationary hand - requires coordinated bimanual actions. Further research on digital function and environmental constraints will provide insight into manual dexterity in termite fishing.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Elisabetta Visalberghi, Virginia Barca, Patricia Izar, Dorothy Fragaszy, Valentina Truppa
Summary: This study is the first experimental research on the optional use of tools in wild nonhuman primates at the intra-individual level. The availability of stones significantly increased capuchins' success rate in opening nuts, and monkeys of different ages showed variations in their tool-use strategies.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
Summary: This essay provides an overview of the contributions of Margaret Hoy Washburn, an American psychologist, to the field of comparative psychology. Her theoretical insights are still relevant to current psychological research.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Madhur Mangalam, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Jeffrey B. Wagman, Brian M. Day, Damian G. Kelty-Stephen, Raoul M. Bongers, Dietrich W. Stout, Francois Osiurak
Summary: The ubiquity of tool use in human life has led to scientific and philosophical investigations aiming to understand the development of humans' engagement with tools. However, the existing literature on tool use faces epistemological challenges and generates different answers to the same questions. Six author groups from different disciplines and theoretical perspectives respond to critical questions about tool use and point out future research directions. They find that although there are differences in responses, there is a surprising degree of agreement on essential concepts and questions. The interdisciplinary and intertheoretical discussion aims to foster a more comprehensive understanding of tool use.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Patricia Izar, Lucas Peternelli-dos-Santos, Jessica M. Rothman, David Raubenheimer, Andrea Presotto, Gerrit Gort, Elisabetta M. Visalberghi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy
Summary: Tool use is a fundamental feature of human evolution and it can improve foraging efficiency and access to high-quality food. This study found that wild capuchin monkeys that use stone hammers to crack palm nuts achieve more consistent dietary intakes. Tool use increases net energy gain, decreases fiber intake, and increases non-protein energy intake. Additionally, tool use reduces the dispersion in the ratio of protein to non-protein energy, suggesting a role in macronutrient balancing.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy, Nalina Aiempichitkijkarn, Yonat Eshchar, Madhur Mangalam, Patricia Izar, Briseida Resende, Elisabetta Visalberghi
Summary: Bearded capuchin monkeys at Fazenda Boa Vista, Piaui, Brazil older than 8 years routinely crack palm nuts with a stone hammer and anvil. An embodied, perception-action stance hypothesizes that monkeys' improving skill at this task is enabled by learning affordances of spatial and force relations produced with objects. The study found that behaviors, body mass, and skill were related to the success of nut cracking in young and adult monkeys.
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Dorothy Munkenbeck Fragaszy
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Janine Chalk-Wilayto, Mariana Dutra Fogaca, Barth W. Wright, Adam van Casteren, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Patricia Izar, Elisabetta Visalberghi, David S. Strait, Callum F. Ross, Kristin A. Wright, Myra F. Laird
Summary: This study suggests that food material properties have an impact on the feeding efficiency of juvenile capuchin monkeys. Embedded foods elicit longer durations, higher behavioral frequencies, and more unique behaviors. The number of unique behavioral patterns is negatively correlated with age.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Anthropology
Kristin A. Wright, Zeenia Punjani, Rachel R. Oshay, Barth W. Wright, Marianna Dutra Fogaca, Adam Van Casteren, Patricia Izar, Elisabetta Visalberghi, Dorothy Fragaszy, David S. Strait, Callum F. Ross, Myra F. Laird
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Madhur Mangalam, Callum F. Ross, Patricia Izar, Elisabetta Visalberghi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy
Summary: This study investigates how capuchin monkeys adjust their posture by coordinating their tail and hind limbs. Experimental results show that in a natural setting, capuchin monkeys prepare to anchor their tail before adopting a specific posture, and only secure their tail when reaching for food. This coordination allows them to adjust their posture more flexibly.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
James A. Klarevas-Irby, Damien R. Farine
Summary: Little is known about how animals overcome temporal constraints on movement during dispersal. This study used GPS tracking of vulturine guineafowl and found that dispersers showed the greatest increase in movement at the same times of day when they moved the most prior to dispersal. These findings suggest that individuals face the same ecological constraints during dispersal as they do in daily life and achieve large displacements by maximizing movement when conditions are most favorable.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Simone Ciaralli, Martina Esposito, Stefano Francesconi, Daniela Muzzicato, Marco Gamba, Matteo Dal Zotto, Daniela Campobello
Summary: Male cuckoos may transfer nest location information to females as a nonmaterial nuptial gift through specific postures and behaviors, potentially influencing mating choices of female cuckoos.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anne E. Aulsebrook, Rowan Jacques-Hamilton, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: Accelerometry and machine learning have been used to quantify mating behaviors of captive male ruffs. Different machine learning methods were compared and evaluated for their classification performance. The study highlights the challenges and potential pitfalls in classifying mating behaviors using accelerometry and provides recommendations and considerations for future research.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Maria G. Smith, Joshua B. LaPergola, Christina Riehl
Summary: This study analyzed individual contributions to parental care in the greater ani bird and found that workload inequality varied between groups of two and three pairs. However, there was no clear evidence of division of labour within the groups, suggesting individual differences in overall work performed.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Noah M. T. Smith, Reuven Dukas
Summary: Winner and loser effects are observed in many animals, and recent experiments suggest that they may also occur in humans. In two experiments involving video games and reading comprehension, participants who won in the first phase performed significantly better in the second phase compared to those who lost. The effect size was larger in the video game experiment, and men and women showed similar magnitudes of winner and loser effects.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bianca J. L. Marcellino, Peri Yee, Shannon J. Mccauley, Rosalind L. Murray
Summary: This study examines the trade-off between mating effort and thermoregulatory behavior in dragonflies in response to temperature changes, and investigates the effect of wing melanin on these behaviors. The results indicate that as temperature increases, dragonflies reduce their mating effort and increase their thermoregulatory behavior.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Rafael Rios Moura, Paulo Inacio Prado, Joao Vasconcellos-Neto
Summary: This study examined the escape behavior and decision-making of Aglaoctenus castaneus spiders on different substrates. It was found that spiders inhabiting injurious substrates displayed shorter flight initiation distances and lower sensitivity to predators.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Luigi Baciadonna, Cwyn Solvi, Francesca Terranova, Camilla Godi, Cristina Pilenga, Livio Favaro
Summary: In this study, it was found that African penguins could use ventral dot patterns to recognize their lifelong partner and nonpartner colonymates. This challenges the previous assumption of limited visual involvement in penguin communication, highlighting the complex and flexible recognition process in birds.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Nick A. R. Jones, Jade Newton-Youens, Joachim G. Frommen
Summary: Environmental conditions, particularly temperature, have a significant impact on animal behavior. This study focused on aggression in Neolamprologus pulcher fish and found that aggression rates increased with temperature at lower levels, but decreased after reaching a peak. Additionally, the influence of high temperatures on aggression changed over time during the trials. These findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the short-term effects of temperature on aggression and highlight the importance of considering non-linear changes in thermal performance.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bruno Herlander Martins, Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Aldina M. A. Franco, Ines Carry
Summary: Human activities have affected the availability of resources for wildlife, particularly through the provision of anthropogenic food subsidies at landfill sites. This study explores the influence of age on landfill attendance and foraging behavior in white storks. Adult storks visit landfills more frequently and show dominance over juveniles in food acquisition. Juveniles have limited access to landfill resources and are forced to use lower quality areas.