Food or threat? Wild capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) as both predators and prey of snakes

Autor(es)

Falotico, Tiago ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Verderane, Michele P. ^{[1, 2]} ; Mendonca-Furtado, Olivia ^[1] ; Spagnoletti, Noemi ^[4] ; Ottoni, Eduardo B. ^[1] ; Visalberghi, Elisabetta ^[4] ; Izar, Patricia ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Psychol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Neotrop Primates Res Grp, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Expt Psychol, Inst Psychol, Ave Prof Mello Moraes, 1721 Bloco F, Sala 2, BR-18217130 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] CNR Roma, Ist Sci & Tecnol Cogniz, Rome - Italy

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PRIMATES; v. 59, n. 1, p. 99-106, JAN 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

Snakes present a hazard to primates, both as active predators and by defensive envenomation. This risk might have been a selective pressure on the evolution of primate visual and cognitive systems, leading to several behavioral traits present in human and non-human primates, such as the ability to quickly learn to fear snakes. Primates seldom prey on snakes, and humans are one of the few primate species that do. We report here another case, the wild capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus), which preys on snakes. We hypothesized that capuchin monkeys, due to their behavioral plasticity, and cognitive and visual skills, would be capable of discriminating dangerous and non-dangerous snakes and behave accordingly. We recorded the behavioral patterns exhibited toward snakes in two populations of S. libidinosus living 320 km apart in Piaui, Brazil. As expected, capuchins have a fear reaction to dangerous snakes (usually venomous or constricting snakes), presenting mobbing behavior toward them. In contrast, they hunt and consume non-dangerous snakes without presenting the fear response. Our findings support the tested hypothesis that S. libidinosus are capable of differentiating snakes by level of danger: on the one hand they protect themselves from dangerous snakes, on the other hand they take opportunities to prey on non-dangerous snakes. Since capuchins and humans are both predators and prey of snakes, further studies of this complex relationship may shed light on the evolution of these traits in the human lineage. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 06/51578-9 - Socioecologia de macacos-prego (Cebus libidinosus) em área de ecótono Cerrado/Caatinga
• Beneficiário: Michele Pereira Verderane
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 08/55684-3 - Variabilidade de comportamento social de macacos-prego (gênero Cebus): análise comparativa entre populações para investigação de correlatos fisiológicos
• Beneficiário: Patrícia Izar Mauro
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 06/07187-5 - Estudo do uso de ferramentas em populações de macacos-prego (Cebus libidinosus) do Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara - PI
• Beneficiário: Tiago Falótico
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 08/52293-3 - Medidas de metabolitos de cortisol em macacos-prego (genero cebus): analise comparativa entre populacoes para investigacao de fatores estressores.
• Beneficiário: Olívia de Mendonça Furtado Pimenta
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 06/07190-6 - Estudo do uso de ferramentas em populações de macacos-prego (Cebus libidinosus) do Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara, PI
• Beneficiário: Eduardo Benedicto Ottoni
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular