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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sophia Daoudi-SimisonORCiD, Genevieve Moat
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
In the wild, coordinated behaviour across group members is essential for maintaining spatial coherence, with potential implications for individual fitness. Such coordination often leads to behavioural synchrony (performing the same behaviour at the same time). Tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) are known to form mixed-species groups (MSGs), travelling and foraging together. Yet, it is unclear if it is necessary to synchronize behaviours in captivity when ecological pressures are minimal compared to the wild. We investigated the extent to which two MSGs of capuchins (N = 35) and squirrel monkeys (N = 26) synchronized their behaviour with conspecifics and heterospecifics at the Living Links to Human Evolution Research Centre, RZSS, Edinburgh Zoo, UK. Group activities were sampled by instantaneous scans of all visible individuals. Scans (n = 180) were analysed for five most frequently observed behaviours. Intraspecies synchrony was calculated using Simpson's Diversity Index, and interspecies synchrony was measured using cross-correlations. Intraspecific synchrony was significantly greater compared to randomly aggregated data, while cross-correlations indicated interspecific asynchrony. Living together did not lead to interspecific synchrony as may be expected given the coordination and behaviour described in the wild, and shared husbandry in captivity. Overall, our findings highlight differences in the behavioural structure of single- versus MSGs. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes'.
Author(s): Daoudi-Simison S, O'Sullivan E, Moat G, Lee PC, Buchanan-Smith HM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
Year: 2023
Volume: 378
Issue: 1878
Print publication date: 05/06/2023
Online publication date: 17/04/2023
Acceptance date: 18/11/2022
Date deposited: 05/05/2023
ISSN (print): 0962-8436
ISSN (electronic): 1471-2970
Publisher: The Royal Society Publishing
URL: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0111
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0111
PubMed id: 37066649
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