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Technological response of wild macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to anthropogenic change
- Source :
- International Journal of Primatology
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Anthropogenic disturbances have a detrimental impact on the natural world; the vast expansion of palm oil monocultures is one of the most significant agricultural influences. Primates worldwide consequently have been affected by the loss of their natural ecosystems. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascilularis) in Southern Thailand have, however, learned to exploit oil palm nuts using stone tools. Using camera traps, we captured the stone tool behavior of one macaque group in Ao Phang-Nga National Park. Line transects placed throughout an abandoned oil palm plantation confirmed a high abundance of nut cracking sites. Long-tailed macaques previously have been observed using stone tools to harvest shellfish along the coasts of Thailand and Myanmar. The novel nut processing behavior indicates the successful transfer of existing lithic technology to a new food source. Such behavioral plasticity has been suggested to underlie cultural behavior in animals, suggesting that long-tailed macaques have potential to exhibit cultural tendencies. The use of tools to process oil palm nuts across multiple primate species allows direct comparisons between stone tool using nonhuman primates living in anthropogenic environments. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10764-017-9985-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Anthropogenic influence
engineering.material
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Macaque
Natural (archaeology)
Article
Lithic technology
biology.animal
Nut cracking
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Primate
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
Transect
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Stone tool
biology
National park
Ecology
05 social sciences
food and beverages
Macaca fascicularis
Animal ecology
engineering
Animal Science and Zoology
Behavioral flexibility
Tool use
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15738604 and 01640291
- Volume :
- 38
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Primatology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....dd2f8f9573524f4706d8cf23300b885e