CONTINUING EDUCATION
Special Topic: Intern Lisa
Spider Monkeys, Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Genus Ateles
Chapter 3: Taxonomic status of spider monkeys in the twenty-first century
Spider monkeys have one of the largest geographical distributions of any Neotropical primate, due to habitat preferences, dietary needs, and their social system. TGus has lead to a variety of species and sub-species, known by multiple names to local cultures. In previous studies of spider monkey taxonomy, pelage (fur) variation was one way of categorizing them. The first study done to determine spider monkey species initially found four species and sixteen subspecies of Ateles relying on pelage differences. Today more studies are being done to find more taxonomic differences focusing on molecular variation and other more in-depth scientific methods.
Here at PPS we have the Ateles geoffroyi, the Black-handed Spider Monkey. This species is found throughout Central America and along the western coast of South America west of the Andes. There are a variety of subspecies of the Ateles geoffroyi throughout this geographical region.
-Campbell, Christina J. Spider Monkeys: The Biology, Behavior, and Ecology of the Genus Ateles (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology). UK. Cambridge University Press. 2008.
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| Carlos, a Black-handed Spider Monkey, rescued from a tourist attraction |
Special Topic: Intern Cheryl
The Complete Capuchin. The Biology of the Genus Cebus
Chapter 2: Behavioral Ecology: How Do Capuchins Make A Living?
This chapter explores how Capuchins make a living including how they stay safe, what they eat, and variations in behavior over daily activities, night sleeping patterns and seasonal feeding patterns.
Capuchins of all species relish easily accessible fleshy fruits like figs if available, but they will also find ways to obtain food other monkeys don’t use. They seem to specialize in targeting food that ‘fights back’, that is, plants, insects and small invertebrates with strong and elaborate defenses against predators. By varying their diet, Capuchins have the flexibility to switch from readily accessible foods (fruit) to more inaccessible ones when fruit is scarce. It also reduces the chances of overlapping diets with other arboreal primates in the same area (such as Spider monkeys, Squirrel monkeys).
RANGING PATTERNS: There are 4 ways in which Capuchins use their space:
• Relying on insects – use space homogeneously (very close-knit)
• Highly patchy resources (fruit) – use space in shifting irregular patterns depending on fruit sources
• Defendable resources – use space by patrolling boundaries
• Depending on one sleeping site or watering hole – use space by concentrating movement to a core area
Capuchins have been known to use a combination of all of these ways of using their space. Usually troops with more adult males will use a larger area.
DAILY PATTERNS: Capuchins are active during the day; from shortly before dawn to sometime around dusk. The main components to daily activities are: travel, feed/forage, rest and socialize. What a monkey eats constrains how he uses his time and space. Frugivores need to spend much of their time traveling due to the fact that fruit trees tend to be scattered in different patches of forest.
Capuchins obtain their carbohydrates and bulk of their calories from fruit. For proteins they will usually turn to young leaves, seeds or insects. Due to this kind of diet, more time is spent foraging and traveling than socializing and resting.
NIGHTLY SLEEPING PATTERNS: Capuchins are arboreal, which means they sleep up in the trees. Selection of sleeping sites is usually influenced by safety from predators, comfort, stable substrates and a large location that can inhabit an entire group to sleep in. They will often select branches higher up in the tree, that way the branch will vibrate if a predator steps near it. They will also choose trees that are close to others in case they have to jump to another tree should trouble appear.
SEASONAL FEEDING PATTERNS: It has been found that during the rainy season, food is more abundant for Capuchins, whereas in the dry season food is less available. Fruit will generally be eaten more in the rainy season whereas during the dry season insects, bird nestlings and eggs will feature more in their diet.
It has also been found that Capuchins will decrease their traveling range when their watering hole starts to dry up, and turn to non-fruit items within a short traveling distance.
- Fragaszy, D.M., Visalberghi, E., Fedigan, L.M. (2004) The Complete Capuchin: The Biology of the Genus Cebus. UK. Cambridge University Press.
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White Faced Capuchin Monkeys at PPS- Miranda and her granddaughter, Viola
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Behavioral Specialist, Mary Catherine- Special Topic
Positive Reinforcement Training Techniques
Positive reinforcement training (PRT) is a vital tool for gaining trust and voluntary cooperation when working with captive nonhuman primates. Here at Pacific Primate Sanctuary, efforts are always being made to apply PRT techniques to husbandry procedures in order to reduce stress and enhance the welfare of the monkeys. Here is a quick reference to some of the main PRT techniques used here at PPS:
Bridge (a.k.a. Conditioned Reinforcer) – Clicker training is a popular tool used in dog obedience school. It involves a handheld clicker acting as the conditioned reinforcer of a good behavior, or bridge. The technique is elegantly simple. Initially, you make a click as you present food to the trainee. Over time the click stands for the reward, which is food. Soon the animal, in our case the monkey, hears the click and looks to you for the reward. Now you can use the click to explain to the monkey what behavior you are trying to elicit from them by clicking at the exact moment when the behavior occurs. The monkey associates the click with a reward, so upon hearing the click they know they have done it right instantly, though it may take you a few seconds to actually get the food reward to them. The click acts as a bridge between the desired behavior and the food reward. Essentially, the click says to the animal, “Yes! That’s right! Good job, now come and get your treat.”
Shaping – When teaching a monkey a new behavior, (such as standing on a scale), you must first break it down into small steps, which you then teach in succession and build upon each step. This technique is called shaping. For example, the steps to standing on a scale may be broken down like this: 1) Place the scale in their home cage and reward the monkey (using the bridge followed by a treat). 2) Reward the monkey anytime they approach the scale. 3) Reward when they take any step onto the scale (see how handy the bridge is? The moment a foot steps onto the scale, you click, and the animal knows right then what they did right was place a foot on the scale). 4) Reward when they have all 4 feet on the scale. 5) Finally, reward the monkey for standing still on the scale for a set amount of time. Working patiently over time, these small steps can lead to a great new behavior, which should be fun and mentally stimulating for both the trainer and trainee.
Target – Training an animal to touch a particular object can be very helpful in many areas of captive primate care. Any object can be your target, though ideally it should be something you can hold and/or clip onto the outside of the cage. Using shaping, you can train a monkey to approach and hold the target in order to station them at a particular place in the enclosure. You can also train them to touch the target with different body parts (nose, hand, foot, back), which can be very helpful in examining any injuries without having to capture the animal.
Sometimes when I sit here quietly, an ocean and a continent away, I believe I can hear your monkeys singing. It is a joyful sensation. Thank YOU and all of the volunteers for the wonderful work you do, and for giving us a chance to be a part of it.
— A monthly PPS Supporter
We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s E-Newsletter. Thank you for your support of our life saving work. Because of compassionate people, the Sanctuary can continue to provide a place of peace and happiness for 74 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and smugglers. Here they can heal, form families, and live free from exploitation.
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