Perceptions of Primates and Protected Areas: Ethnoprimatological Implications for Conservation in the Pacoche Refuge

This research uses an ethnoprimatological approach to investigate people’s perceptions of primates and protected areas through a case study in the Pacoche Marine and Coastal Wildlife Refuge in Manabí, Ecuador. Twenty-one agricultural workers from the community of Pacoche were interviewed using a photo pile-sorting exercise and structured open-ended interviews. Results regarding perceptions of primates indicate that despite previous local practices, in comparison to other faunal species in the park, primates are no longer commonly targeted for food or medicinal purposes. White-fronted capuchins, while reported to be damaging to corn and orange crops, and commonly viewed as aggressive, were also widely respected as human-like and intelligent. This indicates promise for their conservation status in this area. The mantled howler also demonstrated similar promise, in that participants indicated a harmonious relationship living alongside this primate. Results reveal folkloric beliefs of howlers as “rain prophets” calling to the gods to bring the rain during times of drought. These traits, alongside their ability to attract tourists to the area, indicate reciprocal relationships between humans and alloprimates that benefit the livelihoods of both parties. While connections between the community and the environment indicate a natural-cultural balance, interactions with the Ministry of the Environment (MAE) reveal more contentious results. This study found an overall decrease in hunting and exotic pet ownership since the introduction of the protected area ten years ago. However, discrepancies between community members and the MAE still exist over natural resource extraction, particularly in regards to guadua bamboo and firewood. The results indicate a need for improved community engagement in conservation initiatives, in addition to the incorporation of local knowledge in park policy

Animal moral psychologies

Observations of animals engaging in apparently moral behavior have led academics and the public alike to ask whether morality is shared between humans and other animals. Some philosophers explicitly argue that morality is unique to humans, because moral agency requires capacities that are only demonstrated in our species. Other philosophers argue that some animals can participate in morality because they possess these capacities in a rudimentary form. Scientists have also joined the discussion, and their views are just as varied as the philosophers’. Some research programs examine whether animals countenance specific human norms, such as fairness. Other research programs investigate the cognitive and affective capacities thought to be necessary for morality. There are two sets of concerns that can be raised by these debates. They sometimes suffer from there being no agreed upon theory of morality and no clear account of whether there is a demarcation between moral and social behavior; that is, they lack a proper philosophical foundation. They also sometimes suffer from there being disagreement about the psychological capacities evident in animals. Of these two sets of concerns—the nature of the moral and the scope of psychological capacities—we aim to take on only the second. In this chapter we defend the claim that animals have three sets of capacities that, on some views, are taken as necessary and foundational for moral judgment and action. These are capacities of care, capacities of autonomy, and normative capacities. Care, we argue, is widely found among social animals. Autonomy and normativity are more recent topics of empirical investigation, so while there is less evidence of these capacities at this point in our developing scientific knowledge, the current data is strongly suggestive

Sex differences in the social behavior of juvenile spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Previous studies indicate adult spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi ) display marked sex differences, including some that may emerge early in life. However, the social behavior of juvenile spider monkeys and potential sex differences has not been adequately studied. Sex differences in the social behavior and proximity patterns of individually recognized juvenile black-handed spider monkeys (A. geoffroyi ornatus) were examined at El Zota Biological Field Station in Costa Rica. Both males and females exhibited sex-typical differences. Only females initiated grooming. Females centered interaction around their mothers and female peers, while males interacted more with adult and juvenile males. Juvenile males were also found in significantly larger parties than females, and were in parties containing adult males significantly more than females. The results of this study indicate that juvenile spider monkeys begin to exhibit sex-typical behaviors at an early age, and that these behavioral patterns prepare them for the social challenges of adulthood

Predation and cathemerality. Comparing the impact of predators on the activity patterns of lemurids and ceboids.

The removal, or absence, of predatory species could be a contributing proximate factor to the rise of primate cathemerality. But predators themselves can also be cathemeral, so cathemerality could well be an evolutionary stable strategy. From a comparative perspective, it appears that the effect of predatory species cannot provide a unitary explanation for cathemerality. Varying distributions and population densities of predators, especially raptors, may be key factors in owl monkey (Aotus) cathemerality, but temperature and lunar cycle variation have also been implicated. In Madagascar, while raptors are potential predators of lemur species, the cathemerality of Eulemur species coincides with that of the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), a major predatory threat to lemurs. Thus, lemurid cathemerality may be more parsimoniously explained as an evolutionary stable strategy

Biology, Culture, and the Origins of Pet-Keeping

Attachments between non-human animals of different species are surprisingly common in situations involving human agency (e.g., homes, zoos, and wildlife parks). However, cross-species animal friendships analogous to pet-keeping by humans are at least rare and possibly non-existent in nature. Why has pet-keeping evolved only in Homo sapiens? I review theories that explain pet-keeping either as an adaptation or an evolutionary by-product. I suggest that these explanations cannot account for the wide variation in the distribution and forms of pet-keeping across human societies and over historical time. Using fluctuations in the popularity of dog breeds in the United States, I show how shifts in choices of pets follow the rapid changes in preferences that characterize fashion cycles. I argue that while humans possess some innate traits that facilitate attachment to members of other species (e.g., parental urges, attraction to creatures with infantile features), pet-keeping is largely a product of social learning and imitation-based cultural evolution

Know Your Monkey: Identifying Primate Conservation Challenges in an Indigenous Kichwa Community Using an Ethnoprimatological Approach

© 2016 The Author(s) Increasing pressure on tropical forests is continually highlighting the need to find new solutions that mitigate the impact of human populations on biodiversity. However, developing solutions that can tackle the drivers of anthropogenic pressure, or at least take them into account, hinges upon building a good understanding of the culture and perceptions of local people. This study aims to provide an overview of the ethnoprimatology of an indigenous Kichwa community in the Ecuadorian Amazon that maintains a traditional lifestyle but also has good access to markets. We examine whether primates are seen as a distinctive group and their relative importance as sources of bushmeat and as household pets. Pile-sorting exercises revealed that although locals generally group members of the order Primates together, tree-dwelling nonprimates including sloths, coatis, kinkajous and tamanduas are also frequently classified as 'monkeys'. The perceived importance of primates to the forest and the community lay more in their potential as bushmeat, and only 1 respondent identified an ecological role for the group in terms of seed dispersal. Gaining a better understanding of local perceptions will allow for better-informed conservation decisions that are more aware of potential impacts and are more likely to gain community support

An investigation into the hygienic function of allogrooming in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella): grooming of different body regions in relation to surface area

The evolutionary origin of allogrooming behaviour is generally accepted to be hygiene. In recent years this function has received little interest from scientific research while the relatively new social functions are repeatedly studied in a wide variety of species. The discussion of allogrooming having multiple functions (namely in primates) has been reviewed numerous times; however, hygiene is often ignored or is considered through implicit reference only. The aim of this investigation was to examine the importance of hygiene in the allogrooming behaviour of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). This species has never before been thoroughly studied for allogrooming in the context of hygiene. Previous work by Pérez and Veà Baró (1999) examined the hygienic function of allogrooming in the white-crowned mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus lunulatus) and gave evidence supporting this function. Their analyses were marred by the use of percentages in a chi-square test. This investigation repeats the analysis of Pérez and Veà Baró (1999) with the intention of highlighting these errors and providing suitable alternative approaches to data analysis. In doing so the study provides significant data in support of grooming for hygiene. These results are based on a large sample size (5 focal females, 153 hours of observations) and show a high level of grooming activity. The focal females observed were involved in alloG bouts for 5.94% of observation time. The work by Pérez and Veà Baró (1999) and the current investigation support the evidence of Barton (1983a, b, 1985) and Hutchins and Barash (1976) for the importance of hygiene in primate allogrooming. The study also shows that the support for the hygienic function does not discredit any of the alternative functions hypothesised. Indeed, the data suggest that other "more social” functions are in operation and can be seen in the variation between individuals and across observation periods. A discussion of the multiple functions of grooming and consideration of a "multiple functions" hypothesis will also be made in this investigation. It will also be discussed how allogrooming, in the context of hygiene, can benefit both the groomer and groomee without the need to invoke models such as reciprocal altruism or kin selection